Shinrin-yoku with Mayu is an experience offered to guests at the lodge and she meets me on misty Saturday morning in the garden for a one-hour activity.

The idea is immerse,or bathe,in the aromatic compounds called phytoncides which plants and trees produce. They’re known to be anti-fungal,anti-bacterial,anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial and increase the activity of certain immune cells (NK cells) in our bodies.

According to Mayu,we feel so good in nature because all the sounds and motions synchronise to our bodies and soothe us. The key is to tune our senses to the vast organism that is the forest. “There’s no right or wrong way to do it.”

We start with breathing exercises,then we’re off to the pool,framed by big boulders covered in moss,with our magnifying glasses.

Next,we consider an enormous strangler fig and think about the unseen root system that connects all the plants in the forest. “You’ve got to put your roots down first … otherwise if you focus on growing fast,your feet are wobbly,and you won’t survive.” She’s talking about trees,but it might be all of us.

On the yoga deck,we then do some tai-chi for focus. From there,we walk down through the garden,silently touching bark and picking up leaves that interest us.

At the bottom,I’m given pencil and paper and asked to listen to the sounds of the forest and draw them on a piece of paper to create a “sound map”.

Selecting a fallen leaf,I’m instructed to place it on the bench,symbolically leaving behind what troubles me. The experience finishes with a lovely tea ceremony inside the house.

Mayu gives me a shinrin-yoku prescription or “dosage” which starts with a daily “sit spot” for 20 minutes in my own garden or nearby park. Weekly,I’m to take a 30-minute walk in nature,keeping my phone at home. Monthly,a deeper excursion into a forest or national park is recommended.

The benefits are a stronger immune system,less stress and anxiety,lower blood pressure,improved mood and better sleep,she says.

Of course,bushwalkers understand this profoundly. But for a city-slicker like me,it helped to have Mayu’s calm instruction to open my senses to the diversity of the natural world.

I spend the rest of the afternoon doing somehon-yoku,which is book bathing.

Lee Tulloch was a guest of Wild Luxury.