If you’re lucky enough to have an outdoor space, make the most of it by incorporating calm and tranquillity. At the same time, you can relax at home away from work. While the concept of relaxation differs from person to person, there are some tried-and-tested traditional techniques that can help anyone. Some include surrounding yourself with nature, such as garden plants and trees, while others adapt ancient practices around modern living.
This kind of rest and relaxation is trendy these days. Fortunately, you can create an exceptional outdoor space for inner peace very quickly with items readily available from most garden centres. Here are some top tips for planning your outdoor space…
Surround Yourself With Plants
Of course, being outside, you will want to surround yourself with as much foliage and greenery as possible. However, you shouldn’t just plant anything you wish in any old place. And you need to strike a good balance between your available gardening and living space. Outdoor stores and gardening centres are excellent for purchasing any plants that you need.
Most modern garden centres have various indoor and outdoor plants such as dragon trees and cheese plants. And they usually stock a wide selection of herbs and vegetables that can be grown. The reason for surrounding yourself with garden improvements like this is that psychologists have studied the effect of nature on people and conclude that plants and trees can help with stress and anxiety.
Balance the Elements
But plants, trees, shrubs and herbs aren’t the only things that you can include to create an outdoor oasis of your own. Incorporating elements other than Earth such as fire and water can help promote a relaxing atmosphere around your garden. Water features such as fountains and waterfalls or an excellent way of contributing to your sense of well-being.
A water feature can be tricky to install since it requires a complex system of pumps. However, outdoor living specialists such as Poplar Nurseries provide easy-to-set-up outdoor decorations for fire and water features at reasonable prices.
Set a Meditation Area
All of these efforts might be in vain if they aren’t used to full effect such as setting a meditation area where you can relax and clear your mind to find inner peace. Sites such as this are also an excellent escape from the modern world’s stresses and allow you to enjoy some calm in your own private space.
However, meditation can be difficult to master if you are not used to clearing your mind. Therefore, it is recommended that you seek the advice of a reflection professional or purchase guided meditation audio files that can be played through your smartphone. Headspace is a popular app that provides various meditation techniques.
Incorporate Some Zen
A significant philosophical point of Buddhism, Zen is the practice of looking inside yourself to become alive completely. The concept of Zen has been adapted in the modern world to such things as meditation techniques and interior or exterior design. From a design perspective, the art of Zen is applied by balancing energies in and around the home. A popular method of using Zen in your outside space is to create a Zen Garden.
The garden can be as large or small as you need it to be, depending on space limitations and mobility. All you need is a segmented space in which to place sand and some rocks. You can then use a rake to arrange the sand around the rocks. The idea is to simultaneously relax and focus as you arrange sand around the stones. Water features and small bridges are also common items of a Zen Garden.
