England: Charleigh Huenink (Forest Bathing)

Today, October 25th, I walked to Green Park to practice shinrin-yoku, the Japanese practice of forest bathing. I started at Hyde Park Corner, visited the famous Wellington Arch, then headed into the park toward Buckingham Palace. After a brief stop, I found a bench a bit away from the busy palace gates and began my meditation. I paid close attention to the sounds and sights around me: ducks played in puddles, pigeons swarmed people with bread, and children ran all over the paths. Near the park’s outskirts, car horns and bicycle bells dominated the soundscape; I couldn’t appreciate the birds chirping or the wind rustling the leaves until I sat in the center of the park. No matter where I was, I couldn’t escape the constant wail of police and ambulance sirens in the distance.

It was relaxing to focus on the dry, fall leaves crinkling in the wind as I took time to appreciate how beautiful London is in the fall. Green Park is very busy, and because it leads to Buckingham Palace, many tourists were passing through. Listening to all the languages being spoken as people walked by made me think about how different my experience living here can be from tourists all over the world; I spent a good amount of time focusing on how time spent anywhere can feel entirely unique from person to person!

This brisk fall afternoon in Green Park was a lovely end to my weekend, and I would love to repeat this forest bathing session somewhere like Richmond, my favorite park in London.

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