When I first landed in Japan, I wasn’t just chasing a scent. I was chasing why I always felt incredibly calm when I smelled it.
I traveled deep into rural Mie Prefecture, where mist still clings to the cypress forests and time moves slower. At times, a little too slow for me. It’s here that locals have practiced shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, for generations. They walk slowly, breathe deeply and let the forest do what it’s always done. Regulate the human nervous system. The best part? It's incredibly simple and free. No fancy and unnecessary medications for you to rely on for the rest of your life.
Inside those forests, the air is rich with phytoncides, natural compounds released by trees. One of the most powerful is α-pinene, a monoterpene found in Japanese hinoki cypress that science now recognizes for its ability to calm the body, lower cortisol and shift the brain into a parasympathetic, rest and digest state.
What the Forest Teaches the Body
Breathing hinoki isn’t like inhaling a typical fragrance. The scent bypasses logic entirely.
It takes a direct path to the limbic system, the part of the brain that controls emotion, memory and autonomic function. Within seconds, the body reacts before you even realize it: heart rate drops, tension fades and the brain’s prefrontal cortex quiets. The same measurable effect seen when people practice deep meditation.
Studies in Japan have shown that simply inhaling hinoki oil for a few minutes can:
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Decrease systolic blood pressure
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Lower heart rate
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Increase parasympathetic activity (the physiological signal of calm)
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Reduce tension, fatigue, and confusion on mood-state tests
The results mirror what happens during a day in the forest.
Science calls it autonomic balance. The body calls it home.
Why I Bottled It
I wanted to share that same calming feeling with people who live in the constant hum of cities and screens. People like me, who push hard, perform well and tend to forget to pause. Once I realized calm was actually a performance tool and learned how to use it, I knew it would help other people.
So I worked with small Japanese suppliers who sustainably distill hinoki oil straight from the wood. We kept it pure, rich in bornyl acetate and α-pinene, the very molecules responsible for that sense of sacred tranquility.
That means you can reset your nervous system in seconds, anywhere. Between meetings, before sleep, while sitting in traffic or just a random moment that you want to feel good and reset.
How to Practice Forest Calm Anywhere
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Breathe intentionally.
Breathwork combined with scent is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your nervous system in the rest and digest mode. It's what allows you to actually think and be present instead of react. I do this every two hours. -
Diffuse in your space or smell directly from the bottle.
Just 3–5 drops in a diffuser can replicate the chemical atmosphere of a hinoki forest. Studies show this reduces prefrontal brain activity, which turns down mental noise. Since I like to keep things really simple, I usually just smell from the bottle since it's easier and gives off a stronger scent compared to the diffuser. -
Build the ritual.
Use the same hinoki scent each time you want to reset. Over time, your brain learns the cue: this smell means safety, which turns into a more calm mindset.
From Ancient Ritual to Modern Calm
In Japan, hinoki has always symbolized purity and renewal. It was used to build temples, carve shrines and purify baths. The idea wasn’t luxury. It was presence that brought you back to a present state of mind.
So when life speeds up and you're heading into chaos mode, breathe in the forest.
You don’t have to go to Japan to find calm. Creating your own ritual of breathwork combined with hinoki oil is a great way to regulate your nervous system, experience calm moments throughout the day and rest deeper.
