The Benefits of Stillness Outdoors: A Guide to Forest Bathing | Ara Candles

The Benefits of Stillness Outdoors: What a Day at Big Bear Lake Taught Me

I spent a recent day at Big Bear Lake doing very little. I walked slowly under the trees, sat on a sun warmed rock near the water, and let ten minutes stretch into something longer. Even the drive up, winding through the mountains, felt like it was doing something to my nervous system before I'd even arrived. By the time I sat down, I could feel it: the healing, the release, the restoration. Nothing about the day was productive in the usual sense, and that was exactly the point.

It turns out there's real science behind why that day felt the way it did.

What Happens in the Body During Stillness Outdoors

Research on time spent in natural environments, often studied under the Japanese practice of shinrin yoku, or forest bathing, has consistently found measurable changes in the body after even brief exposure. A systematic review published in the International Journal of Biometeorology found meaningful decreases in cortisol across numerous studies comparing forest environments to urban ones. Separately, Harvard Health reports that cortisol levels drop after a walk in the forest compared with walking in a built environment, and that trees release compounds called phytoncides that may influence the body's stress response.

None of this requires a hike or a destination. It requires stillness, trees, and a window of uninterrupted time, which is part of why a bench at Big Bear did as much for me as a full day of activity might have.

Ten Minutes Is Enough to Start

One of the most encouraging findings in this research is how little time it actually takes. Research summarized by the Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges has found measurable drops in stress hormones after short forest visits, and even brief windows have shown benefit. This matters because stillness often gets postponed for a day when there's more time. There rarely is one. Ten minutes, sat quietly under a tree or near water, is enough to begin shifting the body out of a stress response and into something calmer.

Sunlight Plays Its Own Role

Beyond the trees themselves, natural sunlight supports circadian rhythm, mood regulation, and vitamin D production, all of which affect how rested and steady we feel day to day. Sitting outside in direct daylight, even without shade, gives the body a different kind of signal than time spent indoors under artificial light. Pairing that sunlight with stillness, rather than movement or scrolling, seems to be where much of the benefit comes from.

Why the Body Responds to Slowness

What struck me most at Big Bear wasn't the scenery, though it helped. It was how little I needed to do to feel different. No breathing exercise, no meditation app, no goal. Just slowing my pace to match the trees around me, and staying there long enough for my body to catch up with the rest of my surroundings. This is often where restoration actually happens, not in the activity itself, but in the space after it, when there's nothing left to accomplish.

Bringing the Practice Home

Not every day allows for a lake or a mountain drive. On the days that don't, the same principle still applies at a smaller scale: find ten minutes, remove the noise, and let your body settle. At home, this often looks like sitting somewhere quiet, letting a candle burn nearby, and simply staying present for a few minutes before moving on with the day.

Earthen Root, our patchouli candle built around grounding, was made for exactly this kind of pause. Lighting it after time outdoors, or in place of it on days that don't allow for a trip to the trees, can help extend that same settled feeling a little longer.

Shop Earthen Root, The Grounder, here.