healthy vibes
Discover the pleasures and fascination of Forest Therapy in Upper Versilia beechwoods, the new path to wellness and psychophysical harmony in contact with nature
Words by Marta Nicolazzo - Photographs Luca Vecoli
In the modern world imbued with constant daily connections that turn us into wandering, always-connected robots between high-speed fibers and increasingly artificial relationships, there is one signal that points straight to our psychophysical well-being. We must navigate against the flow to discover it by (re) connecting to a primordial place capable of triggering ancestral spirits in us: the forest.
Lev Tolstoj was a trailblazer in this concept: happiness is being with nature, seeing her, and conversing with her. Along with him, other great minds have unceasingly extolled the “salvific” role of nature. It’s no news that nature sparks positive effects on human health, particularly in the medical realm. For over two decades, the Japanese have been practicing Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), a genuine preventive medical therapy endorsed by the government. Today, even the UN promotes this thesis, backed up by scientific documentation accumulated over time.
We are talking about Forest Therapy, a project that is gaining a foothold in Italy thanks to the joint work of the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) and the National Research Council in collaboration with the Reference Center for Phytotherapy. The therapy is based on walking slowly in forest areas (which have specific ecological, micrometeorological, and chemical-physical features, also considering the biochemical properties of the air) to feel better without reaching a destination or goal.
...The first and only Forest Therapy station in the Apuan Alps has been established in our mountains, near Forte dei Marmi. It is the “Adelmo Puliti” Alpine hut in the upper Arni valley, owned by the CAI section of Pietrasanta...
The first and only Forest Therapy station in the Apuan Alps has been established in our mountains, near Forte dei Marmi. It is the “Adelmo Puliti” Alpine hut in the upper Arni valley, owned by the CAI section of Pietrasanta, recently renovated and managed by the “Il Biancospino” association. The hut is located at an elevation of 1,013 meters near the beechwood of Mount Altissimo, where the Forest Therapy itinerary takes place and where, after completing it, you can also stop and experience a meditative-psychological practice. Days dedicated to this activity are reported on the Pietrasanta CAI website and at this link.
It is an easy walk of about two and a half hours, suitable for everyone. Patrizia Garberi, a psychotherapist and environmental hiking trainer licensed to guide travelers in non-hazardous natural environments, will accompany us on this “therapeutic adventure.” “Several scientific studies have shown that silence and the contemplation of natural sounds and stimuli can improve the attunement that is spontaneously formed between our immune system and the phytoncides and terpenes emitted by the plants in what becomes a healthy forest bathing,” she explains, fueling our curiosity as we set out. Do you know when we smell plants, flowers, and herbs? These scents are the molecules of phytoncides and terpenes. When in the forest, we spontaneously breathe them, which benefits our brain, body, and spirit.
We are ready to penetrate the beechwood, wandering aimlessly to (re)discover primal sensations. Our guide’s indications are crucial, as she invites us to adopt an exploratory attitude and shows us how to focus on ourselves and our surroundings, engaging all our senses: discovering the smell of the humus, the softness of the velvety coat of moss on the rocks, the perfect shape of a snail’s golden spiral... If you have never done so, observe how the beams of light seep through the branches of beech trees in the forest. The practice is thrilling; as we are immersed in the environment where our species completed its own evolution, we sense the distant roots of an intimate relationship (human-environment) resurfacing and becoming a natural guide to our health.
Vis medicatrix naturae, – the healing power of nature – Hippocrates’ dictum, is more relevant than ever. Scientific studies report reactivation of the immune, endocrine, and neuro-psychic systems, resulting in improved anxiety and depression, eliminated pollutant toxins, decreased stress, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, allergies, and psychosomatic disorders.
At the end of this “healthy bathing,” we can only thank the forest for welcoming and permeating us with soothing nutrients. May the surprising nature continue to surprise us!
