Cleansing Through Forest Bathing and Chocolate

Actress Mariel Hemingway walked barefoot through the red rocks of Sedona on a brisk March morning before joining directors, producers and writers in a news conference without her shoes. The event was designed to promote and explain the film, “Down to Earth: The Remarkable Science of Grounding.”

Grounding or “Earthing” means connecting one’s body to the earth to restore electromagnetic balance. Scientists, doctors and researchers in the film say this act restores and maintains optimal health. Earthing proponents say grounding increases circulation, which carries away waste and results in more energy.

But you might say, “It’s winter and I am not taking off my shoes!”

And I might say, “Fair enough.” Because, whether barefoot or not, there’s a mountain of evidence that suggests just plain being outdoors is good for us.

According to Time magazine, the Forest Agency of Japan recommended in the early 1980s that people stroll in the woods for better health. The practice was called forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku.

Time reporter Alexandra Sifferlin wrote, “In one early study, Yoshifumi Miyazaki, a forest-therapy expert and researcher at Chiba University in Japan, found that people who spent 40 minutes walking in a cedar forest had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is involved in blood pressure and immune-system function, compared with when they spent 40 minutes walking in a lab. ‘I was surprised,’ Miyazaki said. ‘Spending time in the forest induces a state of physiologic relaxation.’”’

Another study suggests a 120-minute dose of nature can make us feel healthier and have a stronger sense of well-being. In Yale Environment 360, a newsletter produced at the Yale School of the Environment, Jim Robbins authored an article called “Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health.” He wrote, “A study of 20,000 people, led by Mathew White of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter, found that people who spend two hours a week in green spaces – local parks or other natural environments, either all at once or spaced over several visits – were substantially more likely to report good health and psychological well-being than those who don’t.”

Other studies have shown even looking out a window at nature or viewing pictures of natural settings, reduces anger, fear, tension, high blood pressure and the production of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. At the same time, connecting with nature also is credited with the increase of pleasant feelings.

Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery is a Northern Arizona experiential therapy program for young men with addictions. “The healing ability of nature we use in our program is based on experience and research,” said founder Roy DuPrez. “We invite our clients into the environment that’s bigger than they are. We’re introducing them to the outdoors and wilderness as often and organically as we can; organically, meaning we aren’t forcing an agenda, just exposing them to the outdoors. What transpires internally in these individuals is often an epiphany of awareness about themselves and others. Among the benefits, they gain peace, confidence and a sense of self in the world.”

In the high country, we are so fortunate to live close to nature with hiking trails and outdoor recreational opportunities readily available all around us. For Valentine’s Day, consider forest bathing as a gift to yourself and your loved ones. And to further elevate that mood boost and toxic hormone cleanse, no one says you can’t bring jewelry and dark chocolate along. I’m just sayin’. FBN

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Bonnie Stevens is a public relations consultant. She can be reached at bonnie.stevens@gmail.com.