Have you ever wondered why a walk in the woods leaves you feeling refreshed?

It’s because you’ve returned to the place your ancestors called home.

We live in an electricity fueled modern world surrounded by 24 hours of entertainment and access but it hasn’t always been this way. Prior to about 250 years ago when the industrial revolution took hold the bulk of humanity lived in and amongst nature. We tilled the fields and harvested wood for warmth and shelter as we’d done for thousands of years. For many more thousands of years before that we lived completely surrounded by nature and you can return to your roots if only for a short time for a boost to your health and wellbeing.

It just happens that there’s a term for this and it’s Shinrin-yoku (森林浴) or forest bathing. It was coined by the head of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Tomohide Akiyama, in 1982 to encourage more visitors to forests and we’d like to share it with others in such a way that they too can take a forest bath to escape, relax and revisit their roots in the forest.

As you might imagine we spend a lot of time in nature on our Mini Day Trips and we recently came upon a peaceful mountain stream in the woods of Maine that fit the bill so we took the time to film it in 360º so you could enjoy it on any device including the ability to become truly immersed just as if you were there using a VR headset.

Check out the video below and just listen to the sounds of the stream as it flows along.

Pro Tip!

After you start the video make sure to tap or click the box to make it go full screen.
Also, if you’re using a mobile device then tap the YouTube logo to open it in your YouTube app then tilt and turn your device around to look all around.
On a computer you can drag the video around with a mouse or use the A,S,D & W keys to pan all around as well.