Dive into forest bathing

Shinrin-yoku – or forest bathing – is a mindfulness practice that emerged in Japan in the 1980s, but which science now says is good for body, mind and soul.

- CHERYL RICKMAN

It does my head and heart good to be with trees. Whenever I walk in woodland I feel at home; my heart expands, my mind lights up and my whole body relaxes. Trees are my temple, and the forest is my church. These gentle, generous giants have been way more fruitful than merely providing the fruit, nuts, berries and sap we harvest from them.

From apples and pears to actual stairs, in patiently feeding, fuelling, medicating, housing and supporting us, trees have helped shape our species, illuminating the way forward, enabling us to climb the heady heights of progress. Trees help heal our bodies with the remedies that come from their roots, bark, leaves and essential oils, and can help heal our minds with the calming and uplifting effects that come from spending time in their presence.

Trees as medicine

Seventy per cent of cancer-fighting plants reside only in rainforests and 25 per cent of all the medicines we use today come from the mere 1 per cent of rainforest plant species that have been tested for their medicinal properties. Willow bark gives us aspirin, cacao trees provide theophylline for asthma drugs, bark from the Pacific yew helps treat cancer, pine needles can be used as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, essential oils from trees can be used to soothe various ailments, and tree shade can help lower the risk of skin cancer.

Heart health