Sōgen-yoku

•



Thank you to all who attended Ijams Sunrise & Sunflowers mute and meandering mindfulness walk this morning at 7 a.m.

We slowly serpentined in and around and through the sunflower and corn fields silently at Forks of the River WMA near Ijams, contemplating the moment—no talking, no cell phones, no hassle, no Facebook—each stroller lost in their own thoughts in the early morning sun.

We were living in the moment.

Based on the Japanese stress reducing therapy called shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing," mindfulness walks are short, leisurely visits to nature that produce positive health benefits. NPR recently did a story about forest bathing, although since we were strolling through planted fields we should call it Sōgen-yoku, or meadow bathing.

With the stress of the modern world, mindfulness—being lost in the moment of the real world, not the virtual world—has become all the rage lately but we have been doing mindfulness walks for the past three years at the nature center.

My next mindfulness walk will be a Saturday morning in August and we may wade through a stream. Watch for it on the Ijams Events calendar. 

And until then, go outside and sit under a tree quietly with absolutely NO electronics.

Mindfulness is all the rage across the country but we have been doing Mindfulness Walks at Ijams for three years.

 

Photo of our mellow strollers after we got back together as a group.

•