Forest Baths – An Antibody To Stress
Stress has become our silent enemy lurking everywhere. Big cities produce one thing more than anything else: stressed people. The urban environment creates tension in us, even when we are walking down the street. The endless flood of stimuli can be so intense that any of us can get under stress.
Stress also affects our senses. For example, it is more difficult for us to distinguish between odors due to environmental pollution. The same is true of voices. The level of loudness on the main street of any city is so loud that we have to raise our voices to talk to others. We usually also need to pay more attention to hearing what others are saying.
The same thing happens with our other senses. We close our eyes and look down so we don’t get embarrassed. Or something even worse: we don’t enjoy what we eat because the constant rush prevents us from really being present. In fact, some people think that lunch time is a waste of time. After all, are we even aware of what is happening to our senses? We are losing sensitivity to touch and perceiving our environment.
We give the word “leisure time” a misleading definition and meaning. Many think it means “doing nothing”. That’s why when we have time on our hands, we waste it sitting in front of the TV, playing video games, or staring at a computer screen. In this way, we immerse ourselves in a reality that is foreign to our nature. Before we even realize it, we have become slaves to stress.
Does nature help in the fight against stress?
The answer to this question is an absolute “yes”. Indeed, some doctors recommend searching in the middle of nature. Do you still remember your trips to the countryside? You’ve certainly noticed that after you leave the city behind, everything changes. Smells, sounds and landscapes are all different. Our senses seem to be awakening, and once again we notice many things to which we are blinded in the midst of our daily lives.
Let’s travel even further in the middle of nature. There is a very valuable technique in the fight against stress: forest baths. This technology emerged in Japan, one of the most economically developed countries. At the same time, however, Japan has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world and the proportion of those affected (as well as deaths) among its population. These are probably caused by excessive work.
Technology involves making a new connection with nature, be it a forest or a field. The idea is to relax and leave behind the chaos into which we are immersed in our daily lives. This is how we lower the stress level so that we can deal with it better. Let’s think that walking in a natural environment also involves breaking away from the stimuli that cause us anxiety.
Forest baths and their benefits
The most important of the benefits of forest baths is the ability to connect with creation through nature. It also has the advantage of being able to deal with stress better. Forest baths (named Shinrin Yoku in Japanese ) offer other opportunities besides walking. If you want, you can hug a tree and experience the exchange of your bad wind for the stability of that tree. You can also drink a drink extracted from aromatic plants to help you relax.
Nature helps you see the world from a different perspective. When you are stressed, your brain is in a state of overload. Forest baths lower the level of brain activity that is comparable to decision-making and problem-solving. Instead, those areas of the brain that are equated with emotion, pleasure, and creativity are activated .
Sufficient time must be allowed for forest baths to reduce stress levels. Hastening this experience does not bring about any good. Remember that you have come to take advantage of the good that this connection with nature has to offer you. You can get that benefit just by paying attention to every step you take. Among other things, it’s good to remember that as you walk, you can also meditate or pray. It is enough that you stay alert and keep your senses fully awake.
Filling yourself with positive energy requires investment, but doesn’t cost a fortune either. It also does not require much effort. It is enough to open your mind and heart. Recognize that you are part of creation. We each have a purpose, we are all connected to each other, and every decision we make affects our environment. If we want prosperity, peace and spiritual growth, we can start it by reconnecting with nature.
