5 Healthy Ways to Benefit from the Forest to Reduce Stress, Anxiety or Fear and Improve Well-being while Self-isolating or Anytime!
In today's world with many of us feeling extra anxious or super stressed or maybe filled with fear at times and this over the long-term is not healthy. Prolonged exposure or feelings of stress, anxiety or fear will further reduce the power of our immune systems. To counter-act our increased levels of stress, fear or anxiety we can support our physiological and psychological selves thereby building immune system balance and strength by re-gaining control of our thoughts, feelings and emotional response to our surroundings. Learning to let-go of what is out of our control and accepting control over our response to any event, person or stimuli, connects us to our power.
With many of us now working from home and/or self-isolating, the experience with the forest or rainforest can seem far away, until now as we bring the outside in! Our Great Bear Rainforest™ Essential Oils naturally contain aromatic terpenes that have been studied and shown to help lift spirits, increase positive thoughts and reduce inflammation. It has been shown that neuro-protective effects against neuro-degenerative conditions have been observed and measured in numerous scientific studies.
The Japanese know and practice the benefits of Forest Bathing Shinrin-Yoku - a reconnection with nature.
Shinrin-Yoku or forest bathing is the practice of spending time in the forest for better health, happiness and a sense of calm. A pillar of Japanese culture for decades, Shinrin-Yoku is a way to reconnect with nature, from walking mindfully in the woods, to a break in your local park, to walking barefoot on your lawn. - Forest Medicine expert, Dr Qing Li
So what are 5 healthy ways to benefit from the forest?
#1 Diffuse the oils. Adding 2-4 drops of any of our Great Bear Rainforest™Oils to your diffuser will bring the rainforest essence into your room. Naturally purifying the air, as conifer tree oils are naturally high in terpenes, an aromatic classification of compounds with anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. So they are perfect to cleanse the air in your home while being uplifting for your emotional self-care!
The 16th Century Swiss-German physician, Paracelsus, declared: “The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician”
#2 Make a room spray, sheet spray, hydrosol. Making a room spray in a 60ml or 100ml bottle will allow you to take it with you in your car and use it on your bedding too. This DIY hydrosol is made with Distilled Water (spring water will work too), Witch Hazel and Great Bear Rainforest™Essential Oils will be your daily go-to! See below.
Ingredients
1. Distilled water
2. Great Bear Rainforest™Shore Pine Essential Oil
3. Unscented witch hazel (this aids the combining of oil and water and helps the scent linger in the air for longer)
4. A sprig of pine (optional)
Directions
1. Fill the bottle halfway with witch hazel and add 10-25 drops of essential oils
2. Fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water
3. Shake the bottle to combine all the ingredients
4. Optional: add a sprig of pine to decorate your bottle
#3 Deep Breathing - This exercise in breathing supports relaxation and has physiological benefits that are felt almost immediately. It is going to require you to sit comfortably, be quiet and sit still or lay still without distractions in your surroundings. Finding a good time for you, one that fits with your schedule, is totally up to you. Choose a good time when you won't be disturbed. Sometimes early in the morning or just before bed are the most effective times to secure a little 'self-care' breathing time.
While sitting in your quiet place decide to count 50 deep breaths. This will help you to focus on your breathing and take your attention away from whatever is currently occupying your mind. We can't ever stop our minds from thinking, but we can slow them down to help you experience a deeper relaxed sense of being. This may take you a few tries to maintain the focus of counting deep breaths until you reach 50. It takes practice, just like anything - the more you do it, the better you get. But the nice thing is, you still feel benefits of relaxation even if you never get to 50.
#4 Take a bath! Not just any bath; use the recipe below to make some therapeutic bath salts for your 'Forest Bath'. In Japanese 'Shinrin' means forest and 'Yoku' means bath, so you can literally have your Shinrin-Yoku at home in your tub. The benefits of 'salt-water' baths have long been documented and practiced all over the world. Since natural seawater is almost identical in chemical composition to our blood plasma, a natural 'sea-salt' bath will help to gently detoxify and replenish our bodies with necessary minerals, while the forest essences of the conifer essential oils will bring deep relaxation, uplifting tranquility with aromatic delights!
photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio
DIY 'Forest Bath' Salt Recipe
Elevate your bath experience with this essential 'Forest Bath' using our Great Bear Rainforest™ Oils and a few other ingredients. This is a DIY Forest Bath salt super soak!. This gift to yourself allows energy to flow and replenish while feeling pampered in a luxurious Forest Bath. Besides the Rainforest Blend we particularly love using Sitka Spruce with Douglas Fir or Shore Pine (or a combination of all three!) together as they offer unique notes of aromatics that blend nicely. They have been used by traditional healers in the Pacific Northwest for millennia to treat sore muscles and soothe joint pain, oh so perfect for our Forest Bath!
Don’t forget to decorate the jar with your own personal flair so you can refill it again!
Ingredients - Makes 2-4 baths
- 5 cup coarse unprocessed Sea Salt
- ½ cup Epsom salt
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 25 drops of Rainforest Blend (or your favourite blend)
- Mason jar with a tight seal
Directions
- Mix together the Epsom salt, baking soda and course Sea Salt together
- Add in the Rainforest Blend and combine until well mixed throughout
- Store in a clean mason jar with a tight seal and decorate as desired
- Add 1/2 to 1 cup to bathwater. To help dissolve the salts, pour them under the running water while the bath is drawing.
Listen to some relaxing meditative music. Certain frequencies of sound are supportive for our health and well-being and are great to assist us in relaxing our busy brains, especially during a Forest Bath.
#5 It has been shown in scientific study that when we exercise our imagination to bring into focus positive thoughts and emotions, it benefits us both physiologically and psychologically. Yes, health benefits from using our imagination in both mind and body!
Sit comfortably or while you're enjoying your 'Forest Bath" breathe in the essence of the forest. Imagine yourself there among the giant trees hundreds of years older than you, grown from a previous time and into our lives we experience their strength. Connecting deep roots into the earth, they establish their longevity within the forest. Looking around you can see the deep and varied shades of greens glistening with the cool dew of the forest floor felt on your face and hands as you walk along. A thick canopy of conifer needles protects you from the heat of the midday sun. The cool air of the forest surrounds you and supports your body with a fresh supply of oxygen - you breath deeply and appreciate the forest as you walk along.
Cautions:
- All citrus oils can be photo-toxic, meaning they can be irritating to skin when in direct sunlight or in a hot bath. Our Rainforest Blend uses Lemon so please blend as you mix with bath salts first, never add directly to bath water.
- Always test essential oils on skin to be sure of no sensitivities.
- Bath Salts can make the tub slippery, please be cautious when getting in and out.
- Please consult your health provider before using if you have any health conditions
The content in this article and on our website is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be substituted for the advice provided by your doctor or other health care professional. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease
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