The Great Escape?

Experts Say Get Outside And Lee Ann Adds, If You Want To

- Lee Ann Bramwell

Forest bathing is, evidently, the Next Big Thing. Actually, it’s been A Big Thing for ages, but now that somebody has given it this romantic title, it’s becoming better known.

No, it’s not about diving naked into a crystal-clear pool in the middle of a native bush reserve. You don’t have to be naked and you don’t have to get in the water. You do, however, need to be in the bush to reap the benefits.

So what is forest bathing? According to scientist Dr Qing Li, MD, PhD, and a senior assistant professor at Nippon Medical School in Japan, it is “natural aromatherapy”. And he’s written a book on it, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness.

Numerous studies he has conducted have shown that forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) has real health benefits.

“A two-hour forest bath will help you to unplug from technology and slow down. It will bring you into the present moment and de-stress and relax you,” he says.