My Brush With The Forest Bath

With Japanese roots, itʼs a bath like no other involving no water at all.

- Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

While trekking to the zenith of a popular hill in Queenstown, New Zealand to take in the captivating panoramic views like every tourist does here, a middle aged American couple stopped to ask me, “Taking forest bath?”

I was more than half the way up, sitting leisurely with my eyes closed on one side of the path –absorbing every vibe of the Douglas fir forest I was passing through. The trees were countless, so tall and rich. I was admiring being constantly kissed by the fresh air getting filtered through them.

Every passing moment was effortlessly relaxing me. Still the term ‘forest bath’ seemed foreign to me as it was for the maiden time, I had heard it. But I evinced curiosity, uttering first “which bath?”

They began to explain like fervent school teachers:

“Forest bath is a Japanese concept which is scientifically proven to improve your overall health. It’s about getting lost in the trees, the nature – just observing your surroundings peacefully. It started in early ’80s in Japan and now with stress rising everywhere; it is gaining popularity across the globe.”