Forest Bathing - The Japanese practice of walking amongst the trees

In this 38th episode we explore some of the published medical benefits of simply walking in the woods. I have to chuckle that something so obvious as walking in nature could warrant so much scientific study. However, if you search out the topic of "forest bathing or forest therapy" on the medical database PubMed, you will find 30,433 results! Perhaps we should taking this form of therapy seriously! This episode was inspired by two recent trips to the mountains I took in a seven day timespan. I was gifted with the opportunity to touch ancient Sequoia Redwoods in the Western Sierra mountains, sit by mountain streams, touch ancient Bristlecone Pines in the White Mountains, and walk on frozen lakes in the Eastern Sierra mountains. All were pure medicine for the soul. Here are a couple of journal papers detailing some of the benefits spoken about in this episode: 1) Effects of forest environment (Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing) on health promotion and disease prevention —the Establishment of “Forest Medicine” https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ehpm/27/0/27_22-00160/_article   2) Effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: a systematic review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31001682/