Plant Health
Photo Credit: Fireside Media
If you have visited the Zimzum office, you may have confused it for a jungle or a plant shop. There are plants everywhere! Beyond my love of the color green, there are intentional reasons why they are there!
Plants are good for your physical, spiritual, and mental health.
Why are plants good for your physical health?
Air- Did you know plants clean your air? This is so important that NASA studied how plants purify our air. According to a 1989 landmark study, certain plants with large leaves increase air purification by diffusing toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene, most of which are found in common household products and coat things like furniture. Here are the top 20 varietals of plants that clean your air according to Good Housekeeping. Other health benefits include reducing allergies, improving sleep, and reducing stress. Soil releases microbes which stimulates serotonin. Serotonin is the happy drug naturally released in our bodies as a hormone when we come in contact with life-giving activities, certain foods, and playing with dirt!
Blood pressure- Getting your hands in soil lowers your blood pressure. What are some other activities that do this? Holding a baby, cat or puppy. Losing weight and eating less fried food, and drinking less alcohol. Intimidated by some of those options? Maybe start with getting a plant!
Why are plants good for your spiritual health?
Practice and Routine- Regardless of your spiritual leanings, having a practice or something you do on a regular basis while being present and mindful creates a basis for spiritual practices in your life. If you’re not sure where to start with getting more in touch with your spiritual side, mindfully taking care of something while noticing the wonder of science in nature is a great place to begin!
Why are plants good for your mental health?
Attention- Owning plants (whether it’s one, two, or 200) causes us to pause and pay attention. If you hope to care for a plant and keep it alive (of course), it requires a bit of our time. Caring for a plant requires us to take inventory every now and then of the plant’s status. Is it getting enough light? Is it getting enough water? Is it getting too much light? Too much water? The very nature of this act makes us stop and think and take in the environment. The intentionality of taking care of something alive can and should be applied to all living things in our lives, including ourselves. If we take the time and notice what we need at any given moment, we become more in touch with our needs and how to adjust accordingly.
Aesthetics- Why do beautiful things matter? In a world that is progressively more stimulating, it is important to pause. Beauty causes us to pause and admire. Incorporating plants in our environments, which are both beautiful and imperfect, is a daily visual reminder that imperfect and beautiful are not mutually exclusive!
In September, Humans of New York (HONY) made a social media post about life coach guru Deisy and her sage (pun intended) plant advice. I love how she articulated why plants are so entangled with the way we see the world and see ourselves, sometimes without even realizing it:
Get a plant and name it after yourself. I tell that to everyone, especially if they have trouble with self-love. Take care of your plant everyday. Water it, make it beautiful. If your plant is growing and nourishing, that means you’re growing and nourishing. If it is dying, you have to ask: ‘What’s going on with me?’ Every time you see a dead leaf, pluck it off. Say out loud: ‘Get rid of dead relationships in my life.’