5 Things I Learned about Deep Forest-Bathing in Yakushima

By Michelle Chua

A couple weeks ago, I had the honor of visiting the magical island of Yakushima off the mainland of Japan to learn about guiding Deep Forest-bathing.  The concept of forest-bathing, or shinrin yoku, stems from a Japanese practice to promote well-being through immersing in nature and slowing down to truly connect through your senses.  Backed by plenty of scientific research, regular forest-bathing promotes boosted immune system function, decreased stress, improved sleep, pain relief and awakened sense of joy, among other benefits.  Deep forest-bathing, moreover, delves further - into the psycho-social connection between humans and the more-than-human natural world, with the intent of nurturing conscious relationship with Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. 
 
Here are five insights I received while training to guide deep forest-bathing in Yakushima:

1.  Enter the forest with reverence.  At the start of each deep forest-bathing session, like nature-connecting rituals I experienced with indigenous healers in Peru, we paused before entering the forest to honor the energy of that piece of land and its beings.  In Yakushima, there is a Shinto shrine at every forest entrance, where visitors bow in reverence to the spirit of the mountain, river or other natural elements in the area.  At the shrines, we also asked for permission to enter and to travel safely within the forest, with the intention of being in harmony with it and everyone there.  Entering the forest with an attitude of respect set an intentional tone for being present, not taking my time spent there for granted.

2.  Be humble and let the forest teach you.  As a forest-bathing guide, I serve as a facilitator to support people’s openness to connect with nature.  The actual teacher is nature, sharing her wisdom through her inspiring beauty, demonstrations, nurturing energy and intelligent ways she evokes insight and emotional connection with participants. 

Some of the trees I had the honor of meeting in Yakushima were over 1,000 years old, carrying the wisdom and stories of so many human lifetimes.  When I approached them, I felt a visceral grounding energy inviting me to sit, bow and meditate with them.  To have the willingness to listen with our whole being requires emptying our faculties and realizing that nature has been, and will be, here much longer than us humans.  Nature is powerful and brilliant.  We have a lot to learn from her.

3.  Look at life from nature’s perspective.  One of my favorite invitations I explored in Yakushima’s dense moss-covered forests was to sit beside a being that called me and try to see the forest and myself from their perspective.  A ginormous tree had fallen towards a river and had a colorful garden already growing on top and inside of its hollowed trunk.  I circled the tree and looked at different angles from its point of view.  I discovered so many more details of life thriving and recycling around me and saw the interplay of bugs, sprouting cedar trees, the dark world of life under the fallen tree and details I would have missed had I only looked from my perspective.  This tree taught me how dark, light, and in-between things can coexist harmoniously and that such diversity is life itself—in all its beauty.

4.  Practice reciprocity.  Harmony thrives in the balance of energy exchange.  As plants and creatures decomposed in the Yakushima jungle, I saw leeches and other bugs ready to be nourished and contribute to the greater cycles of life.  When forest-bathing, I receive so much benefit of feeling my belonging to the earth and my partnership with its creatures.  In return, I offer prayers of gratitude, a cup of tea for the forest (tea-time with the forest regularly culminated our sessions) and a commitment to be of service in supporting the healing of human-nature relationship through guiding forest-bathing.  We each can find a personally meaningful way to give back to nature.

5.  Art is soul language.  You don’t have to consider yourself an artist to create art.  And art is not limited to formalized practices of painting on canvas or performing in a show.  The forest doesn’t necessarily speak through audible words, yet we can feel nature’s message when we are open.  As we allow ourselves to be open to our sensory experiences during forest-bathing, we can feel moved by creative energy.  Let yourself be a vessel of expressing that by letting go of judgment and letting life flow like water through you.  

During one of my deep forest-bathing sessions in Yakushima, I received the support of a voice healer whose intent was to support my authentic expression.  We hiked and sang in solitude through the jungle and gradually I felt a cathartic rhythmic dance and unintelligible chant emerge from my body.  As I waved my arms and sang at the tall trees surrounding me, I touched a deep memory in my bones, and tears cascaded down my face as we connected in profound love.  No, I hadn’t ingested any psychedelics or the like.  I just trusted and surrendered to the life energy moving through me.  And it felt nurturing and healing.  Sometimes an experience just can’t be encapsulated in words.

The memories and insights from deep forest-bathing are engrained in me, and I appreciate my learning journey there and that which continues.  (For three nights after returning to LA from Yakushima, I dreamt of its forest and jungles so vividly that in walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night I saw all the furniture in my apartment as plants.)  I’m inspired to continue deepening the practice of forest-bathing that I guide within our Root 2 Rise Yoga community and retreats.  I owe it to our Mother Earth and the more-than-human life that sustains and supports us, including our ancestors, who made it possible for us to be here now. 

​May we embody the love that is our unifying essence with all life on this planet and beyond.  

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About the Author

Michelle Chua spreads her love for nature through monthly guided forest-bathing in Los Angeles, CA, and retreats in Ojai and abroad.  Join her for Reverence, a nature-loving life-loving retreat in Peru in June 2025.  Read more about the author here.