Mary Robinson - Class Reading Reflection 3

I found the readings that we did about eco-therapy and forest bathing very interesting. I had never heard of those specific terms before, so it was fairly new information to me. Something that stood out to me was the difference between eco-therapy and forest bathing. When I first looked into the terms, it seemed as if the terms could be used interchangeably. However, it turned out that forest bathing is a specific type of eco-therapy. It originated in Japan in the 1980s. The practice, known as shinrin-yoku in Japanese, involves spending time in a forest or other natural environment and immersing oneself in the sights, sounds, and smells of the natural world. The idea is to use all of the senses to fully experience the forest and its surroundings. Forest bathing has been shown to have a variety of health benefits, including reduced stress, improved mood, and increased immune function. Eco-therapy as a whole provides these kinds of benefits. The goal of eco-therapy is to connect people with nature and promote a sense of well-being that comes from being in the natural world. One of the primary benefits of these practices is the opportunity to disconnect from technology and the stresses of daily life and reconnect with the natural world. In a society that is increasingly reliant on technology and urbanization, spending time in nature can be a powerful reminder of the beauty and simplicity of the natural world.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nature Walk

 I took a walk around the Noland trail last week to just be able to say I have done it before my time ends at CNU. This was always a bucket list thing to do and after the 6-mile walk, I wish I had done it a lot earlier. I felt at peace during the walk like I didn't have finals coming up or papers to write. The only thing that was going through my head was "Wow it's been an hour already". The walk calmed my nerves and prepared me for my finals week and everything to get crazy. I wish I did this freshman year so I could have made it a habit before my final semester.
Read more

Haley Conroy - 2/14/23 - John Muir - (Outside of Class Reading)

  In the beginning section of John Muir’s essay titled Wild Parks and Reservations , he goes into depressing detail about noticeable changes in landscapes, particularly plant life, in many different regions of the United States. As I read this section I found myself thinking that it seems somewhat similar to something you would see in an essay on the environmental changes induced by climate change today. One connection between the text and modern-day was between ecotourism and the quote "Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity, and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers but as fountains of life." (721). Muir has taken the ideas of simplicity in life suggested by philosophers such as Thoreau and embodied them, although I think that Muir is a well-educated man that understood the complexities that exis...
Read more

Makenna Sowards—Free Response 3, Vegetarianism

 Dr. Kip speaking in class about renouncing vegetarianism because he considered it to boost him onto a moral high ground made me consider my own stance on vegetarianism. I haven't eaten meat in a year and a half, and my reasons for starting on this journey have remained as my reasons to continue. After learning about the detrimental impact of the meat-packing industry, I very quickly realized that was not something that I wanted to perpetuate by spending money on meat products. Though, it can very easily be argued that my small, personal movement against the food conglomerates responsible for releasing grotesque amounts of methane into the atmosphere as well as carbon emissions from large numbers of fossil-fueled machines does not make a very big impact, I think it serves another purpose: awareness. When people ask why I refuse to eat meat, it gives me the opportunity to speak on the carbon footprint of the meat-packing industry and how it is one of the largest contributors to dest...
Read more