These past years have brought to the center of attention a new type of therapy – the healing garden. They have quickly become a favorite for people from every walk of life, from those who need relaxation to people in search of spiritual healing to individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Here are all the details you need to know about the healing garden.
What Is a Healing Garden?
A therapeutic or healing garden is a natural space typically located in the outdoors that can provide a psychological, physical, spiritual, and social answer to people in need. A healing garden is a space where caregivers and patient’s families can go well.
The healing garden can be set up in a variety of places such as retirement homes, hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, residences for assisted living, or retirement communities for continuing care. Their purpose is to introduce or reintroduce individuals in need to nature and all its healing properties. People can use a healing garden for dynamic activities, such as horticulture, exercise or long walks.
However, they can also use it for passive purposes such as meditation and relaxation. While there, they listen to meditation music
and enter a calming state of mind.
Is There More Than One Type of Healing Garden?
The answer to that question is ‘yes.’ In fact, there are eight different types, as follows.
- Alzheimer’s Gardens, which you can find within adult day care programs as well as dementia residences.
- Rehabilitation Gardens that typically have locations in hospitals meant for rehabilitation.
- Healing Gardens belong in skilled nursing facilities, acute care hospitals, and a number of other healthcare facilities.
- Senior Community Gardens have settings within retirement communities for continuing care, assisted living facilities, and other types of living residences for elderly people.
- Restorative Gardens are appendixes to psychiatric hospitals.
- Cancer Gardens have centers in facilities which offer chemotherapy.
- Meditation Gardens have locations in religious institutions and some other settings specifically directed toward spiritual enlightenment.
- Enabling Gardens can be found either in an arboretum or a vocational school.
Studies show that spending time in a healing garden will improve the individual’s health, well-being, and emotional state. The fact that you have easy access to nature via a healing garden will benefit you from the following points of view.
- Accessing and regulating your circadian rhythms, otherwise known as your biological clock.
- Lowering your blood pressure.
- Reducing stress
- Increasing the body’s ability to absorb Vitamin D.
The healing garden is a marvelous idea as far as therapy goes because it reties our lost connection with nature. Needless to say, this link is vital for our wellbeing, and we should strive to reclaim it as much as we can.
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