A Saturday morning spent forest bathing at Kew Gardens in an attempt to find calm...
“MEET BY THE WATERLILY POND, BRING WARM CLOTHES.” For those unfamiliar with the term forest bathing, you would be forgiven for thinking it might involve taking a refreshing dip in one of Kew Garden’s water features.
For the sixteen of us who have gathered by the pond early on Saturday morning, there was however no movement towards the water. Rather, the only plunge we were about to take was to spend the next three hours immersed in the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, translated as ‘forest bathing’.
We are a diverse bunch of curious, and if I were to hazard a guess, fairly stressed, Londoners. Among us are a young couple, a mother and daughter pair, a regular Kew visitor whose interest was piqued by a Facebook post, and a returning participant who has been forest bathing weekly in a local park ever since her first session a year ago.
As we turn off the main pathway and form our first circle under the shade of a tree, Rosanna and Indra, guides trained by the Forest Bathing Institute, introduce the science behind what might initially be dismissed as another ‘mindfulness’ trend.
Rosanna highlights a study by Professor Qing Li, Clinical Professor at the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, and President of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine. Qing Li was approached by the Japanese Government in 2004 to research the health benefits of nature.
Qing Li’s research explores the physiological and mental health benefits of spending time under the canopy of trees. It reveals that phytoncides – the compounds emitted by trees to ward off pests and disease - contribute up to 50 per cent of these health-giving benefits.
As for the other 50 per cent of the benefits of forest bathing, Rosanna reassures us that they will result from the variety of practices we will try, focusing on each of our senses. We’re encouraged to follow her silently and slowly as she wanders further into the wooded area.
For those of us accustomed to the London commuter rush, the slow pace is almost challenging. As we walk, Rosanna asks us gently to notice ourselves in relation to the natural environment; to be aware of how we’re moving beneath the magnificent trees of Kew, to lower our gaze to the trunk of a tree and let it rise to follow fractal patterns we find in the branches.
Research has shown that viewing fractal patterns – patterns repeated at different levels which are commonly found in nature – has a relaxing effect. The group certainly seems more relaxed already; any lingering self-conscious awkwardness is evaporating rapidly. Nobody seems to have inhibitions about cupping their hands to their ears, making “deer’s ears”, to amplify the birdsong, the wind rustling through the leaves, the forest floor underfoot. The immediate calming effect of the sounds surprises me. I feel as if I have just put my mind on airplane mode.
After an hour or so all scepticism seems to have vanished, and as we are encouraged to explore our sense of touch, the group disperses to befriend the trees.
As I sit on the ground taking a moment in the shade, out of the corner of my eyes I see one of the participants tentatively approach a tree, before wrapping her arms around it.
Another participant lies down at the foot of an oak and evidently reaches a level of rest so deep that they have to be gently pulled out of it when it’s time to move on.
Passing a twig between us, Rosanna invites us to share our thoughts about what we notice; the vibrancy of the colours of the trees, the striking pattern of the monkey tree bark, and as one participant finds, the need for a hay fever tablet. We sniff the flowers in bloom around us and smell handfuls of soil. Research shows that contact with soil bacteria triggers the release of serotonin in our brain.
As the session draws to its end, we lie on the ground, letting each part of our body relax and looking up at the dappled light filtering through the leaves above us. I recall that the Japanese have a word for this too, Komorebi. It’s hardly surprising, given that 67 per cent of Japan is still covered by forest, compared to the UK’s measly 13 per cent.
Finally, as if Rosanna is reminded by my rumbling stomach that there’s a sense we haven’t explored yet, she produces a flask of herbal tea for us. In what I find an endearing British touch to the Japanese practice, she encourages us to go about making our cups of tea mindfully at work, perhaps observing the texture of the mug, listening to the steam of the kettle, and savouring the taste of our morning cuppa.
Indeed, her hope is that participants go away and implement what they have discovered in the session in their daily lives. As the group share one final time, it seems that her hopes are well founded. Participants describe how they feel recharged and reset, and how they enjoyed spending time fully immersed in the nature of Kew, an oasis in the buzzing Capital.
I for one certainly feel like I’ve just woken up from an incredible power nap, despite having been awake and in the sunshine all morning. I also feel as if I have just exercised, despite having moved very slowly and having spent a lot of time lying down. I also feel socially recharged from my time with the group, despite not knowing anyone by name.
As we emerge from under the trees to baffled looks from those enjoying their Saturday afternoon at Kew, Rosanna and Indra talk about the increasing popularity of forest bathing since lockdown, and its mental health benefits. Sessions are continuing at Kew Gardens over the next few weeks, and one colleague has recently led forest bathing for students and staff at Royal Holloway University, London. They are hopeful and optimistic that forest bathing will continue to spread into the mainstream.
It is as if we are finally rousing ourselves from a deep slumber and waking up to the restorative effects to be found in the nature which has always been around us.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m off to a hug a tree.
I was a guest of the Forest Bathing Institute and Kew Gardens, who are running sessions in partnership over the coming months, as part of a wider Wellbeing at Kew initiative.