Dawn Bradford Lange: Co-founder of Breast Cancer Yoga.
Healing gardens express our own individuality. We can show a bit of our personality with ornamentation and embellishments. We create a balance by adding water elements as a symbol of life and enhance the sacredness of a healing garden. Water can be metaphorical of peace, tranquility and calm. Water opens up the contemplative nature of the soul and helps to elicit memories and a sense of belonging. We have provided 10 ideas to add water to your breast cancer healing garden.
1. Water can be incorporated with a fountain as a symbol of the life force (chi, prana). Make your own patio fountain tutorial.2. A slow moving stream or creek is symbolic of the river of life and our personal life path. Learn how to make your own backyard stream tutorial.
3. A waterfall is symbolic of a leap into the unknown, of courage, and triumph over fear. Build your own backyard waterfall tutorial.
4. A still pond or pool, is symbolic of contemplation, of the soul’s yearning for truth, renewal and healing. Learn how to make your own backyard healing pond.
5. A bridge over moving water is a powerful symbol of our ability to overcome obstacles. It also helps to define the journey within the garden. Find a selection of bridges for garden here.
6. Introduce water as early as possible in the sequential experience of the garden: a purification bowl at the entrance helps to lower stress and is symbolic of our respect for nature and the divine. This bowl can include river stones and sea shells. Try making your own concrete bowl with this tutorial.
7. Water can be designed to encourage interaction with wildlife: songbirds, butterflies, humming birds. Provide bird baths and feeders to encourage use of water features by wildlife. Bird bath tutorial for you try.
8. Incorporate natural objects into water features: sea shells, hollow rocks, stone bowls, tree stumps.
9. Provide some very shallow water for its reflective qualities: include rocks and allow some to be only partially submerged so they can act as launching pads for birds and butterflies. Try making a Hummingbird bath with this tutorial.
10. Always provide sitting opportunities near water features both for the view as well as the sound.
Everyone’s idea of a healing space is unique. There are no fixed rules for creating a healing space. Do whatever appeals to your senses and put those ideas in the space. When developing your area, begin with what you already have, and then improve on it by making it more healing. You don’t need an elaborate space to uplift your mind and soul. Even a simple, color will do.
About Dawn Bradford Lange: Co-founder of Breast Cancer Yoga. Dawn is making a difference with Breast Cancer Yoga therapeutic products designed to support you emotionally and physically during breast cancer . We want to give you the attention and personal service you need so please email us at info@breastcanceryoga.com if you have questions.
http://www.breastcanceryoga.com/
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Reblogged this on Coping With Breast Cancer and commented:
For me, nothing says Peace like water. The smaller ideas are more my speed and I intend to add one of the shallow water features to my garden under my hummingbird feeder. Also like adding natural products into water features. These things are “doable” for all of us without busting the budget.
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Love these ideas!! So peaceful and healing to the body and the soul<3
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