Gardening for Stress Relief

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Article Title:

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Gardening for Stress Relief

Article Description:

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In its purest form, gardening is about connecting with the

earth and resetting our clocks to the simple, natural

rhythms of life. Try as we may, we can't really speed up

a tomato plant and make it grow by our time table.

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Distribution Date and Time: Fri Apr 29 02:45:10 EDT 2005

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Copyright: 2005

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Gardening for Stress Relief

Copyright © 2005

It‘s My Nature

http://itsmynature.net

In its purest form, gardening is about connecting with the

earth and resetting our clocks to the simple, natural

rhythms of life. Try as we may, we can't really speed up

a tomato plant and make it grow by our time table. We

must adapt and in doing so, gardening offers us a gentle

reminder about what's really important in life: food,

water, warmth, a bit of loving attention, and some room to

grow.

Gardening is one of the fastest growing pastimes in the

U.S., as well as one of the healthiest. Beyond its

spiritual aspects, gardening can be a great stress

reliever. Digging, raking, planting, pruning, and

harvesting are physical activities that provide a

constructive outlet for tensions that build up in our

bodies. Gardening activities draw on your endurance, give

you flexibility and strength, build muscle and strengthen

the heart and lungs, as well as helping with weight

control.

And with numerous studies showing us that regular physical

activity reduces your risk of premature death, heart

disease, obesity, high blood pressure, adult-onset

diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke, depression and colon

cancer, it’s clear that we all must take responsibility for

ourselves and do what we can to stay healthy. So if you

think you might enjoy gardening, here are some ideas to get

you started:

Start small and plant things that you will enjoy. If

flowers make you happy, plant a few flowers. Over time you

will find what works and what doesn’t. Don’t worry too

much about the best way to do things. The most important

thing is to just get started.

If you are hoping to reduce stress through gardening, it's

important to make sure that working in the garden doesn't

simply create additional stresses. That means, take it

easy. Keep your gardening to-do list short. Stretch before

and after working in the garden to minimize aches and

pains. Take breaks to sit back, rest and appreciate what

you've accomplished. Listen to music while you work.

If a large garden sounds like too much work or you don’t

have the room, think about trying Micro-gardening. Grow

your own plants - food or flowers in containers rather than

in a plot of ground. The size of the garden is completely

up to you. There's micro-gardening, and then there's

MICRO-gardening.

If you have access to outside areas such as a patio,

balcony or porch, your micro-gardening opportunities

increase greatly. You may not even need to buy special

pots. If you have old flowerpots, buckets, half-barrels

or even concrete blocks, you have the makings of great

gardening. Make sure the containers are clean and have

drainage holes. If there aren't any holes, start with a

layer of pebbles before adding the dirt.

Herbs grow particularly well indoors. Depending on your

cooking style, one plant each can produce all the parsley,

dill, thyme, basil and oregano you need for an entire

season of meals. Follow the seed packet directions, or buy

individual seedlings, and you're on your way.

Remember that when container-gardening, the plants count on

you for their moisture. They might not receive enough rain

and dew to grow well, so water the plants when the dirt

starts to dry out.

Growing your own makes it easier to get the minimum

" five-a-day " servings of veggies and fruits the experts now

recommend for health. Recent research confirms that most

common fruits and vegetables come packed not only with the

vitamins and minerals already known to support good health,

but also with " phytonutrients " demonstrated to boost the

immune system, retard the aging process, and help heal or

prevent many chronic diseases.

Gardening is good exercise, especially if you take a pass

on all the latest power tools and put your muscle to the

tasks of digging, turning and spreading compost, collecting

and spreading mulch, hoeing and picking rocks. Activities

like these burn calories, build muscle and strengthen the

heart and lungs.

Even a small vegetable garden can save money. To ensure

savings, though, a backyard gardener needs to stick to the

basic tools and supplies and keep a tight rein on the

temptation to own all the newest gadgets. For the biggest

savings in energy, dollars and space, look into intensive

gardening, the art of producing a lot of food in a small

space.

You just can't beat gardening for stress relief. The simple

acts of planting seeds and tending plants can restore

balance and perspective during the most wrenching life

crises. Research has demonstrated that people heal faster

after surgery when exposed to natural scenery - even

looking at photographs of green plants speeds recovery.

So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

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is co-founder and partner of It's My Nature,

an Aromatherapy business based in Florence, Oregon.

Providing dried herbs, essential oils and many comfort and

stress reducing products. Catering to the beginner with

small sizes, recipes and an informative monthly newsletter.

See It's My Nature's large, informative website at

http://itsmynature.net or call 1-888-445-5051 for a free

brochure.