Post By: Brenda Nord Providence Regional Cancer Center - Spokane
Imagine yourself standing in a garden, listening to the gentle flow of a stream and breathing in the air. You feel better.
Fresh air can be very healthy and may be considered a “Natural Treatment.” Being outdoors is much better for our health. According to Prevention Magazine, “Children who get more Vitamin G – what experts call time spent in green spaces – have lower stress levels, more success in school and fewer ADHD symptoms. And simply being in sunlight triggers skin to make Vitamin D, which is shaping up to be a potent cancer fighter.
This works for adults too. You can encourage your family to:
- Make outdoor family play mandatory.
- Start a garden (you’ll benefit from the bounty as well).
- Bring the animals closer by adding plants that lure butterflies and other creatures.
- Move the kitchen outside and eat more meals with the family.
- Sleep under the stars (when is the last time you and your family had an outside sleepover?).
- Hike and explore new outside areas.
Of course, all of these may not be feasible, especially if you are currently undergoing cancer treatment. That's why, at the Providence Regional Cancer Center in Spokane, we are blessed to have a garden in the midst of a large medical campus. You enter the garden, and the hustle and bustle goes away. You can sit and enjoy the air, native plants, flowing stream and a waterfall.
Relaxing and meditating in such a beautiful setting can reset your stress clock and give you much needed relaxation. Breathing fresh air brings oxygen into your body, carries it to your cells and helps them release toxins; vital if you are healing from an illness. Fresh air improves your heart rate and blood pressure, helps improve your immune system, soothes your nerves, helps you sleep better at night and helps improve your mood by promoting well-being. As always, be sure to talk with your doctor if you are concerned about any outdoor excursions, etc.
Honor yourself, take care of yourself and breathe deeply in a beautiful outdoor setting, whenever you can.
- "You can't change who you are, but you can change what you have in your head, you can refresh what you're thinking about, you can put some fresh air in your brain.” Ernesto Bertarelli
- “Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.” Erich Fromm
