The concept of Shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing” took hold in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Also referred to as forest therapy, Shinrin-yoku means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or simply “being with trees”.

Since the appreciation of nature has long been a national pastime in Japan, the Japanese didn’t need to be persuaded that “forest bathing” was a good idea. In a 2009 study of the physiological and psychological effects of forest bathing, Qing Li, a professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, measured the activity of human natural killer (NK) cells in the immune system of his subjects before and after exposure to the woods. NK cells provide rapid responses to viral-infected cells and tumor formation, and are associated with immune system health and cancer prevention. Following weekend forest visits, Li’s subjects showed significant increases in NK cell activity during the week after a forest visit, with positive effects lasting a month. These results are due to various essential oils, generally called phytoncide, which trees emit to protect themselves from germs and insects. Forest air doesn’t just feel fresher and healthier—inhaling phytoncide actually seems to improve immune system function!

Contributed by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& frequent “forest bather”)

Based on an article by Ephrat Livini

“I get up on a glorious summer morning and gaze out at the new day. With all the strongest and deepest instincts of my nature I long to go out into the green beauty of the world, to fling myself down in some sloping meadow and feel the sunshine envelop me and the warm winds pass over me, to see them tossing the grasses and tugging at the trees and driving the white clouds across the blue, and to feel the great earth revolving under me — for if you lie long enough you can really get the sense of sailing through space.”

~Elisabeth Woodbridge Morris, “On Taking One’s Dessert First” (American author and professor; 1870 – 1964)

This summer, I hope you are finding some time each day to step outside and savor the moments with childlike wonder! We can help with the setting . . . .

This was our view the other evening after a delightful summer rain shower. I don’t know if I have ever seen such a clear and expansive rainbow, certainly not over our home!

What a generous blessing to be able to experience fleeting and beautiful gifts like these, just outside our door!

Gratefully shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& garden beauty beneficiary)

“There on the hills of summer let me lie
On the cool grass in friendship with the sky.
Let me lie there in love with earth and sun,
And wonder up at the light-foot winds that run,
Stirring the delicate edges of the trees,
And shaking down a music of the seas.”
~Edwin Markham, “At Friends with Life” (American poet, poet laureate of Oregon; 1852 – 1940)

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means waste of time.”

~John Lubbock (English banker, politician, and biologist; 1834 – 1913)

Can we help you create a special place of rest for your body, mind, and spirit in summer and every other season of the year? It would be our joy to turn your back yard into a garden retreat. Let’s get started! Call us at 717-653-1273.

Shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& advocate of summer idleness)