The Lawn Mower: An Unexpected Therapist

Finding Inner Peace when Mowing the Lawn

There are many different ways in which people choose to find their inner peace on a day to day basis.  These activities range from the ordinary to extraordinary, and there is absolutely a method of inner peace searching for everyone.  Some people turn to yoga for meditative purposes while others unwind through being completely still.  Others want to focus their mind in order to focus their thoughts and do so through coloring, painting, or swimming.

For other people, a warm, quiet spot with their favorite book is all it takes for their mind to become peaceful.  But there are some people who have turned to the newest method of inner peace searching to center their thoughts, calm their minds, and enhance the health of their bodies.  These are the people who take great pleasure in mowing the lawn.

Mowing is Multisensory

Mowing the lawn is definitely a multisensory experience.  Your body is warm from the combination of the summer sun and the physical exertion of pushing the lawn mower around your garden.  You smell all the delicacies that are highly scented in your garden, from the flowers to the fruits, as well as the freshly cut grass.  You hear the sounds of nature – the bird calls, your pets, children, the sound of the lawnmower as you boost it into action.

Around you, everything you can see – the trees, bushes, and grasses, are all perfectly calmed and centered.  Your senses are aroused, and your mind becomes aware of the calm surrounding you…inner peace ensues.

Mundane Mowing

If you are the type of person that gets stressed about everything, then this may be a very beneficial way of enabling you to find your inner peace.  We are all surrounded by a world moving constantly faster, and we are permanently contactable via all the gadgets we own.  But sometimes, switching off in more ways than one can be incredibly beneficial.  Our bodies work on overdrive to enable us to keep up with the world around us, and if we do not spend time repaying our bodies for this, then it can take its toll.

Slowing down, being mindful, and finding your inner peace while being surrounded by nature can help your body to heal, reduce your stress levels, and restore your peace.  Mowing your lawn does not have to be another chore to add to the list, in fact, it can actually be something you look forward to doing.  Use the time it takes you to cut your lawn to give back to your body and thank it for everything it enables you to do on a weekly, daily, and hourly basis.

The Effects of Green

The color green has numerous positive effects on the human body.  It has been described as the color easiest to see by the human eye and is the color of peace.  The retina is at the height of perception to be able to determine the color green, and in doing so, this makes us calm.

Not only does it make us calm after a long day or a stressful scenario, but it also relaxes the nervous system.  Thanks to its calming effects, the color green is commonly used in hospitals and places of stress, worry, and anxiety, to increase the calm, reduce heart rate and prevent unnecessary angst from building, even in traumatic situations.

Being surrounded by green and spending time within outdoor green spaces, no matter what your activity, has been scientifically proven to increase your lifespan.  People spending time doing such things are more likely to have better mental health, less respiratory issues and are able to find their inner peace a lot more successfully and easily than people who do not undertake activities surrounded by greenery.

This means that the act of mowing the grass is actually very beneficial to your overall health and should be considered thoroughly.

Why Do Humans Respond So Well to Green?

The reason that humans respond so well to the color green all began when we lived in forests and had to scavenge in order to survive.  The human eye at this time of evolution became incredibly sensitive to the color green because it helped to distinguish between the edible foods and the poisonous food.

Edible was usually green and poisonous was usually red.  Though we don’t tend to scavenge for our food sources today, we do still use these instincts.  We are able to tell if fruit is bad from its color without having to taste it and risk getting an upset stomach.

As humans, we are drawn to the color green because of its safe and calming qualities, which is another reason we should get out there and cut the lawn.  You can find your inner sanctuary while undertaking a necessary task at the same time.  You will be calmer, de-stressed, and have restored health benefits.  In a spiritual sense, the color green is used to restore depleted levels of energy, so after using energy to cut the lawn, you will feel as if you have much more energy than when you started.

Cutting Grass Cuts Calories

There are many reasons why mowing the lawn is good for you, including helping to find your inner peace, promoting your health, and assisting with de-stressing after a long, busy day at the office.  But are there any more benefits to cutting the grass?  Actually, there’s one really important benefit that we have not mentioned yet here on Best of Machinery, and this is in relation to calories.

As we all live such busy lives, many people find it challenging to juggle the load between working, home chores, exercising, and relaxing.  There just does not seem to be enough hours in our day to enable us to fit in all the necessary activities.  If you are able to find activities which combine multiple different benefits, then you are usually on to a winner though.  This may be another reason why you may enjoy mowing the lawn.

Not only are you finding your inner peace, but you are actually able to burn a substantial amount of calories at the same time.  For people who spend their lives sitting at a desk, driving or doing a stationary activity, this is a great way to lose weight, exercise, and increase your fitness levels.

Yes, of course, there are some determining factors involve which alter how effective this method is for calorie burning, such as your weight, the size of your lawned area and the time it takes for you to cut the grass.  But let’s look at the average figures, and we bet you will be surprised at what you are about to read.

If you weigh around the 125-pound mark, then you will be able to burn 3.8 calories with every minute of grass cutting that you undertake.  This may not seem much, to begin with, but the minutes and calories burned soon mount up.  In just 30 minutes you will have burned 114 calories, so for the more extensive sized gardens, this is an impressive way to burn large quantities of calories.

On the opposite end of the scale, if you weigh 175 pounds, you will be able to burn 5.2 calories with every minute of grass cutting which adds up to 156 calories in half an hour.  So, the more you weigh, the more calories you can burn when mowing the lawn.

Conclusion

Mowing the lawn is something that we all have to do whether we like doing it or not.  But if you see it as a chore and not something pleasant to undertake in the evening after a long day at work, there are many benefits to mowing the lawn that you should take into consideration.  Now that we know all of the benefits of mowing the lawn, it has fast become our favorite weekly activity.

Due to grass being green, its color is calming, relaxing and very good for stimulation of the nervous system. It is an excellent multisensory activity to undertake in order to find your inner peace, center your mind and body, as well enable you to focus on tasks you may need to undertake after you have mowed the lawn.  Your sense will be heightened, your health will be increased, and your blood pressure will be reduced all thanks to simply undertaking a task that we have all often done.

Being surrounded by nature, surrounded by green, surrounded by natural sounds, has an incredible impact on mental health, so it is advised to spend as much time outdoors and away from the office as possible.  If you do have a sedentary type of job, then you will also be pleased to learn that mowing the lawn can be a brilliant way of burning the calories that you have consumed while being sat at your desk or behind the wheel.

Being at one with nature will also help you to be at one with yourself.  You want to reward your body for all the hard work it does and for all the energy it expels in keeping you performing at a high level over prolonged periods of time.  What better way to do this than by getting out there mowing the lawn?

You are in effect killing two birds with one stone really – you are getting another chore done, improving your overall health, both mentally and physically, at the same time as finding your inner peace.  Next time you go out to cut the lawn, take note of how you feel before you start and after you finish because you will be amazed at how much better you feel in more ways than one!