DISCOVER THE BENEFITS OF COMBINING YOGA WITH FOREST BATHING
Words: Ellen Dee Davidson
I had never heard the term forest bathing when I first began spending time in the redwood forests near my home. Suffering chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and ferocious insomnia, I instinctively sought relief in the calm presence of the trees. It worked and years later, completely healed, I learned why. Forest bathing combines immersing oneself in a forest environment while practicing mindfulness techniques, like yoga. The improvements to our health from both forest bathing and yoga have been well documented. When the two modalities are practiced together, the results can be even more potent. In this article, learn both how to practice yoga in a forest and how doing so can improve your well-being. What is Forest Bathing? The concept of forest bathing originated in Japan where it is known as Shinrin Yoku, and involves being in a forest environment in a mindful way. Mindfulness is a state of heightened awareness. Instead of thinking about the past or projecting ourselves into the future, we notice what is happening right now. We become conscious of bodily sensations, thoughts, feelings, and whatever is going on in our immediate environment without clinging or judgement. Yoga is one of our most powerful tools to enter into this condition of mindfulness. The word yoga derives from a Sanskrit term that literally means “union”. Uniting the breath and the body, yoga offers a way for us to become fully present, opening our attention so that we may receive the full advantages of a forest bathing session.
Benefits of Forest Bathing and Yoga
Some of the well-documented benefits of forest bathing include: lowering stress hormones such as cortisol, decreasing blood pressure, speeding wound healing, alleviating depression and anxiety, helping with ADHD, and improving immune system function, especially by boosting “T” cells, which fight colds and cancer. Forest bathing has also been shown to alleviate insomnia and to help with feelings like loneliness. Being outside is a way to feel in relationship with trees, rivers, rocks, and all the beauty of Earth.
The fresh, clean air is good for our lungs and helps with asthma and bronchitis. The filtered sunlight offers Vitamin D. Contact with the soil exposes us to bacteria that is anti-inflammatory, immune system boosting, improves gut bacteria, and even raises serotonin levels which are known to elevate moods.
Yoga is also scientifically proven to provide many benefits. Quite a number of them are similar to the health improvements found with forest bathing, such as boosting the immune system, lowering stress, blood pressure, anxiety and depression, and helping with sleep. Other benefits are more unique to yoga, including increased strength, flexibility and balance. Practicing on the uneven ground of a forest does add to this benefit by challenging us to strengthen our core muscles and to improve our balance.
How to Practice Yoga in the Forest?
Find a Safe Park, Woodland or Forest
It is not always easy to find a flat place to do yoga out in nature, so poses may need to be adapted. Standing poses like Triangle Pose and Tree Pose work really well. The most important thing to do is to breathe with the trees. I call this forest yoga breath. Breath helps us to take in life giving information from the larger ecology and then release it back imprinted with the signature of our unique beings. Our breath is perhaps one of the most intimate relationships we have with the world
around us. Consciously inhale the gift of oxygen from the forest, and then exhale carbon dioxide for the trees to use. Human beings evolved with trees and plants; in fact forests arrived approximately 400 million years ago and homo sapiens only around 300,000 years ago. Trees and plants have literally made the world habitable for us! Perhaps it is knowing this that makes breathing with the trees fill me with gratitude – and gratitude is also proven to boost our health. As you pay attention to your breath in the forest, you may notice that your pulse slows and you start to feel more relaxed. Trees have a similar, albeit much slower, pulse to ours. Their trunks expand and contract in cycles similar to a human heartbeat. This is called dendritic pumping and is part of the way trees pump water from their roots up to the leaves. Being outside allows people to more easily tune into these natural rhythms. Trees also put out a bioelectric field which people find soothing. It is no accident that Buddha became enlightened after spending 49 days beneath the Bodhi tree; trees actually assist us in regulating our nervous systems.
Be Aware of Potential Hazards
Adjust for any hazards like potential sunburn, splinters, wildlife, or ticks. Ticks are a particular danger in the woods since some of them carry Lymes and other diseases. It helps to do your poses on a blanket or yoga mat, wear light colored clothing that has a secure cuff at the bottom and to do a tick check after a forest yoga session. Usually a tick has to be attached for at least 24 hours to cause disease, so a little careful checking is enough to prevent problems. Knowing what to avoid in the environment chosen for forest yoga will contribute to a positive experience.
Turn off Phones and Devices
Perhaps one of the most crucial elements of a successful forest bathing experience is to turn off all phones and electronic devices. Instead of playing yoga music, allow the natural sounds to enhance your experience. Bird songs have been shown to improve moods and provide numerous health benefits, such as lowering stress hormones. Part of the joy of practicing in the wild woods is the full sensual immersion. Feel the soft air caressing your skin, listen to the sound of flowing water or the wind whispering through the leaves, and smell the fragrant aerosols. These aerosols are natural chemicals released by the trees to protect themselves from insect attacks, and are known to have numerous healing properties including boosting immune systems.
Restorative Yoga
One of the easiest and most beneficial types of yoga to do in the forest is Restorative Yoga. This gentle yoga centers relaxation, supporting the body to let go through slower, deeper breaths along with comfortable positions. Props such as blocks or extra blankets for under the knees may help open the body to release inner tensions. Because Restorative Yoga is passive, it allows practitioners to relax into meditative states, which facilitate the sense of calm that allows for a larger appreciation of the natural environment. Some poses to try are Child’s Pose, Simple Twists, Cat Cow, and Savasana.
Soft Fascination
Slowing down and becoming present allows people to perceive more of the beauty of the wild woods. Presence leads to appreciation of the fractal artistry of branches lacing the sky, clouds passing by, or the symphony of scents. Our subtle senses awaken and we become more tuned in, perceptive and aware. Nature reaches out and inspires. We are experiencing something called soft fascination.
Soft fascination is a condition of being in effortless attention. Instead of intense focus, soft fascination does not require a lot of mental effort; it leaves room for our minds to wander, dream, and often come up with unexpected ideas. It opens us up to heightened consciousness, intuition and creativity.
Our ancestors knew this. Many cultures made big decisions outside under what were known as Council Trees. I have often noticed that the quality of my thoughts alters when I am practicing mindfulness techniques outside in the presence of the old trees. Inspirations for writing and music pop into my head, or sometimes a solution to a family kerfuffle. I am definitely
more likely to think outside the box. Well, actually, being outside in the forest I am literally outside of the box of four walls and a roof! Pay attention while you are practicing forest yoga and it is likely that you will also notice these changes in perception.
There’s magic in being outside in the enchanted forest. The deep hush is caused by lichens, moss and substances in the bark, such as suberin, that muffle sound. In the shelter of the trees, we are cocooned in a beautiful silence, punctuated with the croaks of frogs and the rustles of needles and leaves. Dappled sunlight dances across the forest floor. Birds flit from branch to branch, flashing blue, yellow and crimson. Their chirps fill the air, warbling joy. With forest yogic breath, practitioners are invited into an expansive state of wholeness which goes beyond mind/body union into unity consciousness. As we connect more deeply to ourselves within nature, we may experience a sense of belonging and deep peace. We may begin to hear the trees speak.
Sometimes trees speak in silence, in peace, in deep relaxation that becomes communion. Sometimes trees speak in soft whispers, in opening hearts, in waves of well-being and joy. Sometimes trees speak through rivers of wind caressing needles and leaves, sending messages through the atmosphere to the stars and cascading down to nourish mycelium-clad roots. Sometimes trees speak in sensations, knowing, even vision. And then we may wonder where the tree leaves off and we begin, where human and tree become one breath of life.
References
- Beresford-Kroeger, Diana, Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests, Random House Canada, 2024.
- HeartMath Institute, “Interconnectivity Tree Research Project”, https://www.heartmath.org, 2022.
- Li, Qing. Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health & Happiness. New York: Viking, 2018.
- Magsamen, Susan, and Ivy Ross. Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us. New York: Random House, 2023.
- Miyazakii, Yoshifumi. Shinrin Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing, Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2018.
- Orielle-Lake, Osprey, The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis, New Society Publishers, 2024.
- Sima, Richard, “Why Birds and Their Songs Are Good for Our Mental Health.” Washington Post, May 18, 2023
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