Do you want to increase your awareness, reduce stress, and invite the purity of nature into your body? How about experimenting with forest bathing and consciously immerse yourself in the sights, smells, and sounds of the forest? You can do this in the comfort of your home if going to the forest is out of the question for you.

show notes:

In this episode, Heidi talks about forest bathing with essential oils and the proven benefits of the practice. She shares the process of creating a natural forest-like bathing experience in the comfort of your home and achieve the same benefits.

Listen in to learn how forest bathing can increase your awareness and counteract the negative effects of being inside, especially if you work from home.

“Nature contains tens of thousands of negative ions, which is much more than the average home or office building.” ~Heidi Bramm

Top Takeaways:

• The benefits of antioxidants and their ability to stabilize the free radical molecules.
• How to counteract the negative effects of being inside by creating an indoor natural forest-like bath.
• The physical and mental benefits of forest bathing.

What you will learn:

• [3:06] The meaning of forest bathing/ forest therapy and its history.
• [4:20] Negative ions- what they are and their benefits to your body and mind.
• [7:00] The different nature places you can go to experience negative ions.
• [8:01] How to create a natural forest-like bathing experience where you contact negative ions and diffuse essential oils.
• [10:33] The essential oils you can use for diffusion to create the forest bathing experience and surrender to the awareness.
• [12:58] The five physical and mental benefits of forest bathing.
• [13:47] How forest bathing balances your parasympathetic responses to help you relax.
• [15:02] How it increases human natural killer activities and expression of anti-cancer proteins.
• [16:49] Forest-like bathing leads to significant reduction of blood pressure.
• [17:34] How it lowers pulse rate, blood pressure while reducing anxiety.
• [18:38] The two different options to work with Heidi.

LIMITED-TIME: FREE INNER HEART HEALING SESSIONS!

I want to make sure you know about a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for inner healing. I am currently attending a powerful and intensive Prophetic Heart Healing training program and in order to complete my mentorship hours, I am booking the next 24 sessions for free. These sessions are valued at $125!

WHAT IS INNER HEALING AND WHO NEEDS IT?

“Inner healing is actually the application of the crucified and resurrected life of Jesus Christand His blood to those parts of my heart and yours that did not fully “get the message” when we first received Jesus as Savior. Because some areas deep in our hearts have not believed and accepted the good news of our death and rebirth in Him, the fullness of His work has not yet happened for us.” – John and Mark Stanford, Charisma Magazine.

It’s getting access to the full benefits of what Jesus paid for on the cross. Healing and becoming whole is a process“We don’t train for battle in times of war, but we train in times of peace.”Don’t wait till things get really bad to learn how to connect with the Lord and receive His healing. This is not an issue of whether we’re saved or not. Salvation is a free gift.

Working OUT our salvation is very different from working FOR our salvation. Inner healing is a tool that can we can use to partner with the Holy Spirit to renew our minds; to step into breakthrough and freedom.

Why?

So that we can love the Lord with our whole heart, whole mind, and whole strength and soul. The Lord is after the whole heart in connection and in relationship with Him. So often we are living with broken-heartedness to one degree or another. If those wounds are not healed, they can manifest in many ways: including sadness, anger, depression, fear, anxiety, un-forgiveness, disunity, self-rejection, and self-hatred. What we believe in our mind may not be what we experience as truth in the heart, based on life experiences (Romans 7:15 and 19).

Prophetic heart healing is about creating space for the Lord to meet with the parts of us that desperately need that complete healing that only he can bring, so we can live from our whole hearts.

You can book your personal session at calendly.com/healthywholemom. But remember to book fast as I am only doing 24 sessions free and then sessions will be offered at full price.

Detailed Transcript:

Hey Beloved, welcome back to the show! Are you stressed out, running on empty, or just feeling blah? We’re told to get out in nature and that spending too much time inside with manufactured air, bathing in technology and wifi is harming us and today we are talking about how forest bathing with essential oils can help us counteract the negative health impacts.

Definition of Forest Bathing

First, what even is forest bathing? Forest bathing, also known as forest therapy, broadly means taking all of one’s senses while in the forest atmosphere. It’s not simply a walk in the woods, it is the conscious and contemplative practice of being immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of the forest. Imagine yourself soaking in a hot bath, taking in deep breaths, having your favorite relaxing music playing. Feeling the warm water enveloping your skin, the scent of your essential oils embracing your mood and lifting away any worries. It’s all of that but instead doing that while in the bathtub, you are doing it in the woods and taking in nature.

It was developed in Japan during the 1980s, and in 1982 Japan made this form of mobile meditation under the canopy of living forests a part of its national health program. Researchers, primarily in Japan and South Korea, have established a growing body of scientific literature on the diverse health benefits which I will share the TOP 5 just in a bit! I first want to talk about negative ions in nature. Now this sounds bad, but they are actually a good thing!

Negative Ions

There are these things in nature called Negative Ions. If you’ve heard of grounding they were much in the same way. Negative ions Create Positive Vibes. They are oxygen atoms charged with an extra electron. Now if you remember any of the times we’ve talked about Free radicals you know how much damage they cause in the body. Free radicals are atoms that contain an unpaired electron. So they have an electron that’s looking for a match. Who can tell me one thing that can help pair with and balance out these unpaired electrons?

Right! Antioxidants can balance them out. Antioxidants have EXTRA electrons and they help stabilize those free radical molecules. When we have too many unstable free radicals and not enough things to counteract their damage to our cells, we feel old and tired. We age faster and are more prone to illness and disease including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disease, cataracts, arthritis, dementia, and more. We see damage in our DNA and we basically start rusting from the inside out.

Plant-based foods contain antioxidants – when you see color, think antioxidants. And also whole food based supplements. My favorite company, the supplements that I used daily, have the antioxidant equivalent of 12 servings of fruits and vegetables in each daily dose. WHAAT?! Download my ebook FULL of testimonials…

Negative ions found in nature work much the same as antioxidants to counteract the damage and stabilize free radicals. They are known as ”air vitamins.”

They are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale in abundance in certain environments. Think forests, mountains, waterfalls, and beaches. Once they reach our bloodstream, negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy. So they are something in the air that can Help You Stress Less, Boost Health, Reduce Fatigue And Improve Your Mood

The air circulating in the mountains and the beach creates negative air ions, so does surfing, and we also see it immediately after spring thunderstorms. It is said that nature contains tens of thousands of negative ions which is much more than the average home or office building, that only contains dozens or hundreds, and many register a flat zero.

Generally speaking, negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy. They also may protect against germs in the air. And what else do we have in our tool belt that we can use to increase the flow of oxygen and protect against germs…? Essential Oils!!!!

A whopping one in three of us are sensitive to the effects of negative ions. They can make us feel like we are walking on air. You know you are one of the 30% if you feel instantly refreshed the moment you open a window and breathe in fresh, humid air. You may be one of them if you feel sleepy when you are around an air-conditioner, as air conditioning depletes the atmosphere of negative ions.

Generating Negative Ions

Every person listening to the sound of my voice should already have TWO natural ionizers in their home — their shower and their diffuser.

Both of these create tiny water particles, which are suspended in the air and can be breathed in. For your diffuser in particular, this would be your ultrasonic diffuser. They have that tiny ceramic disc that vibrates to create a cool, water vapour, just like the vapour around a waterfall. Yes, your ultrasonic diffuser also produces negative ions, which help to freshen the air by removing dust particles. These negative ions bind to dust particles, making them heavier and dropping them to the ground, which leaves your air feeling refreshed. My favorite diffuser has 4x the negative ion output than if you were by a waterfall and 42x the amount if you were by a mountain or a seashore.

Alright, Now How Do We Forest Bathe With Essential Oils?

Pick a time to be fully present, choose 1 or more of your “woodsy” oils to diffuse as you create a “forest bathing” experience.

Obviously getting out in nature is the best here but if you are at work all day, you can create this experience on your break. Choose to unplug, turning off all devices, except perhaps some soothing forest sounds. Set an intention before beginning. Allow the diffusing essential oils to permeate and fill your space. Close your eyes, inhale deeply, inviting the chemistry, wisdom, and intelligence of the trees to realign what stress displaces.

Bring awareness to your body. If sitting, relax more fully into your seat. If you can lay down, great! Realize that you can release each muscle a little more, completely melting in the moment. Allow your senses to expand, visualize the wind whispering through the leaves, feel the breeze brush your skin. Listen to the messages of surrender, stability, and patience.

Oils to Try:

• Arborvitae
• Black Spruce
• Cedarwood
• Cypress
• Eucalyptus
• Frankincense
• Hinoki
• Siberian Fir
• Or any blends with tree oils in them

READY FOR MY TOP 5 BENEFITS?!

I love the science! There is WAY more research out there than what I am about to share so I encourage you to do your own but I found that forest bathing:

1. Balance nervous system responses – fight or flight/rest and digest
2. Lowered Pulse Rate and cortisol levels
3. Significantly Reduced Blood Pressure
4. Reduced Anxiety and Improved Mood
5. Increased the body’s natural cellular protective response

RESEARCH

1. Greater Parasympathetic Nerve Activity:

The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the body’s rest and digestion response when the body is relaxed, resting, or feeding. It basically undoes the work of fight or flight response after a stressful situation. The parasympathetic nervous system decreases respiration and heart rate and increases digestion. A 2010 study from field experiments with 280 participants conducted in 24 Japanese forests found that forest environments promote lower pulse rate, blood pressure and concentrations of cortisol–and greater parasympathetic, and lower sympathetic, nerve activity–than do city environments.

2. Forest Bathing Increases Human Natural Killer Activity & Expression of Anti-Cancer Proteins

A 2017 study, comparing the impact of a 3-day forest bathing trip to a city trip with exercise, found that the forest bathing trip significantly increased Natural Killer (NK) activity, numbers of NK cells, the expression of intracellular anti-cancer proteins, while significantly decreasing the concentration of adrenaline in urine–with the increased NK activity lasting more than 7 days. In contrast, the city trip did none of these things.

3. Forest Environments/Bathing Lead to Significant Reduction in Blood Pressure

A 2017 review of 15 studies and 732 participants indicated that forest bathing has hypertensive effects: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the forest environment were significantly lower than in the non-forest environment. In particular, the forest environment has a larger effect on lowering SBP in people with high blood pressure and in middle-aged and older people.

4. Lowers Pulse Rate, Blood Pressure, While Reducing Anxiety

A 2017 study of 128 middle-aged and elderly participants found that a 2-hour forest bathing experience led to changes in autonomic nervous system activity and emotions. Heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly lower after the short experience, while the mood scores for “tension-anxiety”, “anger-hostility”, “fatigue-inertia” and “depression-dejection” were also significantly lowered.

If you don’t yet have access to pure, potent, and medicinal quality essential oils then I want to make sure you know the two ways that you can work with me.

The first way is free and it’s my 45-minute Essential Oils Made Easy workshop. This 45-minute online workshop was designed for people who are just starting to explore the potential of essential oils for health + wellness solutions and don’t know where to start. This is a free workshop and totally no pressure! My goal is simply to educate and empower you with the basics to help you understand the power of essential oils (because it just looks like water in those little bottles, right?!). We love our oils. They have become our go-to for almost the last decade as a first-line of defense in our home and I want to make sure that everyone knows they exist as a safer, cheaper, and more effective option!

So in this wellness workshop, we cover what essential oils are and how to use them, what to look for in a quality essential oil and why it matters, and then we cover a few of the most popular and versatile oils every home should have, along with testimonials so that you can make an informed decision on whether or not essential oils are a good fit for you and your family. And if you decide to work with me, you will get all of your oils at a 25% discount. You can go to my tinyurl and take your first steps towards getting access. It’s bit.ly/oilsmadeeasyworkshop

This just helps me learn a little bit more about you and your needs, and you can opt to receive a free sample to go along with the workshop to make it more of an interactive experience which is always fun.

The second option is to book a 45-min personal holistic strategy session with me. In this session, we go over your top 3 health concerns, and what you’re struggling with most within the four pillars of health. Where you feel most out of balance AND THAT’s the area we’re gonna focus on. Just ONE area. We notice that when we choose the one area to focus on then other things fall into place. And so you’re gonna walk away with a strategy for your health and a personalized action plan along with recommended products to help you live empowered in your daily life. Doesn’t that sound amazing? You can book that one on one session with me just reach out you can message me at support@coverbeloved.com and I will personally respond to your email, or you can book on my website at heidibramm.com.

Testimonials from other mamas: You know I love sharing testimonials so here are some from a few other mamas:

“I had some pregnancy spots on my face for quite some time after giving birth. I started using a roller blend of frank, lavender and tea tree (10 drops each + FCO oil, every morning and night) and within a few months it was gone.” Marené K

“My 14 yr old nephew was diagnosed with diabetes and was having a really difficult time stabilizing his levels overnight. Neither he nor his mom were getting much sleep for months. Rolling lemongrass on his feet at night before bed has helped tremendously in keeping his levels stable so they can sleep through the night!” Seanne E

Also, don’t forget if you are in need of heart healing, you can book your personal prophetic heart healing session at calendly.com/healthywholemom. I only have 12 free sessions left so don’t wait. Once they’re gone, they’re gone and then will book at full price.

Ok, Beloved – signing off for now. I pray that you continue to prosper in your health just as your soul prospers…until next time.