Plant Care is Self Care isn’t just a hashtag or trend, it’s an ongoing wellness program.
We have spent most of our human existence living outdoors, evolving in symbiosis with the Earth.
Plants meant survival. Our ancestors spent much of their existence outdoors with plant life as a constant in their visual field. When we surround ourselves with plants indoors, we are sending signals to our brain that everything will be ok, we can make it through another day.
When we transform a sterile indoor space into a lush green oasis, our minds and bodies are able to relax and focus as subconsciously we feel safe and secure when plants are in view. We are less distracted and more able to concentrate.
Why and how it works!
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OVERALL FEELING OF HAPPINESS
Love the smell of soil? Feel better after getting your hands in the garden or spending an afternoon repotting houseplants? Turns out there's a scientific reason for that feeling of quiet tranquility that follows time interacting with plants...Bacteria!
Bacteria are the most numerous life forms on our planet and one in particular, a microbe present in soil is the superstar for mood elevation! Mycobacterium vaccae is a microbe proven to increase the release of serotonin into our bodies. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for sending and receiving messages throughout our nervous system. Serotonin also functions as the hormone responsible for mood, digestion, appetite and emotions and new studies suggest serotonin increases our ability to learn too! Although studies show the effects are temporary, it's still lovely to consider how more exposure to M vaccae means a brighter mind too!
I think of serotonin as the happy hormone and I for one am living proof that the more time spent interacting with plant life and connecting with the natural world, the happier I feel. Stress melts away and I get lost in time while walking through the park or forest, tending to my houseplants and garden, always reemerging in a more joyful state of mind and body.
Lucky for us, mycobacterium vaccae can be found virtually anywhere outdoors where there is soil including our gardens and inside our houseplant soil too!
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FOCUS
Plants allow us to focus. Let's try a simple imaginary exercise together.
Close your eyes. Imagine a typical office space complete with cubicles, desks, computers, and chairs. Take a deep breath and feel how the air in that environment hits your nose and how it looks. Visualize yourself seated in one of those chairs. Remain there for a few seconds and just breathe. Now, begin working on your computer in that environment, really feel the keyboard beneath your fingertips and screen before your eyes.
Now try this: Close your eyes again and envision that same office space but begin to add your favorite plants around the room. Maybe place a few ferns on desktops, visualize pothos and philodendron cascading from ceiling hooks, alocasia perched cabinets, ficus and monstera standing tall beside cubicle walls and windows. Now, take an imaginary seat and let your eye travel around the room again. Breathe in deeply and feel the atmosphere. Can you feel how vibrant the office space has become? Alive with color, texture and subtle scent of earth. How does it feel when you start to type on that computer now?
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HEALTHIER MIND & BODY
Our daily lives are filled with subtle (and not so subtle) stressors from the alarm clock to traffic noise, to social media overload to trying to park at your local grocery store. We have a huge list of to do's between family and fur baby responsibilities, work deadlines, not to mention the state of our current global turmoil, vast human rights issues, climate change disasters, economical burdens, and the overall political climate. Combined, they are the silent but often harmful current flowing through our daily lives.
These stressors build up over time until our threshold for dealing with them (or anything for that matter) seems overwhelming. That's often due to our body being flooded with too much cortisol. Cortisol is the body's stress hormone. A wonderful thing for survival when running away from a tiger, not so lovely when we get small hits from it day after day, all day, everyday. Our brains continue to release small doses of cortisol to cope with fight or flight situations, regardless of severity.
When we have too much cortisol for long periods of time it leads to anxiety, heart disease, headaches, weight gain, sleep disorder, compromised immune system, and depression. Working with houseplants, going for a stroll among the trees, or working in the garden for just 30 minutes can drastically reduce cortisol levels and bring your body back into balance. When we emerge ourselves in the natural world, our minds become fully present and in the moment.
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CONNECTION
We have spent most of our human existence living outdoors, evolving in symbiosis with the Earth. When we surround ourselves with plants indoors for instance, we are transforming a sterile environment into one more reminiscent of that our ancestors experienced. To them, plants meant life, green was (and still is) the key to survival on earth. Our minds and bodies are able to relax and focus more easily on the task at hand as subconsciously we feel safe and secure when plants are in our immediate surroundings.
Humans these days spend over 85% of the time indoors. When we take time to care for our plants we are reconnecting with our natural environment, our minds and bodies feel at home again. Consider it a symbiotic relationship where both plants and humans benefit. And when we feel more at home to the world around us we can feel more deeply rooted in ourselves too. It's a reset button to center and balance our mind, body, and spirit.
The more time you take to reconnect with nature, the more you will experience moments of calm, inspired thoughtfulness that gradually and naturally ripples outward to feeling more connected to others around you. Spending time outside, among the trees, in your garden or Sacred Space will allow you to deepen your connection with the natural world which in turn, allows you to feel happier, less stressed and more emotionally balanced.
Hope this encourages you friends!
with love,
Karina and Team SE