As part of the 19th Podlaskie Festival of Science and Arts, we organized a forest bathing workshop in the Zwierzyniec Forest. Forest bathing was one of the first topics on the JoinUs4Health platform – and it is one that we are particularly passionate about.
What is forest bathing? It is a conscious, multi-sensory communing with nature, beneficial to our health. The phenomenon and term itself originated in Japan (Shinrin-yoku), where the first nature therapy center in the Akasawa forest was established in 1982. In cities, where we are often cut off from nature, immersion in the forest space can give us deep relaxation and support a healthy lifestyle.
The forest bathing workshop was led by Dr. Katarzyna Simonienko, a psychiatrist who founded the Center for Forest Therapy in Bialystok.