Hugging trees improves your mood and increases concentration.

Hugging a tree : have you ever done it? A powerful gesture , an encounter with nature that loves and regenerates us, a quest for physical and mental well-being . We shouldn't expect miracles from trees, which make up a quarter of the 391 species of vascular plants on Earth, but there are certainly scientifically proven therapeutic effects linked to the relationship between humans and trees . We discussed this in this article , and in general, to get straight to the point, the main richness of trees is terpenes, found in the bark and, to a lesser extent, in the leaves.

But hugging a tree, which at first glance might seem like a pop-art fad or the eccentric act of a sect of woodland dwellers, isn't just a gesture inspired by the idea of ​​producing, rather than wasting, physical well-being. There's more, much more.

In the radical nature of this gesture, which closely resembles the bond between a mother and child , between two lovers, lies the recognition that our life cannot exist without a relationship with trees . Everywhere. Even where they merely represent oases in the urban landscape: parks, gardens , tree-lined streets, small corners of greenery. We need trees, just as they need us and our care. The entire balance of nature , any discussion of sustainability, rests on this relationship which, unfortunately, we tend to break, even if only through carelessness, indifference, or ignorance.

And in being together, in sharing a single space, in feeling connected, through the strength of an embrace, we will also better recognize another element we have in common with trees: diversity . It is truly impressive, and a fascinating discovery, how much diversity there is among trees, just as among humans. The beech tree is solid, resistant, protective, but also ruthless, and if it perceives itself in danger, it stretches out its foliage over its unwelcome neighbor, blocking its light until it withers. The oak is granite-like, robust, and wise: for this reason, it tolerates humidity and aridity, and lives for centuries. The birch is irritable, touchy, and quarrelsome: it takes little to trigger its violent reaction. As soon as the wind shifts and begins to blow strongly, the birch extends its branches and uses them like whips to keep the neighboring tree at bay, without risking any damage from excessive proximity. Trees don't have the brawls of condominiums and lawyers waiting in the doorway, ready to send letters to their neighbors, but even for them, coexistence can be very difficult. Yet the lesson they teach us is simple: let's try. In everyone's interest.

Silvotherapy is a simple yet effective method that seeks to capitalize on, and not waste, the benefits that come from direct, close contact with trees . Silvotherapy involves hugging a tree or sitting next to it, knowing that in this way we are making close contact with nature more beneficial. Trees are intelligent and have brains similar to those of humans. They speak and remain silent, protect each other, argue, laugh and cry, and are as generous as they are ruthless. Their character has been the focus of extensive research since the 19th century, thanks to the studies of naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin . And nearly two centuries later, it was discovered that trees invented the Internet long before humans . It's the web of plants, a gigantic network of roots that allows them to live in symbiosis , exchanging both molecules with nutrients and electrical signals with information, with the danger of climate change . Further proof of the intelligence of trees and their ability to live in relationship with one another. Let's reach out to them, even with a hug: we won't experience an erotic impulse, but we will receive something.

The Shattered Myth : How False Sustainability Has Made the World More Unjust by Antonio Galdo (Codice Edizioni): if you want to read the book click here.

Read also:

• Benefits of trees in the city
• How trees speak
• Walking among the trees is good for the body and the brain