mindfulness under a tree

A mindfulness practice as old as nature itself, known in Japan as Shinrin-Yoku — forest bathing. You can try it anytime, pretty much anywhere: in a forest, park, garden, near a tree or a single shrub. The instructions are simple: This not a hike or a project; put away your device. Walk or meander with no particular destination. Feel, listen, smell, taste. Notice your breath, your skin, your feet on the ground.

A leaf, bark, the air, the earth.

Until you can get outdoors, open this video:

Findings from an emerging field of academic research:

— Antonelli, M., et al. (2019). Effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of biometeorology, 1-18. “This review aims to investigate the effects of forest bathing on levels of salivary or serum cortisol as a stress biomarker in order to understand whether forest bathing can reduce stress. … Overall, forest bathing can significantly influence cortisol levels on a short term in such a way as to reduce stress, and anticipated placebo effects can play an important role in it.”

— Ming Kuo. (2015). “How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and possible central pathway.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 6. “The range of specific health outcomes tied to nature is startling, including depression and anxiety disorder, diabetes melitus, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), various infectious diseases, cancer, healing from surgery, obesity, cardiovascular disease, musculosketetal complaints, migranes, respiratory diease, and others.”