The Garden Media Group, which is based in Kennett Square, compiles a trends report each year. For 2017 they predict that indoor gardening, forest bathing, soundscaping, downsized gardens and plants for the office will be playing roles in our physical and mental health.

Indoor Gardening

⇐Do you grow herbs on your kitchen windowsill in the dead of winter? If so, you are part of a growing phenomenon known as indoor gardening (for the record, 28% of baby boomers grow herbs indoors, while the number climbs to 37% for millennials). Thanks to vastly improved grow lights, grow boxes, grow walls, and the fact that hydroponic and aquaponic cultures are going mainstream, indoor gardening is being redefined as a hobby that can be enjoyed year-round.

Access to clean food is one of the driving forces behind gardening in general and indoor gardening in particular. According to the National Gardening Report, in 2016, 6 million new gardeners began growing their own food in this country, with nearly 5 million of them ranging in age from 18 to 34.

Yes, credit for our heightened fascination with gardening goes to the millennials. This generation is not only exploring new ways to grow food on a year-round basis, but they’re also growing teas and plants for medicinal and beer-making purposes. As a result, the number of stores catering to such hobbyists has grown by 8.2% over the last five years. In 2015, such stores contributed nearly $5 billion to the economy. And, interest is expected to only escalate: Growing plants under lights is predicted to increase at a rate of 6.3% in each of the next five years.

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To see indoor gardening products, visit opcomfarm.com.

 

 

Forest Bathing

OK, so we know what you’re probably thinking: What kind of New Age mumbo jumbo is this? Actually, you have to trek back to 1982, when Japan’s ministry of forestry designated shinrin-yoku as a component of its national public health program to understand the concept. The premise behind shinrin-yoku – or forest bathing – is to be one with nature and fully absorb its sights, smells and sounds. We know what you’re going to say: It’s called hiking. The answer would be yes and no.

Think about it. Hiking American-style is all about covering territory and doing it with a semblance of speed. Forest bathing is the complete opposite. Bathers are encouraged to fully be one with the experience. Talking is discouraged, and cell phones are all but forbidden. If it takes you an entire day to walk a mile, good for you. Your blood pressure, stress levels, heart rate and other indicators will thank you for it. Studies and research conducted in Japan, which is home to more than 50 designated forest bathing trails, verify that it is working.

Forest bathing has slowly made its way to the states. And, of course, Americans are making it their own. For example, the San Francisco Forest Bathing Club’s outings may include a walk in the woods that morphs into a yoga session that’s followed by a healthy lunch (or snack) and finally an invigorating dip in a river, lake or the ocean. The club’s membership has grown to more than 250 in nine months’ time.

Forest bathing is even impacting our indoor environs. The Pantone Institute credits forest bathing for influencing its choice of 2017’s Color of the Year, which is called Greenery.

 

Downsized Gardens

Clear out the clutter is the premise of this trend. Bid farewell to bedraggled plants and those that are growing out of control. Create a color palette that’s inspired by your favorite hue and not the rainbow. Don’t buy one of everything. Keep what you need and what grows well in the conditions they are given. Divide, prune and share the excess. By following these tenets, you and your garden will both be happier.

 

Soundscaping

No, we’re not referring to audio sound systems. Actually, soundscaping refers to the presence of trees, which serves to boost the health and well-being of both humans and the ecosystem. From a sound perspective, trees affect our quality of life. Who doesn’t derive pleasure from hearing the music of songbirds that make their homes in the trees? On the flip side, trees buffer the sounds (and sights) that can put us on edge, i.e. sirens, traffic, loud neighbors, etc. And, trees serve as nature’s sunscreen for homes, offices and our bodies. According to Purdue University, the shade of a tree is equivalent to an SPF of 10. Trees also play a role in reducing cooling costs for homes and offices.

 

Office Plants

House plants are back in vogue, although not to the extent in which we added greenery to our homes, offices and restaurants – remember the proverbial fern bar – in the 1970s. A few tastefully placed plants is the new trend.

Plants provide a plethora of benefits in an office environment. They purify the air, which is very important in an energy-efficient building. Simply being around plants is a stress reliever. Studies show that plants help us to focus and concentrate. Research also finds that people who work in close proximity to plants are healthier and use fewer sick days per year. The good news is that plants that thrive in office environments are low maintenance, and you can’t go wrong with a terrarium.

Yoga can be traced to the first millennium, yet it didn’t gain prominence in the Western world until the 19th and 20th centuries. The rise and fall of its popularity shifted over a course of decades. But, today approximately 37 million people practice it in the United States, including adjunct art history professor and certified yoga instructor Gloria Mast, who views it as more than just a lifestyle … It is a lifesaver.

 

While enjoying breakfast at Commonwealth on Queen, Gloria laughs about not always being the smallest kid in class. “I’m eternally grateful for the seven years of field hockey I played in junior high and high school. Was I what anyone would term successful? No. I was the biggest, the slowest and always last for everything. But, that gave me a base knowledge of my body and a base knowledge of movement; otherwise, I wouldn’t know what it felt like.”

Gloria says she noticed herself gaining weight during college and throughout her 20s and early 30s. Becoming busy with the routines of work, school and eating fast food, and lacking time for exercise caused Gloria to become overweight. “When you talk to someone who has struggled with obesity, you’ll soon find out that the excess is a reaction to scarcity: a scarcity of time, a scarcity of resources, a scarcity of something is related to the excess in their bodies. It can be physical, economical, spiritual or emotional.”

At 25, Gloria was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. She continued her regimen of eating junk foods and working around the clock. “Like any good 25-year-old, I completely ignored it,” she says of her diagnosis. A decade later, doctors told her that she was going to lose her kidneys.

Gloria says she was “very intent” on keeping her kidneys, so she changed her routine. Instead of eating a big bowl of cereal, she would eat a big bowl of salad. She began walking … a lot (8 miles a day). She would often find herself stiff, with achy joints and sore feet. “I thought, ‘This isn’t working.’ Weight loss is supposed to be this magic silver bullet that solves everything. Why do I feel this way?”

while teaching at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) in Lancaster, Gloria attended a yoga workshop. After performing a series of poses, she thought, “Oh! This works. I can move now.” From there she took yoga classes at the YMCA at New Holland, sometimes twice a day. And, as a result of making modifications to her diet, walking and taking yoga classes, Gloria lost 125 pounds.

Wanting to dig a little deeper in the practices of yoga, Gloria signed up for the Create Karma teacher training. According to their website, Create Karma is “a wellness-inspired nonprofit organization committed to creating healthy communities through wellness classes, events, and leadership trainings.”

Gloria says the opportunity with Create Karma helped her to learn more about the physical and philosophical practices of yoga. Part of the requirements for certification through Create Karma includes a community project; Gloria created a series of free yoga classes for beginners last fall called Yoga for Your Body in which she partnered with Lighten Up Lancaster (which is a partnership with Lancaster General Health/Penn Medicine). The classes focused on movement and modifications for men and women with “a little more real estate to move.”

“Create Karma is leadership training, as well. And, part of that training is to take a leadership role in your community. My community was people who think they’re too big for yoga,” she says.

For Gloria, yoga provides a range of motion and balance. “One of the funny things they don’t tell you when you lose that much weight is that your center of balance changes. So, balance becomes an issue.”

A couple of buzz words we hear today are “mindfulness” and “wellness,” which are also key factors in yoga. “Learning how to quiet the mind and quiet the body, and in unison, is beneficial,” Gloria comments. Her definition of wellness is being able to do what you want to do in terms of activity.

“Wellness is being able to ask your body to do something physically, and it can,” she says. “It also has a holistic component to it and a mental component, as well. It’s not those fitness goals; it’s much more rounded. It’s more complete than just sit-ups and numbers on a scale.”

When asked her opinion on the increasing  number of yoga studios and classes in the area, Gloria reports that there are “excellent studios in Lancaster and a couple of good ones out on the frontier,” referring to her yoga classes in Intercourse.

“I think we can do more to change the perception of yoga. Given the issue with wellness and fitness and other things that we see, everyone can benefit from it,” Gloria says. “It’s just a matter of finding and creating an environment where they feel safe to practice. My goal is to do the poses safely and with confidence. So, it’s that holistic idea of what is wellness: I know what my body needs; I know what it takes, and that’s the purpose of any of the classes I teach.”

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For more information, go to ruraldeliveryroute.com or createkarma.today.

Make this your healthiest year ever with help from area medical, dental and fitness professionals.

Whether you’re 12 or 72, it’s never too late to learn something new in the kitchen.

FOR RECIPES

Since 2014, Zest! – a unique shop tucked comfortably along Main Street in historic Lititz – has been offering cooking classes for area foodies. Some cooking class participants even come from out of state (New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, D.C.) to take part in these culinary cabarets.

Zest! owner Sharon Landis thinks most of the out-of-towners attend for several reasons: “the socialization, the fun, the interaction with the chef, learning a new skill, expanding their cooking repertoire. Cooking can be a hobby, and it’s fun to come here and be with other people who enjoy that.”

Be Adventurous!

Sharon opened her home to students and started teaching private cooking classes years ago. She had a passion for cooking and wanted to share that same passion with others. “I love helping people be adventurous in the kitchen. I thought with cooking classes we could eliminate some of that fear and give them the confidence [they need] for their next culinary adventure,” Sharon explains.

The shop took on a major renovation to include a kitchen for more “hands-on” cooking demonstrations. In late 2016, Sharon and her husband, Jim, installed an overhead flat screen TV and GoPro camera for students to be given a bird’s eye view of the kitchen as the chef prepares each course. Students also help with various recipes and are given different tasks, such as measuring, mixing, kneading, stirring, zesting and more.

The instructors vary from professional chefs and home cooks to authors, such as Valerie Baer and Debbie Mosimann.

Tina Bare, who was diagnosed with Celiac disease four years ago, has taught 15 classes at Zest!. She instructed a gluten-free Christmas Cakes & Cookies class this past December. Being allergic to gluten has helped to hone her cooking skills that much more. “We want to take care of our bodies to live a long life and have the energy to do the things we need to do,” Tina says. “When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, I had to make a lot of changes in my life to eliminate wheat, barley and rye. It’s fun to help people realize that they can still eat delicious food even if they can’t eat gluten. And, gluten-free eating can be healthier.”

Eat Healthy!

There are a number of benefits to eating healthy: it can reduce heart disease, control weight gain/loss, increase energy, help to prevent strokes, etc. Likewise, there are many disadvantages to eating an unhealthy diet. According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “More than one-third of U.S. adults have obesity.” And, although there are many factors that can cause this detrimental condition – genetics, medications, psychological issues – some can be controlled by simply eating the right things the right way.

“Increasing your fruits and vegetables is No. 1, in my opinion. You can’t go wrong. No matter what diet is out there, increase your fruits and vegetables,” Sharon stresses. “We do have a portion control issue in our country, I think. And, cutting out processed sugar [would also be beneficial]. I think if you do those three things – watch your portion control, increase your fruits and vegetables, and cut out sugar – you’re going to feel better.”

Even when experimenting with old family recipes, Sharon and Tina agree that you can always substitute healthier ingredients for the heavier, more fattening ingredients.

“A lot of times you can use low-salt or no-salt chicken stock in place of a cream or milk. That’s easily done,” Sharon says.

Leave Happy!

As with every class taught at Zest!, Sharon and her chefs hope participants arrive eager to learn and leave with a new knowledge of being in the kitchen.

“I hope to inspire people to be able to enjoy food again if they have received a diagnosis of Celiac or a gluten sensitivity,” Tina shares. “To be able to show them that you actually can still really eat delicious foods, there’s just a whole world to explore out there.”

Sharon adds, “I hope they will go away having learned something new. That’s always my goal for the classes.”