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직장과 학교에서 받는 압박감과, 꽉 막힌 교통체증에 갇히고 온갖 소음에 지속적으로 시달리는 것은 대도시의 삶 속 벗어날 수 없는 장애물들이다.
그러나 국토의 70퍼센트 이상이 숲으로 뒤덮여 있는 나라에 살며 누구나 한번쯤 도시의 삶에서 벗어나 자연으로 돌아가 평화로움을 누리며 사는 것을 꿈꿔봤을 것이다.
한국은 전국에 37개의 국립휴양림을 보유하고 있다. 이 중 대부분이 국민들이 마음껏 자연을 만끽하도록 정부에서 휴양지로 지정된 곳으로 기업체 등에서 운영하는 휴양림보다 적은 입장료로 마음껏 자연을 느낄 수 있다.
경기도 양평군에 있는 봉미산 끝자락에 위치한 산음 국립 자연휴양림은 푸르른 나무들이 가득하고 하늘로 솟아있는 소나무와 떡갈나무, 단풍나무들이 안식처를 만들고 있어, 조용한 곳에서 휴식을 취하고 자신을 성찰하고 마음가짐을 새로이 할 수 있는 곳을 찾던 이들에겐 더할 나위 없이 좋은 곳이다.
다양한 등산길 이외에도 통나무 오두막과 캠핑장 등 산음 국립 휴양림은 마음의 치유와 휴식에 중점을 맞추어 방문객들에게 숲 테라피 시간을 선보인 한국의 첫 휴양림이다.
숲 테라피스트 나병충씨는 “숲 테라피의 모든 것은 마음과 정신을 정화하여 자연과 하나가 되는 것이다”고 설명했다.
“숲밖에 있을 때와 숲 안에서 명상할 때의 에너지의 흐름은 다르다. 나쁜 에너지는 당신이 자연의 맑은 공기 속에서 벗어남과 거의 동시에 뿜어져 나온다” 고 덧붙였다.
서울에서 가장 가까운 휴양림 중 하나로써, 산음 휴양림은 도시인들이 걱 정속에서 벗어나 여유를 가질 수 있도록 발전되어왔다. 명상과 숲 속 요가, 다양한 운동과 율동 그리고 시를 읊는 등 다양한 체험 프로그램들이 마련되어 있다.
나씨는 “지금 이순간이 금이다. 지금이 가장 좋은 선물이다. 지금 당장이 기적이며 가장 아름다운 꽃씨이다,”며 직접 쓴 시를 읽어 보였다.
마치 뉴 에이지를 연상시키는, 급진적 환경보호 운동같이 들리긴 하지만, 숲 테라피는 임상학적으로 사람들을 치유하는데 도움을 줄 수도 있다. 많은 연구들이 숲 테라피가 스트레스지수를 줄여주고 혈압을 낮춰주며 집중력을 향상시키는 등 건강에 도움이 된다고 보고 있다.
나씨는 “명상은 굉장히 간단하다. 간단함이야말로 평정심과 안정을 되찾는데 가장 좋은 길이다”며 “모든 것은 균형이다. 음과 양. 마치 바다의 썰물이 나간만큼 밀물이 들어오는 것과 같다”고 균형에 대해 언급했다.
나씨의 숲 테라피는 일반적으로 참가 학생들이 다양한 스트레칭과 산의 오솔길을 오랫동안 걸으며 마음을 자유롭게 하는데 집중한다. 수강생들은 신발과 양말을 벗고 맨발로 숲을 걸어 다니며 온 몸의 오감을 통해 진정으로 자연을 감상하게 된다.
이에 나씨는 “이것이 자연과 하나가 된다는 것이다. 나무들에 둘러싸이는 것이 다가 아니라 보고, 듣고, 냄새를 맡고, 만져서 느껴야 그 본질을 이해할 수 있다”고 설명했다.
이 테라피를 체험한 한정석씨는 “마치 허공에서 날고 있는 기분이다”며 “직장 동료들과 함께 왔는데 우리 모두 일상 속 스트레스를 풀고 자연이 주는 휴식 속에서 기분이 한결 나아졌다” 고 소감을 전했다.
깊은 명상을 통해 자연을 느끼기 위함이든 단지 도시의 물고 뜯기는 정글에서 잠시나마 떨어져 있기 위함이든 이따금 자연 속에서 고독과 평온을 느껴보는 것도 나쁘지 않다.
마지막으로 나씨는 “생각해보면, 잎사귀들은 우리 삶의 뿌리를 의미한다”며 “자연은 가장 위대한 종교인 것 같다. 바로 우리의 문밖에서 인생의 모든 답을 찾을 수 있다”고 말했다. (코리아 헤럴드/번역 서혜림)
<관련 영문 기사>
Saneum Natural Recreational Forest promotes healing through ‘forest herapy’
By Julie Jackson
YANGPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Habitually bombarded by stress, feeling pressure from work or school, being trapped in a sea of traffic and constantly being blitzed by the chaotic noise of the city are simply some of the unavoidable daily obstacles that the average urbanite experiences in any large metropolitan area.
However, with two-thirds of Korea made up of forests, it seems only natural for locals to want to break away from city life and revert back to the laws of nature, seeking out a new life by tasting the peaceful serenity of the great outdoors.
Korea has 37 state-run national recreational forests scattered across the nation. Many of them are designated by the government to create recreational facilities where citizens can fully appreciate all that the woods have to offer. The forests offer citizens easy and enjoyable access to the country’s vast natural resources with cheaper entrance fees than other private or local government-owned recreational forests.
Located at the foot of Bongmisan Mountain are the lush, green forests of Saneum Natural Recreational Forest in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province. A haven of natural skyscrapers of pine, oak and maple, the national park was created as a home away from home for those looking for a quiet place to relax, reflect and repair.
Aside from the facility’s abundance of scenic mountain hiking trails, log cabins and fixed campgrounds, the Saneum Natural Recreational Forest is also the country’s first facility that focuses on the concept of healing and relaxation by offering guests complimentary forest therapy sessions.
“Forest therapy is all about cleansing and purifying the mind and the spirit and becoming one with nature,” said the park’s forest therapist Nah Byung-choon. “The flow of energy changes when you are out in the forest compared to when you are just meditating inside. Negative energy begins to release itself almost instantaneously the moment you step out into the clean air of nature.”
As one of the nearest recreational forests to Seoul, the park has been developed as an area offering urban citizens a chance escape their worries and take part in the activities of the facility’s healing center, which includes meditation and forest yoga, exercising, dancing and even poetry reading.
“Now is gold. Now is the best gift. Now is a miracle, the most beautiful flower seed,” wrote Nah, who is also a published poet and offers special outdoor poetry reading sessions for those who wish to share and express themselves through words as they bask in the wonders of nature and rid their minds of stress.
While forest therapy may sound like a New Agey, tree-hugging fad, it may nevertheless lead one to clinically feel happier and healthier. Many studies have linked forest therapy with having a number of health benefits including reducing stress levels, lowering blood pressure and increasing concentration abilities by helping people ease tension as they reach meditative state.
“Meditation is very simple. Simplicity is the best path for achieving equilibrium and stability in one’s life,” said Nah, who has been a forest guide and therapist since 2001. “It is all about balance. Ying and yang. Just like how the tides of the ocean flow out, so too must they flow back in.”
Nah’s forest therapy sessions typically involve students freeing their minds as they participate in various stretching routines and exercises after a long walk along the facility’s mountain trails. Students are asked to remove their socks and shoes and to wander around the woods barefoot as they participate in classes so that one can truly appreciate the forest with all five senses.
“This is what it means to be one with nature,” he said. “It’s not enough to just be among the trees. We must also see, hear, smell, touch and feel our surroundings in order to understand its essence.”
“I feel like I’m flying in the air,” said Han Jeong-suk, a participant in one of Nah’s therapy classes. “I came here with my coworkers and we are all relieving ourselves of our daily stress and improving our moods through powerful relaxation that is given to us by nature.”
Whether it be to get in touch with nature through deep meditation or simply needing a break from the bedlam of living in an urban jungle, taking advantage the nation’s surplus of green areas is an ideal way to find tranquility and solitude. Freedom can be as simple as losing oneself in the wilderness.
“When you think about it, leaves represent the root of our lives,” Nah said. “I really think nature is the best religion offered in this world. We can find all the answers to all of life’s questions right outside our door.”
(juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)
Saneum Natural Recreational Forest promotes healing through ‘forest herapy’
By Julie Jackson
YANGPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Habitually bombarded by stress, feeling pressure from work or school, being trapped in a sea of traffic and constantly being blitzed by the chaotic noise of the city are simply some of the unavoidable daily obstacles that the average urbanite experiences in any large metropolitan area.
However, with two-thirds of Korea made up of forests, it seems only natural for locals to want to break away from city life and revert back to the laws of nature, seeking out a new life by tasting the peaceful serenity of the great outdoors.
Korea has 37 state-run national recreational forests scattered across the nation. Many of them are designated by the government to create recreational facilities where citizens can fully appreciate all that the woods have to offer. The forests offer citizens easy and enjoyable access to the country’s vast natural resources with cheaper entrance fees than other private or local government-owned recreational forests.
Located at the foot of Bongmisan Mountain are the lush, green forests of Saneum Natural Recreational Forest in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province. A haven of natural skyscrapers of pine, oak and maple, the national park was created as a home away from home for those looking for a quiet place to relax, reflect and repair.
Aside from the facility’s abundance of scenic mountain hiking trails, log cabins and fixed campgrounds, the Saneum Natural Recreational Forest is also the country’s first facility that focuses on the concept of healing and relaxation by offering guests complimentary forest therapy sessions.
“Forest therapy is all about cleansing and purifying the mind and the spirit and becoming one with nature,” said the park’s forest therapist Nah Byung-choon. “The flow of energy changes when you are out in the forest compared to when you are just meditating inside. Negative energy begins to release itself almost instantaneously the moment you step out into the clean air of nature.”
As one of the nearest recreational forests to Seoul, the park has been developed as an area offering urban citizens a chance escape their worries and take part in the activities of the facility’s healing center, which includes meditation and forest yoga, exercising, dancing and even poetry reading.
“Now is gold. Now is the best gift. Now is a miracle, the most beautiful flower seed,” wrote Nah, who is also a published poet and offers special outdoor poetry reading sessions for those who wish to share and express themselves through words as they bask in the wonders of nature and rid their minds of stress.
While forest therapy may sound like a New Agey, tree-hugging fad, it may nevertheless lead one to clinically feel happier and healthier. Many studies have linked forest therapy with having a number of health benefits including reducing stress levels, lowering blood pressure and increasing concentration abilities by helping people ease tension as they reach meditative state.
“Meditation is very simple. Simplicity is the best path for achieving equilibrium and stability in one’s life,” said Nah, who has been a forest guide and therapist since 2001. “It is all about balance. Ying and yang. Just like how the tides of the ocean flow out, so too must they flow back in.”
Nah’s forest therapy sessions typically involve students freeing their minds as they participate in various stretching routines and exercises after a long walk along the facility’s mountain trails. Students are asked to remove their socks and shoes and to wander around the woods barefoot as they participate in classes so that one can truly appreciate the forest with all five senses.
“This is what it means to be one with nature,” he said. “It’s not enough to just be among the trees. We must also see, hear, smell, touch and feel our surroundings in order to understand its essence.”
“I feel like I’m flying in the air,” said Han Jeong-suk, a participant in one of Nah’s therapy classes. “I came here with my coworkers and we are all relieving ourselves of our daily stress and improving our moods through powerful relaxation that is given to us by nature.”
Whether it be to get in touch with nature through deep meditation or simply needing a break from the bedlam of living in an urban jungle, taking advantage the nation’s surplus of green areas is an ideal way to find tranquility and solitude. Freedom can be as simple as losing oneself in the wilderness.
“When you think about it, leaves represent the root of our lives,” Nah said. “I really think nature is the best religion offered in this world. We can find all the answers to all of life’s questions right outside our door.”
(juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)
