Forest Bathing

Hey loves,

I wanted to chat all things outdoors today. I heard a wild fact recently about the amount of sunlight children get vs adults and I just cannot remember where I read it. It was a post about suncream. I wasn’t sure if the post alluding to the fact that as adults we just don’t get outside enough but I did some further research into children getting outdoors instead. There’s been some studies to show that children now are getting outside less than they were ‘back in the day.’ And let’s be honest, we can only imagine that’s the case.

One of the reasons I got an allotment was to give us a space to get outside in, a space to get in the soil and be at one with the magic that is mother nature. Is it as magical as it sounds when we are there? To be honest in general yes it is. I also got it to spend time there for my own mental health and so I could really tune into our cyclical planet. Again, sounds like something off the back of a brochure for ‘why to get an allotment’ but honestly, it’s really helped. But this isn’t a letter about getting an allotment plot…

I am writing this letter on the evening of the full moon. Tuning into the moon is one, easy, magical way to start working a little closer with mother nature. There are many apps out there to help you with this and I try to keep you updated as much as possible in your Friday’s letter.

There are LOADS of studies out there on all things getting outside. We all know the many benefits- this post lists some great ones including: the outdoors makes us better people, “according to psychologists, exposure to nature helps us shrug off societal pressures, allowing us to remember and value more important things like relationships, sharing, and community.”

Sounds perfect.

Last Friday, I challenged myself to get out into nature on a level I hadn’t before. I have been thinking about taking myself, on my own, to a secluded area and meditating for some time but I hadn’t plucked up the courage to do it.

I stood in the kitchen and announced to Ali during the girls’ naptime that I was off to meditate. “Ok great” he goes.

“But I am going to the woods with my yoga mat to do it.”

Ali: “What? Really?”

Me: “Do you think the neighbours will notice me with the yoga mat wandering to the woods?”

Ali: “Probably.”

So I found the woods I know to be super quiet as it is on a footpath off a private track. I wandered into the woods for a bit and found an area that looked comfier. Once I unrolled the mat I could hear all the trees and began wondering if anyone would see me in the woods on my mat… meditating. After a while, my heart slowed and I tuned into the noises which of course were just the trees. I sat for a while and realised how magical it really is to be rooted to the ground with the roots of the trees, with no distractions and just the voices of nature. The birds, the leaves and the moving branches.

I lay down and stretched my body- tuning into where I actually needed to stretch rather than following a video (something I have been working on recently) and then I sat and just took time to slow my breathing and slow my thoughts.

The light between the trees touched my face and the wind felt calming on my skin. For the first time, perhaps ever, I sat with nature in ways I hadn’t before. If I am outside, I am going somewhere, busy gardening, walking, with children or my husband. If I ever have time to just sit, it’s with a book or knitting.

The 30 minutes I sat for was plenty and when forest bathing they advise to build the time up. I can see why this is the case.

At the end of my session in the woods, I stood up and wandered back to the lake where swans were with their babies. I stood and watched them for a while. I realised how important this time was for me to be the best version of myself. Learning to move away from self-destructive thoughts over such self-care as being ‘selfish’ is incredibly important and one I am still working on.

To finish my afternoon of outdoor love I genuinely hugged a tree. I held onto it tightly and listened in. I stood imagining the roots grounding to the earth and me- also being grounded to the earth.

Such things sound wild and though I have never considered them to be a little ‘out there’ I just have never done them properly. I think we can all snort at such ideas but in reality, in the world we live in today that is so fast paced, destroying the land as we know it and filled with such extreme views that don’t seem to align. I think such ideas aren’t so crazy. For, without the trees, the earth, the wind, the sun, the moon, water and wildlife…we would have nothing. Taking time to actually tune in to the wonders around us and disconnecting from technology more often is only going to have a huge impact on our lives. If we do it, others will follow suit and if we can have a world with even more wonderful, grounded people who aren’t keyboard warriors around issues they know very little about then that’s a win in my book. We really need to be modelling getting outside more I reckon.

Showing love to mother nature is incredibly important.

Forest bathing is nothing new. It’s a Japanese practice for relaxation; know in Japan as shinrin-yoku.

Find a place you can calmly lie-down in safely
Place your hands together in prayer position where feels comfortable and start to breath with consciousness
Using deeper breaths become aware of the trees, maybe even their spirits.
Feel the ground supporting you underneath and the roots helping you feel grounded
Continue to breath in nature’s energy. You could place your hand on your stomach and the other on your heart while you breath
“I am connected to nature” -consider this affirmation while you lie centred.
When you feel ready, let go of the affirmations and start to move in order to finish your bathing

I thought I would share this while we are in the warmth of the summer.

Did I feel the benefit? Well, of course there is the placebo effect of- ‘oh my gosh babe you were like- so in tune with nature and so zen’ but then the whole idea is placebo, no? I genuinely felt calmer. I had actually just had a really important call that had created such anxiety beforehand and sheer relief but teamed with so many questions after that it would have taken a lot for me to calm. Which is why I chose that moment. A real test. I couldn’t believe how level-headed I felt when I returned.

So I challenge you- if you fancy it. Find somewhere. On your own. With a cushion/mat/nothing at all. It could be a quiet area of a park in London, a woodland, a beach, a playing field. Wherever it may be. I challenge you to sit, crossed legged, or lying down, eyes closed and to take at least 10 minutes to breathe in the world around you.

Much love

Naomi x