There are few people who will disagree with the idea that a bonsai tree is an exquisite addition to any setting. But what many don’t realize is that the benefits of bonsai trees extend far beyond the aesthetic. In fact, these living-art creations reward us with numerous powerful boosts to our physical and mental wellbeing.
From improving air quality within our homes to helping us super-charge our productivity—not to mention the plentiful direct health benefits of bonsai trees—there are many worthwhile rewards to reap as you tend to your trees. Read on to discover more about the benefits of bonsai trees and why keeping them should be on your wish list. Perhaps some of these will surprise you!
All About Air Quality: Breathe More Easily With Bonsai
With the goal of improving air quality for their astronauts in space, Nasa performed a study on the capacity of plants to remove pollutants from indoor air. What they discovered was truly exciting, because indeed, within any closed environment, plants have the power to scrub toxins from the air we breathe, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are released by synthetic materials within our homes and workspaces.
For many, the bonsai tree is considered a king among house plants, thanks to the phenomenal beauty of these living sculptures. It seems fitting, in that context, that bonsai trees share this particular capacity to notably enhance our air quality as well as our visual experience. If you’d like to take advantage of this impressive talent but aren’t sure which bonsai species to invest in, NASA recommends Ficus bonsai as the very best air-purifying pick.
Adding further to the atmosphere-related benefits of bonsai trees, it is also well understood that keeping bonsai at home is fantastic for optimizing the humidity of our daily environments. As we strive to ensure that our bonsai get enough moisture, that increased humidity is also kinder to our skin and helps to prevent coughs and sore throats.
Health Benefits of Bonsai Trees: Claim a Little Shinrin-Yoku
While the practice of bonsai growing originated in China, much of the evolution and popularization of this art form can be traced to Japan—including the term ‘bonsai’ itself. Another beautiful concept of Japanese origin is ‘shinrin-yoku’, which literally and charmingly translates as ‘forest bathing’.
In Japan, it is well understood that contact with nature offers a mighty array of health benefits. Scientific studies have revealed that a walk among the trees can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, improve blood pressure, and even reduce the risks of health issues such as type II diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Beyond the calming effect of being immersed in nature, research also tells us that chemicals secreted by plants called phytoncides wake up our immune systems and help them function efficiently, while bacterium present in soil act as natural antidepressants, helping us feel happier.
Of course, bringing a bonsai tree into your home or office is not quite the same as shinrin-yoku, but evidence suggests that we can still anticipate gaining many of the very same rewards. Simply being in the presence of a bonsai tree can support your health and help you claim improvements in concentration, creativity, and productivity. Further benefits of bonsai trees include experiencing lower stress levels and anxiety. All welcome effects indeed!
Psychological Bonsai Tree Benefits: A Spiritual Practice for Personal Growth
Having explored some of the physical bonsai tree benefits, what about the positive impacts that come with lovingly caring for your bonsai tree over time? It is easy to imagine that this careful practice would change the way our minds work for the better.
In truth, the humble bonsai tree has a great deal to teach us about ourselves, our capacity to commit to the act of creation, and the rewards of perseverance and dedication. These are certainly factors that contribute to bonsai as a spiritual practice. Here are some of the ways in which growing bonsai trees will help you to grow too.
Discovering the Power of Patience
In a world fuelled by the instant gratification of social media and online shopping, inviting a practice into your life that forces you to slow down and honor a long-term objective is a powerful thing indeed.
Bonsai trees grow much slower than most other house plants, and finding the motivation to tend to them every day means connecting to the idea of investing in something that will thrive far into the future—perhaps even after we ourselves cease to be their guardians.
Falling into sync with this longer outlook on life teaches us to slow down, approach the things that matter with patience, and lean into life’s ebbs and flows, which are very much like the seasons of growth and dormancy displayed by your bonsai tree.
Cultivating Your Inner Compassion
Bonsai trees can live for decades or even centuries. Astonishingly, the two oldest known bonsai trees—a Ficus located in Crespi, Italy, and a Juniper tree in Mansei-en, Japan—are each more than one thousand years old!
Despite these phenomenal lifespans, it is vital to remember that the bonsai tree cannot survive without our dedicated assistance. In fact, not only is their life dependent on our care, but also their capacity to evolve in grace and beauty.
Among the benefits of bonsai trees is the lesson that all things move closer to their potential when nurtured. This lesson is one of compassion, and that same understanding of bonsai trees can be translated into how we nurture our relationships with every aspect of our lives, from our relationships to our own personal development.
Nurturing Your Creative Nature
Do you consider yourself a creative person? Many people mistakenly believe that creativity is a mysterious and elusive quality that we either have or we don’t. When in reality, creativity is simply the ability to explore ideas with curiosity and confidence.
In relation to bonsai tree benefits, this can mean things like learning new techniques to gradually prune and trait your bonsai tree into the shapes that you imagine. It also means thinking dynamically, and adjusting when faced with setbacks for greater understanding of what your tree is destined to become. In that sense, bonsai growing is a collaborative effort that teaches you to be adaptive and adventurous, with the results of your creativity emerging over time!
Sharpening Your Self-Awareness
As you observe your bonsai tree’s evolution, it is unavoidable that you will also observe unexpected things about yourself. The ways in which you respond to every success or setback in the cultivation of your bonsai tree can serve as a mirror for the ways in which you respond to life—if you’re paying attention.
The capacity to move unfazed through discomfort and challenge in life is a useful skill indeed, and keeping bonsai trees provides us the perfect opportunity to master this talent. For even the most skilled bonsai expert, there will always be moments when a beloved tree shows signs of sickness or grows in a way that was not anticipated.
At other times, we may make a mistake—forgetting to water or feed the tree correctly. By bravely facing the ways in which we react to this delicate interaction, we can hone our abilities to navigate life more effectively.
Living Heirlooms: The Visual and Interpersonal Benefits of Bonsai Trees
Thanks to their dignity and elegance, the presence of a bonsai tree changes the energy of a space quite dramatically. Taking this aspect of the benefits of bonsai trees further, within Eastern traditions, it is believed that bonsai trees can contribute good luck to their owners and positive energy to the spaces that they inhabit.
When bringing a bonsai into your home or workplace, you begin a relationship between nature and humanity that may extend well beyond your lifetime. It is quite magical to imagine the bonsai tree as an heirloom that you will pass down to future generations—and they will get to enjoy the same array of bonsai tree benefits across decades and even centuries yet to come!
With these advantages in mind, bonsai trees can be considered not only powerful additions to our lives with countless benefits included, but also incredible gifts to share with loved ones who are celebrating significant milestones. Because the bonsai tree is a spectacular metaphor for life in so many senses—every positive and negative experience, and every dream pursued and ambition that pays off.
What Are Your Favorite Benefits of Bonsai Trees?
What made you decide to bring bonsai trees into your life, and have any of the benefits that these incredible living works of art provide surprised you? If we’ve missed anything, we’d love to know!
If you are just beginning your bonsai journey, then there are a great many rewards ahead of you. Don’t forget to check back here at Keep Bonsai for the latest tips and fascinating lessons on all things bonsai related. Happy growing!