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How do you take a forest bath?

In Japan, every year 5 million people use the shinrin yoku (which can be translated as bath or forest cure) to treat the anxiety and the hypertension.

Professor and immunologist Qing Li, a recognized expert in Forest Medicine, offers a series of guidelines for healing.

Shinrin Yoku: experience the healing power of trees

Qing Li recommends performing a walk through a wooded environment about two hours long. He proposes not to walk more than 2.5 kilometers. If you have 4 hours you can travel 4 kilometers.

to get a immune strengthening advises a minimum stay of 3 days in a wooded region. Of course, you should forget your mobile or mp3 at home.

Breaks can be taken to avoid fatigue. The competition, the achievement of brands have no place. Thirst should be fought with water or tea.

while resting you can inhale the essence of a pine leaf, cypress or some aromatic plant.

If a place particularly attracts your attention, if you feel very well there, you can stop to meditateread or simply enjoy the scenery.

It may be the right time to do ebreathing exercisesI’m a visualization.

Benefit from terpenes

The density of anticancer terpenes found in the forest atmosphere varies with the seasons. It increases drastically in April and May, and in August it reaches its peak. It decreases a bit during the autumn and in winter it reaches the minimum.

Ideally, do the walks all year as often as possible.

The forest cure is above all a preventive measurea habit that benefits us in many ways.

But if we feel sick we must go to the doctor first. Then walks through the woods can form part of the treatment.

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choose the forest

Although some prefer the mature forest where at least a part of the trees is over 100 years old, experts in forest bathing or shinrin yoku like Alex Gesse believe that any forest, even a quiet, leafy park, can be suitable.

It is desirable that the forest does not present slopes, that it is safe, and that it offers a diversity of environments: Glades, paths, rocks, wetlands, diversity of species…

are suitable routes of 1 to 2 km, circular, very little traveled.

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awaken the senses

If you go with an experienced guide, it will invite you to pay attention to the sensations. To do this, she always walks slowly and in silence, letting her intuition guide the steps, take us from one place to another.

You may want to stop next to a tree, touch a stone, caress a leaf, taste a berry, stay still…

At one point the participants they gather in a circle and, if they wish, they close their eyes and follow the guide’s invitations: listen to the sounds, smell, feel the air, the contact of the feet with the ground…

The guide’s invitations They can be very varied: shake off stress when starting out, listen like a deer, give thanks to a tree or a plant, move silently like a fox, pay full attention to a detail…

“It’s all about getting your wild side out, being yourself, changing your pace and not having to deal with the usual problems,” Alex explains.

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Share the experience

At a certain point in the walk, the participants are invited to stop and share the experience.

The participants pass a stone, a twig, whatever, to take the floor and briefly explain what they feel (always if they wish).

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Tea ceremony

After 2 or 3 hours of forest bathing, the guide prepares an infusion with plants that he has found during the walk. The ceremony helps integrate the forest in us and close the experience.

The experience of a forest bath step by step

You have seen how a “forest bathing” session can take place, but the experience may vary depending on the guide and the needs of the group.

There is no single way to practice this therapy. Guide Alex Gesse, certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, combines the ideas of the North American line, which focuses on awakening the senses and incorporates some aspects of Native American tradition, with the Japanese method of shinrin-yoku.

all benefits

The “forest bath” has proven its effectiveness for Improve Life Quality and prevent a wide variety of physical and mental illnesses. In Japan it is a common practice and recommended by the health authorities.

Research shows that contact with nature is related to a lower risk of suffering from emotional and psychological disorders, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, neurological, mental and respiratory diseases, obesity, diabetes and cancer, among other health problems.

The DKV Institute for Healthy Living has produced an extensive report, “Forest bathing, a health proposal”where the scientific bibliography on the subject is collected and different ways of practicing it are proposed to obtain the greatest benefits.

Who are forest bathing for?

Anyone can benefit from taking a forest bath. It is highly recommended when one feels stressed or when going through a existential crisis.

It is interesting to take the first forest baths by the hand of a guide. Then we can do it alone.

Alex Gesse, who works in Spain and Portugal, is requested to guide business groups, individuals or young people at risk of social exclusion.

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