The Phenomenon of Forest Bathing

This week, I basked in the beauty of forest bathing and experienced its spellbinding influence on our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing...

Jul 06, 2025

“I Firmly Believe That Nature Brings Solace In All Troubles”

Anne Frank

a mushroom growing in a forest — Photo by Zsuzsa Boka on Unsplash

I have just experienced my first Forest Bathing session, and WOW!!

I’ve spoken before about being drawn to nature in times of need [Mother Nature's Present], but this was a whole other level…

Forest Bathing is like mindfulness in nature.

It was first founded in Japan in the 80s, and is known to bring significant benefits to our wellbeing, both mentally and physically!

I was caught on a particularly ‘good’ day, and I was already feeling pretty ‘well’, so wasn’t sure what benefits I’d actually feel from it… but it was incredible!

I quickly settled into it, perhaps because I wasn’t landing from such a height, I already felt quite grounded…

So, our wonderful guide, Rachel, led us outside where we stood for a couple of minutes in the warm embrace of the summer air…

We were invited to close our eyes and take some deep breaths; feel the sun on our face and the gentle breeze stroke over our skin, as we took a minute to settle and slow down.

Slow down being the operative words!
In this fast-paced world we live in, with constant change, ever reaching achievement, always ‘doing’, and racing from one aspect of our daily lives to another, it was really important to take a minute to transition to a slower pace, a pace I’m pretty sure is alien to most of us!

And so as we set off to explore the grounds, we were encouraged to walk ever so s_l_o_w_l_y…
Ever tried walking slowly when you’ve been conditioned by society to go everywhere at 100mph, or because, like me, you hate being late, love being busy and your body can’t physically keep up with the pacesetter of your mind?!
It is tough!

Smell The Roses 🌹

Our first destination, The Rose Garden.

We were encouraged to get up close and personal to the roses!

To look at them in detail… touch them… explore and scrutinise them… and yes, of course, sniff them!

What did I notice?

The subtle differences in the look of each variety… the hypnotic fragrance yet delicate differences in their scent… the performance of their individuality before me…

One rose had deep, forest green leaves, and as I zoomed in, the veins upon them came into focus, like the sharpening detail of optical zoom.
It made me think of the life that was running through it, the network of existence and survival!

Another rose had beautiful, soft peach-coloured petals, but the very core was golden-orange, the hue of a stunning sunrise, and just looking at it made me feel warm! Like it was physically emitting heat from its fiery core.

I was captivated by the contrast of the elements, the sharp, serrated stems vs the soft, plush velvet of the petals…

The Main Event 🌳

Next, we moved on to focus on the trees…

And this was… surprising, and indescribable!

I began to aimlessly wander the small wooded area, and felt myself drawn to a particular Beech tree…

I looked at the wrinkles and knots that protruded from the bark, like the beautiful ageing signs of a life well-lived.

And as I traced up the length of the trunk, to the canopy above, I was suddenly struck with such emotion.

This undeniable sentiment that rose from within me, intensifying and spreading outwards until I felt tears threatening to spill from my eyes…
It was a whole-body experience, and I was so taken aback by its abrupt arrival.
I never expected to feel such emotive sensations just from looking at a tree, yet here I was!

At first, I was trying to identify the emotion and its origins, but after a minute or so, I relinquished and accepted that sometimes there are no words, sometimes there is only feeling.

Super-Human Senses

As I honed my awareness to the trees around me, which I have so often passed without ever really noticing, I began to observe intricate details, like I’d developed some kind of ‘Spidey Senses’!

I noticed the colony of life that is harboured within, and upon, them:

- Cobwebs like scaffolding across doorways in the bark…

- Birds who have chosen to build their homes within the lofts of the leaves…

- Countless bugs; ladybirds resting upon the leaves… and ants racing around the surface like nursery children on a school trip…

The pure gift of life that trees grant us…

Literally, allowing us to breathe… without trees, we could not survive…

These strong, time-worn, long-standing and unassuming pillars of nature are keeping us alive…

The fruit upon the apple tree, a source of nourishment for humans and creatures alike, the time and effort it takes to establish enough to bear fruit, the right components that are needed for it to flourish…

The way a collection of different species congregate, providing a community, weaving together as they reach towards the sky, leaves and branches crossing over in the breeze, like the lifted hands of festivalgoers before a stage.

The pure strength and stability of the base, plugged securely into the earth and standing steadfast, against the contrast of the delicate, thin tips at the crown.

The direction of the branches all reaching in the same direction, outstretched for the sun’s sustenance.

The cracks that appear in the trunk, like the scars of life, evidence of battles fought, but as fleeting observers, we will never know what happened here…

Journeys End 🦜

Our last part of the session took us down a path towards the pond…

We stood for a few minutes in silence, and honed our attention on our hearing…

Now, I’m someone who’s pretty comfortable to close my eyes in public… (unless I overthink it and my memory bank begins to play clips from horror films I’ve regretfully watched!)…

So I stood for a few minutes, with my eyes closed, my thoughts settled and my body relaxed… nowhere to be and nothing to do in that precise moment… a covert observer of the natural environment that I was imposing on… and it was amazing!

They say that when one sense is dulled, the others become stronger, and well, closing my eyes made my hearing almost supersonic.

I felt like a silent audience member at the theatre, observing a performing orchestra… bird song the main instrument, with musical accompaniment from other areas of the stage, (a rustle from the undergrowth to my left, the rumble of distant traffic to my right) and then a strong but gentle breeze coming through the trees resembling a rainstick, a cacophony of sounds building to a crescendo…

Out Of The Ordinary

This is a walk I have done numerous times before; however, I’ve always been governed by the autopilot of busy life, focused on getting my steps in or grabbing some fresh air on my lunch break, and so I race around in 5 minutes flat, oblivious to the beauty I’m tearing through!

Whereas today, it took me an hour!

It filled me up!

And my word, the after-effect was extraordinary!

I felt such peace… such replenishment… such nourishment… such awe and gratitude…

We used all of our senses… smelling the roses… touching the tree bark… hearing the bird song… the sight of nature up close… and taste… well, I decided not to lick the trees, but the smell of bay leaves left me with the taste of delicious home-cooked food on my tongue.

We can learn a lot from nature:

That we all have soft and spikey parts, like the roses…
That we can’t be in bloom all the time, but when we are, it is magnificent…
That we should continue to grow, keep reaching towards the sun whilst standing steadfast on the ground…
And together, as a community, we can support each other, nurture each other, help each other to grow… and along the way, perhaps we will create a beautiful anthem…

The next time you’re in nature, why not slow down, or even pause, and drink-in what nature has to offer… and experience the benefits, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Take care & much love,

Julie x

Nature has appeared many times in my posts, just search for ‘nature’ in the archives…

Here are two significant ones if you want to read more:
Mother Nature's Present: A poem I wrote about needing nature following my cancer diagnosis.
Anxiety Attack - Rescued By Nature: Hear how nature rescued me from an anxiety attack.