Author: Evelyn John Holtzhausen

I think we should all spend time in a forest. Especially when the world crowds in on us and the pressure of living in our fast-paced achievement driven world becomes too hard to bear.
In fact, we could all benefit from a session of Shinrin Yoku, (Forest Bathing) the Japanese inspired stress cure that is firing the imaginations of people globally.
And while living in the trees is taking the concept to an extreme, this is exactly what an octogenarian from India did after what was described in reports as a “tiff” with his wife.

In answer to questions people always ask, I am happy to confirm that you do keep your clothes on during a Shinrin Yoku ( Forest Bathing) experience.

And, fully clothed, you will emerge from the practice divested for a while of the anxieties, stresses and pressures of daily life as you absorb the benefits gained from slowing down, breathing fresh air

Forest bathing shouldn’t, despite its name, actually involve getting wet. But while the weather in Japan, where the practice originated, is more reliably warm, the same can’t be said for Britain. At least not in early spring. ‘I’ve never done this in the rain before’, says David Read, my guide. A crash course in forest bathing follows. So is it a gimmick, a fancy name for taking a walk in the woods? Or is Shinrin-Yoku, as it’s known in Japanese, worthy of all the fuss?