I forget where I first read about the Japanese concept of forest bathing.
They call it shinrin-yoku. And it's basically taking time to walk in the forest. Being surrounded by trees.
And it doesn't need to be an actual forest. But the trees are important.
It's about taking some time in nature.
For us urban folks, it's very important.
Michael Easter talks about in The Comfort Crisis.
There have been a lot of studies on the effects of sitting in and walking through nature. For 15 to 20 minutes.
Blood pressure goes down.
Heart rates go down.
Stress levels go down.
After a fifteen minute walk in nature.
Easter goes on to say that we treat the symptoms of our illnesses, but rarely the causes.
Regular forest bathing can help prevent some things from developing into illnesses.
And for most people, it's free.
I'm lucky.
I live right near a big park with plenty of old trees and lots of green.
But even better, I live near some conservation areas.
Yes, you have to pay to get into some of them. But there are free ones too.
The Bruce Trail is more than 890 km (550 mi) long and runs close to where I live.
There are also lots of side trails related to it.
Near where I work, there's a side trail that I sometimes walk.
I can squeeze in a 20 minute dose of forest bathing on my lunch break.
The calm washes over me immediately.
How's your mental hygiene? Maybe it's time for a forest bath!
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