Japan is the home of forest therapy and shinrin yoku 森林浴, which literally means “forest baths”. We find again in this term, kanji 森 and 林 which mean “forest”, as a crowd of small kanji 木 means “tree”, and the kanji 浴 meaning “bathe”, “stimulate with”.
This practice is the result of a lot of scientific studies conducted by Professor Qing Li and his team at Nippon Medical School of Tokyo which show that natural landscapes have an important impact on the evacuation of stress, return to a peaceful state, and that forests vitalize our immune system by boosting the number of killer cells and anti-cancer proteins, thanks to terpenes* of trees and other plants.
In the spirit of this Japanese culture, it is not difficult to imagine why gardens reflect nature so perfectly, since it is so indispensable to our health.
Look for example, the traditional Japanese tea garden, the roji … a small path of flat stones that winds through an undergrowth with aerial and diaphanous vegetation, flooding us with scents of humus, sap and damp mosses, leading to a clearing where one discovers a charming little building made from noble and natural materials, earth, wood and thatch, conducive to calm and rest, welcoming all the reassuring ritual, respectful and full of consideration of the tea ceremony.
These same studies show that we have totally the reverse result in a concrete “forest”. Hence the major interest of creating in our cities when it is essential to live there, not only areas of greenery, gardens, but above all the most spontaneous and faithful reflections of nature, so conducive to our health and well-being.
The forest, thanks to all its population of essences, is the richest place of terpenes that stimulate the good functioning of our organism, as well as its ability to defend itself. You will have understood, a garden reflecting the closest nature is the most favorable to our health.
*Terpenes are a class of hydrocarbons present in plants. They are often the “fragrance” constituents such as turpentine, camphor, menthol, citronella … which are extracted in the form of essential oils.
Frederique DUMAS
Quantum hortitherapy . NIWATHERAPY©
Creation of therapeutic Japanese gardens
Shinrin yoku 森林浴 and Forest therapy
www.frederique-dumas.com
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