The invasion of technology into almost every aspect of one’s daily life can lead to increasing feelings of stress and anxiety. While the first instinct to deal with these afflictions may be a trip to the doctor for a new anxiety drug or some kind of herbal tea, one practice that goes unbeknownst to many is the practice of forest therapy.

Forest therapy or forest bathing is simply the practice of using the surroundings and tranquility of the forest for improving one’s health. The technique is different from a traditional hike by the focus on meditation and honing one’s senses, compared to the active nature that is found in hiking.

It is in the slow walking and devotion to finding peace through the senses that allows for forest therapy to truly be a healing experience. During a forest therapy session, the walk will be led by an ANFT certified guide who leads the party through the meditative practice.

The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs notes on their website that forest therapy of “Shinrin-yoku” has its roots in Japanese culture. The ANFT points out that despite the practice’s Japanese heritage, forest therapy can be practiced anywhere in the world and use any of the world’s many unique ecological environments.

The ANFT’s global success comes from a devotion to a “core set of principles and values” that the guides must be trained in.

These principals foster an open community that allows for the structure of producing similar experiences for anyone seeking to try the therapeutic effects. Boasting over 790 trained guides by 2019, the ANFT are able to stretch their influence to 48 countries in six continents.

Some of the values that the ANFT highlighted on their website are patience and an open-mind. The ANFT describes that for the healing practices to work, one must not think of it a hike and be prepared to walk a distance of about a mile during a two to four-hour period.

Another point to remember is the connection one is hoping to find with nature. To be able to connect with the forest, one has to be able to focus on using all of the senses in an active process throughout the experience.

Forest therapy is requiring one’s full attention for the forest to heal. Throughout the walks, the guides will invoke specific “invitations” that will ask the participant to slow down and channel that specific sense and allow for a connection with the forest. Training the mind and body to quiet down and truly listen to the sounds and feelings of the forest is key.

The activity of forest therapy is something that is meant to be repeated. As like any other practice like meditation, painting, or exercise, forest therapy is a practice that should have repetition and the proper training from an ANFT guide will allow one to gain those skills. These skills are more than just the walks itself like finding a nice quite place to sit and meditate in the forest, or to truly listen to the call of a wild bird.

Lastly, one important thing to remember about forest therapy is stewardship. To practice forest therapy, one must remember to give back to the forest what is taken out. Just as the forest allows for the healing of one, one must remember to protect and heal the forest by being respectful.

For more information about the ANFT, please visit their website