Gardening is the Ultimate Mind-Body Workout You Should Try

By
Chris L
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Photo by David Sager on Unsplash

Gardening is one of the most effective ways to burn calories without spending countless hours at the gym. It comes with dozens of amazing benefits for your mind, body, and soul and here are three reasons why you should be doing it more often.

Aerobic Exercise

Gardening can be so consuming that you won’t even notice you’re breaking a sweat, but it’s actually pretty physically demanding. You’ll be required to do a lot of squatting, bending, and twisting, and you’ll end up noticing this activity increased your strength and flexibility.

Healthy Heart

Studies have shown you can cut stroke and heart attack risk by doing gardening on regular basis. This activity exposes you to a healthy amount of vitamin D, which can also benefit your bones and immune system in general.

Mood-Booster

Being surrounded by the peace and calm of nature will help you say goodbye to your stress and get in the better mood. It’s been proven that gardening fights stress better than other hobbies—plus it cultivates a healthier environment!

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Meet Nicki @nickisunwall from Edmonds, Washington, United States 🇺🇸 “I am a self-taught gardener, cook, and builder; I desire to create connections through gardening, food, and learning. I have a hobby garden and hobby farm that I am continually expanding on our small property in Edmonds, Washington (just 20 minutes north of Seattle). My professional job is in learning & development and I am a professional Associate Certified Coach (ACC). My work within the field of education and training has been a foundation for my own research and learning about gardening and food, and now I am using this background to connect others to gardening and food. I am doing this through creating edible gardening designs, information through workshops, and coaching. I have a family history of home gardeners, cooks, and builders. Spending time with family members in the gardens and kitchens initially ignited the passion for food and gardening. I started a small garden on my patio when we were living in a condo. When we moved into our house, about four years ago, I had the idea that I wanted to grow all of our vegetables for the year…I'm still working on that goal and getting closer with each season and year. I follow organic gardening practices, and I love that what the garden "needs" is already something that is a natural, organic matter. I love the connections that are created because of gardening. For example, tasting the difference in my food, feeling the difference in my physical and mental health, knowing that my food is coming from a clean source, sharing food with others, creating channels of access to good food, and connecting others to increased learning about where their food comes from. Food connects us to ourselves and to each other, and everyone deserves access to to clean, healthy food. Everyone can grow food from windowsill herbs to backyard gardens to large farms, let's grow together!”

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