FOR HEALTH

Along with many other herbs, chamomile is grown at the community garden. Chamomile is usually steeped in a hot tea and consumed as a beverage for soothing upset stomachs and quelling anxiety. Most herbs are easy to grow and as a bonus, they are attractive plants. Gardening enables individuals to grow their own herbs for personal use, saving money and obtaining a fresher product than what is usually found on grocery store shelves. 

Source: webmd.com http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-chamomile

Skilled instructors from Sunflower Yoga Studio conduct yoga sessions at the community garden. Yoga enhances the body's flexibility, range of motion, and balance.

Studies have demonstrated that additionally, yoga enhances mood and reduces stress and anxiety, thus reducing factors that contribute to some chronic diseases. What could be more relaxing than practicing yoga in a beautiful garden setting?

Click here  for information about some of the 

health benefits of yoga.

For most people, gardening is a preferred form of exercise. (source: http://wjn.sagepub.com/content/24/5/502)

The moderate physical exercise of gardening has multiple benefits. Exercise enhances mental well-being, helps control weight, promotes better sleep...and it's fun! (source:http://www.mayoclinic.org/exercise/art-20048389)  

This type of physical exercise, performed at least four times per week, has been shown to foster a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease.  (source: Beitz, R., & Dören, M. (2004). Physical activity and postmenopausal health. The Journal Of The British Menopause Society, 10(2), 70-74.)

        

                                                                                                

Gardening is a multisensory experience. Exercise, coupled with putting your hands in the dirt or grasping plants, has a mood lifting effect. The sights and smells of gardening- insects viewed close up, birds, plants swaying in the breeze, the rich smells of flowers or freshly dug soil- aid in letting go of stresses. One community gardener said, "It calms you down...gets you in touch directly with what you’re working...you see beauty right away. Even in just a little ladybug or caterpillar, butterfly, anything. It just takes you to a better space immediately. You kinda forget what you were so angry about."

Some studies indicate that gardening is an effective stress-reducing strategy. Many people experience relaxation and stress reduction by just spending time in a garden. A pilot study conducted by Texas A & M University showed individuals who spent time in a garden had lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) than others who remained indoors. (Source: (Rodiek, S (2002). Influence of an Outdoor Garden on Mood and Stress in Older Persons. Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture, Volume XIII, 13-21)

Click here for an informative article that discusses ways in which gardening is beneficial for health.

At the community garden, there is freedom to express oneself artistically. This fine 3-D art was designed and made by a plot renter at the garden. Discarded bicycle rims and other parts were recycled, painted and transformed to become a cheerful and beautiful garden sculpture.