The Vital Side Podcast 47. The Power of Plants on Your Nervous System & Overall Wellbeing with Maria Failla
Do you feel the craving to spend more time outside with nature? We’re talking with Maria Failla to discuss the power of plants and connecting with nature. Maria explains how our connection with nature relates to the nervous system, as well as how you can use plants as an alternative to other tools like meditation, how to engage all of your senses, and how you can use one simple daily tool to improve your connection with nature.
Maria is a “Plant Killer Turned Plant Lady” on a mission to help people successfully care for plants and make the world a kinder and greener place. After learning to care for plants successfully and experiencing the exponential joy caring for plants brought to her life, she founded the Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast. Since the launch of her podcast, she also launched the Bloom & Grow [Virtual] GardenSociety and authored Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants).
Show Notes:
- Going from being an avid plant killer to connecting with the natural world
- Moving from overstimulated millennial to living more intentionally and mindfully through the power of plants
- Maria’s journey into entrepreneurship – starting one of the first plant podcasts, Bloom & Grow Radio
- Using plants to create space & regulate your nervous system
- Engaging in nervous system regulation as a lifestyle
- Caring for something else as a way to disconnect from your own problems or challenges
- Tuning yourself into the frequency of plants
- Pruning a plant as an analogy for healing & personal growth in us humans
- The science + research behind using house plants for nervous system regulation and for overall wellness
- Biophilia Theory – humans evolved in nature amongst trees, hard wiring us for connection to something bigger than ourselves
- “Plant Bias” (Plant Blindness) – not recognizing nature as a living & breathing ecosystem
- Forest Bathing (a book by Qing Li) + its benefits for our wellbeing
- Going from a busy city to a silent relaxation in the middle of the forest, we can drop into an overall state of calm
- When we step away from fast-paced life, we can feel initially anxious, then step into a more regulated way of life that benefits our health
- Rewiring the “perfection” mentality & how to integrate wellness & regulation practices into your life using your intuition
- One simple daily tool: look at a plant before you look at a screen
- Using a traditional alarm clock instead of using your phone in the morning
- Grounding & earthing first thing in the morning before you start your day to regulate your nervous system
- Maria’s Plant Course – link here
- How to take care of houseplants – 1) assess your current lighting environment & window direction 2) choose plants based on that lighting 3) put your plants in pots with holes at the bottom
- The same plant can require different conditions - and the same goes for people!
Resources:
-Read Maria’s Book “Growing Joy”
-Read Qing Li’s “Forest Bathing”
-Listen to Maria’s Podcast Bloom and Grow Radio
-Take Maria’s Plant Personality Quiz!
-Visit Maria’s Website
-Maria’s Instagram: @bloomandgrowmaria
-Maria’s TikTok
-Maria’s Pinterest
-Link to the Rewire: The Vital-Side Membership
-Lindsay’s Instagram: @myvitalside
-Visit Lindsay’s website
-Cait’s Instagram: @caitrossco
-Visit Cait’s Website
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