Today’s tips take us down the garden path of nature’s therapeutic healing. Flowers and vegetation can bring peaceful health benefits to those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic health challenges. The beauty of nature has far more to offer than simply what meets the eye. Check out this list for yourself.

Do you love beautiful gardens?

How do you feel when you gaze over a lush panorama of flowers, shrubs, trees, puffy clouds, and blue skies?

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied this very subject with some surprising results. Not only are gardens and nature centers peaceful to walk through, they actually stimulate the body to heal in a simple and direct way.

This study was able to track the participant’s responses using wearable medical equipment. As noted, stress hormones and rapid heartrates stabilize when a person comes in contact with open spaces and living plants. It seems we can all do with a bit of breathing space. However, open spaces alone proved unhelpful. Participants who only visited vacant lots in the city didn’t receive the same healing benefits.

Taking a walk in nature might be exactly what your body is looking for. Here are 11 ways you may directly benefit from getting close to and/or working with natural plants[1]:

1. Improved memory and concentration
2. Elevates mood and instills a sense of happiness
3. Accelerates overall healing
4. Improves relationships and a sense of compassion
5. Improves energy levels
6. Improves the ability to learn and absorb information
7. Improved mental health and positive outlook on life
8. Improved perception of quality of life
9. Improved sense of community
10. Reduced stress
11. Therapeutic effects in trauma recovery

Sounds simply awesome, eh?

If you’d like to gain these healing benefits, visit a local park, garden, nature center, orchard, or arboretum. Or, your favorite spot may be as close as your own back yard.

The key is to take the time to walk, meditate, breathe deeply, and find the peace and calm your body craves. After all, the therapeutic garden helps to establish and/or re-establish the body’s ability to heal.[2]

Where is your favorite garden spot? Do share in the comments below!

[1] http://ellisonchair.tamu.edu/health-and-well-being-benefits-of-plants/#.V0y2z_krLIV

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3372556/