Woodland Wellness Walks and Shinrin-yoku

path through treesWe’ve been running Woodland Wellness Walks for some months now, encouraging people to join in with connecting their senses to nature on quiet contemplative walks around a privately owned wood in East Northants.

Everyone who visits Oxlip Wood remarks on its almost secret location, completely surrounded by fields with its own private access The wood is also the perfect location for feeling ‘safe’; it’s a 20 acre wood that’s completely fenced and not open to the general public.

I read recently that a growing number of people are adopting a Japanese practice called Shinrin-yoku, translated literally as  “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing”.

Shinrin-yoku involves walking slowly, soaking up the sights, smells and sounds of nature with the aim of promoting physiological and psychological health. Those who practice Shinrin-yoku explain that it’s about walking, but very different from joining a walking group. The benefit of the walk is not about reaching a destination, rather about learning to enjoy immersion in the sights, smells and sounds experienced on the walk..

A Shinrin-yoku walk’s objective is to give those taking part the opportunity to slow down, enabling them to appreciate things that can only be seen or heard when moving slowly and quietly. Woodland Wellness Walks at Oxlip Wood have similar objectives to Shinrin-yoku, encouraging people to walk at their own pace, immersing themselves in the sights, sounds and smells of the woodland. To support people with connecting to nature we stop from time to time and do an exercise designed to heighten one of the five senses, smell, touch, sight, hearing and taste. The exercises are distend to be enjoyable and fun, often bringing back memories to participant about  childhood and time spent in the woods.

The benefits of meditative walks and spending time in woodlands

wood-view-2Yoga and Tai Chi are both recognised as beneficial to wellbeing and have become well established physical and meditative practices that can enhance daily life. Maybe the reason for the  upsurge in interest in meditative practices like Shirin-yoku is a backlash against spending too much time indoors staring at screens?

In the modern technological age there can be little reason to go outdoors. This decrease in opportunities for physical exercise and social interactions can have a knock-on effect in various ways, resulting in sleep loss, increased stress and anxiety, weight gain, increase in blood pressure etc, etc.

We’ve had plenty of feedback from visitors to Oxlip Wood that time spent in woodlands is felt to be beneficial to their physical and mental health. Our Woodland Working parties currently attracts people in the age range of 50 – 75 years, providing opportunity for light exercise and socialising, bathing in the natural benefits delivered by the woodland environment.

For those who prefer a contemplative and way to enjoy the woodland environment our Woodland Wellness Walks, along Shinrin-yoku principles, can be just the ticket to: :

  • Calm the mind and body
  • Improve mood
  • Decrease stress hormones
  • Decrease stress and anxiety
  • Boost the immune system
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Increase ability to focus
  • Improve sleep
  • Heal emotional pain

Woodland Wellness Walks

Maybe we should rename the Woodland Wellness Walks to Woodland Bathing? Somehow I think it would cause confusion, with people imagining there might be swimming involved. What do you think?

If you’d find it helpful you can listen to feedback from some who’ve attended a Woodland Wellness Walk.

Walking in woodland is good for wellbeing

The Scottish Foretry Commision has been running a pilot project in the Borders on Wooplaw Community Woodland near Galashiels..Alastair Taylor, a freelance environmental education consultant, said the benefits of the initiative were clear in terms of both physical and mental health. “There’s fresh air, exercise and just interacting with nature,” he said.
“We’re rediscovering that these things are probably more beneficial and, certainly, cheaper than medication.” Read more about this.

Scientific studies on the heath benefits of spending time in forest or woodland

A growing number of scientific studies emphasize that spending time in natural environments has been linked to lowering of stress levels, improved working memory and feeling more alive, among other positive attributes.

There have been studies comparing walking in nature with walking in an urban environment and then testing people on their mood, sometimes involving brain scans. What is clear is that people are less stressed, more relaxed and tended to engage less in negative thoughts.

Studies have also found an association between Shinrin-yoku and a boost to immune system function and in Japan and Korea, the forest therapy model is an established medical practice.

Some researchers think the health benefits of being in forests or woodlands is linked to the antimicrobial organic compounds given off by plants that help people achieve relaxation. How substantial the claims for this particular health benefit are there’s no doubt that the smells associated with forests and woodlands create the ‘Ahhh, heavenly” effect experience by the majority of visitors.

Whilst the scientific benefits of Shinrin-yoku and time spent immersed in nature remain unproven, there are a growing number of people who are giving feedback that time spent in forests and woodlands delivers mental and physical benefits.

Next Steps

Discover the benefits to be experienced from Shinrin-Yoku by coming along to one of our Woodland Wellness Walks. We run them every month at the moment and the whole experience lasts for a couple of hours, including refreshments served at the end of the walk.

Oxlip Wood is an ancient place dating back to 1328 when it was established as a ladies deer hunting park. The original 30 acres is now 20, surrounded by fields and recently fenced all around the perimeter, adding to the feel of it being a place to feel ‘safe’.

Outdoor Tribe is a CIC (Community Interest Company) which is a not for profits organisation model with profits being used to further the aims and objectives of the organisation. We make a nominal charge for Woodland Wellness Walks of £5/person to include refreshments. We have free parking available within the wood.

To ask any questions about suitability for particular special needs, access and dates please contact us.