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piqer for: Health and Sanity Global finds
I was born in 1987 in Bucharest. I studied Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Bucharest. For two years I worked in a psychotherapy practice, dealing with gambling addicts. I'm an independent reporter, writing and doing video reportages mostly about social and political issues. I am currently based in Jena.
Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, is a practice that Japan made part of its national health program in 1982, and it entails taking walks through the forest while being focused on the present moment and on the things happening around you, like the different shades of green of the plants, the sound of the trees and the birds.
Among the benefits of this practice proven by research are lowered blood pressure, blood glucose levels and stress hormones. Further proof to nature therapy's effectiveness is that for some people it can work even though they don't actually step outside of the house, for various reasons. It's sometimes enough to do sports while watching videos of nature, or in a room with images of nature on the walls.
Either you do forest bathing in a guided session, while lying on the ground in a circle with the other participants and walking through the forest silently, or you just take a walk in nature as you please. The bottom line of this article is that being in nature does a world of good to you, especially in terms of reducing stress, and you should try to do it as often as you can.