{"id":50103,"date":"2019-11-05T14:30:10","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T14:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=50103"},"modified":"2019-11-05T14:30:10","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T14:30:10","slug":"benefits-of-forest-bathing-explored-by-mental-health-collective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2019\/11\/05\/benefits-of-forest-bathing-explored-by-mental-health-collective\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefits of &#8216;forest bathing&#8217; explored by mental health collective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-05-at-11.00.08-411x312.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50104\" width=\"540\" height=\"410\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2019\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-05-at-11.00.08-411x312.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50104\" width=\"540\" height=\"410\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;Forest bathing&#8217; is a term that might bring up images of a bath-tub full of leaves or swimming in a river. You might be glad to hear it\u2019s neither. A local mental health group are exploring the benefits of &#8216;forest bathing&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is the act of guided walks through woodlands, bringing attention to often overlooked senses and feelings that people may have trapped in their subconscious. Feelings that may otherwise be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Mindful Walks (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulwalks.uk\" target=\"_blank\">Mindful Walks<\/a>, a group based in Cardiff is exploring the practice. In doing so it is looking to improve the mental wellbeing, relaxation, and appreciation for nature felt by people in South Wales. They have been conducting guided walks for a year and a half, primarily through Fforest Fawr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to alt.Cardiff, founder, and organiser Tommy Carr told us about the multitude of health benefits of the walk, not just for your mental but physical health also.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe primary purpose of the walk is relaxation; it\u2019s meant to be enjoyable and to leave people feeling better not just immediately but for some time afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s also important to me that members start to slow down and pay attention to the world around them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tommy points to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"scientific proof (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2793341\/\" target=\"_blank\">scientific proof<\/a> from Japan that forest air exposes people to \u201cPhytoncydes\u201d, a substance emitted by plants and trees. Research shows this increases the production of \u201cnatural killer cells\u201d in the body \u2013 leading to a positive psychological effect from forest bathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The walks, however, are not only to improve mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI hope that people will gain a greater respect for the natural environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cParticipants tend to express a sense of awe and wonder that I think is conducive to wanting to protect the natural environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All are welcome, so long as they are physically capable of completing a two-hour walk through forest terrain. Tommy also offers concessionary rates to students or the unwaged too in order to try and make it as accessible as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next walk is scheduled for 17 November, and more information can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulwalks.uk\">mindfullwalks.uk<\/a>, or on the group&#8217;s Instagram page, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mindful_walks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"@mindful_walks (opens in a new tab)\">@mindful_walks<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>alt.Cardiff speaks to Mindful Walks founder Tommy Carr about the walks, mental wellbeing, and how \u2018forest bathing\u2019 is backed by science<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":50241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6826,6827,654,6828,206,6829],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-50103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-life","tag-demi-lovato","tag-ellie-goulding","tag-exercise","tag-khloe-kardashian","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-wellbeing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Benefits of &#039;forest bathing&#039; explored by mental health collective<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"alt.Cardiff discusses the benefits of forest bathing with Mindful Walks founder 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