SHINRIN-YOKU
The Medicine of being in the Forest
Shinrin-Yoku literally means ‘forest bathing’, or ‘taking in the atmosphere of the forest’. The modern version of this ancient tribal practice developed in Japan in the 1980’s, quickly becoming a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. It is now fast expanding to the the rest of the world, fulfilling an often deep yearning for reconnection with nature in a way that is accessible to almost everyone.
Shinrin-Yoku is practiced through a series of slow and gentle, guided walks in forests or other naturally healing environments, and supports physical, mental and emotional well-being. Japanese and South Koreans researchers have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest.
For example, many trees give off organic compounds called phytoncydes that support our NK (natural killer) cells that are part of our immune system’s way of fighting cancer and other illnesses.
SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN BENEFITS OF SHINRIN-YOKU
Include but are not limited to:
– Boosted immune system function, with an increase in the body’s count of NK cells;
– Reduced blood pressure;
– Reduced stress and cortisol levels;
– Improved mood;
– Increased ability to focus, even in children with ADHD;
– Accelerated recovery from surgery or illness;
– Increased energy level;
– Improved sleep.
On the beyond-physical levels, this practice also results in:
– Deeper and clearer intuition;
– Increased flow of energy:
– Increased capacity to communicate with the land and her more-than-human species;
– Increased flow of eros & life force;
– Deepening of friendships;
– Overall increase in happiness.
THE FOREST IS THE THERAPIST
the Guide is the facilitator
The Forest is the therapist, and the guide opens the door through a series of Invitations that are crafted and perfected specifically to allow for each individual's best experience.
In order to be prepared to offer this, guides go through an extensive training and certification process.
I began this practice in January 2015, and found it so joyful and beneficial that I decided to train as a Forest Therapy Guide.
I did my certification with the first school of this kind in the United States: the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, founded by Amos Clifford, M.A. and based in Northern California.
ANFT were the first, and from that new schools were created and are now available for you to train with. I will list the ones known to me below.
WHY DO I EVEN NEED A GUIDE TO WALK IN NATURE?
I asked that same question myself when I first started.
My friend and Forest Therapy Guide, Denell Nawrocki, said it perfectly:
"Shinrin-Yoku is a practice, and just like any other practice (yoga, meditation etc.), teachers and mentors are there to provide information, support and inspiration for the practice itself. Guides help people slow down, they help people connect with their senses. Guides are neutral and open hearted witnesses to the experiences of the participants, and they hold safe space for them to experience something new."
The image shows Amos Clifford as he prepares a foraged tea for the tea ceremony that always concludes a Forest Therapy walk. The ceremony is a beautiful and informal way of bridging the liminal space of the experience and the return to "regular life".
SHINRIN-YOKU INVITATIONS
What are they?
They are called Invitations because the guide "invites you" to a certain activity during the walk, but you are free to accept or do your own thing.
Shinrin-Yoku Invitations are simple and will not take much time. They are intended to help you decompress, relax and ground you into yourself and the natural world around you.
The Forest Therapy Guide chooses Invitations that are are inspired by the group that is present, but also that suit the environment and the season. Through experience, the Guide knows how sequence them for optimal results and to keep everyone comfortable while at the same time giving them a touch of something new.
Over time I have collected (some learned from Amos, some the result of my own personal experience) a series of Shinrin-Yoku Invitations which I have been sharing through this blog, making them available to everyone who wishes to deepen their connection with nature.
If and when possible, the optimal location to do these Invitations is in a semi-wild forest environment, though a local park, garden or simply by a tree in your backyard will do for everyday.
You can choose to do the invitations individually, or several together, one after the other, to expand the benefits of your nature connection. You can also modify them to suit your comfort, location and the weather. They are, after all, just that: Invitations. You can accept them or decline them as feels right to you. The most important thing is that you are comfortable and feel relaxed. If you find yourself effecting, just let it go.
You can do them alone, or with others. If you do them with others, I suggest that you do so in silence, so each person can fully benefit from their own experience without distractions. You can, if you like, share with each other at the end (of each invitation, or of a series).
If you keep a journal, you might feel called to write down your impressions and thoughts afterwards.
This is what we do during a guided Shinrin-Yoku walk. At the completion of each invitation we gather in a circle to share what we experienced. This is called "council". Each person in turn has a chance to speak while receiving everyone else's focused attention.
This is a very rewarding part of the walks, and it is where people connect and often new friendships can be formed, especially in groups that repeatedly gather together for these Forest Therapy walks.
Overall my intention has been to offer you something easy and beautiful that will help you feel better afterwards. It will be like joining me on a Shinrin-Yoku walk from wherever you are.
I have collected all the Shinrin-Yoku Invitations in this downloadable e-book which I hope you will love. The e-book is in PDF format, features my nature photography, and I am making it available to you for FREE.
All that I ask in return is that you sign up for the Life Out Of Bounds e-mail newsletter. Your information will be secure and private, will not be shared with others, and will only be used for the purpose of sending you the e-mail newsletter.
By clicking here you will be taken to the sign-up form that will begin the process, which will be complete when you receive the link to the download.
You can print the e-book if you like, or you can save it in your iPad/tablet or iPhone/smartphone so you can carry it with you everywhere.
I hope you will enjoy my little offering, and please feel free to share this page with your family and friends.
Looking for a Forest Therapy Guide or to train as one?
HERE ARE SOME RESOURCES
Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs - or ANFT for short
Founded by M. Amos Clifford and based in Northern California, this association has been the first to bring Shinrin-Yoku outside of Japan, create events and train guides. Every year they hold training cohorts in various locations around the world. I trained with them back in May 2015.
Ben Page, who trained with me, is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is very active both in hosting immersion walks, retreats and trainings. You can find more information on his website: Integral Forest Bathing .
In Canada, Ben Porchuck, also fellow trainee, founded GIFT - Global Institute of Forest Therapy and Nature Connection . He also hosts walks and trainings. You can check his website and get in touch with him for most recent events.
Also in Canada, there is the recently launched Forest Bathing Institute who also offer both guided walks and trainings.
In Italy, you will find guides and trainings through Settore Nazionale Forest Bathing (website is in Italian and English). They also offer guided walks and trainings.
All of the above sites also offer portals through which to find guides, but there is also a website called Forest Bathing Finder , if that makes it even easier.
As I find more, I will endeavor to keep this list updated.
My personal experiences with
shinrin-yoku walks
If you would like to read about my personal experiences with Shinrin-Yoku and see some of the beautiful forests I have explored, you can click on the images below. Each one will be a post about a different location and Shinrin-Yoku walk, starting with my first ever set of Seven Walks in Seven Weeks between February and March 2015.
NATURE LOVERS
will enjoy the following posts
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How are you? How has your January been? Do you like fog?
Driving in it is not my favorite thing, but otherwise fog is the next best thing to snow: muffled whiteness, softer edges, mystery…. Most of all, for us photographers, it creates interesting and very photogenic landscapes.
We’ve had quite a bit of it in the past couple of weeks, and I have managed to grab a few shots.
I thought it would make a perfect wallpaper for February: a newly captured image that represents the season in this part of the world (yes, I am still in Italy). It is also a reflection of where I’m at personally in my life right now: in the fog, not seeing clearly, just taking one step at a time towards the little I can see close to me while not tripping and falling.
Two days into the new year, I received really good news from two (separate) friends, both of whom had finally achieved positive results in something they had long been working at. After the year I and many of you had had, I felt as happy and thrilled as if that had happened to me.
Their good news made me excited for them wholeheartedly, but also gave me hope that things I have long been working on might finally bring happy results for me as well.
Part 2 in pinned comment…
After the intensity of 2024, this coming year feels like a fresh start on so many levels that for the January wallpaper I really wanted a new image, a freshly captured one.
Any notion of a magical snow scene has been indefinitely postponed by the weather forecast, and the glorious pink camellias that were already blooming on the tree were all stripped by some seriously wild winds for which the word blustery is a mild description.
All the same, I took my camera and went for a meander in the garden to see if anything caught my eye. I found a few dried leaves that had stubbornly hung on throughout the wind storm. The soft winter sun was making them glow as if from within, offering them the opportunity to shine once more before complete transmutation.
The simple, barren scene spoke to me, softly and quietly, offering a spaciousness that felt soothing. It was a perfect representation of the season: both the outer shown by nature, and our own inner one.
Winter has just begun and we have three more months of it. Cold is not my favorite physical sensation, and I really struggle with it. Yet what I love about winter are the invisible stirrings I can feel silently happening deep underground. They whisper of new life to come. Are we listening?
So here it all is, in one image which I hope will speak to you as it did to me, and that you will enjoy throughout January.
The link for the download is the usual: https://bit.ly/2LMF1B7 - or Link In Profile.
PAUSE.
BREATHE...
As after all the lovely softness of the above scene I will be switching gear.
… part 2 in pinned comment …
Once more I find myself having to apologize for the delay. Actually, yesterday I even doubted I would ever be able to share this final wallpaper of 2024 as things have been taking much longer than usual.
Just over a week ago, I flew to Italy to spend time with my family and help care for my mum, whose health took a sudden toll when my dad passed away last June. The plan is to be here for 2-3 months, or as long as needed.
I am glad to say she is doing better, but still needs constant help and support. From what I have seen in the past few weeks and months, I am aware that many of you know too well what this means and how much physical, mental and emotional energy it all takes.
So between being a caregiver (a privilege in such a case), the stress of travel and adjustment, whenever I would have a moment to focus because my mum would be napping, I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes open myself. The jet lag is real!
Somehow I finally managed to complete the December wallpaper, and all the many files that go with it, even if a tad late. You can finally download it at the usual link: https://bit.ly/2LMF1B7 or LINK IN PROFILE
Once more, it features one of my and my family’s favorite Holiday cookies: Vanillekipferl.
It’s a favorite image, and is as festive/wintery as I could get in the circumstances. I hope you will enjoy it (and remember you can find the recipe on the blog).
Part 2 in comments….
Oopsy-daisy! This wallpaper has been ready for a couple of weeks already, and now I’m realizing that tomorrow is November 1 and I almost forgot to share it. Almost 🤪
So here it is, the new November 2024 calendar wallpaper, featuring one of my favorite images shot at one of my favorite places: the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross, CA (Marin County) on a rainy fall morning.
Download it at the usual link: https://bit.ly/2LMF1B7 or LINK IN PROFILE - and I hope you will enjoy it!
Wishing a Happy Halloween to all who participate and a wonderful November to you all.
Love & Blessings,
Monica
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#loob_nature #calendarwallpaper #gardenlovers #inmygardenthismonth #yearningfornature #naturehealsthesoul #mindfulpractice #shinrinyoku #forestbathing #vibrationalhealing #mothergaia #earthenergy #sacrednature #naturemedicine #groundingenergy #leavesfalling #autumnleaves #favouriteseason #leavesarefalling #crispair #autumnishere #cozyweather #cozyautumn #allthingsfall #momentsofmine #lifeunscripted #autumnmood #natureloverforlife #iheartnature #whywelovenature
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©Monica Schwartz - all rights reserved. Do not copy or share without written permission.
The last few months have been rather challenging. Uhm… the whole 12 months have been in fact… No, wait, the past 5 years more like…
Yes, well… back to the present!
A couple of weeks ago, a very kind lady from The Netherlands, who subscribes to my blog and has been enjoying my wallpapers a lot, contacted me sharing her appreciation and wondering why I had not posted any for 2-3 months, and hoping that everything was well.
Sometimes I share things (photos, blog posts, wallpapers… whatever that might be in the moment) and get no feedback whatsoever. I know that algorithms are a whole bad element of their own, and we are all jaded by the amount of information and imagery that are thrown at us constantly.
Even so, I am left to wonder…. Does anyone even like it? Does anyone even enjoy this? Should I even bother to continue?
Being contacted via e-mail so kindly from someone I don’t even know personally… that lifted my spirit, and inspired me to resume sharing. So I say, “Thank you, Conny”, and here I am, with a burst of color for the new October Calendar Wallpaper.
You can download it for free as always and at the usual link: https://bit.ly/2LMF1B7 or LINK IN PROFILE. I hope you will enjoy it.
By the way, things are a bit better now.
I wish you all a colorful October. May you be safe and have ease and blessings in your life.
xoxo
Monica
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#loob_nature #calendarwallpaper #simplepleasures #visualsoflife #countrylife #theartofslowliving #leavesfalling #favouriteseason #autumnleaves #halloweenmonth #autumnlover #leavesarefallng #fallingleaves #crispair #autumnfeeling #autumnishere #iloveautumn #shinrinyoku #forestbathing #autumnvibes #octoberishere #naturehealing #rechargeyoursoul #mindfulpractice #deepbreathing #naturehealsthesoul #sacrednature #earthenergy #mothergaia #inspiredbynature
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©Monica Schwartz - all rights reserved