Forest Bathing: What It Is, Why It Works, and Where to Try It

Ever wondered how stepping into a wilderness of a forest instinctively feels like slipping into airplane mode for your brain? If you have ever found yourself automatically relax on a nature walk, then you're probably experiencing what Japanese call this reboot "Shinrin-yoku" or forest bathing.

If you were thinking of an actual bath in the heart of a forest, no judgments. However, forest bathing is not even remotely that. It is not about stripping down and dunking yourself in a puddle. More so, it is about immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the forest, soaking up the sights, sounds, and scents like you're downloading calm straight into your nervous system.

So, What Is Forest Bathing?

Shinrin-yoku became popular in Japan and emerged as a national health practice in the 1980s at a time when stress and urbanisation were rising sharply in the country.

The trend of people spending quiet, mindful time in forests was noted by Japanese scientists who were able to observe measurable benefits this practice gave those wanting to reboot. To "bathe" in the forest, then, is to allow the forest to wash over you and by doing so reduce your blood pressure, lower cortisol, improve immune function, and bring a sense of calm. Basically, it gives you a moment to recalibrate your nervous system away from the frenzy of the city life.

How To Forest Bathe?

Unlike, skinny dipping or going for a swim at a beach requires you to pack a bag with all the essentials. Forest bath requires you to do everything conversely. Thinking of carrying your phone? Unless you are unfamiliar with the place you are going to we recommending ditching it for full-immersion in nature. You don't need the constant booming of music in your ears, nor the involuntary scroll on your favourite mobile apps.

Lather yourself up with the best sunscreen, wear comfortable clothes, a water bottle, and shoes and off you go for a forest bath. This not a hike, a workout, or photography session for you to capture. Let is truly letting the beauty and the Nature around you wash over you and let your curiosity take the wheel.

We recommend feeling textures, following scents, listening to the rustle of the trees, the sound of your of own footsteps cracking fallen twigs, noticing vivi colours and shades around you, the play of light. There's plenty to explore as you'll find yourself acknowledging the sheer beauty of nature and what it has to offer to you in the end- a blissful state.

Does Forest Bathing Work?

From a biological perspective, trees emit natural compounds called phytoncides that are organic aerosols that, when inhaled, appear to boost immune cells and reduce stress hormones. Psychologically, time in nature restores what researchers call directed attention — the mental muscle that urban life relentlessly drains.

Moreover, Forest bathing invites a humbler kind of awareness. It asks you to exchange efficiency for attentiveness, urgency for awe.

Where To Go For Forest Bathing In India?

While if you are planning a travel into the nature for you holiday, going for a forest bath might be more convenient to do in a forested area. While if you are interested in integrating it into your daily routine, it wouldn't obviously be advisable to go into an actual forest now, would it?

Forest bathing in India doesn't need to be confined to remote hillsides or curated retreats. It can quietly unfold in the everyday green spaces of our cities, for instance, in Delhi, sprawling oases like the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Sanjay Van, or even Lodhi Garden let early risers wander under neem and peepal canopies, where birdcall replaces the city’s morning din.

Mumbai’s Aarey Forest and Sanjay Gandhi National Park offer deep pockets of wilderness within minutes of expressways. In Bangalore, Cubbon Park and Lalbagh turn weekday strolls into acts of mindfulness; in Kolkata, the Botanical Garden along the Hooghly provides banyan-shaded calm. From Chennai’s Theosophical Society grounds to Pune’s Vetal Tekdi, these urban green lungs remind us that forest bathing need not mean escape perhaps only attention.

The trees, after all, are closer than we think.