Walk in the Woods.
What is Forest Bathing? Take a walk in the woods!
FOREST BATHING: Walk in the Woods, Healing Power of Trees in a Forest Near Me
As I wrote in my Life & Works: “My earliest memory is of walking behind our house and staring with awe into a sun-lit and dark-shadowed evergreen forest. Our home was new and hand built by my father. Surrounded by the rolling hills of the Northern Appalachians.”
Yup, from the beginning, I’ve loved being surrounded by towering trees. They were alive. They were stalwart friends.
And as I wrote in my popular Sacred Forest post: “We lived in Yorkshire for a time, when I was a kid. It was the early Fifties and times in Post-War England were still hard. But there were some good things. You could travel by steam trains for almost nothing. We used to travel often. Sometimes day trips. Sometimes staying in small country inns. Visiting the English countryside, what Tolkien described as ‘gardens, trees and unmechanised farmlands.’
“It was later that I learned that Yorkshire was an ancient Celtic land. With a seasoning of Nordic. I, too, was Celtic with a bit of Nordic. And it was later that I connected the churches and trees. And that my ancestors came out of the vast, Northern sacred forests. It’s in my DNA. It’s in my Soul. Yours too?”
I’m older now. I no longer travel the root-bumped backwoods trails, climb so deftly over storm-dropped trees. But I still follow the easier trails. Gotta be out there, eh? In the living forest. Surrounded by my old friends, the trees. A world of its own.
SEE my popular Forest post: SACRED FOREST – Sacred Groves, Celtic Spirituality & Celtic Christianity
“I love the woods. They calm my storms, leaving peace in my eyes.” – Fabrizio Caramagna
“If we lose the forests, we lose our only teachers.” – Bill Mollison
“Think of all that we have sacrificed for our dependence on modern technologies! We have lost the ability to hear ourselves think. We have forgotten the beauty of silence pierced only by the sounds of nature. And we have become human doers rather than human beings.” – Karin Marcus
True! Here, from Karin, is a Guest Blog on that very topic:
“A Walk in the Woods: The Healing Power of Trees” by Karin Marcus
A simple walk in the woods has been proven to be of benefit to both your emotional and physical well-being.
There’s solid scientific evidence that a forest stroll has beneficial effects on blood pressure, heart rate, stress hormones, and the immune system. Findings also detected an increase in the intracellular anti-cancer proteins. So get out and enjoy the leaves!
During Fall, for instance, it almost becomes a national pastime to appreciate trees, especially in the northeast where they fully display their glory in brilliant techno color.
A Walk in the Woods: All Year Round
Personally, I’m a year-round tree hugger and proud of it! There’s something very special about a walk in the woods. Or entering the silent sanctuary of a pine grove. Or just sitting in the cooling shade of a tree’s expansive branches. I find trees both majestic yet comforting, elegant yet solid, enduring yet ever changing.
When I surround myself with trees, my breathing becomes deeper. All my senses are satiated. And I feel peaceful and grounded.
The Japanese have a special word for this feeling: “shinrinyoku” or “forest bathing.” What a wonderful poetic image — “bathing” in the refreshing atmosphere of the woods.
Forest Bathing involves using all Five Senses and letting Nature enter through those senses:
- Listening to forest sounds, i.e. birds and insects.
- Touching the ground, the trees, and the leaves.
- Smelling the flowers and other essential oils of the plants and trees.
- Seeing the surroundings and scenery.
- Tasting the crispiness of the air while breathing.
The Japanese have also accumulated some hard scientific data on the physical benefits of “forest bathing.”
Back in 2004, Japan’s National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization conducted an experiment on the healing effects of forests.
The study compared the physiological benefits of walking in the city with walking in one of Japan’s few remaining old leaf forest.
They found positive evidence that a forest stroll had beneficial effects on blood pressure, heart rate, and the immune system. Their findings also detected an increase in the intracellular anti-cancer proteins. This boost in activity of the natural killer cells that fight cancer sometimes lasted for as long as thirty days.
They also discovered that walking in the forest decreased the blood glucose levels of diabetic patients. And that people who even just viewed forest scenery for twenty minutes had a 13% lower blood concentration of the stress hormone cortisol.
While this evidence of the physiological benefits of nature is ground breaking and exciting, the psychological benefits have also gained long overdue recognition in recent years with the relatively new field of Eco-Psychology.
What is Eco-Psychology? The basic idea of Eco-Psychology is that humankind’s disconnect with nature and its renewing rhythms are a central contributing factor to most emotional woes. The mind which has been shaped by the modern world is readily comforted by the wider natural world from which it evolved.
Eco-Psychology has three basic premises.
- First, there’s a deep reciprocal relationship between humans and nature.
- Second, the separation of humans and nature leads to suffering for both the environment and for people.
- And third, realizing the connection between humans and nature is mutually healing.
As a Life Coach and Retreat Leader, I have always thought of nature as an essential partner.
My preferred method of one-on-one coaching of “Walk and Talks” is done outdoors. And my retreats are held at eco-resorts, national parks, and arboretums. Being fully present in nature has a wonderful way of centering a person. And the natural world is always full of metaphors that help put life into perspective.
So, the point of all this information is to get you outdoors! Take a Walk in the Woods!
Enjoy this wonderful seasonal weather. You will feel better physically and emotionally if you take the time to reconnect with nature. And you will probably become a better steward for the world because of it.
– Karin Marcus. Copyright © 2008 Karin Marcus, updated 2025 for this publication.
YES! Karin is right. Get out and enjoy the aborning Springtime leaves. The brilliant greens of Summer. Multi-coloured yellow and red Autumn leaves! Even the bleak browns and grays of Wintertime bare branches can inspire you.
See my Life & Works post…
“Live Free, Mon Ami!” – Brian Alan Burhoe
Article “tagged” as: forest animals, forest bathing, shinrin-yoku doterra, trees for the forest, walk in the woods, woods vs forest.
Karin Marcus is the writer of self-help articles such as “How to Invest in Your Self.” ”Becoming Unplugged: A Personalized Retreat.” And “An Easy 6-Step Plan for Celebrating Your Inner Child.” Source: Free Guest Posting Articles.
IMAGES: Top of Page – from Netflix/Broad Green Pictures movie starring Robert Redford & Nick Nolte. Based on the book A WALK IN THE WOODS, written by Bill Bryson. The other four images are from our Wilderness & Wildlife Digital Album.
