Improving mind and body wellness through gardening

Modern life sure brings a lot of changes to everyone's day-to-day activities. People with nine-to-five jobs are not unfamiliar to the stress and pressure work can bring. Add to that a poor diet and lack of exercise, you are headed to a very short life indeed. Watching television or sitting in front of the computer does not help alleviate the stress either. How about tend a garden instead?

Many think that starting a garden are only for hippies and could cost thousands of dollars. Actually, if you ask anyone with even a small garden they can tell you that the effort far outweighs the benefits. And they're not hippies either.

An hour a day is more than enough to start a small garden in your backyard or even in pots outside your windows. By slowly growing plants yourself, you won't even need hundreds of dollars just to see little sprouts of leaves. It's just a matter of replacing a passive activity that slowly kills you with a slightly more active endeavor that can improve your mind and body wellness.

Start with a small pot of plant and slowly expand to any available spaces. Gardens can provide a reflective atmosphere. A place where you can get your hands busy and your mind wander. All throughout the day, people are bombarded with information and responsibilities that it had become essential to take a time off at least an hour a day to recharge the brain and creativity. Gardening is not so challenging to require intense focus, but enough an activity to make the mind centered.

The atmosphere that a garden brings into a backyard or even a small room is unmatched by any man-made medication. A study by Roger S. Ulrich in 1984 showed that patients recovering from gallbladder surgery who spent time out in nature had significantly shorter hospital stays than the ones cooped up in white walls. Newer studies made by Ulrich even proved that looking at scenes of nature can lower systolic blood pressure in five minutes or less.

"It is clear," Mr. Ulrich says, "that the mind does matter."

Gardens can also be practical. You can plant herbs that can be used to add flavor to your meals without spending a dollar while. Basil, dill, thyme and oregano are some of the easiest herbs to grow and are essential to any flavorful meal.

Aside from herbs, medicinal plants are also essential to any garden. They cannot replace any prescription drugs, but daily intake of these plants prevents diseases and can even reduce symptoms of already existing illnesses. Consider planting garlic, which is a great antimicrobial plant that fights bacteria, viruses and parasites. Also, try growing chamomile which makes great tea that helps relax the body and slow down the mind. Pay a visit to a local gardening store to make sure you are planting local flora. This makes it easier to maintain the garden as your plant are used to the local climate.

If you have a larger space, perhaps a backyard or a front lawn, you have the opportunity to plant trees that can serve you well in the future. Fruits like Avocados are great for your health as well as cheap source of guacamole. Trees can also provide natural traffic patterns in your garden. You can even create small intimate spaces where you can read a book or just hide to take a nap.

Gardens also offer a low impact workout that can burn as many calories as light jogging. An hour of weeding and tending your plants sure are better than running on a treadmill in a boring gym. By constantly moving while the mind focuses on other things can help people who dislike working out. If you can, do a little bit of challenging tasks around the garden such as lifting that bag of mulch instead of asking someone for help to build muscle and strengthen cardio.

You are not only limited within your backyard. Community gardens can engage the entire neighborhood while providing fresh produce for everyone. It can even help your place look a bit nicer and greener. Community-ran gardens also help connect with other people from different walks of life. It is a chance for you to reconnect with the society and see the world through others' point of view. A community garden can serve as an informal place where local news and issues are talked about while clearing without any emotional baggage.

Lastly, restoring the natural balance of the environment is one of the most obvious benefit of a garden. You are cleaning your surroundings of environmental toxins while providing yourself with organic food, in turn cleansing you as well. Plants hold carbon dioxide in place and out of the air making it a little bit more breathable.

In the end, you have to actively change how you spend your down times to improve your mind and body. Starting will take effort, but once you get everything set and make gardening a habit, it will become a second nature to you. Start small and be determined to make it a habit.