There is something so serene about the wonders of gardening: watching vegetables flourish from seedling to plant, raking and weeding the organized rows of freshly-grown produce created by your own design, harvesting something that you can proudly call your own.
Between pulling tough weeds and pushing heavy wheelbarrows of compost, it's no secret that gardening can take a great toll on our physical bodies. However, it also has the potential to improve our mental health, too. With all the weeding, kneeling, shoveling, planting, raking, and so much more, why not turn this into mindful movement?
Here are some simple says to be more mindful in the garden:
Pay attention to the sounds and beauty of nature around you. Resist the urge to put headphones on and let weed pulling or seed planting become mindless work. Make note of the birds chirping, the gentle breeze, or perhaps even fellow green thumbs happily working around you. Feel the texture of the dirt in between your fingers and under your nails. Take advantage of the warm sun on your skin, because it won’t be around for long.
Reflect on the life cycle of your plants. From the chilly seed plantings of mid-spring to the last ripe tomato of the fall season, think about how far your produce has come. Recognize the beauty in so much growth and change, and connect it to the impermanence of our own lives.
Incorporate breathing exercises or a gratitude ritual into outdoor time. The breath is an easy thing to control because it is always with us, and we can tap into it whenever we need to. Additionally, food is a wonderful thing to be grateful for, especially when it is grown for and by us. Even the Headspace app has a guided meditation for mindful gardening. Common breathing techniques such as deep breathing (inhaling for five seconds, hold for two, and exhale for seven seconds) or even just becoming more mindful of the ebbs and flows of the breath could be very beneficial.
Mindfulness can help build the connection between the plants you are growing and our inner growth as well. Tap into your nurturing and caring sides that are integral to growth in the first place, and use them to connect with nature.
Ideally, we can grow both practices in order to leave the garden with a bountiful harvest and a more relaxed mind.
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