By Bonnie Eissner
Upper West Sider Lori Klamner used to be terrible at meditating, she told West Side Rag in a recent interview. At the end of yoga classes, when she was supposed to be focusing on her breath, she would be thinking instead about her to-do list.
Then, during the pandemic, she found a way to calm her busy mind: forest bathing.
This hippie-sounding activity involves no water or nudity (at least none required). The term instead is the translation of shinrin-yoku, a science-based practice that emerged in Japan in the high-flying 1980s as a balm for burnout and a path toward embracing and protecting the nation’s forests. It has also been proven to be good for your health
The concept sounds simple: slow down and spend time in nature. But these things can be hard to do, especially for busy New Yorkers who have limited access to natural landscapes, let alone forests. That’s where Klamner can help.
Furloughed from her jobs as a massage therapist and esthetician during the COVID-19 lockdown, she became a certified forest therapy guide and now leads forest bathing experiences in Riverside and Central Parks. Her next one is on Wednesday, May 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Riverside Park. An offering of the Riverside Park Conservancy’s Summer on the Hudson series, it’s free; reservations are encouraged, but not required. The group will meet in the park at River Run Playground at West 82nd Street.
Klamner begins her forest bathing events with a guided meditation to help people awaken their senses to their surroundings. Her goal, she said, is to get people to be present, to immerse themselves in the natural environment even for a moment, ideally, for the full two hours. The rest of the experience is a series of “invitations” to explore different areas in the park. From the outset, Klamner asks people to consider the history and evolution of Manhattan, for example, the striations in the rocks carved when glaciers advanced on the island, thousands of years ago. “It’s a little time traveling without getting scientific,” she said.
On short walks, she encourages people not just to stop and smell the plants, but to touch them too. “It’s about slowing down to notice all the details,” she said. She added that she’s really just trying to get people to stop thinking about their phones and their to-do lists, which she knows is a struggle.
Another aspect of forest bathing, Klamner said, is contemplating the memories and feelings that nature evokes. Klamner invites people to consider how different environments make them feel. Some people may be comfortable among dense trees; others may be disquieted by such a setting and prefer an open field.
Some experiences can elicit childhood memories. She has invited people to lie on the grass and look up at the clouds. “People were giggling,” she said. “They were like, ‘I haven’t done this since I was a kid.’”
Science shows that this immersion in nature and letting go of inhibitions is healthy. Researchers have documented that forest bathing boosts immunity, lowers blood pressure, and improves people’s moods and minds. Some of the benefits stem from biochemistry. Trees emit not just oxygen, but also phytoncides, or wood essential oils that ward off infections. Breathing in these chemical compounds has been shown to strengthen people’s immune systems. Even the colors and the sounds, such as birdsong and flowing water, found in forests and natural environments calm the mind and body.
“I tell people, the forest gives the therapy,” Klamner said.
She ends the outings by serving homemade herbal tea — not a fancy ritual, just poured from her thermos into Dixie cups. “I think that everybody in the end feels better and closer and wants to help more, to protect the land, protect the park,” she said. “So that’s a really nice outcome for me.”
Klamner, who has returned to her massage and esthetician roles, said forest bathing has changed her life. She has more patience with people, and she meditates regularly. “The claim that it helps you with your daily trials, it never really made any sense to me before,” she said. “But now that I’m practicing this very, very often, I think the breathing and slowing down has really helped me with the trials of life.”
In addition to the event on May 22, Klamner will lead forest bathing experiences for Riverside Park Conservancy in June, September, and October. She also leads walks in Central Park for the JCC Manhattan and at YMCA Camp Hi-Rock in the Berkshires.
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How much better to do this by yourself without the distraction of the chatter of other people.
I was just thinking the same thing. Why do adults frequently think they need some sort of “permission” to do stuff like this and then to do it in a group? I’ve been doing this for years, alone, and have zero desire to make it into a shared experience.
No…not better, different. Not dissimilar to the difference between praying by yourself or attending a church service. The presence and connection to others adds a different flavor via the shared experience and can sometimes be more powerful.
Le havdil
For me, calmness was found underground in a cave. I’ve never found anything more calming than when I turned off my light to enjoy the total darkness and complete silence, with the possible exception of the occasional dripping of water. Not for everyone, but it works for me.
Sadly, I’m no longer able to enjoy that activity, so I take a drive in the middle of the night and find a place to park that’s away from the noise and artificial lights of towns and highways.
I enjoy the time spent with family and friends, but solace is where I find true calmness.
I think this is wonderful and thank you for sharing this info with the community. What a wonderful opportunity to connect with others and make new friends. Thank you.
I feel that we don’t get out enough in Nature, despite how much the outdoors helps our minds and bodies.
There are a lot of pactices, paths to emmerse oneself and be mindful in nature. Forest bathing is fun, a guided meditation through a series of prompts or “invitations” to focus on your senses and connect to a natural setting. Take a deep breath and enjoy.
While I can the appreciate the Author’s more cerebral approach at organic cleansing. Allow me to venture back to a milk farm in Bethel, NY. Setting for a Summer Love ’69 shindig called “Woodstock.” Certainly not your average forest bathing. Plenty of drugs, music and skin. Oh yeah, and a tad bit more water on hand than the shinrin-yoku. 🙂
Full disclosure, I am the guide mentioned in this article. I would like to share that you do not need to go on a communal Forest Bathing walk to practice some of these relaxing, healthy techniques. But just like yoga or meditation or writing, it’s sometimes good to learn a few techniques before you venture out on your own. So if you do like walking quietly, noticing the land and what’s happening around you, listening and smelling, and being in nature, great. There are folks who are afraid to go to our beautiful parks all by themselves. Some people are afraid of spiders, or afraid of touching plants because they don’t know if it will hurt them. So that’s why it’s good to go with a guide. Meeting other like-minded people, and socializing is very good for our hearts. Loneliness and disconnection from each other is all too common. However you enjoy nature, it is improving your quality of life and improving the planet. When we walk softly on the land, we want to support it. So I thank Bonnie and the West Side Rag for giving Forest Bathing space and invite anybody to come to a future walk with me or any other Nature guide.