1 . What is forest bathing? This Japanese practice, known in Japan as shinrin yoku, is a process of relaxation. The simple method of being calm and quiet in the woods, observing nature around you while breathing deeply can help both adults and children relieve stress and boost health and well being in a natural way.     1    

Find a spot. Depending where you are, find a good source of nature. One doesn’t need to journey deep into a forest for these benefits. Just look for any green area.     2     Forests with conifers (针叶树) are thought to be particularly beneficial. For people who don’t have access to a forest, using essential tree oils in your home can provide benefits, too.

Engage all your senses. Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands, and feet.     3     Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm.

Don’t hurry. Slow walking is recommended for beginners. And it’s good to spend as much time as possible. You’ll notice positive effects after twenty minutes, but a longer visit, ideally four hours, is better.

    4     Try doing yoga in the woods, or Tai Chi. Take a picnic. Write a poem. Study plants. You can take an adventure alone, or with a companion.

Appreciate the silence.     5     If you’re lucky, you’ll find a wooded area that’s free from human-produced sound. Spend a few quiet moments with a favorite tree. If nothing else, when we connect with nature we are reminded that we are part of a larger whole. And that can lead us to be less selfish and to think more of others.

2 . Traditional American summer camps offer young people a chance to play many sports. These camps may be in the mountains.     1     Some camps teach activities like painting or music. Or they teach computer programming or foreign languages. Children at all kinds of camps meet new friends.

Some children go to camp during the day and return home at night.     2     Children stay at an overnight camp for between one and eight weeks. Parents need to pay. Children from poor families might not have a chance to attend summer camps. The Fresh Air Fund is a well-known organization.

    3     Each summer it sends ten thousand poor children to stay with families in the country or to five camps in New York State.

    4     Many American women now work outside the home. Working parents need a place where their children can be cared for during the summer when they are not in school.

Young people who like the arts can learn about painting, music, acting or writing. Camps that offer programs in science and environmental studies are popular, too. There are also camps for older children who like wilderness adventure.     5     Or, they go rock-climbing or horse-riding.

7 . Planting and growing things offers a lot more than fresh vegetables and flowers. Working in a cozy space can make you delighted, help you stay fit, and broaden your horizons — and that’s just for starters.     1    

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Strong shoulder muscles and flexible hands are essential for everyday tasks like opening jars, carrying packages and picking up bags of garbage. Gardening works as an effective way to exercise them from pulling weeds and moving pots to carrying garbage and pushing lawnmowers. With time going by, you will find doing some daily tasks related to shoulders and hands easier than before.

It’s a fun workout.

It’s wonderful to get out in the garden on a beautiful day to give it a tidy. But if you find the idea of pottering around in a garden a bit dull, knowing it’s doing you good physically might make it more entertaining. Planting seeds, pulling up weeds, carrying bags of mulch (覆盖物), moving pots, pushing a lawnmower.     3    

It reduces your risk of heart disease.

    4     In fact, gardening can contribute to reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke and help you live longer, according to a 2013 Swedish study. The benefits come from a combination of physical exercise and the stress reduction.

It boosts your immune (免疫) system.

Having dirt under your fingernails may be a sign of untidiness, but scientists say it could also be a mark of good health. Thanks to beneficial things found in soil, gardening may improve your immune system.     5