Experts say taking time to get back to nature is important for mental health, especially for people living in large cities.

Forest bathing — an outdoor form of Japanese meditation — is attracting Sydneysiders seeking to reconnect with nature in parklands. It originates in the practice of shinrin-yoku, which means “taking in the forest” or metaphorical “forest bathing”.

The therapeutic approach of simply being in a forest developed in Japan in the 1980s and has become a mainstay there to treat the effects of overwork and stress.

Louise Kiddell grew up surrounded by nature in Lane Cove in Sydney’s north, and is one of only 10 guides in Australia trained in shinrin-yoku. The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides in the US licenses about 300 practitioners worldwide.

small groups on forest-bathing walks among the pines of Centennial Park before the start of the working day.

“This is about helping people to remember how good it feels to feel alive,” she says.

“I like to show people that we don’t have to go out into the wilderness to have a meaningful nature-connection experience. You can do this in an urban park.”

Although it’s called a walk, the session is more of a meander, focusing on the surrounding environment using all of your senses, and being invited to share what you notice along the way. It’s a meditative process that asks you to engage with nature.

“A lot of people find it very hard to just sit on a meditation cushion and meditate,” Kiddell says. “But nature does it for you — because it catches your attention and you don’t force yourself to be mindful.”

Chris Tzar, director of the Lifestyle Clinic at the University of NSW, has been taking groups of patients for walks in Centennial Park for the past decade and says it is one of the most popular services his staff offer.

The clinic is a division of the faculty of medicine and operates as both a research centre and health service.

Tzar says patients often cite the Centennial Park walk as the main reason they continue to attend the clinic.

“It’s the ultimate psychosocial benefit, meaning they’re having a bit of social interaction walking among other people as part of a group, and they’re connecting with nature.

“That offers a real opportunity for true reflection and relaxation; it’s quiet and peaceful.”

Elsewhere in Sydney, Destination NSW recommends the Rose Bay to Watsons Bay 8km hike, which features secluded beaches and the Hermitage Foreshore Track with its natural landscape.

Forest bathing isn’t limited to the city however, with NSW National Parks offering plenty of options to explore for a day outside Sydney.

A representative of the National Parks and Wildlife Service says Budderoo National Park, about an hour southwest of Sydney, “has plenty of walks ideal for kids and families looking to explore the rainforest”. North of the harbour is Barrenjoey Head Lighthouse at Palm Beach.

Positioned 91m above sea level, the lighthouse can be reached by a couple of walks and offers outstanding views, including whale-watching opportunities. It’s an easy day trip from Sydney and a great place to take visitors. The healing quality of nature should not be understated, according to Mardie Townsend, associate professor in the faculty of health at Deakin University. She says there is considerable evidence that connecting with nature has health benefits.

“The obvious benefit is physical, because people get out in nature and they’re exercising more but, at the same time, getting out there and walking releases endorphins, which then has mental health benefits.”

Townsend says the health benefits become greater for people living in urban environments and dealing with the associated pressures.

“It can make a huge difference to things like heart rate, to things like stress levels; anxiety and stress that we build up in normal day-to-day life,” she says.

“People have forgotten that connection. It’s an inherent connection that is natural to us — it has been so throughout history, and it’s only in recent years that we’ve become separated from nature.”