intercultural press

The Japanese Art of Shinrin Yoku, Part 2

Happy mid week readers! We’ve already made it through the first half so far, so good job 🙂 For this week’s Wellness Wednesday post I want to continue from where I left off last week about nature therapy and the many health benefits surrounding it.

What’s fascinating about it too is that it effects everyone differently depending on what your body needs. For example, “The basic concept behind nature therapy is to increase physiological relaxation and act as a preventative medicine by improving the bodies natural resistance to disease which is supressed under conditions of stress. What’s more nature therapy has a physiological adjustment effect which means that the it has a different effect on different individuals. At first we thought that there were errors in the way the data was collected, but we have since found that the different results experienced by different people are in fact real. A good example is blood pressure, we found that forest therapy reduces in those individuals with high blood pressure while it increases blood pressure those individuals who start with low blood pressure. This effect makes the therapy especially valuable as it adjusts to the individual, but we need to do more research to find out how and why this happens.” p.24

I believe that this is something very important that we should consider doing to help ourselves and others heal on a more holistic level.”Living in the 21st century throughout the world, we are living in societies characterized by urbanization, yet our physiological functions are still adapted to nature. Because of this, the sympathetic nervous system is in a constant state of overstimulation and stress levels are often too high, poor sleep and the shortage of opportunities to relax contribute to the lack of healthy regulation in the nervous system.” p.24

This can lead to anxiety, mood swings, this could lead to a lot of different negative things depending on the person. You could age quicker as well when you’re not getting enough sleep and/or undergoing a lot of stress, and stress can become a sickness or disease if it becomes chronic stress–unfortunately. For example, on page 31 of Shinrin Yoku, it reads that “when the human body experiences too much chronic stress over too long a period of time, the parasympathetic nervous system might collapse.” So, in order to prevent that from happening, we need to learn how to regulate our nervous system in different ways and really consider nature therapy. Because “Regulating the nervous system is exactly where nature therapies come in. When in a natural environment, stress is reduced and people report a feeling of relaxation. They also report feelings of being energized and refreshed. This simple act helps to regulate the nervous system, promoting a healthier balance between activation and relaxation which in my view is a fundamental marker of well-being. In this way, illness can be prevented, and a healthy way of living is maintained.” P.33

In other words, in order to keep yourself healthy and balanced and keep your nervous system relaxed and regulated, then consider bathing in a forest. I do want to share just some of the benefits of Shinrin Yoku too, which are:

• Improvement of weakened immunity with an increase in a count of natural killer (NK) cells which are known to fight tumors and infection
• Increased relaxation of the body due to increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system
• Reduced stress of the body due to a reduction in sympathetic nervous system activity
• Reduction in blood pressure after only 15 minutes of forest therapy
• Reduced feelings of stress and a general sense of well-being
• Reduction in blood pressure after one day of forest therapy which lasts up to five days after forest therapy p.34

Just imagine how much healthier and relaxed your brain and your body will feel after forest therapy, or nature therapy in general. As long as you’re in a natural setting there’s so many benefits that can come from it. So, if you haven’t gone on that hike in a long time or a nature walk in a long time…if you find yourself fighting with time or trying to catch up with it each and every day…one of the best ways to start slowing down is to implement nature therapy into your life in small and/or big ways.

What I’ve been doing for a while now is taking myself on nature walks during my work breaks, whether it’s just for 30 minutes or 15. Like getting out of my car and being really present in the moment, not being on my phone or listening to any kind of music, but more like just really emersing myself in the natural energy by enjoying the sun, or the rain, wind. Taking in all the smells is very healing and very necessary. To be honest, if it wasn’t for me going out of my way to do this, I would feel a lot more stressed, anxious, sad, angry, or easily irritable. I’d be feeling very different. It keeps me balanced, grounded, and healthy, so please consider going on a nature walk today or tonight. take yourself out or take a loved one with you and really enjoy the moment, I guarantee you will feel at least a little happier.

Lastly, if you haven’t already checked out this amazing book, please do so! It’s titled “Shinrin Yoku” by Yoshifumi Miyazaki, enjoy and thanks for reading this far.

love and peace,

Sandra Fernandez