The Healing Power of Nature
This Cancer Education Series guest, Lori Foresman-Kirpes, is a naturalist and environmental educator at Polk County Conservation. Lori and the Founder of Above + Beyond Cancer and Medical Director of MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center, Dr. Dick Deming, discuss the healing power of nature and the work of Polk County Conservation. Born in Alaska, Lori ended up attending Iowa State University as a first-gen student where she earned a degree in Outdoor Recreation and Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. Since 1990, the focus at Polk County Conservation has been on nature wellness programming to allow individuals to really connect with nature.
Between log rolling on her farm with her family, horseback riding during the summers, to now leading forest bathing and identifying flora on hikes; nature has always been a part of Lori’s daily routine ever since she was a kid. A turning point in her practice occurred when she realized that she would have a bigger impact on people by helping them connect to nature rather than focusing on identifying plants and their properties. Since then she has declared that the most crucial takeaway of her work is to truly focus on enjoyment rather than technical practices.
In particular, her work utilizes Shinrin-Yoku (森林浴) in order to connect with nature. Shinrin-Yoku is a Japanese term that translates to “Forest Bathing” in English and involves spending time wandering in nature. Developed in the 1980s in Japan, the practice can help lower cholesterol, blood glucose levels, and blood pressure, as well as fight against depression and anxiety. The slower one walks through nature, the more stress levels decrease, explains Lori. More information on Forest Bathing can be found online or in a popular book, Shinrin Yoku: The Art of Japanese Forest Bathing written by Yoshifumi Miyazaki.
Reaffirming her research, Dr. Dick asserts that anyone who goes outside can intuitively sense the healing nature of it, but to actually study the impacts of nature on human physiology is another. Phytoncides are essentially molecules in nature that interact with us biochemically through our taste, smell, touch, etc. Lori stated that beneficial aromatic phytoncide compounds are released by specific tree species, including cedar, oak, locust, and pine. Although they are similar to essential oils, they also have the medicinal properties that encourage Natural Killer (NK) or anticancer cells in the body that help to fight against cancer. This research is widespread and shows that a forest bathing trip can significantly increase the numbers of NK, perforin, granulysin, and granzymes A/B-expressing cells which are intracellular anti-cancer proteins.
Lori’s work has led to Polk County Conservation offering forest bathing guides that can lead participants through guided meditation. Additionally, the Polk County Conservation provides Polk County with 52 miles of bike trails, hiking trails, numerous outdoor parks with wildlife, camping, cabins, boat and other water sport rentals, mushroom hunting, archery, reclaimed wetlands & prairie, and more. Like many environmental educators, Lori spends much of their time executing informal education with schools as well as public programs and nature wellness programming that includes sunset yoga, nature journaling and meditation, snowshoeing, Shinrin-Yoku, music therapy, and more programs found on their website!
To end the discussion, Lori quotes John Muir; “In every walk with nature one receives far more than one sees.” Furthermore, Lori wishes to leave viewers and readers with a challenge to recall their fondest memory in nature, where one can go find solitude and peace when they need it.
To join Above + Beyond Cancer’s free Hike + Yoga program or learn more about our outdoor activities contact mary@aboveandbeyondcancer.org
For more, check out this conversation in detail on Above + Beyond Cancer's Youtube page.
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BA Ethics & Public Policy, BBA Management, minor Social Justice
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