Guru in the garden: Turning your backyard into a meditation sanctuary – words Alexa Wang
It is the ideal space for barbecues and gatherings, but what if you want to turn your garden into something a little bit quieter? If you are someone that relishes peace and quiet, and time to yourself, the garden is the ideal space to transform into a meditation sanctuary.
But, while most of us might not have a garden space that lends itself well to this, are there any things that you can do to make it more conducive to relaxation?
Give It The Colours You Need
Meditation isn’t about closing your eyes and listening to your breath, it’s about being in a different state of mind that can help you to relax and to process all the problems of modern life. This means that you’ve got to stimulate yourself, but in the right ways. Colour is vital because the wrong shade can cause your brain to fire up, which isn’t what we want. Instead, think about ways to keep your garden manageable, but colourful. You can get artificial grass in an abundance of colours, and by getting this, you can do yourself a favour by minimising your workload. A garden can be a lot of work to get it just right, especially if you want it to be the equivalent of some Japanese peace garden. But we’ve got to just give the garden a makeover so that it can relax us in the right ways.
Separating Your Space From The Rest Of The Garden
Rather than having the whole garden as a meditation space, you could find a quiet corner, and separate this by using a gate, fence, or shrubs. Giving yourself that sense of isolation is integral to relaxing, switching yourself off from the world, and being able to go into yourself. Once you find the right corner, think about items that are low maintenance. Avoiding clutter is integral because your mind will be cluttered if you have an abundance of mess around the garden. Work towards natural materials that are low maintenance.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect Right Away
The great thing about any garden is that it’s a work in progress. Take time, get inspired from other gardens that you see, and start adding these little touchstones by putting different plants or structures that resonate with you on a deeper level. The idea of meditating is to escape the stress of the modern world and to emerge with a newfound perspective. Much like you are a work in progress, transfer this idea to your garden.
Make It Unique To You
You could install a water feature, minimal plants, if you are looking to increase your spirituality, an altar that could have spiritual figures that are important to you or certain sculptures. Think about these touchstones as a way to calm your mind down. Some people love a water feature like a birdbath, and water, in a meditation environment, it is a very calming and cleansing component. And if it helps you to switch off from the outside world, find the right music. You can take a Bluetooth speaker out there, and play one of the many relaxation channels from YouTube.
