CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates stepped into the woods in northeast Indiana, surrounded by trees, fully present in the moment.
In Japanese, it’s called shinrin-yoku. In English, it roughly translates to “forest bathing.”
Twice this offseason, Bates, who is one of the NFL’s top free safeties, met up with Kathy Little, his yoga instructor. Near his native Fort Wayne, Ind., he and Little walked without a word through hickory and oak trees, old and new, as Bates took inventory of his senses and meditated.
It was a specific type of meditation Bates wanted to explore as he approached the most pivotal season of his young career.