The Benefits of Play/Having Some Fun .... Even for Adults!

Play is not just for kids.

There is increasing evidence that it is essential for our social skills, ability to solve problems, to adapt, be resilient, reduce stress and more.

Taking classes at Rittners Floral School is an excellent way to both “play” and tap in to your creative side... To give you perspective and help you cope with your everyday life.

Are you stressed when you are in traffic? Do you experience stress at work? In your personal life? Play can actually help!

It can calm you down and engage another part of your mind.

In other words when you are learning floral designing you are engaging in a form of adult play. The process can be therapeutic!

Many folks who come to our school, find that designing with flowers is quite enjoyable. It is a wonderful way to relax and decrease stress.

For many, floral art can be a wonderful creative outlet and release. It allows you to forget your problems and simply enjoy yourself and have a wonderful time.

Many who attend our school have enjoyed our Six Month Day Course as a means of gaining perspective, as an enjoyable reward for themselves, to relax and reduce stress, to learn American culture, and to have some well deserved fun! Many people find our Evening Course in Floral Art a wonderful way to chill after work hours. Some folks enjoy our summer courses as a therapeutic vacation. And then there are our "Fun with Flowers Classes." A wonderful way to get out with a few friends simply for a quick and pleasant way to play with flowers and have a great time.

Some students have told me that when they play with flowers at our school, they are amazed at how quickly time passes, and how energized they feel as a result!

Flower Play actually does work!

Want some documentation? Here is a link with sources that suggest that play is healthy for you.

The Benefits of Nature and Experiences With Nature

As our societies have become increasingly urbanized and complex there has been a disconnect with nature. We increasingly live and work in urban environments in buildings and office/factory/retail settings.

Richard Louv coined the term “nature deficit disorder” and has provided ample documentation to the benefits of strong nature connections that range from promoting health and wellness to reducing depression and boosting mental acuity.

The result of Louv’s effort has resulted in a entire movement to more closely integrate our lives with nature. Considering the possible positive benefits (and the high cost of other forms of health care) it seems a very smart and also pleasant thing to do.

Flowers are certainly part of nature that we can bring into our homes and work spaces.

If nature is good for you then certainly bringing the natural beauty of flower into our homes and work spaces can also be good for you....Learning to arrange flowers...a part of nature transplanted indoors......is an investment as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Experience nature with flowers, and learn how to integrate this form of nature into your home/work environment at Rittners Floral School!

Want some documentation? Here is a link with sources that suggest that experiencing nature is healthy for you.

The Benefits of Flowers Themselves......

Flowers and their art are not " just pretty,” (with the implication of therefore being frivolous).

There is now an accumulating body of research that indicates that the very presence of flowers and botanicals actually can have a positive impact upon our health and human well being....

A study by Jeannette Haviland-Jones Ph.D. of Rutgers, found that flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. It suggested that flowers can have a positive effect upon moods, can decrease anxiety, and made spaces more welcoming.

Another study by Haviland-Jones found that flowers have a positive effect upon seniors. Flowers helped reduce depression, increased happiness and positive moods, and encouraged sociability.

Roger Ulrich of Texas A&M studied the effect of flowers and the workplace. he found that more innovative thinking, more ideas and original solutions were generated in environments that included flowers and plants.

A recent study by Nancy Etcoff Ph.D. of Harvard Medical School & Mass General Hospital found that being around flowers for just a few days in their homes helped to decrease anxiety, and helped people feel less negative. The floral presence made people feel happier, and have more enthusiasm and energy at work as well.......Students in all of our classes not only make beautiful floral designs. They bring home all of the lovely things that they make. Flowers become a part of their every day environment at home............The positive effect of just having their designs around them is quite evident......

Our students take home so many designs that they often give some of them away to friends, family and neighbors....

Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., of Rutgers, conducted a study of gift giving... She found that you can influence how people perceive you by the kinds of gifts you give. People who give flowers were perceived as happy, achieving, more appreciative of beauty and nature, and more in touch with their feelings and the feelings of others..... Our students who give away some of their designs have indicated great appreciation from the recipients.....

There you go.... Make beautiful floral art and you feel good! Take the designs home and enjoy them and you feel good!! ... And then give some of them away to make others feel good and they perceive you as great too!!!

These are a few of the behavioral studies being conducted these days linking floral product with human well being.

On an anecdotal and non empirical level, I would say that many of these studies seem to be confirming what we have always known intuitively, that having flowers and floral products in our environments makes us feel better in many ways.

The very fact that people have been using flowers and floral art in their homes and for important life cycle events for hundreds if not thousands of years confirms that they must have some positive benefits! Studies linking the benefits of florals and human well being are ongoing and the body of literature continues to increase.

Wow!!!!! It can't get any better than that!

Want some documentation? Here is a link with sources that suggest that flowers can be healthy for you.

Can flowers improve your sex life and bring your fame and fortune? Who knows? Maybe yes. Maybe no. There IS ample evidence that play, nature and flowers have positive benefits as part of a healthy lifestyle. These three areas come together when learning floral designing and would suggest that learning floral art can certainly add to your lifestyle in a very positive way.

We do know is that students have a great time at our floral art classes at Rittners Floral School.

The process of learning floral art and then bringing beautiful floral designs home and sharing them, does impact upon many of their lives. The process of designing flowers, living with them and sharing them with others has some very practical, positive implications for human well being.....

At Rittners, we get enormous gratification seeing the positive impact that our floral art courses have upon many peoples' lives. At Rittners Floral School teaching Floral Design is a mission. And it is our passion. This is in large part because we realize that our flowers and our floral design classes do a great deal of good for many.