Forest Bathing

Recently I learned about a concept from Japan called shinrin-yoku which means “forest bathing.” From my understanding, it means to just go into nature and soak it all in. No agenda. Just use your five senses to take in the forest.

That sounds pretty cool, right? Get outside, listen to some birds, smell some flowers, watch a creek flow by. I can be down for that.

So when my friends asked me to join them for hiking this past weekend, I was excited thinking I was going to get my shinrin-yoku on.

Umm yeah, that would be a negative because I quickly learned that hiking can be wicked hard work. The friends had decided to embark on a five-mile hike that would be “mostly flat.” I don’t know what they are normally hiking if this was considered “mostly flat.” I also don’t understand how if it was a loop, how it could feel like there were more uphills than downhills.

Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful in the woods. I saw a deer, we took a break and I skipped some rocks in a creek. And it was absolutely beautiful weather. However, man, I learned that I have to get in better shape if these hikes are going to be this magical forest bathing experience. It’s two days later and my thighs are still feeling the burn.

The kicker is I ran cross country for eight years of my life and though I can traverse roots and rocks with the best of them, I learned that the aspect of going up hills was not something that was retained in my muscle memory. To add to it, the group is planning on doing harder hikes…