“You can create the conditions that allow flowers to grow”
There’s a connection between the practice of yoga, spirituality, and our health.
I know you just started reading, but at this time close your eyes and imagine your gut (entire abdominal region) as a beautiful garden. Your gut is a living ecosystem that needs nourishing, balance, and loving attention to blossom.
Stay with me! There are many parts to a garden. The soil, the flowers, the seeds, the sunshine, the weeds (which we can do without), and our internal garden (spiritual connection). Let me break all these parts down, truly appreciating each part of the process – be creative here!
Soil is our gut microbiome. A garden needs healthy soil for flowers to bloom. And, our gut contains trillions of microorganisms that support immunity, digestion, and feeling good.
Flowers are looking and feeling happy, healthy, and beautiful. When we create an environment where our bodies can thrive, we feel it physically, mentally, and with gratitude to the One Above. We can flourish when we care for ourselves and others.
Seeds are what we feed ourselves. We feed our body not just with food, but with choices we make everyday. Choosing how we plant our daily seeds creates wellness in our life.
Sunshine is a blessing we receive everyday, even when the clouds are covering its radiant, golden light. The garden needs sunshine just as our bodies need to relax, like a staycay or a sunny day at the beach. Yoga, deep breathing practices, and sitting or lying down in silence teaches us to slow down, breathe deeply, and connect to ourselves. Gentle movements everyday (even for a few minutes) can help calm our nervous system, release tension, digest more easily, create space, and add balance in our lives.
Weeds must be tended to in any garden, just as we handle stress on our body and mind. That’s life! We all experience negative emotions, though we can learn to respond to the weeds and use many techniques to rid our garden of the stress in our lives through movement, meditation (breath, stillness, prayers, forest bathing), and gratitude. Try it!
Spiritually the garden is our lesson in life. In Genesis 2:15, Adam is placed in the garden to cultivate and protect it. We can look at our bodies in the same way – they are gifts to us. We have the responsibility to care for the garden on every level: body, mind, heart, and soul.
And, just like a garden, we are always growing, changing, and beginning again.
Enjoy tending to your beautiful garden inside and out,
Love, Genia