Written by: Gorana Isailović

Shinrin yoku or Forest bathing (bathing in forest air) has been an element of the healthy lifestyle tradition of Japanese citizens for centuries. In Korea, this procedure is called Sanlimyok; in Finland, they practice it, but do not have a traditional name; in Ireland, it is called Boladh na Sioga, or bathing in the breath of a forest fairy. The term “Forest medicine” was introduced in Japan in 2006, the following year in England, and since 2009, a summer school of forest medicine has been held at the Harvard University Medical School.

The “Shinrin yoku trip” (or trip for bathing in forest air) has been used in Japan since 1981 and represents a standard health-preventive procedure, and the first meeting dedicated to this method was held in Nagano Prefecture. Forests cover 67 percent of Japan’s surface, so this method easily gained great popularity. From 1981 to today, bathing in forest air has become a global trend.

Bathing in forest air, as the basic program of forest medicine, belongs to the field of complementary medicine, aromatherapy, and represents preventive and auxiliary therapeutic methods of exposure to aromatic molecules of forest trees, “phytoncides,” which have multiple positive effects on human health and quality of life. People can enjoy their stay in the forest through the stimulation of all five senses: in the smell of the forest, the green color of plants, the sound of waterfalls and the singing of birds, the consumption of forest fruits, and hugging trees.

From 2004 to 2006, a large program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Japan was carried out, which showed significant positive effects of staying in the forest on human health, using evidence-based methods. The effect on mental health and stress control was established. Bathing in forest air reduces prefrontal brain activity, lowers blood pressure, and gives a relaxation effect. The activity of killer cells and the expression of anticancer proteins is increased. These effects can last up to 30 days after staying in the forest.

It is a medicine that studies the effects of staying in the forest on human health. In addition to the health benefits offered by staying in the forest, forest medicine also studies possible unwanted effects of the forest on health and the possibility of reducing the risks of these effects to a minimum. In 2007, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) was created to study the effects of the forest on human health, and in 2011, the International Organization of Forest Medicine (INFOM), which unites the efforts of world experts to maximize the effects of staying in the forest on human health and quality life in a holistic sense.

The cradle of the forest medicine program is undoubtedly Japan, and public health programs through the use of the health effects of staying in the forest are very popular in China and South Korea.

Among the countries of Europe, forest medicine has become an important link in public health conservation programs in Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Scotland, and especially developed forest medicine programs and forest wellness programs based on it exist in Finland and Scandinavian countries. Unlike the forests of Japan, which are dark and with little sun, the forests of the Balkans are mostly bright, and the sun’s rays fall through the treetops onto the ground, in a similar way as the sun’s rays pass through the openings on the roofs of authentic hammams and illuminate the hararet, the central place of the programs that are practiced in the hammam.

Through connecting with experts from the country and the region, following the example of the “Summer School of Forest Medicine from Harvard University” program, an education program for therapist-guides for health-tourism programs through the forests of Serbia and the region was created. Those who do not have hotels and highways with five stars, and do not have a developed industry, have at least one comparative advantage – natural beauty and forests with 5 stars. Once those stars are lost, it is difficult, or even impossible, to get them back.