Purifying Tree Species, According To Tao

Trees are our silent friends whose company we often spontaneously seek out. We look for their shadow, lean against them, climb into them with great pleasure. People are naturally attracted to trees. They are living beings, and wherever they are, they give us a certain sense that we are not alone.

Where there is a tree, there is also oxygen, and therefore life. Researcher Matthew Silverston researched this topic and published a book called Blinded by Science. In this book, he develops an interesting theory about the benefits of cuddling and being in contact with trees.

‘Green therapy’ is a trend based on these findings. However, Eastern cultures have talked about the physical and mental health benefits of hugging trees and interacting with forests for thousands of years. Zen is one of the doctrines that attributes the highest value to the purifying power of nature.

Trees and health

With a foundation in both Eastern and Western studies, a whole overview has been drawn up of the specific positive results of hugging all different types of trees. Some trees have become more important because of their ability to cleanse us of certain ailments. Here they are:

• Pine trees. In Japanese and Chinese culture, these trees are revered and seen as very important trees. According to Zen wisdom, they help to strengthen the immune system and improve circulation.
• cypresses. Hugging these trees will help you to find more peace, as well as reduce body temperature and anger.

• Willows. These trees help to regulate the bodily fluids. They affect the well-being of our urinary tract.
• elms. They strengthen the stomach and calm you emotionally.
• maples. These trees help us to cleanse ‘bad energies’ or negative thoughts, and can soothe any physical aches and pains.
• Pine trees. Reduce swelling and aid in the healing process of broken bones.
• birch. These trees provide detoxification of the body.
• Cinnamon trees. Improve the health of the heart and all organs in the stomach.
• plum trees. These trees improve the functioning of the pancreas and stomach.
• fig trees. Improve digestion and reduce body temperature.
• Acacia trees. Help lower body temperature.

They say that Claudius Galen , one of the fathers of medicine, advised all his patients to spend some time in laurel forests. Paulus, another physician of the time, said that people with epilepsy would get better if they slept next to flowering lime trees. And in general, regardless of time and place, doctors agree on the purifying value of contact with nature.

Green Therapy

Green therapy is an alternative field of medicine that uses trees and forests as a source of purification. They say that every plant carries a lot of negative ions in it. Connecting with plants will also clear you of electromagnetic toxins and improve your state of mind.

Proponents of this view argue that contact with electronic devices, and the stress they cause, fill our bodies with positive ions. In these scenarios, it is as if the body is turned into a walking transformer. This makes us feel tired, irritable, discouraged, depressed, and listless. By only connecting with the forest as a human being, all this will be neutralized. And hugging a tree will certainly do this.

Walking barefoot through a meadow and hugging trees are practices that can be especially helpful for those who feel nervous and insecure. And also for people who feel tired or emotionally exhausted. Matthew Silverston says it’s like ‘absorbing the vitamins in the air’. This activates all functions in our body, so in the end it will even be beneficial for our brain.

One of the bad things about living in the big city is precisely the lack of contact with real forests. Just looking at the greenery in the plants and breathing the air they create around them is a wonderful experience in itself. We don’t need to know much to know that forests calm us down. Moreover, it is also free. It doesn’t require any skill and, best of all, can have an awful lot of benefits. So why not start incorporating some trips to the woods into your exercise routine as well?