 We are coming to you from our studios of ThinkTekowai in downtown Honolulu and from my home office in Makiki. Remember back in the day where many of our parents used to farm and they ate the produce from our backyards? Literally we know about the value of being out in the good air and producing. Today, we shall be discussing the therapeutic values of gardening with Dr. Tonya Featherston. Welcome, Dr. Featherston. Now let's get started. Hello. Thank you for having me. I'm glad you're here and you could take time off of your busy growing schedule. So could you tell us a little bit about what is plant therapy and garden therapy? Okay. So plant therapy is really using any type of plant-based activities with the goal of improving your mental, emotional, or physical health. So plant therapy activities could include things like in my practice, I may have some of my clients do journaling, but instead of doing it indoors, I would recommend that they do it outdoors. Go outside, connect with nature and journal in a park or in some at the beach, for example. So in places where you can really sort of get grounded and connect with nature. So that's plant therapy and you could use any plant-type products as well. So essential oils, having house plants, so surrounding yourself in your house with house plants, all those things deal with plant therapy. Gardening therapy is a little different in the sense that you're going to actually grow the plants. So you may grow vegetables, so it may be a vegetable garden that you're doing. It could be a healing type of garden where you're growing plants that are medicinal type plants and herbs. It could be a kitchen herb garden. The gardening therapy is really sort of getting you actively involved in growing those plants and nurturing those plants, planting the seeds, like all the everything from the beginning process and to the end where you're taking in the food. So that's just subtle differences between the two. Wow. And you know, that's the key component to this all is, you know, of course in the home, you're doing it home and getting all the different qualities of the plant growing in your home. But when you take it out to the aina, to the garden, to the yard, I think that's really important because we seem to learn better in the environment that we're going to be working with. And the plants grow usually in yards. And so, you know, there are a lot of programs in Hawaii where the kids don't learn well in classroom setting. But when you put them in the aina in the earth, they are more apt to be excited because of the stimuli on the outside. And all the exciting things that happens in a garden is that what is actually what you're trying to incorporate as well? Yes. So plant therapy and gardening therapy both work very well with children. You know, all of us spend a lot of time indoors. So now after COVID, we're all working indoors so much more. We're on computers, those types of things. We have a lot of lighting that's not natural lighting. And so incorporating plants and gardening into your day-to-day existence. It does help us to rid our bodies of toxins. It helps for your brain. It's super powerful in the sense that it really does help you to be able to focus and concentrate better. So the example that you gave of the cakeies and how a lot of times when they're in the classrooms, many classrooms, I was a former teacher, so many classrooms don't have plants in them. But as a teacher, I always had plants in my classroom because I understood that they were cleaning the air. They were providing us with more oxygen, which is going to oxygenate our brains better and cause you to be able to think and focus a lot better. So yes, we should have plants in our houses. We should have plants, of course, outside in our yards, even if you live in apartments and high-rises. You can always incorporate plants into your living spaces. Well, you hit that right on the nose, girl, because, you know, you being a teacher and knowing the benefits by putting those plants in the classroom, that's already cutting edge for a lot of classrooms. Because like you said, they're sitting in there. There's no none of that freshness coming in and oxygen, you know, that's a key component to a healthier brain, healthier body. So healthier brain means better productivity with the kids. Is that right? Absolutely. For the kids, for us as adults, if you think of the work that we do, so much of it is computer-based now, you're going to be much more productive if you have a plant in your office somewhere that's helping again to boost your mood even. Sometimes with people, we stare at the computer screen for so long, you get tired, you get headaches, you really start to feel sort of lethargic. And so having plants in that room is going to clean that air, it's going to boost your mood. So there are specific types of plants, house plants that you can have in your office space, whether you work in a home office or whether you work in a cubicle, you know, in a larger company, you can have those small plants in there that are really helping you to be more productive as an adult in your workspace. So I highly recommend that for people who are working in office type settings with boosting your mood. Again, it keeps us, it sort of reenergizes us, it gives us that same sense. You know how sometimes you can be inside working if you just take a quick walk outside and breathe some fresh air, get some sunshine and just kind of be around plants, it kind of energizes you and makes you feel better. Well, you can't always do that indoors. In schools, kids can't always do that. You can't always do that if you're in an indoor work environment, but you can do it if you incorporate those plants within your space. And the other thing that it does indoors is it helps to improve our immune system. So we learned this during COVID where many times I got really into this practice and incorporated it more into my psychology practice during COVID when so many people were having issues with being indoors for so long. And we're really experiencing a lot of anxiety and a lot of depression and those kinds of things. And I was recommending that they go out and secure different plants and add them to their spaces indoors so that they could clean the air so that they could boost their immune system and those kinds of things. And the research shows that it really works well. But then with my clients, they were saying, oh my gosh, I feel so much better. I don't feel quite as sad. I don't quite as depressed because now I've added these plants into my home environment. Exactly. And you're now just accumulating some creativity here as another opportunity for a business. They have rental, plant rentals, and also you as busy as you are. Maybe you should be growing some potted plants and making it pretty and decorative and then take them to offices. Talk to the bosses, the CEOs, and encourage them to put plants within each of the desks. And each of the cubicles because then the employee doesn't have to worry about that. It's so much as if you had a plant service that came in and changed it out and made it really lovely. It makes the office more alive and more like home friendly. So and then, but it's having a dual purpose by supporting the person with better oxygen as well as better stimulation with their brain while having it right there in their cubicle. So let's think about that. Another business year. So how did you get involved with this type of therapy? It really came. I've always been a gardener. So but as I worked and got older, I always felt like I didn't have as much time. You know, we always say we don't have enough time. There's not enough time, you know, to grow plants or to garden. And so I had, you know, just houseplants and every now and then I might grow a vegetable or two during the summertime. But when COVID hit and we had all of that extra time to sit at home, then I really, you know, focused in on my personal mental health. And I did that through gardening. So I knew that I had the time I knew that I, you know, could very quickly get to Home Depot or someplace to secure some some seeds and some pot. And so I just started growing more vegetables on my deck at the house. And so I didn't have, I lived in a townhouse at the time. Didn't have a lot of space, but I had a 10 foot deck and that was more than big enough for me to start growing a lot of our vegetables, lettuce, you know, tomatoes, cucumbers, those kinds of things. And so as I was there growing and sort of going outside every day, and that was my opportunity to get outside of the house and to get the fresh air. I was on my own private deck and really kind of created a an Oasis, if you will, outside, you know, my wife, Wendy would always say, oh my gosh, there's so many plants out here. But so I really had them kind of covering the entire deck. So we were sort of shielded, but we could go out there and just sit as long as we wanted to. And so it made me think about how many people didn't really have that opportunity to be able to do that during COVID. And so I just started sharing with people, you might not have a deck of your own to go to, but you can do the exact same thing in a room in your house. So you could do it in your living room, you can do it in a spare bedroom that you might have if your office space is in your house. Then you could really curate enough plants within that office space that's a bedroom to where you feel like you're outside. And so I started helping people do that during COVID so that they could have, you know, sort of bring the outdoors in. And so I started helping people with that during COVID. And then it just kind of took off from there and people kept asking me questions about, you know, what plants should I get? How do I do this? You know, how do I grow that? And so at that point, I really decided to incorporate it holistically into my psychology practice to now where I offered, you know, plant therapy and gardening therapy services. Wow. So, you know, I also try to farm and I'm not, I don't have a history like you do, but I do now enjoy growing my vegetables. But, you know, everyone always says to me, but I have a black thumb. Nothing grows, whatever I touch dies. So what if I needed the assistance of, you know, somebody like you, I wanted to grow, but every time I bring home a plant or I started dies? What advice or how would you help me? Okay. And I get that all the time. You know, most people will tell me, oh, I have such a brown thumb. I could never, you know, do this. And so I have a little saying that, you know, a lot of times when I make posts about gardening, I'll say, let me help you turn your brown thumb into a green hand. Yes. You know, there are, I think one of the things that happens a lot of times with people when they want either house plants or they want to garden is we try to do sort of too much too fast. So we go and we get like all kinds of plants and you bring them all in the house, but you have, they all have different requirements. And so I connect this to how we are as individuals and as humans, we all have different requirements and so do each one of those plants. And so one of the things that you want to do is to really think about first what you want that plant to do for you in your house before you just go and select a bunch of plants. And so I always tell people to choose plants. I have a list of plants that are really simple for you to grow. That's really hard for even the brownest of thumbs or the blackest of thumbs to kill. And so some of those plants are like snake plants are the air plants, those types of house plants grow really well aloe vera being one of them. It doesn't need very much. And so it adds that element to your house, but it doesn't require a lot of caring on your part. So if you're starting with house plants, those are the types that I suggest. If you're going to start with a garden, then I always tell people don't go and get like a huge raised bed and do a lot of things. Choose one thing. What's the one thing that you eat the most of. And so with gardening, a lot of us eat salad a lot. And so I tell people start with lettuce, leafy greens are really easy to grow, lettuce, kale, Swiss shard is very easy to grow. So again, start with some of the easier things until you get a really a knack or a hang for it. And then into more complicated things like cucumbers and tomatoes and those kinds of things. So there are lots of ways for you to get started really easily to where, you know, if you're trying to grow something for you to consume, you can, you know, in 30 days, you can grow ahead of lettuce and be able to consume that head of lettuce. But you're setting them up for success. Yes, that's exactly what I try to do. And that's the first step because if I plant something and grows and I'm able to eat it. Wow. Right. The benefits of growing is just incredible. And it's helping us because we're eating the best quality because we grew it and we're saving money at the same time. Absolutely. Yep. So what are the benefits of having plants inside your home versus outside where we think they should be. Right. So the benefits of bringing nature into your home is that, you know, it's not dependent upon the weather. So sometimes, you know, if it's raining, if you live in a climate where it gets colder, then we tend to not want to go outside. Some people are averse to bugs and things like that. So they're like, no, I don't want to go outside because of the bugs and things. So when you have those plants inside, then you don't have to deal with a lot of the pests and things like that that come along with outdoor growing. So sometimes with people, they will say, you know, I tried to garden, but then it was going well. And then one day I looked and something had eaten it all up. And I don't know what the thing was that had eaten it all up. So, you know, when you do indoor gardening or indoor plants, you don't have as much of that to worry about. You may still have some pests, but you don't have as much of that to worry about. And I think, you know, overall, I feel like every house should have some plants inside of it just because it changes the air quality. So the quality of the air that's in your house totally changes when you have plants inside of your home. And so that's helping us, that's helping our bodies to heal better. There are a lot of hospitals now, you know, in the past hospitals never really, they had plants, but they were always in sort of the waiting areas. But now hospitals are using plant therapy and gardening therapy with the patients because they recognize that it helps you, your body to heal faster and to heal better if you have some connection with plants. So they're allowing for some plants to be in hospital rooms now. They're allowing for the patients to actually be able to interact with plants. And it may be something as simple as like bamboo that doesn't require any dirt. So it's in water. So, you know, there's no contamination or that type of thing that's taking place. But there's definite research that says that, you know, when your body is in a healing process that you being close to nature and around plants is going to quicken that process. So there's definitely, even if you're recovering at home, then again, I suggest that you have, you know, those plants in your house as you're recovering at home. And especially if you're dealing with some mental health issues. Same thing, those plants are going to help you be able to better deal with those issues. So I have a question. So, you know, I live in a condo and I have plants growing inside, but I also have a lot of plants growing on my balcony. You know, when the breeze blows in from the window through the plants to my apartment, does that also, does that help or should the plants be actually within the apartment? No, you can definitely have kind of and yours is probably similar to mine where it's a an indoor and outdoor connection where you know I love keeping the doors and the windows open and you get it because again you're cleaning the air as well when the wind blows through your apartment. Then it's helping those plants that are in there and it's helping you as well so definitely you can have them a lot of people will hang plants around their windows. That helps the plant to get some natural sunlight because natural sunlight is going to help that plant be able to produce the oxygen that you wanted to have anyway. It's going to help it be, you know, a lot greener and those kinds of things. So yes, connecting the outdoors with the indoors is definitely a good thing to do. Wow. Okay. So that's good. I will grow more plants in my apartment from now on. I mean, I have a couple and I have some fake ones, but I'll replace them. Good advice, doctor. Most definitely. Anytime I see places that have the fake plants, I always look at them and I'm like, oh my gosh, I wish they would replace those with live plants because sometimes we think of plants as just adding like a nice aesthetic value. Right. It's pretty. You know, we're trying to sort of pretty up the space, but it's like you can have both. You can have that aesthetic value, but then you also have sort of the mental, emotional and physical value that the plants give you as well. Got it. Now we just got to bring somebody into water room and take care of them. Right. That'd be me. But like you said, during COVID, you had all those plants on your balcony or lanai. It forced you to go out there. You're out there now. You were one with nature on your deck. And yeah, it really helps because it forced you to take a break and a positive break so you could create more positiveness out there while you're taking your break. Most definitely. In my practice, a lot of times people deal with a lot of stress, anxiety, and so in one of those, you know, when I work with them on those issues, I always ask them, well, how many times a day? Do you really pause to slow down and to just give your mind a break, you know, give your body a break and just to be still for a while. And most of those people will say, oh, there's no time for that. I have other things that I have to do. You know, I don't have time to sit still or even with meditation because that's one of the things I recommend. A lot of people will say, oh, I can't meditate because I can't steal my mind that long. But one of the easiest ways to steal your mind actually is to sit amongst plants or to sit outside in nature. And so when you're sitting outside in nature, again, plants have a very calming of like a naturally calming effect on our nervous systems. And so if you go outside and sit out, I always tell people if they're trying to learn to meditate for the first time, a great place to do it is outside at a part at the beach at a place that's naturally calming, because then you're not so much forcing your mind to slow down. Your mind kind of naturally calm. So you know, when you go to the beach, you sort of naturally take a breath in and just feel calmer, right? Right. The thing when you go to the forest or you go to a park is that same kind of feeling. So if you create that space in your house, when you go and sit down and always recommend that people have plants in their meditation spaces, because it's going to naturally give you that sense of calm that you're going to need to be able to give your mind and your body that break. Absolutely right. You're really opening a lot of thoughts into my head right now and changing up, changing up my lifestyle. So I'm hoping other people in the audience will understand and see the value to what you're saying and make their homes more green on the inside and start growing. It is and it's a mental pleasure that it gives us knowing that we're doing something beneficial towards our health, and it's not costing a lot, but it makes a big difference. So Tonya, I need to ask you what are the benefits of gardening? Yes, gardening itself has tremendous benefits towards any person that wants to get started with it. I always tell people, you have to think about, you know, when you plant a seed. That seed, you know that it's going to take some time for that seed to grow and to cultivate into the plant that you want it to be. And so it's the same thing when we plan a seed for any intentions that we have in our life for any goals that we have, we know that automatically those things just aren't going to pop up the next day. So I like to combine mindfulness with gardening. So you being really mindful about your life and how things are going and the goals that you have for your life and where you want your life to go. When you plant those seeds in the garden, it's that exact same thing. So you're planting a seed of intention in your life that you want this thing to grow and produce for you and you want to be able to consume it at some point. And so, you know, as we go through and start the gardening process, it really helps us to learn patience. Because again, you know, you're not going to get that seed and, you know, you're not going to get a tomato in, you know, two or three days. You're going to have to take care of it, right? You're going to have to pay attention to it. You're going to have to be mindful about what it needs and caring for it. So there's great benefits in teaching people and helping people learn to be a little bit more patient and mindful in their lives. Again, it's that calming effect. So there's a lot of programs that are out there for veterans and for people who have issues with PTSD. There's been a lot of studies that show that, you know, if you get into gardening, that calming effect, the effect that it has on your nervous system helps you long term to be able to deal with some of the issues with PTSD. Same thing with children and ADHD. It's very, you know, children, if you get kids who have ADHD and you put them in a garden, it tends to have a very natural calming effect to it. And, you know, I've worked in schools where people have been amazed and they say, you know, this young man is running all over the place. He's always, you know, moving in the school. But when he goes out here to this garden and he's like a totally different child. And that's that effect that, you know, gardening can have on you. Same thing with the elderly. There are lots of cases where, and in this picture that's up. That's my 94 year old next door neighbor who gardens with me often and it keeps her mind mentally stimulated. She's teaching me about a lot of the native Hawaiian plants and how to grow some of the native fruits like papaya and those kinds of things because she's garden her entire life. And so with elderly people, it really does help with issues of dementia and sort of keeping their mind sharp. And making sure, you know, that they're staying sharp as they get into, you know, their older years. So gardening has many benefits for people across all age ranges. And, you know, that reminds me when we, you know, I grow on this vertical growing system. It's a tower garden and we place them in classrooms and a lot of special needs classrooms uses the tower gardens. And I remember in, I want to say it's in Truckee in a next to Lake Tahoe, this one town in Truckee, the special needs. This one boy comes to class and he goes, wow, it's so good to come to class because Miss Sandy has magic waters and it calms us down. And she looked at him and he said, what, what are you talking about? Because, yeah, the magic waters, it just makes us feel so relaxed with Sandy. And then she knew that they were referring to the water from the tower and then the garden in the classroom really causing them to be more just more calm and peace at peace. And so she wrote back to me just mentioning that and it made me feel so good because we all want these kids, the ADHD kids, the autistic kids to have an environment where they feel safe, secure. And wanting to learn. So you're absolutely right about having plants and growing within gardens or even within the classrooms. It makes a big difference. And I've experienced that. So that's, that's exciting. We should talk about this even more in another episode. But I want to ask you, Tonya, what services do you offer and how can we contact you for more information about growing in health? Yes, you can contact me through my website, ask doctor Tonya.com. And I offer the plant therapy services, whereas if you need professional development coaching and counseling, then plant therapy is a complimentary service that I offer in addition to that. And then also the gardening therapy. So helping you to be able to set up a family garden and individual garden tower gardens as well. And I always say with tower gardens that you get a two for one, you get a nice water soothing waterfall. And you get the growth of the plants that are on the tower. So all of those services I offer. And I'm actually having a gardening workshop at the end of this month on February 26 to show you how to do small space gardening. So again, there's no excuses as to why you can't garden because you can do it in small spaces in containers. So yes, come out and join me for one of my gardening workshops. Wow, exciting. So yes, I'm hoping that people will contact you on your website. But for now, Dr. Tonya Featherston, we've run out of time. So we'll have to catch up with you after your class probably. But who would have thought something so simple as farming could mean so much for our daily well being. Mahalo to Dr. Tonya Featherston for sharing your passion on how we can take our health back with gardening. I'm Wendy Lowell and we'll return with another edition of Taking Your Health Back in a few weeks. Aloha everyone and Mahalo to Dr. Tonya Featherston. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktecawaii.com. Mahalo.