Would you love to truly benefit from your green-fingered time outside? It’s time to consider being more of a mindful gardener….
There’s no doubt that being outdoors in the garden is good for you. The time in nature is relaxing, the exercise of gardening is great for your physical health, and being around plants (such as within a forest, in your garden or around houseplants) is known to reduce your blood pressure.
The question is, are you truly getting the most out of your gardening sessions? Are you as mindful as you could be out there?
With a few minor adjustments you could have much more mindful and beneficial time in your garden, for better physical and mental health. Here’s how:
Walk Around Your Garden Like You’ve Never Visited Before
How often do you go into the garden to start sweeping or mowing or weeding, without really enjoying what you’ve created? Take a step back, make a brew and have a little wander around your garden like you’ve never been in it before. Try to do this for a few minutes every time you intend to do some garden work before you pick up tools.
Try Going Shoeless Or Gloveless Sometimes
To allow all your senses to get stuck into gardening it can be helpful to ditch those gloves and boots and truly feel your surroundings, as well as see them. Feel your fingers in the dirt, your toes on the grass - you can’t help but feel immersed by your environment.
Examine A Plant
Pick a plant and take your time to fully enjoy every detail. Every vein, every bud, every stamen, how it curves, how it moves in the wind - really take it in. These small details help us to appreciate the world around us even more, which is a fantastic way to be mindful even if you have just one plant, or one flower in your possession.
Give Yourself The Gift Of Time
For those of us with busy lives, we may rush around the garden getting jobs done, without really giving ourselves the time to just enjoy it. Could you swap an hour of TV for an hour in the garden? Could the dishwashing wait for half an hour? Give yourself the gift of time in your garden without worrying about jobs that need doing.
Remove Distractions From The Garden
Eyesores in the garden can be really distracting and take away from the mindfulness of the space. Clutter, for example, can be a real issue for a garden, making it echo the same stress you get from a messy house. If you can, spend an afternoon collecting seasonal items and clutter and pop them into your self storage unit. Your cheap self storage unit with Storing.com can be tidied another day, but after this, your garden will be clear, clean and more inviting to spend time in.
Plant With Wonder
The process of planting is quite magical really. The seed that needs the sun, the earth and water to literally turn into a living thing that flourishes. The miracle of life begins with every seed you plant. Take that in. Notice it. Allow yourself to feel the wonder of what you’re doing when you plant.
Feel Cleansed When You Weed & Prune
When you weed and prune, you remove the deadweight and the hindrances to the plant's growth. Try to think about the negative in your life and the things you want rid of when you weed and prune, and when you toss the plants and dead wood into the compost pile, let those negative feelings go with them.
“The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” - Jon Kabet Zinn
With a little less thinking, a little more being, you can be a more mindful gardener to the benefit of your physical and emotional wellbeing.
'This is a collaborative post and the author's views do not necessarily reflect those of our blog. We may receive monetary compensation for our endorsement and or recommendations'.
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