My name is Hugh and I work for the Mental Health charity Ewen’s Room and I also run a social croft (like a care farm) near Strontian with my wife. I have been interested for a number of years in nature-mindfulness and the benefits to mental and emotional health and wellbeing of nature-connection, and so I was very excited to find out that the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 was around connecting with nature. I recently became a certified Forest bathing Guide too, however I have spent much of lockdown exploring innovative ways to support people to strengthen their resilience and mental health through improved nature connection without the need for face-to-face contact.
Forest Bathing
Forest Bathing is the practice of walking slowly and leisurely through the woods or forest, immersing yourself in the natural environment and mindfully using all your five senses. People who follow this practice commonly report that they find that it is physically, psychologically and spiritually beneficial to spend time ‘bathing’ in the atmosphere of the forest. The practice first became popular in response to high levels of work related stress in Japan in the 1980s, where it is referred to as ’Shinrin Yoku’ which translates as Forest bathing. On a guided Forest Bathing outing I usually offer a series of Forest Bathing invitations - activities to encourage you to connect with the natural world around you through your different senses, heightening your sensory awareness and increasing your nature connection.
Nature Connection
Nature connectedness is much more than just being in nature or exposed to nature. You can be hiking outside trying to reach the top of a mountain or jogging through the woods whilst listening to your MP3 player, focusing on a geographic goal or thinking about what you’re going to make your post-run smoothie from without connecting with nature. Nature connection is about really tuning in to your surroundings and noticing what is happening around you. And you don’t necessarily need to move at all, and if you do, the slower you go, the better you tend to connect. This is why the Forest Bathing practice of Sit Spot is seen as such an effective way to increase nature connectedness.
Sit Spot and Nature Connection
Sit Spot is a simple but powerful practice from Forest Bathing that encourages you to become more mindful; to connect with nature; to cultivate a deeper awareness of yourself and others; and most importantly to cultivate a deeper understanding of the relationship that you have with the natural world. Sit Spot is just as it sounds. It is the practice of mindfully sitting in nature and just ‘being’. People who practice Sit Spot will usually sit for for 20-30 minutes, three or four times a week. They usually sit in the same spot or may have a couple of different places that they regularly use. This helps them to gain a greater appreciation of the effects of time and the changing seasons have if viewed from the same place.
As a response to the lockdown earlier in 2021, I designed a free online ’Sit Spot and Nature Connection Practice’ programme that people can participate in. This offers 28 different activities that you can try before, doing or after your visit your ‘sit spot’. The idea of this was to support people to develop their nature connection without the need for face-to-face guiding and to help people build and maintain better mental health as Forest Bathing is shown to have a beneficial effect on levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
Then to celebrate Mental Health Awareness month I added ’31 Days of Nature Connection in May’ to the programme - providing an additional 31 nature connection ideas that you can try. Both programmes are free to participate in, you don’t need to do them in any set time - you can just do them at your own pace, and you can register at www.sitspot.co.uk
Booklet
I have also written a short booklet called ‘A Small Book of Forest Bathing Invitations’ containing 10 Forest Bathing invitations that you can try yourself whilst you are out and about. We sell it on our website at www.darachcroft.com/a-small-book-of-forest-bathing-invitations, but we have also sent copies to all the libraries in Argyll so you may be able to have a look at a copy there.
If you have any questions or would like to know more you can email me at hugh@socialcroft.co.uk.
Forest Bathing
Forest Bathing is the practice of walking slowly and leisurely through the woods or forest, immersing yourself in the natural environment and mindfully using all your five senses. People who follow this practice commonly report that they find that it is physically, psychologically and spiritually beneficial to spend time ‘bathing’ in the atmosphere of the forest. The practice first became popular in response to high levels of work related stress in Japan in the 1980s, where it is referred to as ’Shinrin Yoku’ which translates as Forest bathing. On a guided Forest Bathing outing I usually offer a series of Forest Bathing invitations - activities to encourage you to connect with the natural world around you through your different senses, heightening your sensory awareness and increasing your nature connection.
Nature Connection
Nature connectedness is much more than just being in nature or exposed to nature. You can be hiking outside trying to reach the top of a mountain or jogging through the woods whilst listening to your MP3 player, focusing on a geographic goal or thinking about what you’re going to make your post-run smoothie from without connecting with nature. Nature connection is about really tuning in to your surroundings and noticing what is happening around you. And you don’t necessarily need to move at all, and if you do, the slower you go, the better you tend to connect. This is why the Forest Bathing practice of Sit Spot is seen as such an effective way to increase nature connectedness.
Sit Spot and Nature Connection
Sit Spot is a simple but powerful practice from Forest Bathing that encourages you to become more mindful; to connect with nature; to cultivate a deeper awareness of yourself and others; and most importantly to cultivate a deeper understanding of the relationship that you have with the natural world. Sit Spot is just as it sounds. It is the practice of mindfully sitting in nature and just ‘being’. People who practice Sit Spot will usually sit for for 20-30 minutes, three or four times a week. They usually sit in the same spot or may have a couple of different places that they regularly use. This helps them to gain a greater appreciation of the effects of time and the changing seasons have if viewed from the same place.
As a response to the lockdown earlier in 2021, I designed a free online ’Sit Spot and Nature Connection Practice’ programme that people can participate in. This offers 28 different activities that you can try before, doing or after your visit your ‘sit spot’. The idea of this was to support people to develop their nature connection without the need for face-to-face guiding and to help people build and maintain better mental health as Forest Bathing is shown to have a beneficial effect on levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
Then to celebrate Mental Health Awareness month I added ’31 Days of Nature Connection in May’ to the programme - providing an additional 31 nature connection ideas that you can try. Both programmes are free to participate in, you don’t need to do them in any set time - you can just do them at your own pace, and you can register at www.sitspot.co.uk
Booklet
I have also written a short booklet called ‘A Small Book of Forest Bathing Invitations’ containing 10 Forest Bathing invitations that you can try yourself whilst you are out and about. We sell it on our website at www.darachcroft.com/a-small-book-of-forest-bathing-invitations, but we have also sent copies to all the libraries in Argyll so you may be able to have a look at a copy there.
If you have any questions or would like to know more you can email me at hugh@socialcroft.co.uk.
