Forest Bathing – Healing Nature at the Kalmthoutse Heide
There’s just nothing better to deal with mental & emotional overwhelm than spending time in nature to relax and recharge. The Kalmthoutse Heide provided me some much needed peace after a crazy couple of days!
When I talk about my journey towards a more regenerative lifestyle here on the blog, this is not just about eating healthy organic food or buying sustainable products that don’t damage the planet. With a regenerative lifestyle you take care of your own physical and mental needs to make sure you don’t burn out and your energy levels get topped up again to be able to live a happy and healthy life.
But sometimes crazy things just happen out of the blue and you get caught in a maelstrom of events that leave you physically and mentally exhausted… When this happens it’s important to listen to your body and to not just keep on pushing through like so many of us do, but to take some time out to process what has happened and to recharge your batteries.
What Happened Last Week
This past Friday something horrible happened when I was on my daily lunchtime walk. A 5 story tall school building – still being built – collapsed right the moment I walked past it. It was a horrific sight. I had to run for my life and the aftermath was shocking knowing that there were lots of builders stuck inside. It was all over the national and even international news for several days and it was just extremely mentally and physically exhausting.
On Sunday I felt I needed to get out of the city and into nature. So I listened to that instinct and met up with a friend to go for a walk in the Kalmthoutse Heide, a big nature reserve on the border of Belgium with The Netherlands. On my way there I was wondering if it was a mistake, I was feeling so exhausted and wasn’t sure if I could even walk a kilometer! But I’m so glad I did! After just walking for 10 minutes in nature I could feel my body relax and my energy levels rise. And I felt so much better after I returned home that evening.
Now, I’m not saying that just one walk in nature is going to be the cure to completely process and let go of a very traumatic experience or to recover from extreme mental exhaustion. But nature is an amazing nurturer and is definitely a helpful ally to do so.
Shinrin-yoku or the Japanese Art of Forest Bathing
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term ‘Forest Bathing’ by now, it has become popular in recent years. Forest bathing is the practice of immersing yourself in nature in a mindful way. Using all your senses to take in the forest atmosphere to acquire a whole range of benefits for your physical, mental, emotional, and social health.
It is also known as Shinrin-yoku. ‘Shinrin’ means forest and ‘Yoku’ stands for bathing. The idea emerged in Japan in the 1980’s. It turned out to be a very effective tool to overcome the ill effects of a hectic life and stressful work environment.
Science
In the 1990’s research was done into the physiological benefits of forest bathing, providing scientific proof of what we inherently already feel and know: spending time in nature is good for you! In some countries doctors can even prescribe forest bathing as a therapy now!
Spending time in nature allows the brain to relax, positive hormones like serotonin are released and cortisone levels — the stress hormone — drop. You feel less angry, sad or anxious. Forest bathing boosts immunity and leads to faster recovery from illness or injury! Nature has a positive effect on your mind as well as body. It improves heart and lung health, and is known to increases focus, concentration and memory.
Where Can You Forest Bathe?
There are some nature reserves that provide guidance for forest bathing. But if you don’t live near a place where they can assist you, don’t worry! All you need is a peaceful place of nature. It’s about spending time in nature, being mindful and using your senses to focus on all the elements in the forest, the smells, the sounds, the wind, the textures, … Slowing down and just breathing deeply.
And even if you don’t put any effort into focusing on your senses while you’re in nature you’re going to reap many benefits. So don’t worry too much, just going for a walk, or sitting in nature and enjoying the scenery is enough!!
The Kalmthoutse Heide
We ended up going to the Kalmthoutse Heide in my search for some peace and mental relaxation on Sunday. The Kalmthoutse Heide is a big nature reserve of about 60km². It’s situated across the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, just north of the city of Antwerp. It’s a mixture of forest, heathlands, sand dunes, fens, meadows and polders. In some areas you can spot Galloway cows, Icelandic horses, sheep and goats. We accidentally found a big herd of sheep and goats when we got lost from the track we were following. Sometimes taking the wrong way leads you to the right place!!
At the moment everything is looking very lush and green at the Kalmthoutse Heide with bright blobs of magenta from the foxglove that is abundantly blooming. But over the summer it will get much dryer. And by August the heath will turn in a gorgeous purple carpet when the heather is in bloom.
A Silence area
The Kalmthoutse Heide is officially a 3-star silence area. They carried out noise measurements in all seasons and during the day, night and weekend. The measurements revealed there are no or hardly any sounds coming from outside the area,. This makes the area very pleasant from an acoustic point of view and the perfect place to do some forest bathing.
Walking Routes
There are a range of different walking trails from 2 to 24km and they can be combined as well. On some trails dogs are permitted on a leash, on other trails dogs are not permitted. We took the blue ‘sheep’ trail, which is about 8,5km from the De Vroente info center. It’s a trail that goes partly through the forest and partly through sand dunes and heath.
You can download the trail map here or buy a paper version at the info center.
Getting there
There are 4 main entry points to the park with each their own information center. If you go by public transport from Antwerp (or other locations in Belgium), it’s easiest to enter through De Vroente.
You can take the train from Antwerp to either Heide (takes 25 minutes) or Kalmthout (30 minutes). A weekend return ticket will cost you just €5.
If you take the train to Heide, it’s still 1,5km until the De Vroente entry point but you’ll be walking in nature from just a few hundred meters from the train station, which is really nice.
If you take the train to Kalmthout you can also visit the Arboretum of Kalmthout, which is located next to the train station there. The Arboretum is well worth a visit, even just by itself! It’s a very impressive place with lots of interesting plants and trees to see and there’s a great plant shop. However from there you will have to walk a bit longer in a built-up area before you reach the Kalmthoutse Heide.
If you have a car you can also enter at one of the 3 other main entry points. Two of them are located in The Netherlands.
Eating & Drinking
There are several restaurants/cafe’s near De Vroente, near the train station Heide and at the Arboretum. But there are none inside the park, or at least not in the middle of the park so make sure you have enough food and water with you to last for your time inside.
We ended up going for a drink and some ice cream in the fun pop-up Bos Bar De Eekhoorn. It’s a low key summer bar with a great selection of food and drinks just inside the boundaries of the nature reserve.
Sleeping
And for those of you who would like to stay a bit longer there’s a really nice new hotel, Hotel Jerom at the De Vroente entrance.
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24 June 2021 by INE BEERTEN
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