The Latest Dirt - July 2024

Warmup to Prepare for Gardening

By Laura Brainin-Rodriguez

Like any physical activity, preparing our bodies for gardening is a good idea. It is recommended that we do 5 minutes of a warmup, such as walking around the garden, followed by some gentle stretches.

It would help if you did these movements slowly and mindfully, honoring your body and limitations on a given day.

• Neck alignment and rotations – Gently turn your head to look over each shoulder three times
• Shoulder circles – rotate arms in, then go back and rotate out three times
• Arm circles – 3 times in each direction.
• Arm Hugs – First, Open your arms wide. Then, hug your body and change the top arm when you do this three times.
• Back presses – put your hands on your lower back and gently stretch back without collapsing your neck.
• Standing Chair Cat/Cow – using the chair back, bend forward, engage your core, and arch up and down to stretch your upper back.
• Chair Sideways Hip flexor stretch
• Chair Figure 4 Stretch
• Standing Hamstring stretches with aligned feet.
• Calf Stretches – two times on each side.
• Squats – three times
• Neck alignment and gentle neck circles – three times in each direction
• Arm nerve glides – stretch arm like carrying a tray – three times in each direction.
• Hand and wrist stretches – rotate your wrists three times in each direction.