City Bathing...Exploring Downtown on Foot

You have probably heard about the Japanese practice of "Forest Bathing" and the practice of "Nature, or Forest, Therapy", the practices of creating physical and psychological wellness through immersion in forests and other natural environments (Do some googling and your eyes will be opened).

That's all fine and dandy...if you live near a forest..., but, if you are like me...

I am the Mad Houstonian...the nearest "forests" to me, are the nature trails of Memorial Park, and the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, along Buffalo Bayou, a few miles outside of the Downtown core.

That's why I want to introduce you to the practice of "City Bathing".

There are probably a few studies, somewhere, to suggest that the slow act of mindfully walking along a busy Big City street surrounded by tall buildings, and busy street traffic, overcrowded sidewalks full of tourists, native shoppers, the homeless and panhandlers, political and religious ranters, ramblers and tract distributers, and worker bees heading to work, or a lunch break, or running job related errands, while intentionally engaging your five senses, leads to good things (such as improved memory, decreased anxiety, and high levels of positivity and sociability). But the science probably goes something like this:

an hour long immersion in what a busy metropolitan downtown offers (the older the better, as buildings on offer will be from different eras) positively alters the biomarkers of stress and wellbeing. Heart rate and blood pressure decrease, levels of adrenaline and noradrenalin go down and parasympathetic nervous system activity increases. The upshot is improved mood and feelings of wellbeing, improved rest and energy levels, and decreased anxiety and depression. Together this helps immune function and mitigates the root cause of ailments such as heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions and weight gain to name a few.

For the most part, anyway, one has to assume...I mean, depending on the street you are walking down, and the time of day, hee, hee!