canopy 復習
みなさんは森林浴に行かれることはありますか。
‘Forest bathing’: A mindful walk inspired by a Japanese concept
The benefits of shinrin-yoku were formally recognized in the early 1980s by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. While it might seem obvious that a walk in the woods is good for you, there’s also research on the physiological effects showing that it can lower blood pressure, heart rates and stress hormones.
Amos Clifford, who founded the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, leads a variety of forest bathing experiences, from walks in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Kenwood, California, to programs at Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary in Freestone, California, and The Lodge at Woodloch, a resort in Hawley, Pennsylvania.
Clifford, who has a background in Zen meditation and in marriage and family counseling, also trains guides in forest therapy. But he’s careful to say that forest therapists are not qualified to diagnose or treat mental health issues.
“We say the forest is the therapist,” he said. “The guide opens the doors.”
Clifford’s three-hour guided walks might cover only 400 meters. The ideal trail, he says, is two-thirds covered by a forest canopy but also has “some meadow open to the sky,” along with a stream and plant diversity. But it doesn’t have to be a wilderness area. He’s led walks in retirement center gardens and in city parks near freeways.
Clifford compares the experience to a guided meditation, in which participants are prompted to consider, “What are you hearing, seeing, smelling? We invite people to notice what’s in motion in the environment around them: the swaying of trees, the flow of water, butterflies or birds or whatever it might be.”
（一部抜粋）
今回取り上げる単語は、canopyです。
『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版，大修館）で調べたところ、「天蓋，（葉や枝などの）頭上に覆いかぶさるもの，ひさし，円盤，（パラシュートの）傘，林冠」などと載っておりました。
Oxford Dictionary of English (Second Edition Reserved, Oxford University Press)によると、 “an ornamental cloth covering hung or held up over something, especially a throne or bed”と “the uppermost branches of the trees in a forest, forming a more or less continuous layer of foliage”の2つの定義が記載されておりました。
記事では、“a forest canopy”と使われているため、英英辞典でいう2つ目の定義で使用されていると思います。（Gomez）
