The Ritual of Gardening
By Emma Peugh
Rituals, meditations, and self-care practices can look different for everyone. And they should! Humans are such unique individuals with varying interests, hobbies, needs and practices. Here at SISTAIN, we preach progress over perfection in all areas of life. And this is no different when it comes to personal well-being. Humans are busy — busier than ever these days. So, squeezing in time for your rituals is important, however you see fit, however it works for you as an individual.
For me, gardening is my go-to ritual. This activity brings so much joy and peace to my life, every single day. Gardening inspires gratitude for the Earth in which you are helping flourish, which ultimately builds a happier life. When practicing gratitude, you are practicing contentment for the moment you are in, and growth for the plants you are nurturing. I garden with my husband, and now with our son, and this quality time outdoors truly speaks to my love language. We currently have a small urban patio garden, but hope to have a larger space in the future. However large our garden space may be, we are so grateful for the time and for the Earth allowing us to practice this daily ritual!
The story of SISTAIN — A lifestyle in which we practice sustainability and relish in everyday rituals.
First Off, What Is A Ritual?
Simply put, a ritual is a regular practice that reduces anxiety to increase confidence in performance of an activity. It’s an intentional movement, not just a daily habit. A ritual is performed with a specific goal in mind, and in this case, the below benefits are the overall goals of gardening.
Backed up by science, gardening has many benefits to well-being. Not only can this activity reduce stress and anxiety, but can also improve heart health, increase confidence, influence you to eat healthier, and provide the body key vitamins from the sun.
Ritual of: Morning matcha
Ritual of: Reading
Ritual of: Burning sage
Benefits of Gardening: Let’s Break Them Down
Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. “Gardening gives you a chance to focus on something and put your mind to work with a goal and a task in mind,” Dr. Hutchins says, “which is helpful especially now with so much illness and death and talk of death, just to see things growing and things thriving.” — UNC Health Talk
Improve heart health. Gardening, planting, watering, weeding, pruning. They all burn calories, naturally benefitting cardiovascular health, in turn, improving overall heart health.
Boost vitamin D. “A healthy dose of vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. Exposure to sunlight helped older adults achieve adequate amounts of vitamin D.” — UNC Health Talk
Of course there are many more benefits to gardening, but these three are most relevant in the case of rituals — decreasing anxiety, increasing gratitude.
Practicing the Ritual of Gardening
We’ve created a few how-to guides for beginner gardeners, and as I’ve stated before, I am by no means an expert gardener! But, I have learned many things from the past few years of gardening, all by trial and error mixed with a bit of Googling. Here are our SISTAIN guides to growing vegetables (for beginners) and growing flowers (also for beginners). No matter what stage of learning you are in, gardening in any capacity is a wonderful connection to self and nature.
Grounding with my son at the beach
Getting your bare feet on the ground, your hands in the soil, your skin in the sun are all examples of grounding. A ritual in which you are quite literally connecting to the Earth. Practicing this daily has been proven to make individuals more calm, content, and stress-free. “Grounding, also known as earthing, is when humans make an electrical connection to the earth’s energies. The simplest form involves walking barefoot in the grass, dirt, or sand.” — Greatest
Sowing seeds, pruning crops, and harvesting your bounty are more examples of the process of gardening that connects one to nature. As mentioned above, the daily ritual of caring for your outdoor space creates a sense of calm. A state in one’s well-being many strive for.
What rituals do you carry on in your daily life? You may practice more than you realize! From gardening to meditating to journaling each day, whatever activity reduces stress and anxiety from your life, do more of it.
