The lake city Udaipur is becoming more beautiful by the day. Not only beautiful, but this city of Rajasthan is also becoming functional by the day. The forest department in Udaipur has brought in a wave of awareness for nature and its utility.
Making their awareness campaign reach another level, they launched the tree therapy. The therapy revolves around educating the people about the forest-oriented health benefits – the benefits of spending time with the trees in forests.
This is based on a Japanese practice known as forest bathing – which is known for reducing stress hormone production, lowering heart rate, blood pressure, boosting the immune system and revigorating body health.
How does this happen?
Trees and plants in the forest produce an essential oil called phytoncide which protects them from germs and insects. The trees also diffuse an air – phytoncide, which boosts your immune system. It also freshens you up.
What the forest department is doing is that it is promoting tree therapy for morning and evening walkers at GulabBag and developing the Mewar Bio Diversity Park at Amberi.
Collector Bishnu Charan Mallick, the person who ideated the concept said: “Forest environments promote lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity.” The process is quite simple – all you have to do is hug the trees and feel them breathing, and you have to breathe with them.
The programme is not just limited to one or two locations in Udaipur but will run in several locations in and around Udaipur. It will run at bio parks and sanctuaries where people will be able to make the most of this programme. To make sure that everybody knows about it, the government has prepared videos and brochures to promote the idea amongst the masses.
The announcement was made by Gulab Chand Kataria on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
