Forest Path by Elise Pearlstine

Our family is spread around the globe, and we all have our go-to places in times of stress, often involving some form of what the Japanese call Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing. Think of it as nature’s therapy and a way of taking advantage of the terpenes and other essential oils that are diffusing into the air from the trees and plants around you. Practiced in Japan and Korea for years, it is now becoming a common practice in other parts of the world and often is combined with mindfulness exercises. Forest bathing may take place in somewhere like the Smoky Mountains of the southeastern US where the iconic ‘smoke’ is mainly composed of volatile and often aromatic chemicals that protect the trees.

Hiking trail in New York City photo by Michelyn 

Depending on your location, your forest may be the stately trees of a national park, willows on a walk along a desert river, a Florida swamp under cypress and live oak trees, the iconic eucalyptus trees of Berkeley, cypresses of the Mediterranean, or Hinoki trees in Japan. City parks work as well—my ‘forest’ has been a paved walkway along an urban canal that is planted with oak and giant Ficus trees or a mature neighborhood with oaks and orchid trees. For those of us able to go outside, even 15 minutes of exercise is of tremendous benefit, moving our blood around, getting some fresh air into our lungs, reducing stress, and simply being able to look at something different.

Eastern Swallowtail by Elise Pearlstine

 One way to make time for the outdoors is to make it a space for destressing. The Audubon Society recommends birding which requires quiet and attention to your environment. But you may simply try a walking meditation—take a moment to find your center, mindfully notice what you are seeing and hearing (even if it’s not a bird), and find your inner center. Whether you are by yourself or with others, don’t speak and don’t think about your to-do list, work, or the daily news, just let them go. You can picture all those worries as a screen in front of you and wave it aside, calming your mind and settling your breathing. You may notice subtle sounds and fragrances that you would otherwise miss. The saying “stop and smell the roses” takes on new meaning when you let your nose be an active participant in your walk.

Lavender by Elise Pearlstine

For many of us, the smell of our favorite flower, a perfume or an essential oil brings a smile to our face. If you have a garden, keep those flowers coming, or snip some herbs for their bright freshness and use them in your cooking. Those without gardens can spritz a treasured perfume, burn a scented candle, or turn to a calming essential oil. Using favorite and familiar scents can help with mindfulness and improve our mood. What a pleasant and evocative scent can do is provide us with a moment of happiness and may help us to deal with the anxiety of uncertainty. Lavender and citrus oils are especially good for giving us a bit of a lift while the deep and calming fragrances of sandalwood, frankincense, or vetiver can assist us in calming meditation. Wellness through self-care has become more of a conscious act in recent years and, for some, may involve purposeful selection of fragrances to relieve anxiety, PTSD, and/or physical illness.

Eucalyptus Trees Berkeley by Elise Pearlstine

Some of the smells I have gathered in my memories are the resin of pine trees and the sweetness of poplar buds, my mother’s roses, the desert after a rain, fresh basil, and the fecund richness of a Florida swamp.

What are some of the scents that help bring you peace? Are there perfumes that help you de-stress and heal?

Elise Vernon Pearlstine, Editor and Author of Scent: A Natural History of Fragrance

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial and @elisepearlstine

Please read Deputy Editor Ida Meister 2018 Perfume Plume Award Winning article: Scent and Healing the Transformative Power of Perfume

Fragrance Foundation Finalist 2013: Heart Notes by Contributor Michael Devine, a first responder who lost his sense of smell after four months of breathing toxic air at Ground Zero, 21 years ago tomorrow. “To smell is to breathe. And with each breath I know that I am alive and with that, I am at peace.”