By Daron (Farmer D) Joffe for U.S. News Health
Raise your hand if your days are a whirlwind (mine just went up). Meals mostly occurring in meetings? Personal time, if you even have time for it, turbo-charged with a million things to do? Travel lost its glamour years ago? And exercise means power hour at the gym, if you're even able to squeeze it in? Are the results from this busy lifestyle already showing up at your doctor's office in a test result that's a little too high, or maybe in just a general ennui you might be starting to feel?
I have wonderful, welcome, easy-to-use news for you. There is a way to slow down, be fully present and find your healthy center again, and it's as close as your backyard or even corporate garden (if you're lucky enough to have one). You don't even have to get involved in building, planting, and tending that garden unless, of course, you can't help yourself once you start to see the benefits from being out there. Let's just start with using time in the garden as a quick (I promise!) moving meditation, and see how it grows (so to speak).
A moving meditation simply means allowing yourself to be fully present in the moment by regulating your breath, noticing your surroundings, and opening your mind to its infinite possibilities, usually while doing something. In my work as a small business owner and entrepreneur, I find the habits I have formed by doing moving meditations in the garden help me to be more productive and successful in achieving my business goals. Why not try it out and see if it works for you, too? My prediction is that the return on this small investment of time will surprise you.
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Here are some ways to do a moving meditation in the garden:
Meditate In A Garden
Give a simple moving meditation a try and let us know in the comments section how it worked out for you. Did you have any breakthroughs? Did it help you feel better? Would you do it again? Have you found other ways to do a moving meditation in the garden? Share your tips.
Tap in next week as I fill you in on professional garden planning services that you may not even know exist, and that you may want to consider for your home or company's garden.
For more on meditation, click here.