The Healing Trees, According To The Tao
Trees are silent friends that we spontaneously tend to get close to. We seek their shade, lean on their log, or climb them as a playful challenge. Trees exert a natural attraction on humans. They are living beings and wherever they are they give us a feeling of being accompanied.
Wherever there is a tree, there is also oxygen and, therefore, life. Researcher Matthew Silverston did a study on this and published a book called Blynded by science in which he develops an interesting theory about the benefit of hugging and being in contact with trees.
The “arbotherapy” is a trend that has echoed these findings. However, for thousands of years Eastern cultures have talked about the physical and mental health benefits of hugging trees and being in contact with forests. Zen is one of those doctrines that places a supreme value on the healing power of nature.
Trees and health
Based on the studies of the East and West , an entire inventory of the specific contributions that embracing each tree has has been defined. Some trees have gained relevance for their specific healing power for certain ills. They are as follows.
- The pines. They are revered in Chinese and Japanese culture and are considered immortal trees. According to Zen wisdom, they serve to strengthen the nervous system and improve circulation.
- Cypress trees. Hugging them helps you achieve more serenity and reduces body heat and anger.
- Willows. They help regulate the humidity of the body. They affect the well-being of the urinary system.
- Elm trees. They strengthen the stomach and calm the emotions.
- Maples. They help to clear the “bad energies” or negative thoughts and help reduce any physical pain.
- Fir trees. They reduce swelling and contribute to the healing of broken bones.
- Birches. They make a contribution to detoxify the body.
- The cinnamon sticks. They improve the health of the heart and all the organs in the abdomen.
- Plums. They help improve the functioning of the pancreas and stomach.
- The fig trees. They improve the digestive system and reduce body temperature.
- Acacias. They help lower the temperature of the heart.
Is said to Galen, one of the fathers of medicine, he advised all patients spend some time in laurel forests. Paulino, another doctor of his time, claimed that epilepsy patients improved when they slept near flowering linden trees.
Therapies with trees and forests
Arbotherapy is a field of alternative medicines that uses trees and forests as a source of healing. They maintain that all vegetations contain large amounts of negative ions. Therefore, by coming into contact with them, the body is cleansed of electromagnetic toxins and the mood improves.
From the point of view of this approach, contact with electrical appliances and stress itself fill the body with positive ions. In those cases, it is as if the body becomes a walking transformer. Something that causes us to feel fatigue, irritability, low spirits, depression and lack of energy. The mere fact of coming into contact with a forest neutralizes all this. And hugging a tree, even more.
Walking barefoot on a meadow and hugging trees are recommended practices primarily for people who feel nervous and insecure. Also for all those who experience too much fatigue or who feel emotionally burdened. Matthew Silverston says that it is like “absorbing vitamins from air” and that this activates all the functions of the organism, so that the mind is also benefited.
One of the drawbacks of living in large cities is precisely the difficulty in coming into frequent contact with pure forests. Just looking at the green of the vegetables and breathing in the air that they generate around them is in itself a beautiful experience.
It does not take much knowledge to know that forests are reassuring. Plus, it doesn’t cost anything, doesn’t require any skills, and can still be very profitable. What if you also include a visit to a forest in your usual activities?
