Forest bathing?
Yep. Forest bathing. It’s not that you shower with leaves (although it’s an option), but it’s a Japanese practice. It merely means that you go among the trees. Trees and other forms of nature have a positive influence on people. They bring peace and rest, and stress levels go down rapidly when among trees.
I love going into the forest and lucky me, I have a small one right across the street. Forests are good. They provide air, shade, good smells (usually) and… you can bathe in them. Quoting from the site I linked to up there:
Forest bathing—basically just being in the presence of trees—became part of a national public health program in Japan in 1982 when the forestry ministry coined the phrase shinrin-yoku and promoted topiary as therapy.
The entire article is quite a read but worth the while, I think. It tells you so much about trees and being in a forest. There’s no need to walk, run or do anything. Leave your Fitbit at home, there’s no race, no record to break. The only thing you should break there is the tidal wave of stress and other impressions that life throws at you.
The article doesn’t mention nudity so if you’re looking for nekkid people you’re out of luck, but if you’re there and you have the opportunity… take off your stuff and enjoy the forest in the most natural way. Naked.