Foster Botanical Garden provides peaceful setting

Towering trees, lush foliage and a large Buddha statue collectively offer visitors a sense of calm at Foster Botanical Garden, on the mauka fringes of downtown Honolulu. Add in a meditation class and the effects are manifold.

Kathryn Rone leads such a class at the city-run garden on the second Sunday of each month. Standing, walking and sitting meditation are incorporated into each drop-in session, with Rone guiding participants to various spots around the 14-acre site. (She also leads a class at Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe.)

She said she offers a supportive environment for beginners to explore meditation, and the rolling nature of the class makes it ideal for those who have been hesitant to try it because they don’t think they can sit still for any length of time. The outdoor setting, where participants can hear birds chirping, feel the breezes from Nuuanu Valley and watch clouds sail by overhead, can help settle novices and enhance the experience.

“By placing the hands on a tree or stone wall, it’s a great way to start to feel energy,” Rone said. “In becoming more mindful of the sights, sounds, smells and sensations of the garden and internal experience, the body becomes more calm, relaxed and peaceful.”

The benefits of meditation include relief from stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, more efficient use of oxygen, restful sleep and a decrease in production of stress hormones such as cortisol or adrenaline. A 2011 study by Massachusetts General Hospital found that eight weeks of meditation helped people feel calmer and produced positive changes in areas of the brain associated with memory, empathy, sense of self and stress management.

Rone is trained in both still and moving meditation. She also has a master’s degree in counseling psychology.

“I help people heal chronic physical symptoms through movement therapy, meditation and creative expression,” she said.

During her last session, Rone said, someone questioned the value of meditation since the participants would only be returning to their stressful lives when the class ended.

Her response: “It‘s important for brain and body functions to have time away from stress. It also allows us to make more clear decisions when we return to deal with our stressors.”

“Be Well” spotlights health and fitness topics and activities. Reach Nancy Arcayna at narcayna@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4808.