Wonderful Reasons to Garden if You Want to Improve Your Mind Body and Soul ...

It is important to stay active to stay fit, and gardening is an enjoyable way to get moving. It requires you to get outside and feel the dirt on your fingers, which is relaxing in many ways. You can work out hard with some shovel digging or gently with some weeding.

Gardening helps you explore your creative side by providing you with a perfect environment. You will be at your creative best in the fresh air with no technology to distract you. It's a perfect hobby to connect with the earth, your mind, body, and soul. This connection will allow creative thoughts to flow.

People who spend time gardening have lower cortisol levels. Chronically elevated cortisol levels can affect everything from obesity to immune function to memory and learning abilities. Lower cortisol means better mood and lower stress. The moment you step foot in your garden, you experience the peace and calm that eliminates stress and recharges your batteries. The activity also helps boost endorphins that help you become more centered and relaxed.

When you get out in the fresh air and sunshine, you get your blood moving and enjoy all the benefits of a cardio session. You perform different movements while gardening, such as planting, digging, weeding, and other repetitive tasks that require stretching and strength. These movements provide you with a perfect low-impact exercise, which is good for everyone, especially for those who have disabilities, are older, or suffer from chronic pain.

How? Gardening improves your blood circulation, and an improved flow of blood will improve your sexual function as well.

If you don’t have your own garden, you can volunteer at community gardens. This way, you will get physical, emotional and spiritual benefits, along with an opportunity to give something back to the community. It’s a lovely social exercise.

One of the best benefits of gardening is that it helps improve your flexibility, balance, and sensory perception. The sensory experience of gardening makes you feel great. It is hard to put that experience into words but you will know what's happening once you start tending your own little patch of paradise.

As gardening is a physical activity, it will offer some cardiovascular benefits as well. Spending a couple of hours in your garden is more rewarding than an hour on a treadmill. Over time, it strengthens your heart, increases stamina, and builds endurance. Some studies show that regular gardening can reduce stroke and heart attack risk by 30% for people over 60.

Gardening helps release endorphins that improve your mood and help you have a positive outlook towards life. Those feel-good hormones make you feel relaxed and happy even when your gardening session is over. Just try it and you will love the kind of "lift" you get from a morning's sweat amongst the radishes and lettuces.

I love to spend time in my little garden. Do you?