A garden is a wonderful place to put all of our Mindful Body lessons together in action. Gardens provide fresh, healthy foods for Mindful Eating, a fun and interactive way to participate in Mindful Movement while growing and taking care of our food, and a peaceful place to take some moments to ourselves, or with others, in Mindful Rest. Let’s learn about how we can do this!

Mindful Eating in our Garden

Mindful Eating requires us to know about our food, and be sure that it is doing good for our bodies. Having a garden to grow our food in lets us see the process of our food’s life cycle from start to finish. We know everything that goes into our food, so we know everything that goes into our bodies when we eat it! When planning what will go into a garden, be sure to check out what is in season, as things that can grow often change depending on the time of year.

Mindful Movement in our Garden

Making and taking care of a garden requires lots of Mindful Movement! Creating our garden space can take some work when we are setting up our planters, or planting space, and when we are gathering all of our materials to grow our food with. Our gardens will require Mindful Movement to help pull out weeds so our food can grow, and to water our plants when they need it so that they don’t get thirsty! Once your garden is all set up, you can practice Mindful Movement by walking to it and around it as often as you can.

Mindful Rest in our Garden

Gardens can be very peaceful places to rest and recharge after a long day at school or out with friends. Be sure to make a space in your garden where you can go to have some rest time: like an outdoor rest nest. This could look like a chair or a bench, or maybe you can bring out a towel or blanket (with your parent’s permission) to sit on in the garden. Once you are out in the garden, you can also try practicing mindfulness activities like Thought Clouds or Belly Breathing before practicing Restorative Rest time… or you can jump right in. You are also welcome to find your own ways of practicing Mindful Rest in the garden. If you have one you really like, maybe you can even share it with your friends or teacher so they can practice too!