Shinrin-Yoku: The Art of Forest Bathing
Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, naturopathic doctor takes you for a walk on one of Toronto's natural inner-city hiking trails and explains the benefits of getting outside into nature to decrease stress and improve immunity, hormonal health and mental health.
Hello, everybody, my name is Dr. Talia Marcheggiani
and I'm recording to you guys from the Humber River in Toronto. It's December 24th, so it's Christmas Eve
Day and I'm just walking my dog, Coco, and I just wanted to make a quick video to talk
to you guys about the benefits of something called Forest Bathing. So, Forest Bathing is a concept that originated
in Japan. In Japanese it's called, and I'm going to
butcher this pronunciation: “Shinrin-yoku”. And this is a practice to relieve stress,
which is taken on by the Japanese and is also something that's gaining more recognition
in Western society as well. One of the theories of the prevalence of chronic
stress and symptoms like adrenal fatigue and the hormone dysregulation that comes with
that and the mental health issues that come with that is our disconnection from nature. And, so, taking some time—and I recognize
sometimes just starting with an hour a week, but optimally three hours a week, of time
where you're just slowly exploring nature and walking in a natural setting such as this. And this is just near Old Mill station in
Toronto, and there's many places like this if you look at Discovery Walks Toronto online
you could find tons of really cool places to explore that are a TTC ride away. And, so, being in a natural setting decreases
the stress hormone cortisol as well as increases our ability to get some physical activity. The reason I'm recording it now in December
is because a lot of my patients will tell me that they're really active in the summer
months, but when it comes to winter, or when winter months set in, they tend to stay indoors. And the temperature regulation that comes
with getting outside, put on a toque, put on a park and some water-proof boots—these
are not the best—put on some water-proof boots, a toque, parka, some mittens, and get
outside. It helps our body deal with the cold, the
decrease in temperature and it can increase our thyroid and our immune system. So, actually getting outside, even when you
don't really want and your intuition is telling you to stay indoors, is actually a good idea
for your immune system. And the stress that comes with the holiday
season and this time of year, getting outside becomes more important than ever. So being in a natural setting, in the trees,
increases the amount of negative ions that you're surrounded by, and so when we're surrounded
by technology or are in indoors, stressful environments, there are more positive ions. Being outside increases your serotonin and
oxytocin levels. So, those are your feel-good hormones and
it decreases your cortisol. So I just wanted to say hi to everybody and
to maybe inspire some of you go for a walk, either today or Christmas Day, and get some
Shrinrin-yoku, some much-needed forest bathing. Having a dog obviously helps. “Coco, Coco, Hey! Look!” Having a dog obviously helps because you're
forced to get outside but even just taking yourself, your kids, your family out, is a
great thing to do. Get some snowshoes on, some cross-country
skiis, or just some water-proof boots and head out onto the trails. Happy Holidays. My name is Dr. Talia Marcheggiani and I hope
to see you guys outside.
#ShinrinYoku #Art #Forest #Bathing
source
https://youtu.be/FKVSaK-gjHs
How often do you forest bathe?