Yoga for Gardeners
Spring is such a high-impact time in the garden that I figure this yoga series geared towards the aches and pains caused by repetitive physical activity in the garden just might be in order for a good many of us today.
Too bad they don’t have a corresponding pose for this morning’s back injury, hauling several heavy bags of container soil up three flights of stairs to the roof garden. The only cure for that is one of prevention. I.e. Getting someone else to do it. I will probably have to schedule some time tonight for a long soak in an herbal bath with a dash of Epsom salts. Followed by a nap. I know it’s Calgon that’s supposed to “take you away”, but sinking an orifice into that feels like soaking in a vat of Febreeeze-like substance.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:00 am
thanks for the link! the garden has been kicking my butt lately!
May 21st, 2008 at 10:22 am
What a brilliant idea to match up gardening tasks with yoga poses.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Cool! I’m going to add that modified Down Dog to my Yoga routine and add it to my class! Streatching the wrists like that is very useful in this day and age, with us all tooling along at the computer all day! :-P
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:42 am
Very good idea! My garden and pots have been really giving me a good workout so this will be a good way to stay limber and relax a bit as well :)
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:59 am
Excellent advice. Luckily I suffer from GADS which distracts me enough that I don’t do any garden task too repetitively. I try to stretch between tasks, too.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 am
Thanks for the link. I am mid 30’s and I just can’t garden like I’m 20. I do my gardening as my physical therapy for my back conditions, yoga stretches and chiropractic keep me walking. I would like to suggest that you put cold on for the first 24 because I find that heat aggravates the irritation.
I alternate constantly between gardening and icepacks.
It must be worth it, we all keep doing it. :)
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Yoga feels sooo good at the height of gardening season! As a gardening professional, I rely on this stuff to climb trees, stretch between plants and get across densely planted perennial borders.
I have been practicing from this little book called Gardener’s Yoga, by Veronica D’Orazio (Sasquatch Books) for about a year now, and it’s always the perfect thing. Besides the beautiful artwork, it’s got explanations of one pose per page, which compose a before, during and after gardening sequence. Awesome!
May 25th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I work up with some soreness this morning and took couple hours this morning to figure out what I did (weeding yard/garden) tough that body and mind ages at the same time.