Sinead Corcoran Dye: I hugged a tree and I liked it – why everyone should take up forest bathing

Trees and plants in forest environments release antimicrobial essential oils, that can boost our mood and immune system function. Photo / Getty

Immersing yourself in nature has many health benefits, from helping lower blood pressure to improving sleep.

This story begins with a “talking” leaf – a leaf picked off the ground that you pass around a circle and whoever’s holding the leaf shares their feelings. Except the circle was just me and someone else. I was forest bathing in the Auckland Domain and in a circle of two with my forest guide from Tree Mystic, Hannah McQuilkan.

As Hannah passed me the leaf, she asked me to share with her my favourite place in nature – and it’s at this point I froze. Because I have no favourite nature place. I hate the beach, I hate sun, I hate walking, I hate being too hot or too cold. I am an indoors girl.

But I struggle with mental illness, and I’ll try anything to help it, no matter how wacky it might seem – or how many talking leaves it takes. So, I was prepared to do whatever Hannah told me to do. I would literally bathe in the dirt if necessary.

The term forest bathing originated in Japan in the 80s and was dubbed shinrin-yoku. The practice was designed to offer an eco-antidote to tech-boom burnout and inspire people to reconnect with, and protect, the country’s forests.

And the trend caught on, so a decade later researchers began studying the physiological benefits of forest bathing. The science supported what we already guessed, that spending time immersed in nature is good for us.

Since then, forest bathing has been established as a health programme in Japan and inspired the foundation of associations around the world, including the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy in the United States.

One way it’s thought to work is through those little talking leaves and their oil secretions. Trees and plants in forest environments release antimicrobial essential oils, called phytoncides. They protect plants from germs and have a host of health benefits for humans, too. These oils can boost our mood and immune system function, they have been shown to normalise blood pressure and heart rate, as well as improve stress, anxiety, concentration, sleep and stimulate creativity.

After my talking leaf fail, Hannah spent the next two hours taking me on a very slow stroll through Auckland Domain’s miniature forest. While we walked, Hannah posed a series of sensory “invitations,” including one where I was asked to collect sticks and leaves I found along the way. We then smelt each other’s sticks and leaves. I know, I know, but try to stay with me.

I was then invited to wander off on my own and find a tree to talk to about my feelings. Now I assure you I am a very normal, mainstream person, but I got so into my chat with a tree I ended up hugging it for 15 minutes. The forest had turned me into a literal tree-hugging hippy.

We ended the session with a tea ceremony, where Hannah brewed tea made from kawakawa plants we’d found on our trek. It’s at this point I realised that, despite initially trying to convince Hannah to shorten our session because I couldn’t bear the thought of spending a whole morning in the woods, an entire two hours had flown by, and it had felt like 20 minutes. I drove home feeling utterly at peace and at one with nature.

The research suggests there is no singular way to practise forest bathing, or an exact amount of time prescribed. Some practitioners suggest that a single session should last from two to four hours, but some studies claim that even 15 minutes can have beneficial short-term effects on mental health.

I will be honest and say I probably won’t be trekking out to forest-bathe on my own because I’m too shy, but I may continue to do mini sessions on my lawn at home, or at the very least cuddle my fiddle leaf plant.