Linda returned recently from her annual camping trip to the north woods, wet tent and muddy kayak in tow. This year it was to the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, to the Pictured Rocks lake shore. Maybe it doesn’t seem to make sense that hauling a kayak, dismantling a tent in the rain, and chopping firewood is energizing, but it is! And now science backs it up. It’s called Shinrin-yoku: The Medicine of Being in the Forest. Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “forest bathing.” Visit a forest preserve, walk under the open sky and among the trees, and feel the calming and rejuvenating benefits to this simple practice.

The scientifically proven benefits include lower blood pressure, lower stress levels, and significantly higher immune system markers. Your natural killer cells, white blood cells that fight infected or tumor cells, are significantly higher after forest bathing. (from The Washington Post)

Hiking along rushing waterfalls and exploring the lake shore of Pictured Rocks was a wonderful way to rejuvenate and come back refreshed. The views were awe inspiring, which is actually a state of mind that has been studied by psychologists. Feelings of awe and wonder were described by the astronauts who have experienced earth orbit, and is called the “overview effect.” The emotions experienced can be life changing.

Along with forest bathing, Linda was able to
have a little fun experimenting with camera settings
to create the “soft water” effect.

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