Into the Woods

As I write this, State Parks and Monterey County have both announced closures of many well loved parks, aiming to tamp down on congregations of people. Reopening plans remain TBD. But it’s still essential to get outside regularly; the science backs up the health benefits. How to do it while minimizing contact with others while not destroying natural habitat? Maybe one answer is forest bathing or forest therapy. It’s a practice that began in the 1980s in Japan (where it’s called shinrin-yoku) in which you walk through a forest with heightened intentions. I’m not clear on how it’s supposed to go down, but at some point I believe you stop and sit, listen, look and smell, losing yourself while connecting to the natural surroundings (that could conceivably minimize contact with others who are hiking toward a destination). In the Good Reads section, you can read more about it from a wryly observed 2018 story by Weekly contributing writer Ivan Garcia.

– Walter Ryce