Forest bathing: medicine you absorb through your senses

Shinrin-yoku — literally "forest bathing" — means immersing yourself in the atmosphere of a forest, not to hike or exercise but simply to be present among the trees. You slow down, breathe, and take the place in through all five senses: the light, the smell of soil, the sound of leaves.

Coined in Japan in the 1980s, the practice is treated there as genuine preventive health care. Research has linked time in forests to lower stress hormones, reduced blood pressure, and improved mood — partly attributed to phytoncides, airborne compounds released by trees. Longhurst presents it as one of the book's key karada (body) practices.

Crucially, there's no goal to achieve. The point is unhurried, sensory attention — a deliberate antidote to screens, speed, and the indoor lives most of us lead.