She imagined them sinking into cool, tobacco-colored water in the bend of a
river where fiddlehead ferns grew thick and green and moonlight shimmered in
rays through a canopy of trees.
“I want to go to your swimming hole.”
“We will.”
“In the moonlight,” she said.
The Witness
__________________________
By Jim Champion, CC BY-SA 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9305393
how forest bathing can make us feel better
The Japanese have known for years that spending mindful time
in the woods is beneficial for body and soul. Now western doctors – and royals
– agree
Every day, apart from when it’s raining heavily, Dr Qing Li
heads to a leafy park near the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo where he works.
It’s not just a pleasant place to eat his lunch; he believes the time spent
under the trees’ canopy is a critical factor in the fight against diseases, of
the mind and body.
Once a month Li spends three days in forests near Tokyo,
using all five senses to connect with the environment and clear his mind. This
practice of shinrin-yoku – literally, forest bath – has the power to counter
illnesses including cancer, strokes, gastric ulcers, depression, anxiety and
stress, he says.