8/13/2025
Shinrin-yoku is a wonder drug. Discovered by the Japanese, it roughly translates to “Forest Bathing” in English. It seems to heal all the ailments caused by the modern world. You may need a lift from crushing depression or to come down from paralyzing anxiety. You could fear cancer or need something to cut through the stress. You may want lower blood pressure, help for your cardiac functioning, or to control your inflammation index. Surrounding yourself with nature and breathing in the trees may be the medicine that you need.
Forest bathing isn’t like taking a potent drug, it is taking a drug, or a mixture of drugs with excellent side effects. Trees give off chemicals called phytoncides that interact with the human blood stream. These aerosols, meant to deter pests like fungus, bacteria, and insects, have profound reactions with human physiology, enhancing our mood and invigorating our being in a thousand ways. The psychological and physical effects are real, and the list of benefits is huge.
Also, it feels amazing to breathe in some of those aerosols. There is no doubt that the “natural high” we get from being in nature, at least partially, comes from chemicals emitted by trees. It’s a good thing. If a chemical feels great, and gives you great health effects, you should do it. Shinrin-yoku is nothing short of bathing in a powerful cocktail of drugs that gives you a sweet euphoria and lowers your blood pressure while curing your cancer.
Spending extended time in nature fixes what ails you, and not in that impossible to pin down spiritual way. Hard evidence shows that soaking in the natural world makes palpable, positive, measurable physical changes in people. The Japanese government has officially endorsed Shinrin-yoku and encourages its citizens to forest bathe regularly. They have done so for decades and have produced an intimidating cascade of studies to support the benefits of the practice to back it up. Even the most extravagant claims about forest bathing stand up to serious peer-reviewed science.
Now I know why smoking pot feels so good in the woods, the synergistic effect. The mixture of these aerosols with marijuana is divine. It’s hard to stress out or be depressed when you are stoned in mother nature, it’s a high multiplied by another high. Even more impressive, as underground initiates, sky pilots, psychonauts, and urban shamans know, a hit of acid in the woods is a revelation of overwhelming wonders, and you are much more likely to meet a deity while shrooming in the forest than if you are at home sitting on your couch. Psychedelics and the aerosols from trees work so well together. It makes me wonder why I am not romping in the woods right now.
Nature created us, and we need nature. So many chronic ailments go hand in hand with the modern world. Stress, anxiety, and depression are everywhere. They are so prevalent in today’s society, that we have assumed that these are caused by pressures of urban life. It appears that the opposite is true. It is our lack of contact with the medicines and therapies of the natural environment that may cause the harm. We still have a visceral need for nature, even though humanity wishes it didn’t.
Today’s society seems to believe that we can just manufacture everything that a human needs to thrive. This is a horribly stupid joke, one whose punch line is the end of our species. We need vast areas of wildness to provide oxygen, regulate the water, and support the vast chain of life that functions our biosphere. For instance, where would the mega-cities of the world find air to breath if the great algae blooms in the oceans died out?
No matter how smart we think we are, we have just scratched the surface of how our Living Biosphere functions. We as humans awoke on this great planet at a time when nature dominated. Species multiplied and evaporated in a giant maelstrom of evolution. We were, in the beginning, but a small part of the greater nature, and it was easy for the biosphere to support us. This is no longer true. We have torn down most of the natural world and chased wildness into the unwanted corners of rugged lands.
We suffer from the separation. Our bodies, minds, and spirits are screaming out, demanding to be part of the natural world. We need the trees, not as cultivated pets in our yards, but as the temples of free nature that provide the foundation for the great forests unfettered. We need to feel evolution in progress. Our eyes need to see the sights that our ancient forebearers saw, hear their sounds, to take in their air, and to feel the primordial wind on our faces. Humans are animals of the natural world, and we need time in the environment that spawned us. There is physical, mental, and spiritual sustenance that cannot be found anywhere else.
Even if you consider yourself a city dweller, you should take regular time to take a forest bath. Your body, mind, and spirit will soak in the experience. It is true that nothing is everyone’s cup of tea, but there is a lot more bitter medicine in the world than insects, dirt, heat, and cold. The health benefits alone should drive you down the road less taken.
Consider this list of claims made by peer-reviewed studies before you find the closest bit of forest you can dive into:
Significant increase in NK cell activation - regulation of blood pressure - beneficial to a person’s parasympathetic nervous system - - benefits for those dealing with insomnia - Improve the number of natural killer cells - defense against the pangs of anxiety, stress, depression, and other inflictions on one’s mind - positive impact on post-traumatic stress disorder - improved mood - improving cardiovascular function, hemodynamic indexes, euro endocrine indexes, metabolic indexes, immunity and inflammatory indexes, antioxidant indexes, and electrophysiological indexes - significantly enhancing emotional state, attitude, and feelings - physical and psychological recovery, and adaptive - obvious alleviation of anxiety and depression - improve our own lung functioning - Lower Blood sugar – Increased Energy – Increased Ability to focus, even in children with ADHD – Improved Pulminary Function – Cardiac Benefits – Increased immunity – Lower Blood Pressure – Accelerated recovery from surgery or illness – Improved Mental Health - increase the activation of Natural Killer cells and their effector molecules - favorable immunological outcomes, including increases in NK cells, T-cells, and cytotoxic effector molecules. – increased activity of natural killer cells and perforin-producing cells while simultaneously reducing the number of T-cells in the bloodstream - may have a regulatory effect on the human immune system, potentially bolstering its ability to defend against pathogens - demonstrated its effectiveness in improving immune functioning via increases in NK cells, perforin, and granulysin.