Forest therapy in Japan

Forest therapy in Japan

In Japan, a land of megacities but also of sacred trees, Buddhists, Shinto-ists, animists, all consider the tree to be endowed with incredible powers. At the Center for Environmental, Health and Earth Sciences at the University of Chiba, Professor MIYAZAKI Yoshifumi has been researching for 25 years what trees contribute to our health, In particular, how the nerves and brain react to simple hints of the forest. We follow the experience of a student who looks at a forest or breathes the natural scent of crushed tree leaves and has had electrodes placed on her forehead. Professor MIYAZAKI Yoshifumi explains why modern life generates stress and how to calm down, he developed the "Forest Therapy" to relieve urban dwellers. We follow a group leaving for a forest bath not far from Tokyo accompanied by SHIGUEMI Saito (guide of "Forest Therapy") which explains the interest of these days. This plant environment contains phytoncides, they are molecules that emanate from leaves and trees, these invisible particles are able to strengthen our immune defences. In the heart of the forest, very close to a temple, hikers engage in one last ritual, that of embracing the trees to feel his energies. Hikers express how they feel.

08

 

min

 

01

 

sec

File : Forests

Publication date : 26 October 2017