Forest Therapy

by Sarah Ivens

  Sound What can you hear as you walk? Listen out for leaves crunching, twigs snapping, water burbling, rocks clashing, wind rustling and creatures scuttling. Can you hear birdsong? Can you hear distinct types of birdsong? Can you tell an owl from a woodpecker? Are there any other animals or insects buzzing or bustling around your path?

  On a recent camping trip we were awoken by the noise of the scampering feet of local deer, heading our way to have a look at us, their new neighbors. It definitely beat being woken up by jackhammering, swearing and sirens—even on Sundays—which had been my alarm for the five years I lived in New York City.

  Sight How many different colors can you see? How many strange shapes? Does anything you see remind you of your childhood or your home? Have you seen anything on this walk that you haven’t seen before? Can you see any wildlife? Have they left any tracks? Can you see their homes? Are they in family groups or on their own?

  On a recent walk, I witnessed a family of turtles sunbathing on a log that had washed up onto the verdant banks of the Colorado River. All the relatives were there—the old grandparents, shells mottled with algae and dents, the smooth teenagers, jumping into the water athletically to cool down and easily hopping up again, and the babies, tiny and nervous, some being piggybacked around by larger ones. I stopped for a good while to watch them, giggling at the family dynamics. If I’d been looking at my phone, I would have missed them.

  Touch Climb a tree or rock. How do your hands feel? Is some bark smoother than others? Or some rocks sharper than others? Roll over a log, feel the difference between the dry bark and the moisture underneath it. Forage for different natural objects—hunt out acorns, pine cones, bundles of ball moss and pine needles. How do they feel? Are they spiky or soft? Roll your found items around in your palm as you close your eyes.

  We live in Texas now and I still get a thrill stroking the giant cactus palms, wary of the prickles, or standing next to a palm tree and feeling the fronds waft across my back in the breeze. Of course, though, I do miss the feeling of dangling my fingertips into a cool ocean of bluebells on a stroll through a forest at home in England. Bluebells are hard to come by in the Lone Star State.

  Smell Take a deep lungful of the forest. How does it smell? What does it remind you of? How is it different from the smells of your home and garden, the seaside or the city? Pick up some leaves or pine needles and crush them in your palm—what aroma has been released? Do you like it? What does it remind you of? Can you see any flowers? If so, pick some petals and mush them with your fingertips. What scent do you get? What does it remind you of? When my son, William, was one year old and we were living in Los Angeles, our little family took a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur. I still remember getting out of the car, the heavy black smog of LA hours behind us, and being knocked out by the divine aroma of the surrounding pines. The sleepless nights of new motherhood were knocked out of me, I felt rejuvenated with every sniff. High up on a hill, looking down to the ocean, I felt like myself again for the first time in months.

  Taste Caution is the word here. Unless something is obviously edible—you stumble across brambles full of blackberries or raspberries, or you discover an herb in a local community garden—educate yourself first. There is a variety of guide books on edible plants to study diligently or you can join a foraging group of experts, or tag along on a mushroom hunting expedition with a specialist. Another fun thing to do is to pick some forest treats and take them home for tea—fresh, woody teas, like pine-needle tea and stinging-nettle tea, are certainly an acquired taste but fun to experiment with.

  Happy hobbies

  If you are tempted to use your valuable spare time in nature enhancing your other favorite pastimes, I vote to go for it, as an add-on to your mindful walk and rest. If you’re into nature photography, snap away. If you like to paint, take a pad of watercolor paper and watercolors. Write—what could be more inspiring? If you want to step up your workouts outside in a green gym, do that too. The purpose of forest therapy isn’t to get fit, but while you’re there, if you want to, burn some calories and build that muscle. There are few things in life not enhanced by being outdoors. Knitting, crocheting, reading, Sudoku… any of the above will benefit from the natural boost you’re giving your body and brain when you are outside.

  Take a breather

  Inspired by the calm and stillness of the forest, you might want to try a moment of meditation to still yourself. Here are a few pointers for beginners, or indoor meditators nervous about taking the practice outside.

  • Find a comfortable spot. That twig digging in one bottom cheek. That rock digging in the other. Nope. They’re not going to suddenly feel better. They are a distraction. Take a minute to find the right spot: a spot where you can relax into all good things.

  • Hide anything valuable. Yes, you’re engaging in the majesty of the natural world, but you have to be sensible. Keep your purse, keys, and so on, in your pocket or in your shoe. Sit on your backpack.

  • Relax your body. Close your eyes. Move around your being from toe to top. Push a chilled-out vibe into each area. Feel for niggles and mentally smooth them out. Shake out your shoulders. Straighten your spine. Let your jaw slacken. Lastly, focus on your face: make sure you’re not holding on to any tension in your eye sockets or around your mouth.

  • The crucial part of all this, of course, is to breathe properly—and by that, I mean rhythmically, quietly and deeply. Fill your lungs without forcing anything. Think about how the phytoncide-filled oxygen is flowing around each part of you, lubricating the stiffness and worries away.

  • If you want a mantra, a phrase that you repeat to inspire well-being, choose one. It can be anything from the simple “breathe in and breathe out” to keep you focused on breathing, to some out-there earthy-crunchy line such as, “I am this forest, I am rooted to this earth, my ancestors are the sky above my head, my feet are on the ground and I am grateful.” Go for it. No one ever has to know what you say to inspire yourself. Go full-on Oprah if it helps.

  • Don’t allow yourself to be judged. Ignore onlookers. Do your thing because you’re doing a good thing. This is worth remembering in general, not just while getting your hippy on in a forest.

  And repeat—often if you can.

  Taking the trees home

  After a wonderfully deep immersion in a forest bath, you might want to try for a secondary sylvan-scented bath in your tub at home. A host of woody essential oils will bring the forest through your front door and into your bathroom. Root your relaxation by pouring yourself a warm, fragrant bath for a relaxing soak, burning oils in an infuser, or lighting a candle next to it while you unwind, flame flickering away, or by massaging the oil into your slightly damp skin (check how potent the oil is first; you may need to blend it with a body cream).

  Aromatherapy has never smelled so good—and bonus, many of the phytoncides that mingle in the forest find their way into the essential oil bottle, so it doesn’t just feel like the oils are doing you good, they really are. Essentially (geddit?), working with these woodland oils will give you similar advantages to taking some time out in nature, including reduced stress, raised concentration, improved mood and reduced insomnia. Get pouring and sniffing, and remember—the purer the oil the more powerful it is.

  Birch The antibacterial powerhouse

  Cedar wood The muscle relaxer

  Cypress The lung opener

  Fir needle The blood-pressure leveler

  Juniper The confidence booster

  Pine The immunity booster

  Sandalwood The spirit lifter

  Spruce The pain reliever

  White fir The stress reducer

  For a floral fix, if you need a quick lift, add a couple of drops of your favorite oil to a tissue and sniff. If you feel that a boost at work could be advantageous to you and your colleagues, add a few drops to a fine-mist spray bottle and fill with filtered water. Spray around you, your desk, your grumpy boss or competitive colleague for
an undisputable reboot.

  Deborah, 50

  “I grew up in the seventies. The outside was our video game, our social media, our mall, our everything. It was a pure and unselfconscious playground. Each season counted. Winters meant sledging and skating on ponds, and snow skies that foreshadowed what would be on the ground by morning. Spring was the blinding yellow bands of the forsythia hedges in our garden, my mother finding abandoned robins and feeding them with eye droppers of milk until they could be launched back into the wild. Summers meant tramping through local woods, pulling honeysuckle apart to suck out a tiny drop of nectar, feeling lucky if a ladybug landed on us. The trauma of bee stings, the annoyance of mosquitoes. Trying and sometimes succeeding at lighting fires with magnifying glasses. Raking leaves was the thing in autumn. The smells of every season: the smells that identified so much and that we were taught so casually in the language of our parents and grandparents.”

  Money does grow on trees

  The great outdoors is the great equalizer—free air and free fun await. We’re too hung up these days on thinking we need to book events, buy tickets and be seen. Rubbish. A number of times I’ve paid for some big thing for my children to experience only to find them having more fun with a friend in a puddle as they’re leaving the venue. Get out of the mind-set that paying means better and planning is necessary. Think back. I bet some of your best days have been spontaneous, haphazard, wild and free—in both senses of the word. Think outside the box (and by box, I mean building) when planning your next excursion and see how much healthier your bank account becomes.

  MINDFULNESS MINUTE

  Keep a sunrise or sunset journal by your bed. Choose which one according to your schedule and sleep cycle. Each morning or evening take 60 seconds to appreciate the beginning or end of the day by saying hello or goodbye to the sun, noting in your book how the sky looked and how you felt: good or bad, calm or anxious. Acknowledging your feelings and reflecting on them can help us to gain power over them, and linking them to something as powerful as the sun and the cycle of the day acts as a good reminder that we all get fresh starts every 24 hours and that this world is bigger than us.

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  Spring Cleaning

  Spring drew on… and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.

  Charlotte Brontë

  Ah, spring. The smell of green grass pervades your nostrils, dazzling sunlight sneaks through your blinds in the morning—at last!—for a natural wake-up call, while the dampness of dew cleans away the problems of the day before. Even as a child, in a narrow world focused on Jem dolls and glittery leg warmers, I remember the excitement spring brought with it. The air felt lighter and brighter, and we all—flora, fauna and human—got a boost from the longer days and warmer weather after the bleakness of winter. There were moments in my childhood when a bunch of daffodils felt like so much more than a handful of flowers. They were a peace offering, a mom-tamer, a cup of sunshine brightening a disrupted home, a gathering of gold crowns promising me a glowing future. Even now, as a more cynical and haggard fortysomething, spring brings optimism. Being out in nature to watch and connect with the sprouting, growing, blooming and blossoming of this season only exaggerates the positivity available to us.

  Why is spring so special?

  When a season is as green and grassy, fresh and fragrant, and fertile and fabulous as spring is, it’s only right that it should be celebrated and adored. After the spring equinox, the days get longer and the nights get shorter, which makes us feel that more is possible. The deep freeze of winter is over, but the dryness of summer is still in the distant future. Migrating birds return to trees in triumphant chirps—they have survived, and so have you. Baby animals are born and chicks hatch, new eyes blinking out into the world. There are new heads to be turned to see the trees as they once again sprout their leaves—their fruit—and the world turns green.

  On top of all this lush ’n’ leafy stuff, as if Mother Nature hasn’t already handed us enough to be happy about, there is the Memorial Day long weekend to enjoy. There are pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and good luck on St. Patrick’s Day, plus cute bunnies and fluffy ducklings—both chocolate and real—to coo over at Easter.

  It is also famously the time of year when we see out the old and bring in the new, physically, mentally and emotionally. Spring is the time of increased light and increased heat, two things that rev up our minds and bodies. The earth has come to life again, and you feel you can too. To harness the natural power of spring is to feel strong and full of potential, to feel the ability to grow and bloom from your head to your toes. How can you use this season’s wonderful ways to improve your life, happiness and relationship with the living world?

  Emerge from your cocoon

  Detoxing after colder weather, shorter days and the traditionally overindulgent nights of the festive season can take some work. Eggnog can leave you groggy, and perhaps that last sugar cookie was a step too far. It feels easier to slump onto the couch to binge-watch something than to step out, wide-eyed and blinking, into a brave, new world. You might feel sluggish and dull, but help is at hand from Mother Nature. Fling open your windows—house, car, office—and let the fresh air circulate. Pack away the hygge-home-helpers (cashmere socks, woolly blankets and fir-scented candles) that have hijacked your home since December and replace them with bowls of fresh fruit, vases of fragrant flowers and window boxes filled to brimming with bulbs. Each new day is a new beginning in spring, and forging strong connections with nature—something as simple as watching the bulbs burst and bloom from your kitchen window—will connect you to it and bring you great, simple, unadulterated pleasure.

  Spring awakening

  Researchers from Sussex University tested the brain activity of seventeen healthy subjects listening to a variety of natural and unnatural soundscapes. When asked about how the sounds affected them, the participants reported that the natural sounds led to relaxation and a feeling of positivity, whereas the unnatural sounds made them feel stressed. Brain scans taken just afterwards backed this up, with researchers noting how artificial sounds activated anxiety-related brain activity. So, introduce a spring chorus of birdsong through an open window into your morning routine and turn off the television news. It’ll give you a much calmer start to your day.

  Shake off your hibernation hangover

  The first thing you can do to shake off the previous season and get in step with the new one is to give your wardrobe a thorough edit. The weather may still be changeable and tempestuous, so don’t pack your warm things away, just move the heavy, dark stuff to a corner and let the rest of your closet flourish in a fiesta of spring shades. Treat yourself to a few new things if you can, just accents like scarves, necklaces or tights will do. Add apple green, cowslip yellow, crocus mauve and duck-egg blue. These light colors calm the soul and suit most skin tones, and they add a fresh edge to a winter uniform of blacks, dark blues and greys. Think about changing your perfume now too—experiment with floral scents where only the tiniest splash will sweeten your day.

  Fling, fix or find it a home

  The most rewarding part of spring cleaning your life is to take a close look at all the clutter taking up physical and mental space in your world and deciding what can go. Spend a day—preferably one full of thunder and lightning that even a nature lover can’t go out in—being honest with yourself about what you really need. As the Japanese organizing guru Marie Kondo suggests, if an item doesn’t bring you joy, hold sentimental value or have a real use, get it out of your way. This season is all about making room for the fun, fresh and fabulous. Who knows, you might need to make room in your basement for a kayak this summer, so take your old printer and the scooter your kids have grown out of to a charity shop now. Sort out the pile of papers and shred what you don’t need. Look at that pile of magazines and newspapers, and be honest with yourself about what you
’re really going to get around to reading and recycle the rest.

  Wide open spaces—in your bedroom, on your desk, in your glove compartment—help you to get a wide, open mind, ready to be filled with new adventures. Encourage loved ones to do the same, especially if you share a home with them. If it isn’t wanted, isn’t needed or can’t be fixed, get it out. This might sound like a bit of a chore, but once it’s done it’s done, and you’ll have room and time in your life for those things that will truly make you grow, connect to the world and increase your well-being. No one ever regretted a good spring cleaning.

  Gather together your thoughts and things

  Like a mother bird carefully weaving together all things strong, stable and beautiful to make a nest, you need to gather together the things you know will make your home more pleasurable this spring. I’m not talking just material items—I’m talking ideas, people, dreams and plans. Spring is the perfect time to sit down with a notepad and pen and think about what you want out and what you want in. Perhaps write a list of goals—five things you want to have achieved by summer, or five ways you want to feel better by next month. Perhaps you can write yourself a to-do list for your spring weekends (buying yourself fresh flowers every Friday, taking a walk every Saturday, visiting a new garden or country estate every Sunday).

  Making lists works. It focuses the brain on what is truly important. You can also try writing a list of things you want to stop doing/thinking/worrying about, as a reminder that life is short and that you really don’t need to check your social media every hour on the hour, or follow three soap operas, or do all your exercising indoors at the gym. Gather your dream life and ideal scenarios for spring on the page and watch them plant themselves in your reality.