Enchanted FOREST
We all know about the health benefits of spending time in nature. A study by King’s College in London found that exposure to trees, the sky and birdsong in cities improved participants’ mental wellbeing, and the benefit lasted for several hours after the exposure. But how many of us spend time in nature on a regular basis? We lead busy, fast-paced lives and are prone to stress, which often coexists with conditions like stress-related heart disease, anxiety and depression, sleep disorders and so on. Local forest bathing expert and practitioner Vincent Truter believes that techno-stress, ecological disasters and consumerism all contribute to chronic stress and burnout.
‘The only way out is through, and it’s through the forest,’ he says, because we all have a capacity for biophilia – an innate human instinct to connect with our natural surroundings.
