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Forest bathing
The nature park is a day spa
"Forest bathing" has a long tradition in Japan as "Shinrin-yoku" and has become increasingly popular around the world in recent years.
The "forest bathers" take their time and walk slowly through the forest. They breathe deeply and connect their thoughts with their surroundings. By focusing on sounds, smells, sensations, and the sight of nature, they can relieve stress and negative emotions.
Connect your body to nature
By focusing on the environment and nature, the sensations of feelings develop; this may be a sense of one's own great happiness and gratitude for life, or a compassion for other living things. The forest offers a myriad of possibilities for focus: one can, for example, concentrate on the ground with its many different structures, small animals and plants, or the play of light and shadow on the trees, on their shape, on their bark structures and leaf forms, on their root branches, on their smells, on the countless diverse shades of green and brown in the forest...
Effects on body & mind
The many essential oils (polyphenols) released by trees have a positive effect on the body, helping to strengthen the human immune system and reduce stress. "The positive effects that the forest has on us can not only be felt, but they can also be measured: the stress hormone cortisol is reduced, the stores for the sleep hormone melatonin are filled, and blood pressure is also demonstrably reduced - and this after a relatively short time" ("Der Standard", April 14, 2022).
All you need is a forest....
...and the willingness to take time to slow down and engage with nature. Forest bathing is thus the easiest way to improve physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and - as a side effect - to gain a better understanding of the environment.
In our nature park, you can easily get away from the hustle and bustle of the city by taking the S-Bahn to a "Forest Bathing Day Spa" for a few hours, relaxing and recharging your batteries under beech canopies. We especially recommend our little-used Salamander Trail or the forest wilderness around the Schöffelstein.