Feeling burnt out or bummed out? Time for a bath. Not the typical kind, Axios' Natalie Daher writes.

• Forest bathing — no wetsuit required — is the practice of immersing in nature so completely that, for a fleeting moment, your push notifications cease to exist.

The big picture: There's no summit to reach or pace to keep. Forest bathing is an act of surrender. You let the senses lead, entranced by whatever the woods are doing.

• 👃 It's all about the senses: You smell the cedar aroma. You hear the crunching leaves beneath your feet, the birds chirping. You see the flora and fauna blossoming, the steady stream of water from a babbling brook.

😌 The remedy has been linked to reduced stress, improved mood, lower blood pressure and a stronger immune system, AP reports.

Zoom out: The term "Shinrin-yoku" — Japanese for "forest bathing" — was coined in 1982 by the director for Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

• The country was deep into technological revolution, urban offices were multiplying — and people needed an escape.

🌿 Forest bathing guide Melanie Choukas-Bradley tells Axios: "The stresses of contemporary life can be debilitating. Forest bathing is one of the most powerful ways to let go of stress, and tune in to the beauty and wonder of the present moment."

• Choukas-Bradley, a naturalist and nature book author, has been leading forest bathing walks since 2016. "At first I worried that forest bathing might be too woo-woo for Washington, D.C.," she told us. "I have now led dozens of walks" in the District and elsewhere across the U.S.
• More recently, "some of those who come on my walks are federal workers who have been fired or have left their jobs," she said.

🧘🏻‍♀️ Between the lines: Forest bathing isn't the same as meditating under a tree. Meditation asks you to turn inward — to observe thoughts, steady the breath, quiet the mind.

• Forest bathing asks you to turn outward, letting the environment do the work.
• Your challenge is to intensely focus on the sounds, smells and sights around you.

Try it! You don't need to fly to a national park:

• 🏞 Head to a local trail, a tree-lined street in your city, or your own backyard.
• 👂 Leave your headphones and devices elsewhere.
• 🍃 Give yourself at least 10 minutes to absorb the space. Go slower than you might think is necessary.

The bottom line: "You don't need a forest for forest bathing. ... And you don't need a forest bathing guide," Choukas-Bradley says.

• The practice alone "helps us to restore our primal connection" with nature.

Axios Boston reporter Steph Solis snapped this shot on Washington Street in the city's Downtown Crossing shopping district.

• Is this our "Keep Calm and Carry On?"