Getting High on a plant.  No smoking or Eating Required

November 9th 2018 | Jules Heartly

“Are you high? “ or  “Did you lose your mind?”,  a friend asked me the other day when I suddenly stopped our walk, just  to  hug a tree.  We had gone for a walk at  a nearby park to admire the beautiful colors of the Autumn.  The day was sunny, the temperature was right, and the leaves had those fall colors that photographers don’t get tired of.   After the first half an hour of our walk, I eyed a leafy tree, I sped walked to it and then I embraced it for a whole minute and then for a bit more.   The longer I stayed in the embrace the better I felt.

First, a feeling of peace took over my body.  Then, I felt like one with the tree as if I could feel its branches reaching out to the sky.  After a minute, my spirit was up and I felt joyful. The overall feeling is hard to put into words. My friend remarks were understandable.  Perhaps my body even perspired that awesome feeling I was experiencing.  I probably looked as If I was high!

What my friend did not know was that I had recently read about Forest Bathing, a Japanese practice proven to reduce stress hormone production, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of well-being.  According to the article and to studies made on Forest bathing, No hiking is required.  No measure of calories burning of counting steps on a Fitbit.  Just meandering through the woods aimlessly would do.  Letting your gaze be drawn wherever it wants to land.

Lean on a tree or sit by it.  By doing so, you can start to relax and experience the benefits of Forest bathing. Indeed, research shows that trees do have healing powers.    For one thing, they release antimicrobial essential oils, called phytoncides, that protect trees from germs and have a host of health benefits for people. The oils boost mood and immune system function; reduce blood pressure, heart rate, stress, anxiety, and confusion; improve sleep and creativity; and may even help with depression.

 So, having read all this, I was out to experience it for myself, I just had not mentioned this to my companion, whom in his perplexity decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and give the “tree hugging” exercise a try.

“Go ahead, I said, although the hugging was probably just a personal practice I came up with after reading part of the book Forest Bathing by Qing Li, Chairman of the Japanese society for Forest Medicine.  (https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Bathing-Trees-Health-Happiness/dp/052555985X)

In the book, #Forestbathing is described as “Taking the forest with our senses… simply being in nature, connecting with it with ours sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.”.

 Since it isn’t often that we get to walk in a forest park, but it is with frequency that we do find trees, we could regularly take advantage of our sense of touch, and experience the soothing feeling of hugging a tree. And who knows, when practicing it on numerous occasions we could start feeling the lasting health benefits of this therapy.

Scientists studying forest bathing focus on the compounds trees emit. They reason that if swallowing certain plants can have medicinal effects—aspirin, for example, is derived from a substance in willow bark—breathing in the compounds may similarly be therapeutic.  So when you find yourself hugging a tree- if you decide to do so- , breath in slowly and let the air out even at a slower pace.  Let all of your senses experience that feeling and let me know if you can describe it with mere words.  When my friend did it, the words that came out were : “I am high!”  “High on a tree!”

So go ahead, embrace a tree. Make this practice a part of your life. And if you could, let me know how it feels. I bet is Awesome!

 

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