.
Your garden can be your pride and joy or your source of
pain! Here are some tips which can help you to enjoy
your gardening without straining yourself. 1.
If you can, try to do a little and often – an
hour 3 times a week rather than 3 hours on one day. If you only have one day free to garden then
take regular breaks – say after every hour of work – sit down and enjoy your
garden. (Or even better, lie down in semi-supine
(a favourite Alexander Technique
position i.e. with 3 paperback books
under your head, your feet about hip width apart and your knees bent up and
allow your back to open up and your shoulders to relax). 2.
Mix it up – by varying the tasks that you do you
will use different muscles and joints so will minimise the risk of straining a
particular area of your body. Try to do
a bit of weeding, a bit of cutting back, and then maybe trim the edges of your
lawn. 3.
A lot of work can be done kneeling (use a
cushion) or even sitting. If you have to
bend then bend using your hips and knees rather than bending from the waist or
rounding your shoulders. Try not to
overreach but get up and move closer and when you do get up take the time to
stretch and open up if you have been crouching. 4.
Be gentle with yourself – by avoiding strains
you can come back and do some more tomorrow.
Try to be aware of how you are using your body – if you feel strain then
stop right away and take a break – walk around, sit down or best of all do some
lying down semi-supine style. 5. Take
breaks before you get exhausted. Take
pleasure in the activity you are doing – take time to notice the opening buds,
the insects, birds and butterflies. 6.
Try gardening with a friend and take turns on
whose garden you work on. You are much
less likely to overdo it if you are relaxed and chatting at the same time. You
could even form work teams to tackle big jobs together and help each other out.
7.
If you find you have overdone it then take 20
minutes to lie down in semi-supine. Try not to panic that just adds more tension,
instead think of your muscles releasing and let your shoulders open out. When you get up roll over onto your side
first. Have a few days off and next time
go more gently with yourself. Enjoy your beautiful gardens. Adele Gibson. |
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CategoriesAntibiotics for back pain?Everyday activities Releasing tension and relieving back pain Walking in an Alexander way |
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