When I was a little girl, I remember that I loved climbing trees, now as an adult I love sitting with the trees and yes even hugging and talking to them. People would tell my dad when I was little that they should have named me Tony, instead of Tonya because I was such a tomboy. I loved summers visiting my grandparents and wandering in the forest and climbing up a tree.
What I want to talk to you about is something that so many of us enjoy and it is called "Forest Bathing". To some of you this sounds stupid and insane, and I get it, only at least until I gave it a try and I saw for myself and felt how much my life had changed and every time that I retreated to the forest, I always come out feeling so refreshed and rejuvenated. So if you see me on the trails and I am hugging a tree, please don't think that I have lost my mind, it is just me giving the trees some love.
In the 80's Dr. Qing Li, MD at Nippon Medical school in Tokyo started researching the effects of what the forest does to our overall health. Once a month Dr Li spends three days in the forest to clear his mind and he uses his five senses. Using your five senses is extremely important if one wants to achieve the maximum benefits that only the forest can offer. Forest Bathing is also called, "Shinrin-Yoku".
With Dr. Li's research It has been proven that forest bathing has the power to counter illnesses including cancer, strokes, gastric ulcers, depression, anxiety and stress. You can also boost the immune system, lower blood pressure and aid in sleep and that is only to name a few of the benefits of being in the presence of the trees.
There's a chemical that the trees and plants release that is called phytoncides. And not only do we need the trees in the forest to help aid in fighting off some diseases and illnesses, but the trees also need us, so we are helping each other.
It has become so popular in Japan that the Japanese government even incorporated "Shinrin-yoku into the country's health program.
Dr. Li is the author of Art and Science of forest bathing, and he is a world expert and has conducted numerous studies on this. Forest bathing is a preventive medicine not a treatment. And none of this is to be considered medical advice.
What exactly is Phytoncides? Essentially it is tree essential oils and it has many medicinal properties. They're the chemicals that encourage natural killer cell activity in the human body natural killer cells are cancer-fighting protein that literally seek and destroy tumor and virus ridden cells and they do so much more than that.
And according to force bathing center, "phytoncides are one of the greatest treasures of the forest. Phytoncides are volatile organic compounds or essential oils given off by the trees these chemicals have natural antimicrobial and insecticidal qualities that protect the tree from germs and parasites and there are thousands of them. When humans breathe this essential oil in it can produce many fabulous benefits inside the body and some of the responses discovered by science include the immune response with just a 2-hour walk in the forest it can increase natural killer cell activity that can last for days.
Anti-inflammatory: Common forest terpenes temper inflammation and reduce oxidative stress.
Nervous system: Forest air create a relaxation response and lowers nervous system activity.
Mood enhancing: Exposure to forest air can reduce cortisol levels."
And it doesn't stop there. So grab your kids and go do some forest bathing and even take your shoes off and do some grounding you might be surprised what it will do.
"Eighty percent of Japan's population lives in urban areas and the average American now spends more than 90 percent of their time indoors, but we are designed to be connected to the natural world to listen to the wind and taste the air and not spending all of our time inside."
It goes against our nature, and we suffer because of it.
Dr. Li's book offers this advice for those that practice of Shinrin-Yoku. "Make sure you leave your phone and camera behind because you're going to be walking aimlessly and slowly and you don't need any devices but your body to be your guide. Listen to where it wants to take you and follow your nose and take your time, it doesn't matter if you don't get anywhere because you are not going anywhere anyways. You are savoring the sounds, smells and sights of nature and letting the forest in."
When I spend time with the trees, I lay my head up against a tree and I wrap my arms around it and I focus on my breathing and I just stand there taking in the love that the tree is giving back to me, or I sit under a tree with my back rested upon it and I look around and I notice the smallest things that are easy to miss.
I walk along the trail, and I see a caterpillar or a snail as small as they are and I think to myself that they see me as a threat as their enemy and that is what we have become, but I know that I am their guest and they have nothing to fear from my existence, imagine if we all felt that way.
Nature is amazing and it does not matter how many times that I have been on a specific trail I always notice something different that I missed the last time, or something new has just come alive.
The trees have so much love, and when you sit under a tree on a windy day you will see how the tree dances to the sound of the wind.
When you take a walk in the forest you might even think that it looks like one big hot mess, with branches and trees here and there with no order at all, but just wait and allow your mind to take you to a higher frequency and then you suddenly start to notice how beautiful that it really is and it was always beautiful only you saw it in a different way because you really didn't see it at all. How many times have you driven on a road going up the mountain after a long day of work and then suddenly after a hard rain there is a beautiful waterfall but sadly you didn't see it at all.
Everything that we need is found in nature and it is free and it has been loaned to us and now we must decide what we are going to do with it, will we care for it or will we keep destroying it. The more that we remove nature from the earth the more that we also remove God.We can all do a little to help make the world a better place and where better to start than with nature.
What are some other ways that trees help make the earth thrive?
According to the National Wildlife Federation, trees provide habitat for wildlife for starters they also promote community, trees keep cities cooler, they reduce energy cost and they boost local economics and improve our health and the best thing that they do is clean our air and water. So, if you look at all of the ways that trees help our environment from the air that we breathe to the water that we drink and bathe in then I think it is safe to say why some might want to clear our lands.
When we destroy nature in a way of making profit then we have entirely lost our way but with the help of you and I then we can make a huge difference for the next generations but we have to start today.
Last but not least, let's talk a little about our soil.
The magic has been taken out of our soil and Sadhguru has started a movement called Save The Soil. This has become the world's largest people's movements. Sadhguru is the founder of the Isha Institute with more than 17 million volunteers and more than 300 centers in the world. His vision and goal is to build a more conscious planet and the save the soil movement has now reached over four billion people across the world that are becoming more aware of the impact of our soil.
Eighty-one nations are in the process of framing soil policies and 1150 corporates supported save the soil and three million children have written letters to their national leaders about this movement.
Fifty North American cities proclaim March 21 as Save Soil Day.
"Thousands of imminent people and organizations are uniting for this common goal to restore soil health. Magic of the soil, the only magic material that turns death into life," said Sadhguru.
Agricultural deforestation and other factors have degraded and eroded topsoil at alarming rates and globally 52 percent of agricultural land is already degraded and the planet is in crisis. If current rates of soil degradation continue this would be the end of life as we know it. You can learn more about this at consciousplanet.org.
If we all become passionate about nature then I am certain that we can return the earth back to the Garden of Eden.
When you hug a tree, you are also hugging God.