IM-WALD-SEIN® works

I hear this question very often, and to answer it I always ask a counter question: When was the last time you were in the forest to simply be here and now in this forest? To let your lungs relax and breathe, to see, hear, smell, feel and taste? To not think, but to be?

Many of us often go into the forest and yet our thoughts are somewhere else entirely. Out of the doing, into the being! That is the difference and at the same time the biggest challenge. The difference lies in the way you walk through the forest. Do you simply walk from A to B with your thoughts on yesterday or tomorrow or are you present in the here and now?

In Shinrin Yoku, we put our senses on reception and consciously perceive the nature around us. If performed with intent and belief, we can effectively reduce our stress, improve our mood and clear our minds from the incessant chatter of thoughts. Shinrin Yoku is not necessarily about doing something new, but about doing something familiar in a new way.

Yes. Take a conscious break from everyday life to refresh your body, mind and soul. You don't have to jog, hike or tick off tasks, you can simply appreciate the experience and be yourself. The key is to st out and fill the little word “being” with life.

Being in the forest is not about using the forest as a mere backdrop for other activities. It is also not about someone telling us what to do. If that is the case, we might as well just stay at home.

If we succeed in taking a relaxing break in the forest, the rewards are plentiful: we are happy and have revitalized our body, mind and soul. Every single cell in our body will thank us.

The integrative medicine specialist Prof. Dr. Byeongsang Oh from the Sydney Medical School identified six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as being particularly informative. His conclusion: forest therapy plays an important role in health promotion.

The studies examined, with a total of 323 subjects from China, Korea and Sweden, were able to demonstrate transferable positive effects of stays in forests on the health and well-being of the participants.

On a physiological level, there was a positive effect on blood pressure, the immune system, certain inflammation levels, oxidative stress, cardiopulmonary function and stress hormones. On a psychological level, anxiety and depression improved. The mood profile of the study participants benefited enormously.

Research shows that Shinrin Yoku is particularly helpful for diabetics. Prof. Dr. Yoshinori Ohtsuka researched the effects of Shinrin Yoku on type 2 diabetics by examining the blood sugar levels of 48 participants. The experiment lasted for six years, during which Shinrin Yoku was practiced nine times.

Depending on their physical abilities and health conditions, some of the subjects walked 5,000 steps in 30 minutes in the forest, while others walked 10,000 steps in 60 minutes. Both measures helped to significantly reduce the elevated blood sugar levels and reduce them to the threshold for a diabetes diagnosis. 

Shinrin Yoku has also been shown to be effective in combating high blood pressure. A recent systematic review analysed 20 studies with 732 participants to investigate the preventive or therapeutic effects that spending time in forests had on blood pressure. The research showed that Shinrin Yoku leads to a significant reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.