--- by Wendy Wuyts (@wereldwoud), January 2021 ----

A week before the arrival of Saint Nicholas, one of my favorite alchemists, I was introduced to @kouroshgaregani - a former refugee from Iran, martial arts practitioner, poet, dancer and therapist.

He has written a book and contacted me via bosbadenvlaanderen.com . It is about bathing in the energy of the heart of the forest, interweaving ideas of Persian and Japanese martial arts and philosophy with its own learning lessons. I asked for a review copy.

He personally brought it (and Persian biscuits) to Vorselaar and I took him and his assistant to a walk in the Lovenhoek, a nature point right outside my door. I asked him some questions to get to know his story and the background of this book. Since the age of four, he has been practicing Karate Wado Ryu and Katori Shinto Ryu, first in Iran. He practiced the katas with trees and noticed as a child that there is a circulation of energy between him and the trees. He demonstrated some katas. It seemed like a dance.

He not only practiced the Japanese martial art, but also the ancestral Persian art Varzesh Bastani, which also has a rich history of rituals, movements and wisdom.

What I understood was that for him the combination of nature connection and the wisdom of Eastern martial arts gave him grounding and comfort, even when he had to leave Iran and settle in Ghent. In the meantime, several decades have passed and he has reflected a lot. His books are clearly the fruit of years of observation, dreaming and thinking.

Slightly different from other books written about shinrin-yoku by foreigners. I have only read a few books, such as the work of Dr Li Qing, M. Amos Clifford and Annette Lavrijsen, and supporting books such as Florence Williams, but this book is written from a different angle.

During the walk, an old tree invited us to come closer.
"A mother tree," I said.
He asked why I thought it was a woman's tree. I was shy. You do have women and men trees. But I could not provide "a scientific explanation". She just felt protective. He observed the mother leaning east to see the sunrise behind her children. When people use wind directions to name locations, I feel grounding. He has a gift of observation.

At the end of the walk I showed him the broken willow tree in the garden. I was curious about his observation. He could say that a northerly or westerly wind had hit this tree. These winds can be cold and sharp.

His book is also a collection of observations, often written in a poetic language. It reminds me of the Ancient Greek verses I had to read in high school. It is also full of instructions that remind me of martial arts or the asanas in yoga. This makes the book different from, for example, 'the pocket book of forest baths' by Sarah Devos and Katriina Kilpi, because the actions are described in more detail, more concretely. In the forest baths that I provide (as instructed by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy), our invitations are kept as short and open as possible. I don't know which is better: each person needs something different, and even the same person has different needs than on any other day.

It contains many Japanese terms and ideas that require a certain initiation (in Japanese natural philosophy). I wouldn't give the book as a gift to people who have never heard of forest baths, but to yourself or other people who already have some basis. To give a comparison: I have lived in Japan and have been at it for years, but it was difficult for me too. I know some terms, such as ishin denshin, because I also had a short friendship with a Buddhist monk in Japan. Other concepts, such as the common kumano kodou, took on new meaning for me. I have walked the road of that name, but I did not understand that it could mean 'the old way of the forest' or 'the ancestral way'. The ideas almost tempt me to return to Japan, but I now know that those concepts can also be found in a Flemish context.

His work feels like an alchemist book that does not just reveal its secrets. I had to reread fragments, often out loud. The book can transform you, I felt, like a philosopher's stone.

It took energy - and rightly so, because nothing should come to you too easily - before I was connected to the spirit of this book. After a while I realized - like poems by Rumi and Khayyam - I better recite the lyrics out loud so that it can echo a little in me. Poetry flows in the veins of Persians. There is also a lot of poetry in this book. You do not consume such texts, but you have to take a lot of time for such texts: not for the reading itself, but to prepare yourself first and then think for a moment about what you have read and what it can mean for you.

Dutch translation:

• Boekscout.nl

• Bol.com

French (original) version:

Le Diamant de la Forêt de Soie,

Shin Shin Rin Yoku Ki

心 森林 浴 気 二

• fr.fnac.be

An English translation will also be available soon.