My soul sings when I garden. I soooooo love seeing all the beautiful flowers blooming, veggies popping up, etc. Getting my hands dirty in the soil, smelling the flowers, seeing the worms popping in and out of the ground, and the birds that come to dine on them… All of this and more bring me such joy!
In honor of National Rose Month, enjoy this photo of the beautiful rose bush that my daughter planted for me this spring. 😊
Gardening can bring us great joy and contentment, but gardening is hard on our backs – and shoulders – and knees…
So, if you love to garden as much as I do, remember to take care of your body, too. I have enclosed a video of my top recommended exercise for when you come in from gardening. This pose relaxes the entire length of your spine so there is no tension anywhere along your spine while you are doing it. Even when you’re lying in your bed to sleep at night, you don’t relax all these muscles, unless you lie in this position.
Several of my clients actually do sleep in this position as it’s the only way that they can get some good sleep, wake up rested, and without pain. You can use pillows or blankets stacked up under your legs in your bed.
One client, who drives a truck all day, every day, was beside himself with pain and exhausted from not sleeping well. When he heard about the work I do to help my clients relieve their back pain he was skeptical. He pretty much said he’d already tried everything – physical therapy, pain meds from his doc, and he truly didn’t believe I could help him either. BUT he came to his first appointment, tried this relaxation pose that night, and called me the next day to say that he’d slept all night in this position and had the best sleep he’d had in months!
This position helps shoulder and neck pain as well since the entire spine is totally relaxed here, including your neck spine. Make sure that if your neck is arched, you place a small pillow or folded towel under your head to lengthen the neck spine. Under your head as I do in the video and NOT under your neck. People tend to want to put the pillow under the neck, thinking that it supports the neck there, however, what that does is support that arch, which you don’t want, and which will continue to support bad posture, which will then make breathing a bit difficult, and keep you feeling that back pain. I know that’s not the result you want!
And, speaking of gardens, today’s good news story is what I think as a brilliant idea! Did you know that some prisons in the United States which have emptied out, due to a declining rate of incarceration, are now being used for other purposes? While the declining rate great news just by itself, the fact that in some areas these prisons are being used to grow food is FABULOUS!
By converting old prisons to year-round-farming and education centers, Growing Change solves several problems at once. The program synergistically brings together young men on the edge of the criminal justice system and jobless wounded veterans returning from deployment.
Recruiting the discipline and leadership skills of our veterans to teach and guide the youngsters, Growing Change creates an environment whereby at-risk youth who need to fulfill long hours of community service can learn life skills, sustainable farming practices, and animal husbandry, with an opportunity to receive clinical therapy in an environment much more suited to young men. And the vets earn university degrees in sustainable agriculture while making a living. What a good use of both the old buildings and land, and our tax dollars to grow new farmers! Thank you, whomever dreamed up this idea, and I’m so happy it’s working!
Enjoy your gardening, the story, and the video, and don’t forget to click the thumbs up button on the video and subscribe for more great video exercises!
Best of Health,
Kathi
