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Though rooted in Buddhism’s reverence for nature, shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”) traces its origins to 1982, when Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries coined and prescribed the practice, which involves full sensory immersion in tree-filled outdoor spaces. The ritual was meant to counter the adverse physical and mental effects of the country’s tech boom, and to encourage city dwellers to venture into surrounding landscapes. Since then, various scientific studies have confirmed the benefits of communing with nature, which include helping to curb conditions including depression and anxiety, and even the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Claire Owen Adams, a beauty entrepreneur based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and New York City, knew much of this before the pandemic took hold. But last year’s lockdowns catalyzed her to look for a way to capture the benefits of phytoncides—the immune-boosting essential oils released by woody plants—and fuse them with other elements, such as vitamin D3 and fulvic acid, that abound among trees, sun, and soil. Before long, Adams, with the help of a compounding pharmacist, developed a fragrant mist called I’m Outside, which replicates shinrin-yoku’s holistic body boost when sprayed.
With each spritz, notes of cypress, hinoki, spruce, pine, and Japanese mint tickle inside the nostrils en route to the limbic system, leaving behind a slight, refreshing tingle on the skin. The aroma may also conjure up twittering birds, rustling brush, and trickling streams, demonstrating the concoction’s potent ability to bring the outdoors in.
