Life in the woods: Forest bathing in British Columbia

Blythe Fraser Royal Roads University 20 January 2012

Life in the woods: Forest bathing in British Columbia 1

Life in the woods: Forest bathing in British Columbia

Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher. William Wordsworth The engine chokes. With lightening speed, the pilot fiddles with the wall of old knobs and dials, and then stops. He gets on his radio and says something about an .... engine malfunction... emergency landing.... I feel my heart beating in my ears. He motions me to take off my protective ear phones and says calmly that the engine has died, but not to worry, we'll land right away, and points to the nearest island to our left. We are over the Pacific Ocean. I'm sitting in the passenger seat of a DHC-2 Beaver, a single-engine, high-wing, propeller-driven sea plane whose engine is never supposed to die. The handsome young pilot smiles at me reassuringly. I am not reassured. I try to remember to breathe. I close my eyes. I open my eyes again right away, afraid we will crash when I'm not looking. I see icy, grey ocean, and a piece of land, thick with trees, in front of us. It gets closer. I think of my parents, my brother, the husband and children I never had.... There we go, he says, as we glide into the marina. I'll get this sorted in jiffy. Pam will give you a cup of tea in the meantime. You OK? All the stress in my body seems to have taken on a life of its own. The crick in my neck from working and studying at my computer day and night has me in a vice grip. My fists are clenched; my carpal tunnel syndrome has spread to my whole body. Yes, yes, I'm OK, I squeak. Happy to be alive, but not happy. When I get off the plane, I smell gasoline, salty air and something else. Clean air, and sweet pine trees. Instinctively, I breathe deeply, my lungs greedy for it. Where the hell am I? During my tea with Pam, who runs the minuscule Tofino Air office, I try to calm my

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nerves. I also learn that I'm on one of the little gulf islands, and that the mighty Beaver needs repairs that will take about a week. I'm stranded here until tomorrow, when the next ferry leaves for Vancouver Island. I had a few hours to kill in Vancouver, and decided to take a quick tour by air while I had the chance. This little fantasy has turned into a major inconvenience. I have deadlines, meetings... but maybe with wifi and my laptop and cell phone it should be OK. It's not OK. I can't get a North American adapter for my laptop charger on the island and my battery is dead. My Slovak SIM card doesn't work here for some reason, and there's no Internet cafe. I'm screwed. I reach my boss via land line at a B&B I find nestled in the forest, overlooking the Ocean. Trees everywhere. He says to relax until tomorrow when I reach civilization, he'll cover for me. Don't get eaten by a bear. Ha. Ha. There's plenty to do here, says the sweet old lady who runs the B&B. You can go to the yoga ashram down the street. Actually you can walk there through a path in the forest five minutes, just after the holly bushes. OK. After putting my bags and suitcases in my room and freshening up, I decide to get some much needed fresh air and exercise, and join a group of people who are going on a nature walk led by an adorable herbalist.

Forest bathing?
I think my first forest bathing began in a hammock, strung between two white pines, listening to the wind in the needles and watching the clouds float overhead. Ah, that was paradise. Malcolm Fraser Just across the Pacific, the Japanese are figuring out the beneficial physiological effects of spending time in the forest. Forest bathing as a term is a translation of the Japanese, Shinrinyoku. I always ask permission before I go into the forest, says Alice our guide for the next few hours. Alice is a local expert on medicinal plants in the area and is a beautiful, composed young woman with a big pregnant belly and red rain boots. She has a short blond pony tail, no
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makeup, cozy soft comfortable clothes. She says going into the forest is like going into some one's living room, that you wouldn't just walk in into some one's home without asking permission. It's a way of changing your mindset and right away it means that we are communicating with the forest, with the trees. As we enter the forest, she points out a Yew tree, apparently sacred in many cultures, and the source of one of the most successful chemotherapy drugs for uterine cancer, we are told. Thank you yew! she says. The forest path is soft with gooey mud, and strewn with big, fat, yellow leaves. The air is heady with oxygen and organic life. A new quiet fills the air, sounds buffered by moss, leaves and brush. A whispery breeze glides across the tips of leaves on their long armed branches. The sound of cars fades away as soon as we walk into the forest, and we are in another world. Were a motley crew today. Besides Alice and me, our fellow forest bathers are Emily from Metchosin; Erik, a young doctor that just moved to the area to work with vulnerable communities, and Laura, a vibrant young woman who was on her cell phone until the last moment before we stepped into the forest. I have carpal tunnel syndrome, Laura confided to me just before we entered the forest. Everything I do is on the computer - when Im not on my phone, that is, she said. Im addicted. I dont know what Id do if I didnt have my cell phone. If I lost it Id probably have a heart attack, because it has all my e-mail, my social networking, my calendar, its my alarm clock, its my clock I dont even wear a watch anymore. It is a camera; it has all my photos on it. I do all my banking on it. I can Google anything I want, I can download music I spend a lot of time on my phone. I have neck problems from sitting at my computer chair, she says. Thats why Im here.

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I can relate. I have been a stress case, and find myself deeply offended by loud noises and dirty air, assaulted. I sit in front of a computer all day, multi-tasking, always running, rushing. I love my work but it's a constant stream, non-stop, always with impending deadlines, and never enough time. A lot of my down time is also in front of a computer, or with my nose in a (e-)book. I long for fresh air, for things to slow down a bit, to give my body a chance to shift into a lower gear, to breathe deeper, to stop the hamster running around and around in my mind. I think I was driven here by fate, by destiny, a benevolent force that wants me to reconnect with nature, breathe fresh air, and move my cyborg body. I think destiny sabotaged the Beaver engine1, which will probably miraculously repair itself after I catch the ferry. Led by Alice, were here to spend time in nature, to be mindful of the sensations that it brings to us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. She tells us that there is no right or wrong way to forest bathe, only to be conscious of our thoughts, feelings and senses as we experience the benefits of the forest. She lifts up her arms, and looks to the tree covering above. This is the mother. This is everything, she says.

Tea in the forest

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. Robert Louis Stevenson

1 Confession: The introduction is fanciful, and my plane never malfunctioned. That was just to grab your attention, and is symbolic

of how I parachuted into the deep green forests on the West Coast of British Columbia. I did fly in a Beaver, and all the conversations in this paper use the true words of people I talked to, and walked with, in the forest. Names have been changed, and I have blended different people into single characters. I was surprised and intrigued at the similarity of what people had to say about forest bathing.

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Alice has brought thermoses of boiling water and we are going to collect some plants and herbs to make and drink tea in the forest. The others have done this before, and are already starting to learn their plants. Alice talks to them along the way, telling them about the plants they are collecting, and answers their questions. She shows me a root growing on a mossy tree trunk, and cuts a piece for me to taste. It's sweet, I say. It's called licorice fern root, says Alice, as she shows me how to identify it, smell it and appreciate it. It's yummy, I say. It tastes sweet and clean. It will be my tea for today. Alice shows us how to make an offering when you take something from nature like my fern root. She has an offering bag with some herbs and she sprinkles them around the base of the tree where we have scraped the root. She points out plants and trees along the way, explaining their healing properties. The willow, salix contorta, is the source of aspirin. The day is overcast, as we enter the forest, we walk along streams and small waterfalls, little wooden bridges and steps, thick with gooey mud. When we actually imbibe the plants into our bodies, then it becomes a cellular knowing, and a cellular communication between us and the plants, says Alice. People have always used plants as medicine, so plants are really deep in our psyche. In an aboriginal culture, or an indigenous culture, everyone would know the plants, not just the medicine person, but everybody would know them. It's like knowing your friends.

Listen: The Global Forest An interview with Diana Beresford-Kroeger on the potentially powerful and altogether untapped healing properties of trees. CBC radio, the Current, 2010

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We sit on some fallen trees, cushioned with moss as we drink our tea, and we talk. We talk about our love for nature and what has brought us here. Eric says that because he works with vulnerable groups, he sees a lot of suffering. His patients often live in poverty and have mental and emotional problems. I love my job and for the most part its incredibly stimulating to me, but you need to learn self-preservation, you need to learn that youre not going to fix the world. Being outside definitely helps me cope. If I havent done something outside, even if its going for a run every couple of days, I really feel it, I dont sleep well. I get more stressed out at work, I sweat the little things. I really need to maintain that connection. Thats why I do mountaineering, cycling and I like lots of outdoor activity. While we talk, we can hear the soft patter of rain on forest ferns and leaves, but not much of the rain seems to reach us. Its wet and soggy and vibrant green. Colours are more intense here, and the forest perfume rises to meet the rain. Our forest tea steams in the cool air. Laura is bursting with energy. Her eyes sparkle with life and she has a certain restlessness to her. For me, its the change of atmosphere, she says. When I go for a walk, its my way to unwind from other things, for my brain to turn off for a little bit. Everyone agrees. For me its mental, says Eric. Ive always been attuned to nature; it always brings me to a level of perspective. For example if I go into the forest or the bushes theres an element of deep quiet that really allows me to focus. You can hear things that you cant hear here. Its a different soundscape. It really slows me down and brings everything into perspective. These are ethereal thoughts, trying to pinpoint the healing quality of nature. But we all seem to understand that nature has a similar effect on us. It is cleansing, good for the body, mind and soul (for those that believe in a soul for others, they describe the same feelings, but use different language. Instead of spirit or soul, it could be well being, or happiness).

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Whatever youre working on is much more fleeting, much less meaningful than the processes of nature. You can see these guys [trees], have been around for 600 years. And that e-mail that you are trying to answer is not as meaningful, not as important. Its the history, says Alice. What have these trees seen? So much more than what well ever see. Emily is soft spoken and answers questions thoughtfully when asked, but is quiet, watching and observing. When we talk about whether or not people spend time in the forest when theyre unhappy or to work out emotions, she answers quietly. You get out here and the trees don't care, they don't know. No one's judging. It's almost like everything becomes smaller and less important or less Peace, stillness

dire. You can just let go. It's hard to be angry in a place like this. Or if you are sad, you can just let it out and cry and no one's watching you, judging you, worrying about you. It's a place you can just be yourself and not worry about anything. I dont know exactly how it happens but it just smoothes everything out. I dont turn over the same thoughts in my head anymore, and you can shift your thoughts between the comforting rhythm of whatever youre doing and thinking about. It gets the blood flowing or something. At eye level, we are surrounded by tree roots, rocks, beds of moss, flat, wet yellow maple leaves, sprigs from pine trees, tree stumps, ferns, bushes, wet tree trunks, jutting grass, invisible birds, mushrooms, lichen. Eric nods, as he looks around the canopy above us, to the trees coated in hanging green moss and jubilantly fat mushrooms, wet tree bark, a hillside of ferns and an icy stream. Birds

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sing all around us. Its just this reminder that no matter what happens, life goes on, he says. Its a sense of freedom. Its a reminder that theres so much beauty in the world and we dont have any control over making it. Thats really grounding. Maybe it's just knowing how big nature is, and how little you are, says Emily. That feeling of insignificance. But at the same time, that helps us. I can't quite put my finger on it. Later I find a little book called Canadian Forest Tree Essences, in which Daniel Tigner mentions the tree connection as resonance, a deepened awareness of nature, and a loosening of the boundaries that feed our illusion of being separate. This awareness leads to many positive effects. Emily is right though, its difficult to articulate these thoughts and feelings that we have about nature. It comes from an instinctual level, and its something that we all know. However, given what we are doing to our forests and our bodies, maybe its high time to remind ourselves of our birthright. I think its a human right to be able to spend time in the forest, in nature. It seems wrong that our right to work is enshrined in universal declaration of human rights, but not the right to breathe clean air, and to replenish health and well being by being able to access forests. I was just telling my husband that we need to get out in nature more because I've been missing it a lot lately, she says. It affects me: My health, my creativity, my well being in general, my mental health, my physical health. What I miss the most is climbing mountains, and the big trees. Everyone in the group agrees that spending time in the forest is good for the mind in general, not just to work out emotions. I chew on the licorice fern root at the bottom of my tea. I do my best thinking while walking, especially if its in nature, says Eric. Everything makes more sense when I can occupy the physical part of my body so that it frees up my mental energy.

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I think there are certain places in the world where artists go, where they really thrive, says Emily. There are a lot of big ideas on the West Coast, and I think the environment really helps to bring those big ideas: the big storms that we get, the waves, the ocean, the big trees, the mountains. The lifestyle here is being in touch with nature all the time you can't get away from it. I think about what nature does for us, forest bathing in particular. The forest is a place to relax, its a place of beauty; it provides natural air conditioning, shade, a sense of peace and quiet. It relaxes the mind; it is a treat for the eyes and ears, and the nose too: the freshness of the air, the smell of hot pine needles or moss, even rocks. Theres always something to discover, a mineral, a mushroom, a birds nest, a damselfly (red or blue), animals, plants and trees. The trees stand tall and straight, and you can feel their gentle power, like whales of the land. The forest affects us neurologically, aesthetically, it brings hope and perhaps even memories. It provides its own music, its a mixture of magic and reality, and could be a portal to another time or place. Its also a bit like a dream. Forest bathing is a version of hiking but instead of going through the bush, you enter into it, like a meditation. Light and shade, cool and hot, quiet and noisy with birds squawking or a red squirrel. Its a great gift that many people cannot receive, and it changes moods from seasons or weather. I love that you can go outside, and its so different every time you go, says Eric. You go to the same places and depending on where your mind is wandering, what catches your eye, and how the light is shining, everything looks different in the same spot I love the beauty of it.

Walking and talking

Everything takes place, in one way or another, on the move. Ingold & Vergunst We stretch our legs after our tea session, and brush the dampness from our bottoms, look

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around, admiring some large conch mushrooms, and some small gelatinous ones growing on a decaying tree trunk, unearthed, its roots sticking into the air. Nature is spiritual for me, says Laylo. I feel like it is medicine when I'm out here. I notice how freely the thoughts come in the forest. Its easier to talk. The talk changes when we start moving too, and the movement of walking is itself a way knowing (Ingold & Vergunst). As we walk, I become conscious of just how mindful you need to be, of where you are going to move, and where you put your feet. The senses are encompassed. The conversation becomes less philosophical and we are engrossed in the moment, experiencing the physical world around us as we see it, touching, poking, breathing, smelling. Alice points out mushrooms, sword ferns, gingko trees. Fingertips brush mossy trees, and wet bark. Look at all the green, says Eric. The green of moss, the green of fir, of branches that get a lot more sun. Moss is one of my favourite things in the world. Its so soft. Theres a woodpecker, says Emily. Can you hear it? Its over here. You can see it. We hear the woodpecker, but can't see him (or her?), so we tiptoe, gingerly, peeking around the trunk of the tree, the birds are invisible, loud. One of the biggest trees is over here, says Laura. Have a look at this beauty, thats probably the biggest. Wow, that tree's been alive for a long time, says Laura, as she tries to stick her arms around it. I wonder how many people it would take to go around the width of the tree. We all gather around the tree (tree huggers!) and dont make it all the way across. Laura finds of lovely green leaf and drops it over one side of a tiny bridge that takes us over a stream. The leaf gets stuck on a sandy bank rising from the shallow stream. Patiently, intent on seeing her game through, she finds another bright green leaf and throws it over. We turn quickly and soon our hands are on the railing of the other side of the bridge, noses peering over in anticipation. There it is! Just under the surface, carried by the swift, cold stream, it

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travels away from us. Our eyes follow, wistfully.

Nature never did betray the heart that loved her. William Wordsworth

Photo: D. Richey

This was my favourite game as a kid, says Laura, as we continue our walk. We are not on a hike. We stroll leisurely, admiring lichen and moss, and breathing deeply.

Im stopping a lot more when I go hiking, says Eric. I dont just put my head down and go fast and hard. I like to look at whats around. There are so many amazing things. Branches crunch beneath our feet, shoes on wet rocks, soft mossy sounds, damp earth, mud, gliding over tree roots, manoeuvring over logs, tak tak tak of woodpeckers, calling ravens. Eric likes the expression forest bathing because of the association with cleansing. It has a purifying aspect, so theres a ritualistic component to this, he says. Its a transformative act, and any ritual is a transformative act, right? You come here, you cleanse yourself and youre replenished, youre transformed and you can move on.
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Im thinking about some of the patients I work with too. A lot of them have depression. And a lot of them are also seeking spirituality. They want to achieve transformation in their life. We come into a different terrain, near a stream running through the forest, noisy and powerful. All kinds of mushrooms grow along the stream bed, and on the wet trees nearby. Alice holds out a mushroom in front of me. Feel that, she says. Weird! I say. It feels like cartilage. This one is called a hedgehog, she says. I'm glad I got to show you that. I can't get enough of the smell of the trees, says Laura. It's so wonderful. I feel like it cleans me and purifies me. Emily names the trees for us, cedar, spruce, fir, and touches each one. So fresh, she says. And the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Its life all around.

Talking to trees
When I feel sad, I talk things over with my tree. I call him Michael Raphael.... He is a grand tree. He has an understanding soul. The Mystical Diary of Opal Whiteley It's a sentient world. It's alive and it's intelligent and it can communicate with us, says Alice, as we walk through the old growth forest. Each tree is a personality, and a unique individual. She thinks were on a precipice as human beings living in disharmony with nature, that we treat nature as a commodity. Talking to trees and nature is a way that we can learn about living in harmony with nature. These plants have seen civilizations come and go. I think our civilization is
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collapsing. Im trying to get some guidance, some signals, clues and communication. Why not ask for insight? Maybe we can learn something. How do you do that? I ask. Mostly through thought, says Alice. I think there's a hunger in people for that, she says. That whole Cartesian, Galilean, Newtonian universe basically took the spirit out of matter, and just made it all inert matter. It left us devoid of spirituality, especially at a more material level. Sword ferns have been around for four or five hundred million years. Theyre very special. They can remove pain from the body, from the psyche, and we've been communicating a lot with them lately. According to Alice, you just need to use your imagination. The first thing I see when I get people to talk to plants is that they don't trust it, they don't believe it. I say, just explore it. Im not saying it's true, but just go with it, and see. Bascially you just open yourself up, feeling your energy going into the energy field of the tree, or plant. Open your mind, and ask a question. The trees, the eagle and the raven, these are all my friends. My senses tingling, I feel centred, and I drink up the forest. I feel a green benevolence, a soft touch, a welcome, a beckoning. When I am alone in the forest, I will try to talk to the trees. I wonder what they have to say. Ask me, I might know. Ferry Island. Photo: D. Richey

Stewardship
We come across a group of men by the stream with some instruments. They are doing some work monitoring invasive species in the area. They said that they haven't seen a fish in the stream for many
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years and we see two in the moments that we're walking past. This starts us talking about green behaviour, and how conscious we are "Protectors of the Forest"

about the effect of our own patterns of consumption on nature. We are taking the benefits of nature freely, becoming happier and healthier people, but does that love and respect for nature permeate our behaviour? I think there's definitely a serious link there, say Alice who tells us about a visit to mountains and forests in China. The most beautiful, picturesque places will be lined with garbage and clutter, and waste, she says. How can you be in nature, see it, enjoy it and then throw your granola bar wrapper on the ground? There's such a disconnect there. I don't think I could sleep at night knowing that I just unloaded my trash in the woods or threw away all my recycling into the garbage can. I live in the environment and I love it so much. I'm conscious. I don't think I could be any other way. I think that, if anything, I should be more extreme than I am. I went on a three hour plane ride to California last year. The consensus is that we all could, and should, be doing more. Its hard to watch other people too, when they dont recycle or compost, says Emily. But then you realize that you can't be angry at everyone. Why don't people respect the environment more? As we talk, we can hear the sound of shots being fired in the distance, from a gun club a reminder that the edges of our haven are being encroached upon every moment. Alice talks about indigenous cultures and how they take what they need from nature without being destructive. That's more of a meaningful relationship than just coming in and cutting everything down and taking everything.

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Knowing about plants helps build an appreciation and respect for the bounty of nature, says Alice. You can enjoy your walks in the forest even more, because you know that's salal, you know that's organ grape, you know cedar, you know what it's good for. You know that the Alder tree is a major cure for cancer. There's just so much lore. And because this is our traditional way of knowledge, people are hungry for it. To experience the benefits of forest bathing, we need to be fully immersed in the forest, removed from the city and its sounds, and sights. If its where we replenish ourselves, how we can prevent heart disease and cancer, then why are we, en masse, hell-bent on selfdestruction? We are so lucky in Canada to have access to such vast wilderness, but there is no escape from industry, it seems, anywhere. Just some places better and some worse (I think of those poor little kids that are born, grow up, live and work, and probably die, in a garbage dump). This place spoils you, says Eric. A lot of Canada spoils you. Living in a place like this, its just so gentle on you that youre not equipped to deal with, you know, cars or anything else you can find in China or anywhere else in the world where conditions arent so gentle. Its addictive. Myopic value of the forest The State of British Columbias Forests, Third Edition Ministry of Forests, Mines and Land, British Columbia

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Heading back to reality

We are nearing the end of our walk, heading back to the parking lot, to the road, to modern life. Our culture is so demanding of us, it's important for everyone to get out in the forest as much as possible, says Laura. Im aware of how I feel, eager to hold on to this feeling for as long as I can. The forest around me is soft on the eyes. I smell wet cedar, sweet and clean. I am rejuvenated. A calm flows through my body, and a tingling, clean and sparkling. I feel happy. I have achieved a mental clarity, and I feel connected to the forest around me, to the woodland creatures that I cannot see, but that I think about as I walk through the forest. I feel connected to myself, to the Earth, and to my fellow human beings. The sounds are soft, muted. I feel the need for hushed whispering, and light streams through the green, I feel a spiral of double helix, a shot of light though the spine, from the sky, reaching my eyes, feeling the hum beneath my feet. I imagine laughter travelling with the light. If theres a heaven, it must be a green, mossy forest. How do you feel? I feel really good. I feel like I came alive.

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