Health benefits from gardening Be one with the nature
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
I remember when I first saw the backyard of our wooden cottage — placed on the bank of the river among 90 ft tall cottonwood trees. Simple, surrounded by wild bushes that needed trimming and cultivating.
This is my backyard while back. It’s one of the toughest to plant anything because of the everlasting shadow and floods that surprise you from time to time.
I did sprain my ankle once, cut myself on the Miscanthus leaves, and one summer while building my very first Japanese garden, I’ve lost 10 pounds. All that time I had sour muscles and ligaments.
So what motivated me to stay and keep coming back?
Well. . .
From time to time life gets you a dilemma which you don’t know how to approach. But I realized that when I had a problem, I would go to my cottage to work and by the end of that day, all my questions were a little bit smaller. I was seeing them in a different, more prospective angle.
Have you experienced this kind of change that was sudden and immense?
Did you felt like an owner or just like joyful custodian? I bet it’s the other thing, and you also stayed. Let’s find out what else is hiding behind that natural science
Gardening is a way of living that improves the feeling of life. Many people work in the garden or cherish the plants, make hobbies, entertain, and enjoy in the beauty of their green corners. Physical outdoor activity relaxes, improves mood and relieves stress. Also staying on the fresh air is a form of body activity that contributes to reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.
Garden therapy
Garden therapy has a wide range of benefits for wellness programs (people with disabilities, people with learning disabilities, elderly people, stroke sufferers, people with mental illnesses and disorders, people with social problems , unemployed, people with cerebral palsy, people with aphasia or other speech disorders, addicts, victims of various forms of violence, chronic illnesses, after heart or stroke recovery).
People can have fun in the treatment process, enjoy and be proud of the results of their work.
Research has shown that human beings have inborn enthusiasm for nature. We all used to live in caves and near forests. Today we carry this memory in ourselves.
Working with plants, and staying in nature is a form of physical activity that fits our body, and socializing with nature creates feelings of relaxation, peace and good feelings in general.
Man is a being of nature, and it gives him everything he needs and awakens his long-forgotten senses.
Nature improves, pulls out the best of us. We see what our opportunities and limits are, so long as we can withstand temptations, which is very important for everyday life.
The goal of our lives is to gain tranquility, and this you can achieve by staying in nature. It is no coincidence that monks go to the mountains.
In China, nature plays important role in cultural tradition.
In parks, squares or streets, wherever there is free space people are busy doing some exercise. Sometimes it is Tai Chi or Gong, sometimes dance, gymnastics or the release of dragons. Artistic skills such as painting, calligraphy or casting are also practiced in the open air. This tradition has its place in modern China.
In Chinese imagery especially occupy, the mountains are sacred because they are so close to the gods. They also manifest the vital energy of nature, which in Chinese is called C. Not only does it feed a man and keeps him alive, but there are also herbs that give longevity.
Many philosophical concepts of old China are based on the observation of nature.
Taoism teaches us that a man must maintain a strong connection with nature for the sake of mental and physical health. Tai Chi and Gong exercises are the links between heaven and the earth.
This ancient system of practice has also arisen from the observation of nature and the imitation of animals.
Stress-relief and self-esteem
When you come home from work or other duties, if you can, go out, into your backyard and STAY to observe the plants. Going to the garden after a busy working day lowers stress levels and reduces the feeling of fatigue. It is lovely to watch the greenery, to plant some new ones.
Working in the garden is a physical activity, which strengthens and exerts muscles, improves physical fitness, helps to prevent the development or worsening of many diseases.
It is also a pleasure for all the senses. It teaches you patience while waiting for the results of your work. e.g., If you let a plant die, you’ll learn to bear the defeat from the attempts and mistakes.
Of course, if you eat what you have grown, the benefits will be much higher for your health.
The garden arena will drive away any grief, give space for creativity, and provide a sense of pride when you harvest the fruits of your work.
Working in the garden can also help you to relieve the stress or negative emotions. If you are angry, nervous or sad, the garden can help. Empty negative emotions and get the weeds out or skim the ground.
Focus on the task and hand movements when digging or pounding. This activity can help relieve you from the tension and aggression.
If you don’t have a garden, you can always create a green corner in your home, and “socialize” with flowers on the balcony or windows.
Even a simple walk to the backyard or the nearby park can make you feel better.
While walking, enjoy the colors, shapes, and scents in nature!
Whether you are an enthusiast who likes to run in cold weather or a hedonist who enjoys food and relaxing on the picnic blanket, a nearby forest is an ideal place for a real nature stroll with friends. Don’t be lazy!
How does the cultivation of plants affect your mind and not just the diet?
You’ve probably heard countless and read many times that cultivating your own, organic vegetables has different positive effects on health. But it’s not just the input of so-grown vegetables that make you healthy. There are many more reasons, and you probably have not thought about it.
The recently completed research was concerned precisely with this issue – how can the cultivation of fruits and vegetables and the cultivation of plants generally work in the interests of your mental health? How does the cultivation of plants affect your mind and not just the diet?
Gardening is better than a gym?
When you spend only 30 minutes a day in the garden and deal with plants, you’ll improve muscle strength and body biomechanics.
(Increased movement and muscle extension), fine motor skills, coordination, and balance normalizes blood and heart function, facilitate body weight control, stimulate physical activity and inhaling of fresh air.
Through various activities, such as digging, grabbing, raking, sowing, raising and watering, the body becomes and remains in desirable physical condition.
Also, daytime activity encourages the production of vitamin D, which plays a role in bone health.
Other activities such as reading and listening to music help in a much smaller percentage and less intensity than the time spent in the fresh air.
Gardening reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease
Growing any plant requires and specific physical activity, and therefore more movement that causes a reduction in stress.
Stress is an enemy of your organism and a friend of diabetes and heart disease. Except for the time in the garden, the time spent in a fresh air implies the movements that are necessary to make you feel good in later years.
And you have your product, fruit or vegetable that you will use in preparation for the next meal, for which you can be sure that it is healthy and without toxic chemicals.
Happiness is in small things
The less time you spend outside, the less fulfilled you are. It has been scientifically proven that people feel better when they spend more time outdoors than indoors. The care of the garden and the cultivation of plants certainly imply that you will spend much more time in the air and exposed to sunshine than you would do without cultivating plants.
Increases self-reliance, self-control, and independence and ability to make decisions, contributes to problem-dependence, helps with stress, anger, boosts self-esteem, self-confidence, and observation, provides choice and ability to use problem-solving skills, increases attention spans, and balance.
It triggers hidden potentials and stimulates creativity and motivates achievements. Gardening reduces all kinds of tension and negative emotions like fear, anger, sadness, and dissatisfaction.
Strengthens the will to work on yourself and expanding your potential, thus achieving satisfaction with your own life.
Training for brain cells
A study published in a scientific journal focusing on Alzheimer’s disease has shown that dealing with agriculture and the cultivation of plants can act positively and somewhat alleviate the symptoms of the disease.
A person must activate the process of planting, worrying and later harvesting the fruits which have a positive effect on the brain.
This way the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease plummets by 50 %.
You’ll sleep better
As we have already mentioned, time spent in the garden requires a particular physical activity, which ultimately leads to increased fatigue, a greater need for sleep that is better for several reasons. A feeling of stress disappears, you feel more useful knowing that what you are doing helps primarily to you. All this is a combination of stable and peaceful sleep.
Social Health
Provides the opportunity for joining others, it gives you commitment to living things. You are developing work ethics & skills. Also, its an opportunity for social interaction, collaboration, and teamwork. Enhances personal preparedness for work, provides a chance to learn and habit of learning.
Gardening will inspire you to other essential things in your life. It will bring togetherness, friends, and neighbors (working together and having fun in the garden, talking, helping each other, playing games with children).
She deals with gardening since the age of 13 and is excellent evidence of health benefits from gardening. She can bend to the ground and stay in that position up to an hour without any consequences. Some yoga masters would envy her. Of all the work that requires agriculture and gardening, she is still able to participate with hers 94 years. Besides that, she possesses mental clearness and great vision. No medications are needed. My grandmother. . .
P.S. Interested to see how my garden looks now? Go to “About” page and check out the video.