Subtle mind exercise with breathing.

This exercise is easier than the Loving Kindness exercise.  It is similar to what I do when I meditate to clear my mind, although when I do meditation I concentrate on nature sounds or meditative music learning to clear your mind to your breathing is nice because then you can do it anywhere.  I did find myself concentrating more on the music and had to concentrate on my breathing but when I do it without the CD and I don't have any music I can focus better on my breathing.  I have found it helpful to clear my mind, especially when I am stressed, it helps me focus and at night sleep better.

Unit 4

The loving kindness exercise was interesting.  I don’t know if I found it beneficial, I do think that if everyone in the world did the exercise there would be peace, harmony and joy throughout the world.  If found it disturbing at first when they said to think of a love one in turmoil and to bring that dark cloud in; it took a bit for them to continue and when they said to release it and send health to them I felt better.  I have a sister-in-law fighting cancer right now and I wish that making her well was as easy as the exercise.  Although I do want to continue with the exercise I am not sure at this time if I would recommend this to others, I would tell them that it is worth a try an to see if they like it, but I would not rave about it at this time.

The concept of a mental workout is not just a concept but it has been proven that the mind can do marvelous things with the body, it can heal, it can relieve pain and a person who implements mental workouts has more control over their bodies, they have less stress and a clearer mind.  Exercises like “Loving Kindness”, meditation, mental imagery and exercises that have a person get in touch with their body are good exercises for a mental workout.  I prefer meditation and relaxation techniques that allow my mind to touch my body and relax the tense muscles and make me more aware of what it going on with my body. 

Week 3 blog questions

My wellbeing right now is not at optimal health.  I got a cold on vacation so I do not feel well and my head feels foggy, I started a new job yesterday and I have a lot of school work to get done today so I am also a little stressed out.  Vacation was wonderful and I came home relaxed and I am not as stressed as I would be if we had not gone on the cruise, so I am thankful for the break.

My physical goal is to get over my cold, my psychological goal is to get over my cold and be able to focus more clearly, because of my cold my head feels like it is in a fog; and my spiritual goal is to get back into my devotions and reconnect with my Bible study group.

Right now I need more rest than activities, the meditation helps because I can relax my body and hopefully move the goop out of my head.  I am working on catching up with schoolwork so I can stop stressing about it, and with my new job, my boss is also a friend and I am enjoying being back to work, especially since it is in a CAM area.

This weeks meditation exercise was not as calming as the last one, I felt relaxed because of the music and his voice is very relaxing but the vision of colors did not relax me; but I am very distracted today, I have a cold and don’t feel well, I just got back from vacation with a lot of school work to do and I started a new job this week so I have a lot on my mind and it kept wandering.

Journey on Relaxation

My experience with the Journey on Relaxation was a very pleasant one, I fell asleep.  The visual of sending your blood from your abdomen to your arms and hands was amazing, they felt very relaxed; my fingers felt warm and when he prompted me to, I was unable to lift my arm it was so relaxed.  I have to admit that when I do meditation or relaxation exercises I usually end up sleeping, especially when the voice with the relaxation exercise is soothing, which they usually are.