Critics often scoff that research about forest bathing is lacking, but there is growing scientific evidence that getting outside in a natural setting is good for mind-body health. Learn more:
for his patients to go to the park -- as do the more than 300 doctors and other health care providers who have signed on to his Park Rx America program.Ben Page is used to people being skeptical of the idea of forest therapy, because anyone can head out to a forest or park and relax. Page, who founded Shinrin Yoku Los Angeles and is director of training for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, says ''a public park can be a rather distracting place.
The guides first encourage participants to relax their muscles from head to toe, and then notice the sounds, sights, and smells around them -- a rushing waterfall, a full moon hidden by an overcast sky, an aromatic herb garden, a rose garden.Next is a stroll through the paved herb garden, with an invitation to pick something.
"It's a perfect way to break the ice with patients," he says."There is something really special about getting outside the walls of the office, and being in nature." The feedback from patients, he says, is good."They say they love it, and it's always in all caps."and young adults -- moving and outside. The Washington, D.C.
Research is accumulating on the healthful effects of contact with nature -- even very brief encounters. Among the findings:
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