By John Salak –
There are all sorts of therapeutic baths available for those to cure what ails them. There are mud baths, steam baths, hot and cold baths, seaweed baths, Turkish baths, Dead Sea baths, foot baths, chocolate baths, beer baths and even green tea baths.
Also referred to as balneotherapy, these baths generally combine water (and yes chocolate, green tea and beer at times) with additives to soothe and relax a patient. Their many aims include relieving fatigue, sore muscles and joints, inflammation and detoxifying a body. The concept has been around for centuries and many swear by one or more of the options.
The time has come to add yet another therapeutic bath to the list, albeit one that keeps a participant noticeably drier. Many in Merry Old England are turning to forest baths as an alternative ecotherapy—and some are claiming this woodsy approach has saved their lives.
Taking a calming walk in nature isn’t new of course. But formal forest bathing has been increasingly embraced due to what’s been described as a mental health crisis in Britain that the nation’s National Health Service is having a tough time dealing with.
Forest bathing does not mean diving into a pool, lake or pond filled with trees and stewing around for a while. Instead, it focuses on going out among trees and being calm and quiet while observing nature and breathing deeply.
This ecotherapy isn’t only reputed to be effective, it is inexpensive and easy to access. This is especially important in the face of a 25 percent rise in patients seeking mental health care from the NHS in recent years, which has led to significant delays in meeting patient demands.
“The first step is to come and see, hear, smell, touch and experience forest bathing for yourself,” Susanne Meis, the founder of Meet in Nature and host of forest bathing sessions, told Britain’s Sky News.
“I have seen thousands of people during and post-COVID benefiting from forest bathing,” she added. “Some have told me that forest bathing literally saved their life, others shared that it has transformed their relationship with nature.”
The concept isn’t entirely new or entirely British either. The idea stems from the Japanese practice known as shinrin-yoku, which started in the 1980s. Since then, Asian cultures, particularly the Japanese, have engaged in forest bathing. It’s also increasingly practiced in the U.S. and Europe.
The Cleveland Clinic has even cited studies that suggest that there are definable stress, blood pressure and cancer-fighting benefits from spending regular time in the woods. The proponents may be right in claiming forest bathing is a force for good.
It is not an end-all for individuals needing mental health care, least according to British mental health charities like MIND, which notes foresting bathing can help destress both adults and children.
“Ecotherapy is not the only solution, it has to be used alongside talking therapies and medication,” MIND official Hayley Jarvis told Sky News. “1.9 million adults are on waiting lists for mental health services on the NHS. Some of these projects are trying to fill a gap.”
For these and other stressed people, it means taking a dip in the woods.
