Could forest-bathing be your next dose of preventative “medicine?” - SouthPark Magazine (2025)

Here’s how it works — and where to experience it in North Carolina.

by Katie Toussaint | photographs by Richard Isreal

Despite how it sounds, forest bathing isn’t a nude romp in the leaves. It’s a stroll through the forest, a form of meditation. Some even consider it a preventative treatment for illnesses.

“Trees keep themselves relatively healthy,” says Jennifer Bueno-Hutchens, a horticulturist and certified nature and forest therapy guide who leads forest bathing sessions at UNC Charlotte’s botanical gardens. “Whenever something is attacking them, whether it’s a disease, an insect, anything, they create and release this chemical called phytoncides.”

When people walk through the forest, she says, they “bathe” in these phytoncides and inhale them or absorb them through skin. Then the body can produce more white blood cells called natural killer cells, or NK cells, to attack illness. Our bodies can mimic the trees.

Forest bathing — also called shinrin-yoku or forest therapy — originated in Japan in the 1980s under the guidance of Dr. Qing Li. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, Li pointed to a nature deficit disorder in the modern world, with the sensory overload of crowded cities and long working hours contributing to negative health outcomes. Forest bathing could be a sustainable solution.

Today, certified forest-therapy guides around the world — and across North Carolina — offer guided experiences to improve community health.

How does forest bathing work?

“The focus of forest bathing is to slow down and be present where you are,” says Mark Ellison, certified forest therapy guide and founder of Pinnacle Forest Therapy in Sylva.

It’s different from hiking, which involves a destination. Forest bathing is an opportunity for a digital fast, and everything people experience can be applied to life in a broader context, Ellison says. “How to be present. Slow down. Take a break from tech.”

It’s easy to experience certain immediate benefits to the practice. Because the point isn’t to exercise or exert yourself in any way, your body and brain can let go of tension and relax. “It’s allowing ourselves to go into that rest-and-digest mode,” Bueno-Hutchens says. “That calm-and-collected mode of your nervous system… It lowers your heart rate, your blood pressure. It lowers your stress levels.”

Ellison says, “It is as if mind and spirit have been reset.”

Guided forest-bathing sessions typically last two to three hours. Guides present participants with invitations to connect with nature by walking, sitting, observing and more. The invitations are meant to prompt curiosity, Bueno-Hutchens says. “As you’re shifting from being in your head to connecting to your body, connecting to your heart, it’s orienting our senses as a gateway into the present moment.”

I got present atop a mossy boulder during a 2.5-hour group session at UNC Charlotte’s botanical gardens. Bueno-Hutchens invited me and the other participants to turn on our senses and connect with the natural elements of a quiet glen: See what calls to you, and have a seat.

That boulder called to me. Once perched, we were told to notice. Take a look around, observe the colors, the shapes, the sounds, even the tastes. Do a full-body scan — do you have any needs? Do you need to stretch? Do you need to readjust? Notice the sensation of contact between you and the earth. My feet felt rooted in the packed dirt surrounding the boulder. The air tasted crisp and cold. I heard the warble of a bird. I felt — soothed.

I also got restless. Through the session, my group was invited to take in tiny details of our natural surroundings and see what intrigued us the most. We were invited to get to know a tree; to smell, touch and spend time with it.

It was unique and lovely — and long. Which made me question: If I can feel a benefit in the span of the first 10 minutes, why are guided sessions so drawn out? Ellison says the longer time frame allows people to fully step away from the modern habit of hurry and constant connectivity, and to change gears. “The invitations help people open up their senses to experiencing nature,” he says. “This time frame seems to be the dose of nature that works well. Certainly less time is fine, you just might not get the same level of restoration.”

Start your bath — get out into the forest.

“Getting any time in nature is good,” Ellison says. “The more the better. And the higher the quality of the natural environment you are in, the more positive restorative benefits you will experience.”

There are several ways to explore forest bathing. If you want structure, consider booking an immersion with a North Carolina guide near the mountains (your day trip awaits!). And if you prefer to squeeze in a short session, visit a local nature preserve, or simply step into your backyard and head for the trees.

“You really can’t mess up forest bathing,” Ellison says. “It is not complicated. It is very simple. Which is why it is such a wonderful way for people to experience nature. Just go outside, and notice.” SP

Get nurtured by nature

Where to go forest bathing in North Carolina

Stroll through Charlotte scenery

Join Jennifer Bueno-Hutchens for therapeutic sessions to connect with yourself and your surroundings within UNC Charlotte’s botanical gardens. Nature therapy walks are the first Saturday morning of each month, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and Gratitude in the Gardens — a walking meditation through Van Landingham Glen — events are the first Sunday of each month, 3-5p.m. Learn more here.

Walk in Western NC

Mark Ellison offers private guided walks by appointment on the certified forest-therapy trail in Sylva, as well as in Cashiers and Highlands. He also leads group walks in Highlands for the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust. Learn more here.

Pause in the Piedmont countryside

Explore Juneberry Ridge, a working farm and nature retreat in Norwood, about an hour’s drive from Charlotte. Upcoming guided forest-bathing events on March 8 and March 21 are followed by a family-style, farm-to-table lunch. Learn more at juneberry.com.