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When a house has a backyard, it also has an infinite number of possibilities related to our physical and mental health as well as mindfulness and overall well-being. It stems from the belief that nature has been considered a form of powerful therapy for centuries. You just need to know how to use this power properly.
For starters, if you’re not satisfied with the features your yard currently has, it’s definitely time for a yard makeover. Before you decide what features to include, think about the things that calm you down and that make you happy, as everybody has a different idea of bliss. In the meanwhile, take a look at some backyard features you should absolutely consider.
1. Plant some trees, plants, and herbs
While we’re on the topic of finding health in your backyard, we should start with some basics. And that means trees, plants, flowers and herbs as there isn’t a backyard with at least some greenery and foliage, right? Besides the fact the plants make a yard more beautiful and add scents, doing gardening yourself has many health benefits.
It’s a relaxing, soothing, stimulating physical activity that has a great impact on our mental health and mindfulness. Gardening is an enjoyable activity that promotes mobility, flexibility, and usage of motor skills such as walking, reaching, bending, digging, planting seeds and taking cuttings. What’s more, it’s a perfect activity to reduce stress and decrease depression.
2. Design your own meditation area
Breathing fresh air, smelling budding flowers, listening to water murmur, birds sing and insects buzz is the perfect environment to use for meditation. You just need a spot where you can sit, close your eyes, relax your body and breathe mindfully.
You can treat yourself with a super comfy beach chair, a hanging chair or even a hammock, which you can use to unwind after a long day at work. It’s perfect for recharging your batteries and fueling up your energy levels.
If you’re interested in some advanced meditation techniques, you can get familiar with them after you’ve mastered the basics. Meditation is highly beneficial for our mental and physical state. A recent study shows that regular meditation helps rebuild the brain’s gray matter, which is a big deal.
3. Consider a swimming pool
A swimming pool is a feature that makes any house and its backyard a luxurious one. However, even though it’s a substantial investment, with all the benefits it brings, in the long run, it’s an investment definitely worth the while.
Swimming is an activity that has lots of health benefits and people who tend to swim every day or several times during a week reap many of them. And it’s so much easier when the pool is right in your backyard.
Constructing a swimming pool requires you to hire professionals who will build a pool suitable for your backyard and who will also create an eye-catching and functional pool landscape to meet your needs. This is a feature you and your family would be able to enjoy for years to come.
4. Add some soothing water features
Sound and sound therapy have been used for a long time in certain cultures as a way to help people find balance in their life. Experts say that sound changes our brainwaves positively and thus helps prevent sleep problems, anxiety, depression, pain and other problems.
There are two popular ways sound therapy can be used: through a water feature or wind chimes. There’s simply something soothing in listening to water sounds. You can easily incorporate this feature into your garden by building a water fountain or some kind of a water feature, which can display calming sounds.
Another great thing about a water feature or melodic chimes is that these sounds can neutralize traffic noise coming from the street. These features simply add much-needed tranquility to your yard.
5. Incorporate an outdoor exercise area
Having a yard enables you to include a few features which are to your liking. So, if you’re a more physically active person, you could build your own, personal exercise area. In this way, you can get some fresh air, vitamin D infused sunshine and some exercise to strengthen your muscles.
A yard provides much more space for you and your exercises than inside of the house. This means you have enough space to practice shuttle runs. You can also use some of your patio furniture to do ballet plies that work your inner thighs, glutes and quads.
Doing side planks and tricep dips are also plausible options. And for the bravest and most daring ones, if you have low trees in your yard you can use them as a jungle gym. Basically, you can make whatever you need in your yard for regular physical exercise.
You just need to know what you want and need, do some research and get down to work. It will take some time surely, but once when you’re done, you’ll be proud of yourself as well as fit and healthy once you start using your personal outdoor gym.
A backyard offers us so many possibilities that we can use to rest, relax, unwind and exercise – we just need to find a way to incorporate the features we consider important for ourselves and to create our perfect oasis of peace.
