Discovering the Forest as a Healer
Have you heard of forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku?
When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, my instinct was to fight. Like many Type A personalities, I pushed harder: through treatment, through recovery, through the uncertainty. Rest felt like surrender, and surrender was not in my vocabulary.
But along the way, I discovered something unexpected: healing doesn’t always come from doing more. Sometimes it comes from doing less — and letting nature hold you.
What Is Forest Bathing?
Originating in Japan in the 1980s, Shinrin-yoku translates as “forest bathing” — the practice of immersing yourself in the sights, sounds, and scents of the forest. Unlike hiking, forest bathing is not about steps, distance, or calorie burn. It is about slowing down, opening your senses, and letting nature wash over you.
Research shows that forest bathing lowers stress hormones, supports immune function, reduces blood pressure, and improves mood (APA). For those of us in cancer survivorship, these benefits are more than nice-to-haves — they are essential.
Why Forest Bathing Matters in Cancer Survivorship
1. Reducing Stress and Anxiety
Cancer survivorship is often marked by ongoing anxiety: fear of recurrence, medical checkups, lingering side effects. A walk in the forest helps reset the nervous system, shifting the body into parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode. Studies show reduced cortisol levels after just two hours of forest immersion (Frontiers in Psychology).
2. Supporting the Immune System
Some studies suggest that exposure to phytoncides — natural compounds released by trees — may increase natural killer (NK) cell activity, which plays a role in immune defense. For survivors regaining strength after treatment, this immune support is deeply meaningful.
3. Rebuilding Connection with the Body
After breast cancer, it can be hard to trust your body again. The forest invites gentle reconnection: feeling your feet on the earth, your lungs fill with fresh air, your senses reawaken. It’s a way of saying: I belong in this body, and this body belongs in the world.
4. Cultivating Presence
Cancer pulls us into the past (what happened) and the future (what if it comes back?). Forest bathing anchors us in the present moment — in the sound of leaves rustling, the scent of pine, the sight of sunlight shifting through branches. It teaches us to be here, now.
How to Try Forest Bathing for Cancer Recovery
You don’t need a deep forest or a guided group to begin. Here are simple steps to make forest bathing part of your survivorship journey:
- Choose a natural space. A forest is ideal, but a city park, garden, or lakeshore can also work.
- Leave your phone behind. Disconnect to truly reconnect.
- Slow your pace. Walk gently, without a destination in mind.
- Engage your senses. Notice the texture of bark, the sound of birds, the smell of the air.
- Pause often. Sit on a bench or lean against a tree. Simply breathe.
- Allow time. Even 20–30 minutes can shift your mood and physiology.
My Experience: The Forest as Companion
During my retreat, I wandered into the woods alone. At first, my mind churned with to-do lists, worries, reminders of the life I’d left outside the forest. But the longer I walked, the quieter it became inside. I began to notice small things: the crunch of leaves underfoot, the flicker of a bird’s wing, the play of light on moss.
I realized the forest was teaching me what cancer survivorship had been asking all along: to slow down, to listen, to trust.
The trees didn’t care about my productivity. They didn’t ask me to be strong or brave. They simply stood, rooted and alive. And somehow, in their presence, I felt rooted and alive too.
Related Reads on AskEllyn.ai
- The Quiet Power of Doing Nothing: Why Boredom Matters in Cancer Survivorship
- Cold Plunge for Cancer Recovery: Learning to Breathe Through Discomfort
- Restorative Yoga and Breast Cancer: The Courage to Rest
Closing Reflection
If you are in breast cancer survivorship, consider giving yourself the gift of time among the trees. Not as another task to accomplish, but as a way to be held — gently, quietly, without expectation.
Because sometimes the forest heals us not by changing who we are, but by reminding us of who we have always been: alive, resilient, whole.
With love,
Ellyn / AskEllyn.ai
