Column: A Natural cleanse
Shinrin-yoku. Translated, it literally means “forest bath.”
Since the 1980s, the Japanese have used forest bathing as a remedy for technology burnout and to promote forest preservation. This is no bath in the woods. You are fully clothed. Simply spend time with the trees and emerge cleansed.
Scientists study the mechanisms, the physiological effects, to try to codify the transference to psychological well-being of time spent in the forest.
Trees emit chemical compounds called phytoncides into the air. Breathing them reduces various human stress responses.
But after our year of pandemic trauma, do you need scientific proof of the healing rejuvenation of your walk in the woods?
The COVID year was an affront to our humanity, to our very nature, especially society’s workarounds. Connected, yet isolated. Antisocial digital trends deepened. The latest Zoom call. Social media echo chambers and halls of mirrors.
Yet a simultaneous year of reflection on individual priorities emerged for many of us with the same analog solution: Time in nature as our foundation.
In the forest you can unmute. Tweets are replaced with actual auditory tweets. Awareness. Patterns. Senses. Spring cleaning. Close your eyes. Smell. Listen. Discover. Rediscover.
This is the way yoku leads to shinrin, a remedy to its preservation. We protect the forests when we value them. And we value that which restores and heals us, an antioxidant to the corrosion of our own creations.
On Shelter Island, preserving a walk in the forest is an existing community priority. We have the treasure that is Mashomack Preserve. The Town and the Shelter Island Trail Club have developed so many sites in recent years (check the Town website: shelterislandtown.us/maps-and-trails). Sylvester Manor has promoted foot traffic with its own trails — www.sylvestermanor.org/map
Value these forest resources with your volunteer hours or financial support. Demand more through your usage and recommendation to others. Consider it a contribution to the Island’s health savings account, which is also your own.
