Forest bathing is just what it sounds like—bathing yourself in the calm and beauty of the forest. For introverts especially, it can be revitalizing.

In his fascinating book Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness, Dr. Qing Li of the Japanese Society for Forest Medicine defines forest bathing just as straightforwardly as it sounds.

“Shinrin-yoku [the Japanese term for forest bathing] means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking in the forest through our senses,” Li writes:

“It is simply being in nature, connecting with it through our sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.”

Years of research conducted by Li and others around the world shows that forest bathing offers numerous physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual health benefits—in great part because of the oxygen and oils secreted constantly by nature’s trees and other plants.

We—or at least I—tend to think of bathing as an activity we perform to get rid of something: dirt, grime, sunscreen, bug spray, the grass clippings still stuck between our toes from yesterday’s lawn mowing.

But forest bathing is an absorbing, relaxing way to soak something in, not wash it off.

And it can fill you up with the good stuff.

Especially if you’re an introvert.

The Power of Phytoncides

My wife, Adrianne, and I recently returned from a five-day roadtrip to Colorado, where we hiked … and hiked … and hiked … and hiked.

That’s all we did, really: We hiked, more than 30 miles all told.

And I was replenished—not only by the forest’s abundant oils (they’re called phytoncides, according to Li) but also by:

• The truly silent silence.
• The smells of the plants.
• The occasional wisp of breeze that brought relief from the 90-plus-degree temperatures.
• The invigorating chill of the mountain lakes.
• The soothing patterns of the winding trails and the needles and cones of the pine trees.

Savor Your Forest Bathing Experiences

The beauty of forest bathing is that it’s easy and, generally, cheap (if it costs anything at all). Just find some nature and put yourself right in the middle of it. It can be as simple as going to a nearby park.

There’s a trick to this forest bathing thing, though, and the “bathing” part of the term offers a clue:

It’s not—and it can’t be—some kind of race, any more than a bath in the bathtub is.

Yes, you might well get some good exercise when you’re forest bathing. But that’s a secondary benefit, not your primary goal.

The idea, Li stresses (and I wholeheartedly concur!), is to take your time during your forest bathing activities and consciously allow yourself to savor them.

Like a long, hot, soothing bath.

What will you get in return?

A calmer mind and body.

Respite from your stress.

A boost in your energy, and perhaps even relief from anxiety and/or depression as well.

Best of all: As an introvert, you’ll get the quiet, reflective thinking and rejuvenating time you need—yes, need—to thrive in a world that too often floods you with the opposite.

As Li puts it:

Forest bathing “takes us all the way home to our true selves.”