With the change in seasons, what better way to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of yoga than a session among healing plants and greenery.
Green is good for you
Green is a vibrant symbol of the environment and healthy living. By doing yoga in a green space, you combine the health benefits of a centuries old practice and nature, two potent forces for improving mindfulness and relieving stress. Even if you’re not into sun salutations and downward dog, you can still feed your wellbeing by bringing plants into your garden and home.
Green living spaces
A big interior design trend is biophilic, which is about bringing the outside indoors. Introducing plants into your living spaces not only naturally brightens moods and enhances the overall appearance of the room, but exposure to indoor plants brings about numerous health benefits, both psychological and physiological.
Banish winter blues
Some indoor plants are known as calming plants because they boost mood, productivity and creativity, help to reduce stress and fatigue, absorb toxins from indoor air and produce oxygen – and are quite simply therapeutic to care for! Great calming plants to add to your living space include the (very unscary) spider plant (native to tropical and southern Africa) and the famously nutrient-rich aloe vera.
Colour your bedroom
If you’re adding greenery to your bedroom, choose a plant that is known to help improve sleep. The snake plant, for example, is best for air purification, lavender is good for deeper sleep, while jasmine is ideal for relaxation.
In your bathroom
Most plants like moisture… so the bathroom is a perfect tropical oasis for plants that prefer humidity and indirect lighting, like the beautiful moth orchid or the flowering evergreen peace lily.
The ultimate green app
If you’re not quite sure which plants are best suited to indoor and outdoor living and their various benefits, download Candide, the free gardening app (available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store) that connects green lovers across South Africa, from green rookies to evergreen experts, and helps gardeners and plant lovers understand their gardens better. One of the most popular features is Plant ID, which allows you to upload photos of unknown flora for a quick identification. The app also offers a number of how-to videos and step-by-step guides for a variety of garden projects, as well as a host of detailed information about plant origins, environmental preferences, propagation, personality, problems, geography and uses, in a practical and easy to understand way. Details: candide.co.za
