Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Forest Bathing summary
Qing Li
How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness
Listen to the first key idea
Key idea 1 of 6
4.7 (253 ratings)
20 mins
6 key ideas
Audio & text
What is Forest Bathing about?
Forest Bathing (2018) is a guide to the Japanese practice of forest bathing. It explores the beliefs, culture, and traditions behind forest bathing, as well as various studies on its health benefits. It also lays out easy-to-follow steps for practicing forest bathing in any environment.
About the Author
Dr. Qing Li is an immunologist and a leading expert on forest medicine. He’s a founding member of the Japanese Society for Forest Medicine, and the vice president and secretary general of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine. Dr. Li teaches at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, Japan, and has been a visiting fellow at Stanford University.
Table of Contents
Key idea 1 of 6
Forest bathing is a Japanese practice based on the healing power of nature.
Imagine this: after a stressful week of deadlines and family obligations, you desperately need something to boost your mood and energy. A vacation would be ideal, but, unfortunately, you don’t have the time or money. But you can take a walk in a nearby park, and something tells you that this will do the trick.
That something is right! After about an hour of taking in the trees, flowers, and various sounds of nature, you feel refreshed.
You instinctively know that spending time in nature is good for you. What you might not know is that, in Japan, there’s a specific word for basking in nature and connecting with it in a healing way. It’s called forest bathing, or, in Japanese, shinrin-yoku.
The key message here is: Forest bathing is a Japanese practice based on the healing power of nature.
The term shinrin-yoku was coined in the early eighties by Tomohide Akiyama, the Director General of the Agency of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. At the time, Japanese people started practicing forest bathing because they believed that being in nature was beneficial. When you consider the centuries-long relationship that the Japanese have with forests, it makes sense that the practice of forest bathing developed there.
According to the author, Japan is a forest civilization, whose culture, religion, and philosophy are tied to forests. To start, two-thirds of the country is covered in forest. Practitioners of the main religions, Shinto and Zen Buddhism, believe that forests are divine spaces, and Japanese folktales are about tree-dwelling gods called kodama. Festivals and traditions in Japan also revolve around nature, and one example is hanami – a spring flower-viewing festival.
Despite this deep relationship with nature, many Japanese people today are disconnected from the natural world. An astounding 78 percent of the population lives in cities. This urbanization trend isn’t unique to Japan. The world is becoming increasingly urban; it’s estimated that, by the year 2050, 75 percent of the global population will live in cities.
Although there are definite perks to city-dwelling, it also increases stress. And more stress leads to higher chances of developing health conditions like cancer, strokes, and heart attacks. The good news is that forest bathing is more than refreshing. It also combats stress and improves health – as you’ll find out in the next blink.
Want to see all full key ideas from Forest Bathing?
Key ideas in Forest Bathing
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Who should read Forest Bathing
- People interested in nature’s effect on human health
- Nature lovers
- Japanese culture enthusiasts
Categories with Forest Bathing
Books like Forest Bathing
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers