Enjoy Forest Therapy in the City (or Wherever You Live)

Hello! What a glorious day in the woods. I'm Dr. Eric Fishman, also known as Dr. MONQ,  the originator of the personal aromatherapy industry. Let's chat more about Forest Therapy, it's origin, and what it means for you.

I'm here to tell you how you can have experiences in nature every day, seven days a week, and regardless of where you live.  You see, in addition to being beautiful locations, there are wonderful fragrances in parks, forests, and essentially all nature areas. When we inhale in these places, we're inhaling a tremendous bouquet of healthy air. At MONQ®, we have a product that can allow you to  have these wellness benefits even if you're living in the middle of a city or if you work in an office & take the subway to get home. There is unfortunately large amounts of polluted air around the world. All day long, you can have the benefit of millions of years of evolution put into a small little device that you can wear around your neck.

I started MONQ® with a personal aromatherapy diffuser and we are expanding this into an entire lifestyle brand. We will be providing to you  alternative methods of aromatherapy and informing you of the benefits of being in the forest.

In 1982, the Forest Agency of Japan coined a word shinrin yoku. Literally, it means forest bathing - bathing all of your senses in the forest atmosphere. It is not bathing like taking a bath with water but rather seeing the sights, hearing the sounds, and taking in the fragrance of all there is in nature. I've always had a fascination with Japan. In fact, in 1985 after having studied some Japanese language I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit Japan.

Since that time it has been conclusively proven that forest bathing, also known as forest therapy in the United States, has tremendous health and wellness benefits. It has been shown to lower blood pressure, lower pulse rate, increase concentration, and lower stress as evidenced by lowered salivary cortisol levels. All of that is a little technical but it's been very clearly shown that just being in the woods can be helpful.

We're not talking about taking a strenuous hike or going down into the Grand Canyon. Instead, we're just talking about a leisurely stroll walking, looking around, seeing the trees, listening to the birds, touching the plants, and breathing. Now, there have been a tremendous number of studies showing the benefits of being in the woods. There are a lot of studies showing how just touching wood in an office can have a soothing effect or how looking at pictures of nature can be beneficial. Most of the studies that show how beneficial Forest Therapy is have concentrated on the aromas stemming from nature. Our scientists have taken the fragrances from the forest and brought them into the laboratory with MONQ®.

We've recreated, to a large extent, the forest air. It is similar to the Paleolithic air our ancestors may have been breathing. We commonly use the phrases "paleo air" and "therapeutic air" to indicate the health and wellness benefits of MONQ® personal aromatherapy diffuser.