Our ancestors knew that living around trees and green spaces makes us happier and healthier. Therefore, our ancestors cared for trees, people considered then trees as a social fabric. Trees and it parts such as leaves, flowers and fruits have been part of our ritual and customs. I remember my mom used to tell us that a variety of communication happens between non-human elements of the natural world, especially the trees. She used tell that trees have energetic inner lives that are similar to ours. They also thrive in families, and form underground social networks. They too feel joy and pain. Each tree has its individual personality, they also need sleep, they have their moods, and they communicate with each other using different types of lingo. The most important thing which she told us, and that has made a great impact on me till date is that trees can bless us, they have the capacities to do good to us.
Several recent studies have focused on the positive effects of trees and nature on our mental and physical health. A recent study published in a journal using satellite images on 31,109 residents of the greater Toronto, Canada found that people wh
o live in areas with higher street tree density report better health compared with their peers living in areas with lower street tree density. People living amongst higher trees density feel more contented and more cheerful. Another study found that living on a street with 10 more trees than average (both on the street and in people’s yards) makes them feel as healthier as much as seven years younger!!
Adding an extra 10 trees to a block might be a simple way for cities to improve health. Ten more trees in every block in a street can increase tree density in a diffusion area. So if you are planning to make investment in a new house, you should count the number of trees on the block. Why not make a little investment in planting few indoor plants or if you have a balcony or a backyard, plant few trees.
On occasions when you need to give a gift, please give of a flowered plant; by doing so, you are giving pleasure, creativity, and better health to the person. Fresh, appealing flowers come in colours and sizes to instantly enhance every home and patio decor. Additionally, the benefits of gardening and nurturing a living flowered plant can reduce stress, help in doing little physical exercise, and connect to nature that is healing. One need not be a trained gardener to grow a bloomed plant. Choose a hardy and easy-going plant that can grow in almost anywhere. I think this can be a perfect gift.
Trees are known to improve air quality by capturing six common air pollutants and toxic gases: ground-level ozone, particular matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and lead. In fact, a single tree can absorb 10 pounds of air pollutants per year. In a study published in 2014, U.S. Forest Service scientists and collaborators calculated that trees are saving more than 850 human lives a year and preventing 670,000 incidents of acute respiratory symptoms.
Have you heard of a concept ‘’Shinrin-yoku’’? It is a term that means forest bathing. It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a foundation of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. The idea is simple: it is taking meditative, thoughtful long walks through the woods that reconnect the individual with nature.
Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest. IN recent years their research is helping to establish shinrin-yoku and forest therapy throughout the world. In the past several decades there have been many scientific studies that are demonstrating the mechanisms behind the healing effects of simply being in wild and natural areas. Many trees in the forest give off organic compounds that support our “NK” (natural killer) cells that are part of our immune system’s way of fighting cancer. The forest bathing reduced blood pressure, it reduces stress, it increases ability to focus, even in children with ADHD and it helps in accelerated recovery from surgery or illness. It boosts increased energy level and improved sleep.
Let us connect with nature by living a beautiful life among the trees.
