There is a moment of awe that washes over you when you step into a forest. Century-old trees tower above, sunlight twinkling through them. Birds tweet. Spiders weave their elaborate webs. The smell of pine needles fill the air., a term originating in the 1980s that means"bathing in the forest atmosphere," says Qing Li, a researcher on this topic and a professor at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo.
"The difference between normal activities and forest bathing is that we're going to move very slowly," says Evans. Forest bathing is about calming down your nervous system and reducing your heart rate and blood pressure. Now sit down, says Evans, and try this exercise."Inhale for a count of one, two and then exhale for double the length of time, so it's one, two, three, four. Then keep that going."