Forest Bathing
The term “Forest Bathing” emerged from Japan in the 1980’s and refers to therapeutic relaxation in a woodland setting. The term in Japanese is “Shinrin-yoku” – literally “forest bath”. The benefits of spending time among the trees to reduce stress and enhance our well-being have been known to us intuitively for generations – and are now widely accepted by the scientific and medical communities.
Conveniently, the term “bathing” can also be used to reflect our experience at different depths – different visual levels – of the forest. The metaphor of bathing enables these different visual levels and the subjects within them to be described in “bathing” language:
· Paddling: in the shallows, the woodland floor
· Wading: between our head and our knees, the mid-level
· Immersion: into the deep, under the canopy
Through a series of photographs, the aim is to illustrate some of the subjects and experiences available to us during a “forest bath” – from the woodland floor up to the tree canopy and in between.
All of the images in this ongoing collection are from in local woodlands, less than 5 miles from home, in the New Forest, UK.