Description
In recent years, scientific research has uncovered exciting new evidence to support what we have long known: being in nature is good for us. There is nothing novel in claiming that a walk in the woods lifts the spirits, clears the head and renews the soul but now doctors in many countries are writing green prescriptions and sending their patients out into the woods for some forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku.
Nature’s Way: A Guide to Green Therapy draws upon the latest research to prescribe some practical tips on how to get the best out of the green pharmacies on our doorsteps. From tuning into the fractal patterns in sunflowers to detecting the unique smell of rocks and soil after rainfall, this book outlines how nature renews, repairs and restores depleted human physiological systems. It can improve a range of mental health issues and support human creativity, cognition and problem-solving.
Nature acts not only as a therapist, but also as a teacher, providing seasonal blueprints and growth patterns for optimal human living in a technology-saturated Western culture. In the shadow of a global pandemic, startling evidence reveals that time spent in forests and working with soil boosts our immune systems. This exciting new book comes at an important time in modern culture and gently encourages green time, a known healer, over screen time, a known stressor.
About the author:
Tom Gunning is a writer and teacher. He is the lead writer of the Soul Seekers junior cycle programme and the author of How to Be Our Best Self in Times of Crisis (2020) and How to Be Our Best Self in Times of Chronic Stress (2022), published by Beehive Books. He is the cofounder of the Parable Garden Education Project in Wexford.
