During December 2020, The Forest Bathing Institute (TFBI) hosted a special Forest Bathing+ immersive nature therapy session for the team from Voluntary Action South West Surrey (VASWS).
VASWS is a registered charity whose purpose is to provide support to community groups based in the boroughs of Guildford & Waverley. Services offered include providing advice, information, and support, plus the recruitment of volunteers who offer their time and expertise to support these local community groups.
Funded by Surrey County Council, Guildford & Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group, Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council, VASWS is also a member of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action, which provides valuable resource to other community organisations across Surrey.
This Forest Bathing+ session was hosted by Gary Evans, Co-Founder Director of TFBI. The team spent two hours mindfully walking and engaging with all five senses in a structured manner whilst experiencing first-hand, the beautiful, ancient forest at Newlands Corner near Guildford.
Forest Bathing+ is a more comprehensive therapeutic form of forest bathing developed in cooperation with numerous universities, professors, doctors’, and scientists. At its core is the incorporation of mindfulness, so Forest Bathing+ encourages full engagement with all five senses to enhance the experience and to bring about a mindful state, where the body can switch to the parasympathetic nervous system which brings about more cognitive thinking, is more restorative, healing, and therapeutic for the body. It also fosters a more rationale and empathetic state of mind.
In Japan, there has been over 40 years of scientific research carried out to measure the health-giving benefits of ‘Shinrin-yoku’ or Forest Bathing, which literally translated means spending time under the canopy of the trees. Shinrin-yoku is widely available via the Japanese NHS on prescription, being part of a country-wide public health intervention, both treating and preventing mental health issues and ill-health.
Additionally, Japanese research revealed that the chemicals emitted within the canopy of the forest stimulated a soothing and calming effect on the body, which in turn resulted in positive changes at both a physiological and mental health level.
Indeed, Forest Bathing is prevalent across both Japan and South Korea as a healing modality – replaced with therapeutic intervention for people who suffer from depression, anxiety, mental health issues and physical complaints.
During 2019, in partnership with researchers from The University of Derby, TFBI conducted the UK’s first ground-breaking scientific pilot study into the health-giving benefits of Forest Bathing+. These studies replicated Japanese research and measured physiological changes, including HRV taking place when walking in woodland and ancient forests. TFBI has plans to conduct further scientific research with over eleven British universities during 2021.
TFBI and VASWS are currently developing a programme of trial sessions for social prescribing. Two universities will measure the results of these sessions. It is the aim of TFBI to have Forest Bathing+ adopted across the NHS in England as a preventative health care intervention.
NB: In accordance with Government guidelines, please note that due to the current Covid-19 lockdown across England, no Forest Bathing+ nature therapy sessions are running.
Editors notes
In Spring 2020 TFBI were thrilled to announce that Dame Judi Dench is now a Patron of the TFBI. Full information is available on the website: https://tfb.institute/blog/
TFBI have developed a unique form of forest bathing called Forest Bathing+ (FB+) which is now being widely adopted across England. FB+ is a more comprehensive therapeutic form of forest bathing developed in cooperation with numerous universities, professors, doctors, and scientists.
During 2019, ground breaking UK pilot scientific studies and research took place with the TFBI at the University of Derby, measuring the health benefits of FB+. The research revealed improvements across 12 areas of well-being. Alongside psychometric testing, heart rate monitors (HRV) were worn by participants to measure changes in the nervous systems relaxation response. The initial analysis of the HRV data highlighted increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system
Since its inception, Gary Evans Founder and Director of TFBI has been fostering close working relationships with numerous major landowners, including the NHS, Guildford Council, and various universities including the University of Surrey and the University of Derby to advance and promote the health benefits of forest bathing. A further 11 UK universities are planning to work on further scientific research during 2021 to assist with replicating the Japanese research here in the UK.
Indeed, those of us at The Forest Bathing Institute have seen first-hand how adopting a mindful state helps to stay present and connected, especially when spending time in woodland and in nature. This in turn helps to quieten the mind and switch the body’s nervous system to that of the parasympathetic, which is the more recuperative healing system
Full information relating to the training offered by TFBI is available on the website.
For further information and Media Relations please contact:
Gary Evans – Director, TFBI | Philippa Bassett, PR Consultant
T: 01932 880 712