As our lives get busier, time seems to go quicker.  We have less time, more stress and seemingly ever greater responsibilities.

In 2008 we crossed the Rubicon.  For the first time in human history more people lived in towns and cities than in rural areas.  This is compounded by the fact that the average worker now spends 8 hours a day in front of a screen.  They then go home and relax by watching on average 3 hours TV or the Internet.

Research tells us this is not good for us, that this behaviour makes us more aggressive, more depressed, less patient, slower witted and fatter.  But we already know that.  What research hasn’t been able to tell us is why, or how we can fix it.

The answer really is simple and obvious.

If you knew of a simple, scientifically proven way to lift your mood, make you 50% more creative, increase your production of cancer fighting cells by 40% and keep all these levels high for a month afterwards, would you take it?  You bet.  Read on for the answer.

I’ve often wondered why I take such pleasure from being in nature.  I teach my classes outside whenever I can and get immense satisfaction from taking people into forests for weekend experiences.  What I couldn’t really explain was why people seemed to ‘get’ things so much quicker in an outdoor environment than they do in a dojo.  It is almost as if there is a secret accelerant in the air.

Why does a weekend in the woods would have such a profound impact on people?  I thank Japanese researchers for giving me the answer.

Miyazaki San, a Japanese physiological anthropologist and vice director of Chiba University’s Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences, located just outside Tokyo has been at the centre of Forest Therapy for the past decade.  In that time he has taken more than 600 people out into the woods and monitored their reaction to their surroundings.

The results are startling.

The findings show that leisurely forest walks, compared with city or town walks, yield a 12.4% decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 7% decrease in sympathetic nerve activity, a 1.4% decrease in blood pressure and a 5.8% decrease in heart rate.  On subjective tests, study participants also report better moods and lower anxiety.

Is that really a surprise?  When you consider that we have spent 99.9% of our evolutionary journey in nature and we are still physiologically tuned to it.  The more time we spend there, the better we feel.  Consider how you would feel…

•       Listening to the sound of running water and birds singing
•       Smelling fresh pine, wild garlic, bluebells
•       Feeling the sun on your back and the wind in your hair
•       Seeing sunrays through a canopy or a beautiful waterfall
•       And have you ever noticed that food tastes better outside – think barbeques and picnics or fresh fruit plucked straight from a tree.

As much as the forest gives us, it is also what it takes away that cleanses us.  The anxiety of checking your smart phone, sweating the little things and lack of perspective that every day life brings.

Japanese Doctors have been prescribing a cure for these ailments called ‘Shinrin Yoku’ or ‘forest bathing’.  Literally spending time in forests.  You don’t have to do anything else.  Researchers are building a body of evidence that proves at a cellular level what we already innately know.

So if we know it, why don’t we do more of it?

I think that it is too easy to stay comfortable and easily entertained.  I confess that I am as guilty of this as the next person.  I maintain numerous social network platforms, spend most of my day in front of a screen and yes, I relax in the evening in front of one too.

So how do I get my dose of forest medicine?  I try to build in to my life as many reasons as I can to go outside.  Building a business around the outdoors has been instrumental, as has having dogs and a family that loves the outdoors and wild swimming – so in no particular order:

•       I have dogs,who LOVE walks in the forest.
•       I have cultivated a love of wild swimming in my daughters and  have a wife who loves walking
•       I make conscious decisions to live near woods.
•       I teach my general classes outside whenever I can.
•       I teach private lessons outdoors whenever I can
•       I run woodlands experience courses where people literally rediscover the pleasures and benefits of being outdoors.
•       If I have to choose a business hotel when travelling I will click the ‘countryside hotel’ option wherever possible.

I am sure that very little of what I’ve said will astound you.  You will have felt it yourselves I’m sure.

All I would say is try to find ways to get out into nature and just be there.

An afternoon or a long walk will bring you lasting benefits.  Even better would be a few days.  The Japanese prescribe 3 days.  If you would like to get some real benefits try a few days on a woodlands course and on top of the health benefits improve your martial arts capability way beyond where it is now.  You will be immersing in at least 6-7 hours of training a day and far from leaving you depleted you will be energised in a way you will have rarely if ever felt.

Three days of this gives you about 21 hours of training with more time spent in discussion with like-minded people.   Most people spend about 3 hours a week in training – 12 hours a month.  You will be getting about 2 months worth of training in a weekend.

Add to this the compound interest of the training being condensed into a short period. without the skills fade that comes between sessions.  You then have incredible value.

There are limited spaces for this years Devon Camp in June.  Click here to find out more

P.S If you fancy something even more thrilling There is a four day course in Sweden in some of the most beautiful forests and lakes that I have ever seen.  Once again spaces are filling fast for this so don’t wait too long to book.  Click here to see a video of it

If I was to leave you with one message from this it would be that If you want to feel better, spend more time in nature.  It really is that simple….

I hope to share some of those great forest experiences with you.