Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese name of what we're actually doing and it translates to immersing yourself or as we understand it,
Bathing in the forest.
It was developed in the 1980s as a pushback against the high-tech lifestyles prevalent in Japan and now it's been expanded throughout the world.
So let's begin.
All right,
So I hope you're sitting comfortably.
I'm walking along a trail with the sun warming the left-hand side of my face.
I can just feel a breeze starting to pick up.
I really need to be conscious of slowing down my pace so that I can take in and notice every detail of the path around me.
Through my feet I can feel the unevenness of the path which is stony and gravel and I can feel the unevenness through the soles of my shoes.
I'm aware of bird calls to my right,
Loud cockatoos screeching and on my left I can hear small birds in amongst the bushes.
The sun shines on the grasses,
On the seed heads of the grasses beside the trail and lights up the details.
I'm unaware of a temperature on my skin.
It's neither cold nor warm,
Just a very comfortable temperature that I'm experiencing.
A breeze lifts slightly and I can feel the sensation of the cooler air rustling against my arms.
All the while the constant screeching of the cockatoos in the background.
I pause to notice the first glimpses of the lake,
The water,
Just off in the distance and I look down and see the colours of more grass heads by the side of the trail.
To my right the early morning sun lights up the hillside which is covered in ferns and above that a line of trees and blue sky beyond.
I take in the peaceful surroundings,
Noticing the very slight breeze disturbing the surface of the water of the lake in front of me and we continue.
I notice a slight increase in temperature.
I feel the warmth of the sun on my face and now beside the path is a different kind of fern.
I'd slow down and take the opportunity to really focus on the shape of the leaves and the sun glistening through.
I hear a new bird call.
I don't try to identify the bird,
I simply listen to the call.
I just notice a dragonfly lands on a stalk in front of me and a third bird call becomes prominent.
I stop to listen.
And as I do,
A duck lands on the water.
I become aware of another person walking along the path behind me and step aside to allow him to pass.
A butterfly lands on the ferns to the side of the path.
We move on.
We arrive at a fork in the road and just in life it's time to make a decision.
I choose left.
I pause to look at the glistening sunshine on the water and inspect the shape of the ferns,
The new fronds unfurling.
I'm aware of other people on the path beside me and I pause to take in the shape and the colour of this flower and another beside it.
I touch the flower.
It feels like a pom-pom.
It's soft.
I hear the sound of insects.
As my feet travel along the path,
I've noticed a change in the texture.
No longer stones and gravel,
Now sand and another bird call.
I pause to look at this trunk of a gum tree,
A eucalyptus tree,
And feel its texture,
Smooth and cool.
Another beautiful eucalyptus tree,
A different colour this time,
A grey.
And once we are behind it,
We have the tree between us and the sun,
We feel instant cool.
I stop to observe the sun shining through the foliage.
The path changes once again and tree roots become prominent.
As my focus is placed on my feet and where I place them,
We find ourselves really inspecting the path.
We find a place where we can come close to the water's edge and feel the full sun on our face,
The warmth.
I close my eyes to enjoy and feel the sun on my eyes,
On my forehead,
And still sense the rippling,
The sun on the ripples of the water,
Changes the shadows behind my eyelids.
I rejoin the path and continue.
I pause to observe some delicate,
Tiny little flowers by the side of the track and listen again to the chorus of the magpies.
Once again we reach the water's edge and I stop to look at the shape of this branch hanging over the water and once again the sun shining through the leaves.
The path takes a turn slightly uphill,
Slightly away from the water's edge.
I pause to look at the shape of the leaves and contrast it with the almost statuesque shape of the second plant.
I feel it brush against my skin as I pass.
Another flower,
This time white,
With the most delicate of foliage,
Contrasting against another plant which is almost blue in colour by comparison.
I pause to delight in the colour of this native red flower.
I become aware of another aeroplane flying overhead.
We won't let it disturb us as we continue on our walk by the side of this beautiful lake.
I stop to look at the colour of the water,
So clear,
Yet almost tea-coloured as a result of the gum leaves,
The eucalyptus leaves that fall into the water.
Our path continues along the edge of the water.
A young tree reaches out over the water's edge.
A tiny beach,
Rocks with plants growing on them in an impossible situation.
I wonder at their survival.
The lines,
The colour,
The shape,
Almost architectural.
I hear a kookaburra.
I stop to listen.
I'm aware of more people on the trail.
I stop to feel the texture of the bark.
This is not soft,
This is wiry.
I move out of the other person's way.
I was greeted by a four-footed furry fellow.
The ducks float peacefully on the water.
I become aware of the lapping of the water against the shoreline.
A breeze is picked up,
I can feel it against my arm.
Cool.
We arrive at another point on the water's edge,
One that offers an expansive view across the lake to the opposite shore.
And despite the wind disturbing the surface of the water,
We still can see the beauty in the reflections.
A family of ducks in the distance,
And we continue.
Two trees alongside each other,
Both with completely different bark.
The first,
Malleable but wiry.
The second,
Harder,
Crunchy,
And an insect reveals itself from behind the bark.
There.
The call of the black cockatoo emerges once more,
And once again the wind picks up slightly.
The temperature has dropped a little away from the sun,
In the shade of the trees,
And with the breeze having picked up,
It's noticeably cooler.
We descend some steps to this little beach.
We reach a point where the path ends.
I hear a small bird in amongst the branches of this bush.
I see its movements.
Too quick to,
Too quick to identify.
A train disturbs our tranquility,
But it's moving past us.
It will be gone soon.
A butterfly appears to have landed on the surface of the water.
It's having a drink,
I assume.
It lingers.
We retrace our steps,
Knowing that reversing our direction offers a different point of view.
I take in another of these beautiful red flowers.
Now facing in the direction of the sun,
We become more aware of the shadows of the trees across the path.
I stop to listen to one of these birds in the forest.
I don't try to identify it,
I just listen to its call.
I notice the shape of trees,
Older trees,
Trees that reach out in different directions.
I hear my feet crunching on the gravel,
And once again we return to the water's edge to see the sun's rays and the glistening on the surface of the water.
Thank you for joining this forest bathing tour.
I hope you found it restful and rejuvenating,
And I hope that you can join another of my forest bathing tours very soon.
Bye for now.
