Stretching for Gardeners

For gardeners, the exercise you get can be straining if you go too far too fast. Gardeners find themselves in some of the most un-ergonomic positions in order to achieve what they are going for. How many gardeners have pulled their groin slipping in post-frost hosta muck or deathly slippery daylily dieback?

You could find much better ways to use your time if physical exercise was all you were concerned about. Minute for minute, a brisk walk is likely better for your health. Also in gardening, there are few chores that really get the heart rate up.

However, physical exercise is one of the main reasons I might go out, for example, tomorrow morning, to work in the garden. It's not so much that the main reason I garden in general is for physical exercise, but that physical exercise is a determining factor, or impetus in each gardening session. ie: get out of the house and DO something.

People who garden obsessively keep their bodies moving despite aches and pains simply because they can not stop. Gardening soon becomes an overriding passion that won't be set aside until it is done. For these gardeners it is particularly important that sore backs and aching muscles don't get thrown into the same activities again and again without some special attention.

Before I started getting into any kind of stretching program, I found myself moving my bodies into stretching or yoga type positions because they felt good. One example is rolling the head back, forward and around in circles, relaxing the next muscles fully and letting the weight of my head do the stretching. No one had to tell me this would be good for me. It just happened. Doing stretches based on what feels good is a fairly good rule, and a good way to get into stretching. After all, when you are tired and sore, the last thing you are going to do is read a book on yoga and comprehend the prescribed 'asana' to the degree that it can be carried out.

The most important point I have to make about any of these stretches is not to overdo them. Stretches should be gentle, not forced, and should never be done with jerky or bouncing movements. If you can't touch your toes, don't. Find a telephone book or brick to touch when you have reached the bottom of your individual stretch.

Here are a few simple techniques for before a garden session....