Forest-Bathing! Confused or mystified about this trendy new panacea for all that ails us? Sara Ivens’ book is a good book for beginners and experienced tree lovers alike.
Forest Therapy has many virtues. It’s an easy read. Ivens captures the reader on the first pages with the personal, friendly narrative style of her stories, supported by quotations from various people who testify to the benefits of learning to value and love nature
Ivens begins with “Sold on Science and Statistics” – easy to read, solid, non-technical information which spell out the heath benefits of trees and forests for people and the environment. Next she wows you with “Forest Therapy for Beginners” with sensible suggestions on what to do and how to get moving, how to see with new eyes and how to enlist hearing, smelling, touching and sometimes tasting.
She includes also possible hazards and how to avoid them. One chapter that is especially useful is how to go solo in the woods. She speaks to the need for solitude in all of us but also encouragement for the lonely to transform loneliness into solitude, consoling information that is useful at any time! Every chapter ends with Mindfulness Minutes, a brief paragraph to enhance your nature experience. They may guide you into reflections that can carry you beyond the walk in the woods or on the seashore.
As the title of the book suggests, the themes of most chapters are the four seasons. Each season has its virtues which she vividly describes. As extensions to the actual outdoor time for every season, she gives book lists, songs to hunt out and enjoy, and questions for self-reflection to enhance knowledge and appreciation of the season. As an example – “Spring clean your soul” will ask you to “lighten up and let go” or finding new ways to stimulate your body and mind. Fall, of course, is “turn over a new leaf”.
The chapter devoted to parents and children is outstanding and unusual. Very few books on “Forest Bathing” as it is often called, go into such detail. She is full of ideas to woo children away from screens once you “ignore the moaning” – and she even tells you how to do that! She suggests ten books for under-eights to inspire a love of nature, ten songs to sing while taking a nature walk and directions on how to make a daisy chain and more. Her Mindfulness Minutes for children would be equally beneficial with grown-ups, either singly or with friends (the right kind, that is).
She even tackles the tricky question of his and her with the chapter on “Couples Countryside Cure.” What’s not to like in a list that includes “head to a country brewery” and “skinny-dipping”? I plan to read or re-read every book about couples in nature in her list.
And There’s More: Books for further reading; Helpful websites and journal articles with scientific proof of nature as a universal support to a healthy planet for all living beings in the foreseeable future. The book lives up to its title more than most: Forest Therapy.
From Munro’s books web site:
Your practical guide to better health, stronger relationships, and a happier life–by reconnecting with nature
There is something simply soul-soothing about being in nature. In fact, research shows that spending time outside can improve the immune system, combat stress hormones, lower blood pressure, and boost self-esteem. Around the globe, rising movements are driving us to reconnect with Mother Nature–from shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”) in Japan to friluftsliv (“open-air life”) in Scandinavia–yet our everyday lifestyles have distanced us from the great outdoors. For stressed-out professionals, reclusive bookworms, worn-out parents, and their cooped-up kids, Forest Therapy shares why getting back to nature is critically important for our well-being, and offers fun, easy practices to break out of hibernation.
Forest bathing is a rising trend, but what to do if you’re not near the woods or if the weather is dreary? Forest Therapy offers practical steps and inspiration to tap into nature’s restorative power, no matter the season or the weather. Chapters address ideas for all four seasons, as well as ways to use experiences in nature as ways to deepen your relationships with your children, partner, and friends. Ivens’s creative ideas and strategies range from a simple walk in the woods and countryside couples’ therapy to DIY natural beauty products and simple ways to bring the great outdoors into your home. Illustrated with charming black-and-white line art, Forest Therapy is a warm, witty, and personal guide to improving your health, finding happiness, and living a fabulous al fresco life.