When SpaFinder Wellness named "forest bathing" as the top trend to watch this year, it was the first time I, and probably many others, had even heard of the activity.
But the predictions are ringing true as more luxury resorts are adding this option to their wellness menu.
Among the newest entrants: L’Auberge de Sedona in Arizona and the Mayflower Grace in Connecticut.
Devani Paige, L’Auberge de Sedona’s certified forest bathing guide and yoga instructor, says people are very curious, but still very clueless about the whole concept.
“But the people who are showing up are really having a great experience,” she said. “I anticipate it growing."
At L’Auberge de Sedona, the actual forest-bathing trek is less than a mile of “slow wandering."
She added, "One woman who signed up for a private session took the plunge not knowing what it was, and she said it was the highlight of her trip.”
Kristi Dickinson, spa director of the Mayflower Grace, said the resort added the program in June after reading the SpaFinder Wellness report and finding out how much research there is that shows the health and stress-reduction benefits to forest bathing.
So how exactly is this different from, say, hiking?
The concept, which has long been a popular wellness activity in Japan, where it's called "shinrin-yoku," is at its core an activity (or activities) that let the guest become immersed in nature.
At L’Auberge de Sedona, Paige said, the actual trek is less than a mile of “slow wandering, mindful moving through the landscape in a way that actually communicates with the land."
The Mayflower Grace in Connecticut is one of the luxury resorts that has begun offering forest bathing to guests.
She said forest bathing has a “very specific intention, which is to connect with nature in a very healing way. … It is something that you definitely do not rush through."
During forest bathing at the Mayflower Grace, Dickinson said, “we actually give them things to engage with: smells, sounds. It’s about how nature communicates with us, the position of the sun, stars animal tracks.”
Dickinson said a lot of guests are high-energy, Type-A personalities.
“We give them something to do on the way up … people who can’t quiet that monkey mind,” Dickinson said. “We have silent meditation on the way down. Then we regroup at the bottom and talk about what experiences they had.”
While L’Auberge de Sedona and Mayflower Grace are among the the newest properties to add forest bathing, the newest report from SpaFinder Wellness indicates we will likely see more other innovative, new wellness programs at luxury resorts.
The group’s eighth annual State of Wellness Travel Survey, parts of which were released last week, show a record number of agents expect growth in this sector for 2015.
The survey also shows that wellness travel continues to reach far beyond the spa. The majority of agents, 52%, said that 20% or less of the wellness-focused travel they book is primarily spa-focused.