"Do we need swimwear?" Fabian from NIKIN's TikTok department accompanies me to the forest bathing session and asks me this beforehand. Actually, the word "bathing" is a bit misleading. So let me tell you right from the start: you can go forest bathing fully clothed and without a life jacket. It's about walking mindfully through the forest and, as my tour guide Roland explains to me at the end of the experience, "about calming down." Aha, all right. But let's start at the beginning.
Learn mindfulness with the Forest Office
Forest bathing originates from Japan, where it's called Shinrin-Yoku. If you'd like to learn more about its history and the various providers, I recommend this article . For our first forest bathing experience, we opted for a tour from the forest office . Roland (pictured above, left) and Peter (pictured above, right) offer forest bathing and forest mindfulness tours on their website, in addition to forest office spaces. This is a matter close to their hearts, as Peter explains to me with a smile right at the start: "What you value, you protect. That's why we want to bring people back to the forest." The forest for our experience is owned by Muhen AG. The two professional forest ambassadors (as it says on their official business cards) have other locations, too.
Touching moss and eating bark
The exact starting point for the mindfulness tour is a forest house. From there, we continue leisurely into the forest on a wide, well-worn path. Then Peter suddenly turns off into knee-high undergrowth. I'm a bit taken aback and look a bit skeptical, but Roland says, "Just check for ticks later." I make a note. Indeed, just a few meters into the "wild" forest, the undergrowth thins considerably, and now I'm walking softly on old leaves and small green plants. Our tour guides encourage us to walk mindfully, meaning to be conscious of every step. Moss and leaves are meant to be touched and even smelled. This reminds me a bit of childhood, when I was always curious and could spend hours obsessing over the smallest things. Then Roland hands me a piece of bark and says enthusiastically, "You can taste wood too; that way you can experience the forest in a completely different way." Fabian is even more enthusiastic about this suggestion than Roland. His comment: "Do it for TikTok!"
@nikinclothing Who should I try this with? 🌲 #forestbathing #bathing #forest #forest #experience #adventure #relax #nikinclothing #fy #fyp #viral #switzerland
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Be aware of the silence
Actually, the piece of wood is quite okay, especially since you can spit it out again. What comes next, however, is what I like best and probably falls into the category of traditional forest bathing. Our tour guides bring out small mats and instruct us to sit quietly in the forest for 10 minutes and breathe consciously. At first, I'm a bit stiff, but then I relax, listening to the silence, which actually isn't so quiet after all. Because everywhere you discover sounds, life, and small things, like a spider on the forest floor, that I had previously overlooked. When I tell the group this, Peter nods in agreement and explains: "In one handful of soil, there are over 7 million organisms. A forest is full of hidden life."
Seeing the forest in the mirror
Now we continue, this time blindfolded to enhance our other senses. We'll then be given a small mirror, which we hold either under or over our eyes. This exercise is also about focusing entirely on the forest and our senses. Finally, we'll create a forest scene together using branches, stones, and leaves."So, how do you feel after forest bathing?" Roland asks the group at the end. Indeed, after more than an hour in the forest, I'm more relaxed than before and feel very peaceful. "The forest has this effect on us. After just 10-15 minutes in the forest, the body releases relaxation hormones," the two forest ambassadors explain. On the way home, Fabian asks me if I'd go forest bathing again. Of course, because it's true, the forest calms you down. But I'll skip the bark eating next time.
