Health, Wellbeing and Support

Cultivating Wellbeing and Support Through Kokedama Philosophy

This page is an evolving resource which aims to offer advice to help people find a happier, more balanced life. 

In today's fast-paced world, the pursuit of happiness and balance often feels like an elusive dream. We are constantly bombarded with the demands of work, family, and personal commitments, leaving little time for self-care and reflection. However, amidst this chaos, there is a growing movement that seeks to promote health, wellbeing, and support through practices rooted in ancient wisdom. One such practice is the art of Kokedama, and it aligns perfectly with the philosophy of Tranquil Plants—a positive life philosophy at work and home.

The Philosophy of Balance

Tranquil Plants is committed to helping individuals, groups, corporate companies, and educational institutions find a happier and more balanced life. At its core, the philosophy of Tranquil Plants revolves around the idea of balance. It acknowledges that true happiness and wellbeing can only be achieved when we strike a harmonious equilibrium between our professional and personal lives, as well as our physical and mental health.

Kokedama, a traditional Japanese gardening technique, is a tangible embodiment of this philosophy. This ancient practice not only serves as a decorative element but also carries profound lessons in balance and mindfulness. First and foremost, Kokedama fosters a deep connection with nature, which has been proven to enhance mental health and overall wellbeing. When we engage with plants, we engage with life in its purest form. The act of nurturing a Kokedama, from planting and watering to pruning and tending, provides a sense of purpose and a mindful escape from the stresses of daily life.

Moreover, Kokedama embodies the concept of balance in its physical form. The delicate balance between the plant's root system, the moss, and the soil symbolises the delicate balance we must strike in our lives. In caring for a Kokedama, we learn that too much or too little of anything, whether it be water, sunlight, or attention, can disrupt this equilibrium. This tangible representation of balance serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of moderation in all aspects of our lives.

By integrating the art of Kokedama into our homes and workplaces, we take a tangible step towards achieving this harmony, enriching our lives and those around us. In the quest for a happier, more balanced life, Kokedama and Tranquil Plants stand as beacons of hope and inspiration.

Finding balance is a core part of what Tranquil Plants is about – a positive life philosophy at work and home. We will provide some ideas and guidance on this page and will also link to other websites, blogs and other social media which can provide other valuable information. This page is for you, whether you are an individual, part of a group, a corporate company or in places of education.

Our ethos for a Tranquil Life is reflected in the three leaves of our logo:

 

Leaf 1 MIND - Thoughts, feelings, imagination, philosophy, beliefs, learning, listening, reading, contemplating

Leaf 2 BODY – Diet, exercise, physical health, environment

Leaf 3 BALANCE – Contentment, sense of well being & inner peace, positive relationships & outcomes.

Crossover sections – Meditation, relaxation, yoga, mindfulness and sleep. You can also think of your own.

What’s your idea of a happy, fulfilling life? That’s a big question, and we all have our own ideas, but we can break them all down into three different aspects: the body, the mind and creating a balance in life for positive outcomes.

These three aspects are represented by the three leaves of the Tranquil Plants Logo. These three are interlinked and when we create the right conditions we will find this helps to achieve a more grounded, Tranquil Life which if you check we all want really because we all want to be happy! The main problem is we have not been taught much about how to achieve those results.

How Are The Three Leaves Interconnected?

For example, what we eat alters our body make-up and chemistry, which in turn can influence our thought patterns and moods. The way we think and what we believe can dramatically influences the way our mind operates, whether for good or bad, which in turn affects our body and harmonises or disturbs the balance. How we feel will again set off other reactions in our mind, and subsequently our body and behaviour. So all are interconnected.

Aspects of Living a Tranquil Life:

• Healthy Relaxed Body
• Peaceful, Contented Mind
• Balanced Lifestyle
• Balanced Business & Working life
• Healthy ways of Thinking & Approach to life.
• Finding the Tranquil 'Eye of the Storm' when life is  Busy & Changing

Working with our Mind

BASICS – One thing we need to understand is that everything we experience, we experience with our mind and feelings are a function of our mind. There are only three types of feelings- Pleasant, Unpleasant & Neutral.

We tend to only want pleasant feelings, we try to avoid unpleasant feelings and don't take much notice of neutral feelings...sound familiar? Well maybe we don't understand neutral feelings but it's not so difficult. When you breathe do you have a strong feeling of liking or disliking it? No, you feel neutral right? OK, great you got it and there are loads of things happening all the time we have neutral feelings about.

We can maybe start to understand here that if we are not in control of our feelings (because we don't have much control of our mind), we can end up being controlled by them rather than us being in charge!  Result - Tranquility is disturbed because our feelings are running riot and changing so much! 

We need to train our mind and learn practical methods to deal with feelings and learn how to gradually stabilise our mind.

Correct approaches to Meditation & Mindfulness

We can now maybe understand that a big part of the job for producing a Tranquil life is learning to work with our mind but there are many things we can do to help by working with our body too...

Working with our Body

This is maybe an area we are more familiar with as we have been taught or heard much more about physical well-being and how to achieve it. There is a lot of information available about looking after your body, but you could start by developing a regular programme of some of the following:

1. Warm-ups and stretching
2. General exercise
3. Yoga 
4. Pilates
5. Using Physical work as exercise
6. Outdoor activities

Five simple ideas for starting a Tranquil Life:

1. Think about the steps you need to undertake for a simple meditation
2. 10 minute stretches to become aware of the body & clear the mind. Yoga/ pilates
3. Thinking in positive ways such as being grateful for what we have
4. Being kind & considerate to others (and yourself)
5. Nurturing plants and nature in general. 

Great resources: 

Head space https://www.headspace.com/collections/uk-collection 

How Indoor Plants Can Assist Body/Mind/Balance

Nurturing nature and our environment around us is important because we  depend on it! Looking after and keeping plants have been proven by NASA to be beneficial for both physical and mental well-being.

All plants help to purify the air to some degree by removing carbon dioxide from the air and giving out oxygen, making it healthier for us humans to breathe. Many Tranquil Plants (such as ferns) are more adept at this, and filter out other toxins that collect naturally from modern building materials (see our blog on sick building syndrome). This is how they can assist with your physical health and environment - the leaf of Body.

Many people find that plants can also bring a sense of peace and balance to a room, providing an anchor to the natural world in your study, office or home. This is how plants can assist with the leaves of Mind & Body to achieve Balance. 

We passionately believe that being surrounded by plants brings tranquility and calm into your living space. However, in addition to this, there are a number of scientific studies that prove that plants remove harmful substances in the air.

Unfortunately in many places, our indoor environments are up to 10 times more polluted than outdoors. Buildings use paints and chemicals, have air conditioning, improved insulation, and energy-saving measures. These all reduce air exchange in buildings, so we breathe the same air again and again. There are well-recognised studies that demonstrate that being in these spaces can cause headaches, nausea, sore and itchy eyes, loss of concentration and other ‘sick building’ symptoms.

Plants help remove many of these harmful contaminants and also absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. This obviously reduces your carbon footprint but also the increased oxygen level refreshes the air - and you! This can lead to increased concentration and productivity (in various studies between 10%-15% increase).

So, what are some of the best houseplants to improve air quality?

Kokedama houseplants dissolve dangerous chemicals in the air such as benzene and transform carbon dioxide into life-giving oxygen. The Tranquil Plants range offers some of the best ‘Fresh Air’ plants available according to NASA. See our Air Purifying Collection. 

Tranquil Plants' Wellbeing Sessions in the UK

There are many different ways to bring about and enhance a Tranquil Life, and the ones listed above are only the tip of the iceberg. Tranquil Plants provide well-being sessions and talks for people at work and places of education. Feel free to get in contact with us if you are interested in these.