Category: Health & Wellbeing

Nature-based health interventions, physical/mental health research.

  • What Thirty Days of Sitting Outside Looks Like

    Sit Daily Outdoors is thirty ten-minute practices that arrive by email, one a day. Here is what is inside them, why they are short, and how to try the first three without paying.

    Everybody already knows that time outside helps. The advice arrives without instructions. You walk to the park, stand near a tree, and wonder how long counts, whether you are doing it right, and what to do with your hands. Ten minutes later you go back inside, mildly improved, and it never happens again.

    That gap between knowing and doing is the whole reason Sit Daily Outdoors exists.

    The shape of it

    Thirty practices. Ten minutes each. One arrives in your inbox every morning. You open it, you go outside, you do the thing it describes, and you get on with your day. No app to download, no login, no streak counter waiting to tell you that you failed.

    Each practice names three things: a place to sit, how long to stay, and one thing to pay attention to. Sound on the first day. The edges of your vision on another. The temperature moving across your skin as the light shifts. That single attention target is doing more work than it looks like. It gives your thinking mind a job small enough to actually hold, and while it is busy, the rest of you gets to stand down.

    You are not trying to relax. You are practicing coming back to baseline.

    Your spot can be a balcony, a bench outside the office, the same square of grass by the bus stop. A forest is lovely and it is not the requirement. The practices were built for people who live in cities, because that is where most of us are.

    Why ten minutes and not an afternoon

    Because ten minutes survives a bad week.

    Short repeated exposures build a stronger connection to a place than one long session does. Ten focused minutes, several times a week, will teach you more about the tree outside your window than a single ambitious hike next month. The hike is wonderful. It also gets cancelled when work goes sideways, and then nothing has changed.

    There is a second reason. A place only starts talking to you once you have been boring in it for a while. On day two you notice a bird. On day nine you know that bird by sound before you see it, and you know it arrives around the same time you do. That kind of noticing cannot be crammed.

    What it is built on

    My doctoral research at UBC’s Faculty of Forestry included a randomized crossover study across Vancouver’s urban forests. That work sits inside decades of shinrin-yoku research from Japan and Canada, all pointing the same direction: time spent attentively outdoors supports stress recovery and wellbeing.

    The part I care about is translation. A study result is not a practice. Somebody has to turn it into ten minutes you can do before your coffee gets cold, on a Tuesday, in the rain, without special equipment. That translation is what you are buying.

    Three ways in

    The free three days. The first three practices, no payment and no card, and they stay in your account for good. Start them this weekend or next spring. If sitting still turns out not to be for you, you have lost nothing but three ten-minute windows.

    Seven days, CA$14. Practices one through seven, for anyone who wants to know whether a habit is forming before committing to a month.

    Thirty days, CA$39. All thirty practices, plus written notes and reflection prompts. This is the full program, and it is the one that changes how a place looks to you.

    There are facilitator packs as well, for occupational therapists, counsellors, guides, and anyone running groups. Five client seats for CA$175 or ten for CA$299, each with a seat for you. Try the free three days first so you know exactly what lands in your clients’ inboxes.

    Day nine

    Here is what I want for you, and it is smaller than it sounds. One morning around the second week, you will get to your spot and your body will settle before you have decided to settle. The sitting will start on its own. You will notice the light is different than it was last week, and you will know that only because you were there last week.

    That is the whole thing. Sit. That’s it.

    Start with the free three days at sitspot.club. Bring an umbrella if that is the kind of week it is.

  • Bringing Forest Bathing to Vancouver: A Conversation About Nature’s Healing Power

    I had the pleasure of discussing forest bathing with Angela Bower from CityNews sharing insights about how this Japanese-inspired practice is taking root in Vancouver’s urban forests. As a PhD candidate in UBC’s Faculty of Forestry, I’ve been particularly excited to bridge the gap between traditional Japanese nature therapy and Western wellness practices.

    During our conversation, I explained how forest bathing goes beyond a simple nature walk. It’s about immersing yourself completely in the forest atmosphere, engaging all your senses, and connecting with nature on a deeper level. What makes this practice particularly intriguing is the science behind it – especially the role of phytoncides, natural compounds released by trees that can boost our immune system.

    One of the most interesting aspects we discussed was the historical context of forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku as it’s known in Japan. The practice emerged in 1982 during Japan’s technological boom, when urbanization was leading to increased stress levels among city dwellers. It’s fascinating how this solution from four decades ago remains increasingly relevant in today’s digital age.

    Through my research at UBC, I’ve been exploring how these forest-derived compounds affect our bodies at the cellular level. Specifically, I’ve been studying how phytoncides can enhance the activity of natural killer cells, which play a crucial role in our immune system’s response to potential threats.

    But perhaps what excites me most is the practical application of this research. In response to feedback from forest bathing participants about noise levels on trails, I’m currently collaborating with Metro Vancouver on an innovative project to establish “Silent Trails” in the city. These designated quiet zones will allow people to fully immerse themselves in the natural soundscape – from rustling leaves to birdsong – without urban distractions.

    My hope is that Silent Trails will be ready before summer, offering Vancouverites a new way to experience the healing power of our urban forests. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see how this ancient practice is being embraced by our modern city, creating spaces where nature’s therapeutic benefits can be fully realized.

    Through this interview, I was able to share not just my research, but my vision for making forest bathing more accessible to everyone in Vancouver. As our cities grow and our lives become increasingly digital, these connections to nature become not just beneficial, but essential for our wellbeing.

    This interview was by Angela Bower and Pippa Norman, and aired on April 22, 2024.