Your Guide to Forest Bathing (Expanded Edition): Experience the Healing Power of Nature

by M. Amos Clifford

Overview

The bestselling guide to forest bathing with a new section of hands-on forest bathing practices and space for journal entries and reflections.

Simply being present in the natural world, with all of our senses fully alive, can have a remarkably healing effect. It can also awaken in us our latent but profound connection with all living things. This is “forest bathing,” a practice inspired by the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku. It is a gentle, meditative approach to being with nature and an antidote to our nature-starved lives that can heal our relationship with the more-than-human world.

In Your Guide to Forest Bathing, you'll discover a path that you can use to begin a practice of your own that includes specific activities presented by Amos Clifford, one of the world’s most experienced forest bathing experts. Whether you’re in a forest or woodland, public park, or just your own backyard, this book will be your personal guide as you explore the natural world in a way you may have never thought possible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633412262
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	08/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	608,007
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

M. Amos Clifford is the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, an organization leading the movement to integrate nature and forest therapies into health care, education, and land management systems. He has been a student of Buddhist philosophy for over twenty years and is the founder of Sky Creek Dharma Center in Chico, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 What Is Forest Bathing? 1

2 The Healing Power of Forest Bathing 15

3 Elements of Practice 41

4 Forest Bathing Step-by-Step: An Optimal Flow 61

5 The Forest Invites You 85

6 Leaning into the Learning Edges 129

7 Practical Matters 139

8 Forest Bathing in Japan 153

Conclusion: Awakening the Wild 159

Practices and Reflections 163

Notes 179

Resources 181

Editorial Reviews

"Mature forests produce an enigma to modern medicine: an airborne biochemical nectar, the essence of the trees. To walk in this sea of chemistry, and take it in through your senses, is called forest bathing. The healing is immediate. For most people, the synergy sweeps the body, mind and soul back into a holistic unit. Even as a child, Amos Clifford carried this wisdom in his heart. Let the wisdom in his book permeate yours."

Diana Beresford-Kroeger

"M. Amos Clifford is a forest guide, psychotherapist, restorative justice worker, and longtime Zen meditation practitioner. His book is a beautiful exploration of forest bathing, a source of information on the medical and scientific evidence of its benefits, and a guide to all that's needed for a fulfilling forest-bathing practice."
 

Foreword Reviews

"In this book, Amos weaves a precious tapestry of practical details, poetic imagining, and historical perspective on the practice of forest bathing. It's a delightful read that leaves you yearning for intimacy with nature."

Sylvie Rokab

"A joyful and insightful invitation to reconnect with forests. Amos Clifford is an outstanding guide to deepening our relationships within the community of life."

David George Haskell

"The scientific data confirming the mental, emotional, and biophysical benefits of forest bathing are most exciting and validating to me as an integrative physician. However, what makes this book rise to excellence is how Amos Clifford describes the experience of forest bathing so that your heart poetically engages. His writing magically unites us with the healing rhythms of nature to dissolve lingering issues and bring about profound peace of heart."

Philip Barr

"An introduction to the healing power of forests—and to the natural world that supports wellness in our stress-filled society."

Yoshifumi Miyazaki

"John Muir once said, 'between every two pine trees is a doorway leading to a new way of life.' Now Amos Clifford has given us a beautiful and inspiring guide inviting us to seek out the trees and let the healing happen, both for us and for our beleaguered ecosystems. Grab this book and head outside."

Florence Williams

"M. Amos Clifford is a forest guide, psychotherapist, restorative justice worker, and longtime Zen meditation practitioner. His book is a beautiful exploration of forest bathing, a source of information on the medical and scientific evidence of its benefits, and a guide to all that's needed for a fulfilling forest-bathing practice."
 

From the Publisher

"An introduction to the healing power of forests--and to the natural world that supports wellness in our stress-filled society." —Yoshifumi Miyazaki, Ph.D., Chiba University, Japan, Forest Medicine researcher, author of Shinrin Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing, Reviews

Reviews