After looking for what ’ s in motion , you are probably feeling tuned in to your surroundings . Next , explore your sense of smell . If you have an understanding of botany you may recognize twigs that are delightfully fragrant with a little “ scratch and sniff .” Smell the flowers and the grass , pick up and smell a small handful of earth if you ’ re in a place where you can safely do so .
Spend some time tuning in to the sounds around you . Nature offers many soothing and inspiring sounds , and we can feel ourselves relaxing in their presence even if we can also hear the hum of nearby traffic . I learned a special trick from a forest
One of my favorite forest bathing invitations is : Imagine you are a child . You can skip stones , create art with natural objects , sing with the birds , stomp in a puddle , climb a tree . This invitation allows us to let go and recover the sense of belonging in nature that we took for granted as children .
bathing guide in the Japanese Alps . If you are near audibly flowing water — a stream , waterfall , or even a garden fountain , stand with your back to the water , close your eyes and cup your ears in front of them , palms facing backwards . You will be amazed by the way the sound of the water is magnified and all other sounds disappear .
Touch is essential to our sense of well-being and during our current crisis , many of us are touchdeprived . Know your local flora well enough to recognize poison ivy , poison oak , stinging nettles and any other no-touch plants . Then touch the leaves , hug the trees , pick up and hold stones and loose pieces of bark , anything in nature that draws your attention . If you can safely go barefoot , it not only feels good , but studies have shown that it ’ s good for your health .
One of my favorite forest bathing invitations is : Imagine you are a child . You can skip stones , create art with natural objects , sing with the birds , stomp in a puddle , climb a tree . This invitation allows us to let go and recover the sense of belonging in nature that we took for granted as children .
As I near the end of a forest bathing walk , I like to spend time communing with an individual tree . Trees hold mystical powers and have been recognized and even worshipped for this in many cultures throughout human history . Recent studies have shown that individual trees communicate with each other through compounds released into the air alerting their neighbors to threats from pests and pathogens and through vast underground networks of mycorrhizal fungi . They even share nutrients with one another through these fungal connections . We are just learning about this “ wood wide web ” and what we still don ’ t know about plant intelligence , consciousness and communication is boundless . Sit or lie under the tree , talk silently or out loud , and open your heart and listen to the tree . Everyone has her own way of communing with trees — or cacti in the desert — and I always encourage forest bathers to commune in any way that feels comfortable .
Three , transition back to daily life . You may find yourself feeling so relaxed and connected to your surroundings that you don ’ t feel eager to return to your daily routine . On guided forest bathing walks we serve tea and snacks , read poetry , share experiences and help each other transition back to our day-to-day reality . When you ’ re alone or with one or two others , it ’ s important to honor the experience you ’ ve had and contemplate what you will take back to your indoor home from your wild home . Even when forest bathing solo , I recite John Muir at the close of my walk : “ I only went out for a walk , and finally concluded to stay out till sundown , for going out , I found , was really going in .”
Forest bathing , like other mindfulness exercises , is a practice . The more often you do it , the more readily you ’ ll achieve the rewards of relaxation , relief from stress , full engagement with the wonder of the moment , and joy . In the words of my wise friend , the artist Ellen Gordon : “ Taking breath outside with full joy in the now , without thoughts of past or future , takes practice .”
Melanie Choukas-Bradley is a Washington , DC naturalist , forest bathing guide , and author of seven acclaimed nature books including The Joy of Forest Bathing . This piece is excerpted from her book , Resilience — Connecting with Nature in a Time of Crisis . Three of her books are illustrated by Ag Reserve artist , Tina Thieme Brown , two books about Sugarloaf Mountain and the pair ’ s latest book , Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island ( September 2020 ). Melanie and her husband Jim maintain deep ties to the Ag Reserve , where they lived for many years and raised their two children .
12 plenty I autumn harvest 2020