Chicago Botanic Garden Fall 2019

Forest bathing opens up the joy of slowing down tened to birdsong and we tiptoed around black mud. It’s amazing how much more you no- tice when you slow down, I thought. Peterson summoned us with a Tibetan singing bowl to the Council Ring, where she led us in a short meditation. She asked us to close our eyes, take several deep breaths, and listen for sounds far and near. We opened our mouths, tasted the air. She asked us to turn toward what felt like north to us. I peeked. Everyone was pointed north except me. I always was bad at direc- tions. What followed were several “invita- tions,” or guided exercises meant to connect us more deeply with nature. Peterson invited us to talk with one of our classmates about a time when na- ture inspired us. We matched paint swatches with natural colors in the woods. We pretended we were kids again and built a fort out of branches and leaf litter. And yes, we even hugged a tree. “[Forest bathing] slows people down. It gets them to look and feel and smell and really engage with their surround- ings,” said Peterson. “It stops us from being on our phones, checking how many steps we’ve gotten, and seeing the one specimen we wanted to see.” As I got back into my warm car, I stopped to appreciate the 100-acre woods in front of me. I drive by them all the time, but rarely go in. I resolve to walk through the forest more often. And when I do, I’ll walk slowly. Learn more Upcoming shinrin-yoku forest bathing classes are August 11 and September 28. Find out more at chicagobotanic.org/ education. Garden writer Erica Masini took a forest bathing class at the Chicago Botanic Garden this spring. Here’s her first-person account: When I told my friends I was taking a forest bathing class at the Garden, they asked, “You’re doing what?” Forest bathing, turns out, is not about wearing a bathing suit in a forest. It’s also not about sprinkling trees with sudsy water. It’s about slowing down, breathing, and being with nature. Forest bathing, translated from the Japanese shinrin-yoku, began in the 1980s as a healing practice meant to curb Japan’s mental health crisis. e idea is simple: People are happier when they connect with nature. Researchers in Japan and South Korea found a mul- titude of health bene ts, including lower stress hormones and improved immune function, mood, focus, and energy levels. e trend caught on in- ternationally, and forest bathing is now one of the wellness and tness classes o ered at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was worth a shot. I met certi ed nature and forest therapy guide Sally Peterson and several classmates on a chilly Saturday morning at the Mc- Donald Woods Shelter, where we hud- dled together and introduced ourselves. “We will go very slowly,” said Peterson. “It’s not a heart rate walk. We’ll be walking less than a mile, and it will take us three hours to do that. It’s okay to wander.” We began with small, unrushed steps. Wood chips crunched beneath our shoes. We wandered the paths without a destination in mind. We paused to notice the white trillium as if they were installations in an art museum. We lis-