Shinrin-yoku

Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." The idea is simple: if a person simply visits a natural area and walks in a relaxed way there are calming, rejuvenating and restorative benefits to be achieved. Spending time yesterday in the Sequoia and California Redwood groves at San Francisco Botanical Garden certainly helped me understand Shinrin-yoku much better. The massive majesty of these trees was overpowering. Standing at the base and touching one I couldn’t help but feel an older more ancient kind of patience. A more unassuming and deeply rooted (pardon the pun (okay, maybe not?)) serenity in the quiet of the grove was thick in the air. The notion that these trees were silent sentinels watching over everything and I was connected to them in some way was inescapable and curiously reassuring.