As received from my friend: SHINRIN YOKU 1 Here I am on ShinRin Yoku (definitely not Japan Vanaprastha as you have mentioned). In translation, it is Forest Bathing. It is a life with Nature, away from the huzzle and buzzle of ordinary life and a reliever of stress. This is in vogue in Japan as a commercial method for the last four decades. People who underwent this experience cherish this including me. ShinRin Yoku essentially dedicates time spent outdoors in a calm, forest environment to help connect with both nature and oneself through the use of one's five senses. Forest bathing is a therapeutic, immersive wellbeing activity that aims to bring peace and connection while also having long term benefits for one’s mental and physical health. This practice originated in Japan around 1980, encouraged by the Forest Department of Japan. Forest Bathing started as a preventative healthcare and healing thanks to the therapeutic effects it is thought to have on the immune, cardiovascular and respiratory systems as well as general mental health and wellbeing. It is now considered as a form of Nature Therapy. However, one may also argue that forest bathing as a natural activity that humans have been partaking for centuries and that it is only now - when our lives are filled with work, technology and time spent indoors - that we have to consciously take time out of our busy life to reconnect with Nature. Thus, this process is a return to the original state of being after centuries! Rather than simply taking a walk in the woods, forest bathing is about having a deeper sensory experience through mindful and meditation techniques. While any one can try forest bathing themselves, it can be beneficial to join a dedicated group activity, the first time. (I did this and it was a lot helpful) This allows oneself to fully immerse in nature. Forest bathing experience allows us to merge with nature fully. In Japan many forests (they call them natural parks) with plenty of streams (aruvi) are both cold and hot. Japan is known for its hot springs (being an earthquake prone country) and thus one can enjoy taking a bath in the desired temperature either cold or hot. All woods and forests of the highest order are fully watched by the securities and fully protected. As for wild animals, the extreme north is infested with wild bears. Else they are not dangerous from other animals. Peace is totally assured in taking and enjoying ShinRin Yoku.
2 KR: And there is a research report also on its effects from a reputed medical journal: 3.1. Physiological and Psychological (PP) Effects 3 Livni published an editorial on the health benefits of SY and described the historic trends in biophysical and psychosocial research The methods, tests, and findings of 40 relevant publications expounding upon the PP indices are included in this review. These publications are further assorted into Heart-rate Metrics; Disease States; Autonomic Nervous System Effects; Endocrine Function; and Sense Metrics. The multitudinous reasons for natural environs generating the aforementioned positive qualities have been systematically incorporated into the investigation of the physiological and psychological effects of SY as follows. 3.2. Heart-Rate Metrics 4 As changes in cardiac function, revealed by cardiac monitoring, are correlational to the physiological effects of stress regardless of environmental setting, it is coherently expected more than one third of the articles reviewed observe not only standard vital signs, including heart rate (HR) and pulse rate (PR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) and ECG interpretation, but also heart rate variability (HRV), as well as left ventricular function and right ventricular function (LVF/RVF). The trends revealed by SY research over the past 10 years in relation to the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems (ANS) appears to have started with basic cardiac monitoring then shifted to the correlation of cardiac monitored data points with the PNS and SNS, and this started the development of a more in-depth study design to research the effects of SY on specific disease states, such as: hypertension (HTN), coronary artery disease (CAD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Blood pressure and PR also decreased while in the forest settings compared to the urban settings. These studies demonstrate cardiovascular benefits for both genders. 3.3. Physiological Disease States Significant research has revealed the effects of SY and NT on specific physiological disease states, including HTN, CAD, COPD, and Diabetes Mellitus Type II (DMII). In a randomized control trial (RCT) of 24 adults with HTN, Mao et al. Furthermore, in a longitudinal study of 48 adults diagnosed with DMII, Ohtsuka found blood glucose readings declined after multiple SY practice sessions, therefore indicating a significant correlation between SY and the reduction of blood glucose levels. This study is one of the few measuring the effects of SY over time, which indicates further research may be conducted to confirm the long-term effects of SY, not only for its effects on patients with DMII, but for patients with different disease states as well. 3.4. Psychological 5 Furthermore, Morita et al. investigated SY’s effect on 498 Japanese residents suffering from acute and chronic stress. Of these research participants, those suffering from chronic stress states reported the greatest reduction in subjective feelings of hostility, depression and anxiety as a direct result of time spent in the forested environs. The results of which demonstrated a significant decrease in the salivary cortisol (tested as a biomarker of stress), increase in Quality of Life (via the QoL questionnaire) and a decrease in anxiety. Citing the impact of chronic stress on growing populations with insomnia and poor sleep patterns in Japan, Morita et al. studied forest-walking to induce relaxation and improve general sleep-wake cycles in a population of 71 men and women over the course of three months. Participants reported a statistically significant correlation between increased sleep time (from an average of 365.9 ± 89.4 min to 419.8 ± 128.7 min) post 2-h afternoon forest walks with decreased anxiety. 6 SPIRITUAL QUALITY: With regards to human spirituality, Nakau et al. noted in their pilot study involving 22 breast or lung cancer patients, consisting of 4 males (with an average age of 65.3 ± 2.6 years) and 18 females (with an average age of 56.6 ± 11.3 years), that FT can be viewed as an enhancement of spiritual health in cancer patients. Patients in this study were all participating one month or more after undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment. While patients were not considered to be at risk of life-threatening conditions at the time of study, the stress of undergoing treatment for chronic disease was implicated. All patients (N = 22), participated in the integrated FT, horticultural therapy, yoga exercise, meditation and group therapy treatment intervention at the Japan World Exposition (1970) Park in Suita, Osaka prefecture, Japan. The results of this study indicated statistically significant correlations pre- and post-intervention between green environments and individuals’ experiences of self-realization, increased emotional health and integrative well-being, as measured by the Japanese version of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp), QoL questionnaire, Cancer Fatigue Scale, POMS and STAI, in addition to physiologic measures of NK activity. 7 3.6. Endocrine Function A total of 48 participants, 16 males and 32 females, with a mean age of 66.8 years and diagnosed with DMII, walked for distances of 3 to 6 km nine times per week over a period of 6 years. There was no statistically significant difference between the subjects’ glucose levels, or HbA1c levels between the shorter and longer walks. However, averages of both groups’ blood glucose levels pre and post-forest walks declined by 79 ± 10 mg/dL and 76 ± 7 mg/dL respectively. 8 Few months back I wrote on Vanaprastha, probably then going to and coming back, was difficult, and hence residence was prescribed. Modern days changes the lifestyle. 9 *Vānaprastha* (वानप्रस्थ) is a composite word with the roots *vana* (वन) meaning "forest, distant land", and *prastha* (प्रस्थ) meaning "going to, abiding in, journey to". The composite word literally means "retiring to forest". 10 The earliest mention of a related concept in Rig Veda <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigveda> is of *Antigriha* (अन्तिगृह, like an ENDHOME ) in hymn 10.95.4, where the context and content suggests the elders did not go into forest, but continued to live as part of extended family, with outwardly role, in ancient India. सा वसु दधती शवशुराय वय उषो यदि वष्ट्यन्तिग्र्हात | अस्तं ननक्षे यस्मिञ्चाकन दिवा नक्तंश्नथिता वैतसेन ||10 95 4 sā vasu dadhatī śvaśurāya vaya uṣo yadi vaṣṭyantighṛhāt | astaṃ nanakṣe yasmiñcākan divā naktaṃśnathitā vaitasena || 11 Story of Urvasi and Pururavas love; Rig veda says that Pururavas father was assigned the wealth needed in the end home, nearer to the couple, while both had the amoral life here. Anti graha svasurya dadati vasu-vastyaa antigrha . Hence vanaprastham is away from the youths and away which tantamount to living aloof as if in a forest, though living together. 12 When sages such as Yājñavalkya <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yajnavalkya> (Brahadaranyaka Upanishad) left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their *Pravrajika* (homeless) lifestyle, though went with 2 wives. 13 The Baudhayana <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudhayana> Dharmasūtra, in verses 2.11.9 to 2.11.12, describes the four Ashramas including *Vānaprastha* as "a fourfold division of Dharma <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma>". The older Dharmasūtras present the *Ashramas* as four alternative ways of life and options available, but not as sequential stage that any individual must follow. 14 Manusmriti offers elaborate prescriptions for drastic kind of renunciation, describing in verse 6.21 what the retiree in the forest should eat. 15 In contrast, the Mahabharata <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata> suggests Vānaprastha is a symbolic metaphor and declares that a king may achieve the "object of Vānaprastha" by certain actions, without retiring into the forest. For example, Shanti Parva <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanti_Parva> (the Book of Peace) of the Hindu Epic, states, That king, O Yudhishthira <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yudhishthira>, who rescues from distress, to the best of his power, his kinsmen and relatives and friends, attains to the object of the Vanaprastha mode of life. That king who on every occasion honour those that are foremost among men attains the object of the Vanaprastha mode of life. 16 Markandeya Purana <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markandeya_Purana> suggests that a householder, after he has taken care of his progeny, his parents, his traditions and cleansed his mind is ready to enter the third stage of life, or Vānaprastha. He must lead a frugal life during this stage, sleeping on floor, eating only fruits and bulbs. The more he gives up the worldly delights, the closer he gets to the knowledge of his spirit, and more ready he is for the last stage – the Sannyasa asrama, where he renounces everything and focuses entirely on spiritual pursuits. 17 *Vānaprastha* appears in many major literary works from ancient India. For example, many chapters of the Hindu Epic Ramayana <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana>, just like the Mahabharata <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata>, build around hermit-style life in a forest (Vānaprastha). Similarly, Abhijñānaśākuntalam <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhij%C3%B1%C4%81na%C5%9B%C4%81kuntalam> (Shakuntala play by Kalidasa <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%81lid%C4%81sa>) revolves around hermit lifestyle in a forest. Many of the legendary forest hermitages, mentioned in various Sanskrit works, later became sites for major temples and Hindu pilgrimage. 18 Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad identifies four characteristics of a *Vānaprastha* stage of life as *Audumbara* (threshold of house, woods), *Vaikhanasa* (anchorite), *Samprakshali* (cleansing rituals) and *Purnamanasa* (contented mind). Vānaprastha stage to be a gradual evolution of a "family man" to a "society man", from one seeking "personal gain" to one seeking a "better world, welfare of his community, agapistic altruism". Transformation process. 19 Japan devised it as a health program. For all ages. In India, a way out to live happily at the end was devised, though SHINRIN YOKU is not the equivalent of the VANAPRASTHA. But Nature would make us happier is the science finding. Even there we devised a program long ago to live with the nature. 20 KR: YM ji may try these concepts to be adopted by the citizens in living with the nature, round about their residences, one Is living. Where mountain will not come to Abdullah, we may walk towards the mountain. KR IRS 7523 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoqR9TgbsTtj_jNztBwEzjikLnV1MunDTkCC61ukw295Hg%40mail.gmail.com.
