The most beneficial meditation exercises

The two most beneficial exercises throughout this course for me have been the Subtle Mind exercise and the very first relaxation exercise we had.  That first exercise surprised me by how quickly I was able to relax and enjoy the stillness for those few minutes.  Afterwards, I felt I had a renewed energy that made the day easier to get through.  The subtle mind exercise was even better.  I focused on my breathing and felt my body relax to a whole other dimension of relaxation I didn't know I could get to. I was also amazed because it relieved a migraine I had when I began the exercise.  Plus, I felt amazing afterward.

I am trying to incorporate one or both of these into my daily life.  It still isn't a habit yet so its a hit or miss some days; however, I am really trying to make this an everyday routine.  I want to practice using the subtle mind exercise whenever I have a headache because I believe it can be a helpful cure to headaches without the use of medication.  I am beginning to see and feel the benefits of meditation in creating complete wellness in mind, body and spirit.

Meeting Aesclepius

Meeting Aescelpius was an interesting meditative exercise for me.  I was able to capture the image of my grandmother who is my hero and the person I look up to the most.  She is the image of wisdom, strength, and endurance. However, I kept losing focus of her as other thoughts would enter my mind and I had to keep bringing her back into focus over and over.  The one thing that I did find interesting when I did have her in focus, was all the images of her that ran through my mind like a movie from when I was a little girl to the present.  In that sense it was pretty neat. The one thing that I could not do, however, was bring her spirit and light into myself as was suggested in this exercise; at least I don't think I did.

I enjoyed the background music and listening to the ocean.  I was definitely able to find my sense of calm and relaxation.  In a way I felt I was floating.  Towards the end I felt like I was floating out into the sea and for a couple minutes think I fell asleep.  When it was complete, I had a hard time coming out of that place I was in.  I felt weak, disoriented, and I felt like I needed to take a nap!  In fact, as I write this I still fell like my head is in the clouds.  Maybe because I was feeling so relaxed?

Overall, it appears that I have a hard time with some of the imagery that is included with some of the meditation exercises; but I do feel calm and relaxed when it is complete.  In that respect, using the meditation exercises is beneficial for me when I need to relax or to clear my mind, and this will be the reason why I will use these practices from now on.  Additionally, I believe that by my taking the few minutes everyday to do this, can really help my physical and my mental well-being. I haven't tested it yet but I feel like my blood pressure is lower after these meditations.  Which I hope is true because I just learned that my blood pressure is pretty high right now and I need to start watching it. I will be monitoring my blood pressure more frequently from now on before and after meditation to see if there are any significant changes.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone him or herself"- Ken Wilbur

I believe this means that without myself first experiencing something, how can I teach or help someone else? In other words, I need to walk the walk in order to talk the talk!  This can be applied with anything but for the purpose of a health and wellness professional, a person who has not suffered from a disability will not have a complete or full understanding how the person who is suffering from that disability may feel.   The other side of that would be me, an overweight person, being a nutritionist or a personal trainer.  However, after a lifestyle change where I have lost all my weight, have become nutritionally healthy, and include exercise and gym time into my daily life; I might be the best person for a job like that because I have first been where the people I would be helping don't want to go and because I can truly understand what they are going through to make that lifestyle change themselves.

With all this being said, I would have to say that I do have an obligation to my clients to become whole and well psychologically, physically and spiritually.  How can a broken person help someone else?  I don't think that it is really possible.  That is why it is important for me to continue on the path of integral health and human flourishing.  I have a a lot of work ahead of me to get to where I feel I need to be, but have faith in myself that each step, even baby steps, will get me there as long as I am progressing and not receding.  I have a vision of my future self.  This class has given me knowledge to the changes I need to make as well as the activities I need to incorporate into my life in order for myself to become the me I envision.

The Practice of Loving Kindness

The first day of my practice with the loving-kindness exercise I fell asleep about 2 or 3 minutes into the audio. I didn't wake up for at least a half hour and then I just couldn't bring myself to complete the exercise. I think I must have been extremely exhausted! The second day I fared a little better. I got through the exercise but found my mind drifting off several times. It was hard for me to stay focused on the exercise. The next few days of practice I really tried hard to stay focused and do exactly what I was being told. However, it was not easy for me to envision the people and areas I was supposed to be focusing on and sending out love and peace etc. to them. I did get very relaxed though and I was able to concentrate on my breathing. I just don't feel I was very successful at this exercise practice this week. I have had a lot of personal and family "stuff" going on lately which has kept my mind on other things. Maybe that is the problem? With that being said I think I need more practice in this area, a better "mental workout".

A "mental workout" to me means training your mind to focus and concentrate, as in meditation. Dacher tells us that “Mental Workout” means utilizing contemplative practices to help tame the mind’s constant mental activities and train it along with opening one’s heart, expanding consciousness, and progressing towards psychospirtual flourishing (Dacher, 2006). Research has indicated that the proven benefits of a mental workout results in awareness and experiences of the mind and its many levels and capacities in healing and the development of the qualities of human flourishing which are health, happiness, and wholeness (Dacher, 2006).

I feel that in order for me to implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health, I will need to spend more time practicing using more effort and more discipline. I feel that I need to dedicate at least thirty minutes per day to incorporating the loving-kindness contemplative practice into my daily routine. In doing so I believe that I will feel more calm and peaceful, my mind will be more disciplined, and it will help me in creating wellness for my whole self.

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications Inc.

Reflections

This post is about my self-reflection of my personal level of wellness; physically, spiritually and psychologically.

Physically I would rate myself as a 4 on a scale of 1-10.  I am overweight and out of shape.  While I don't have any known illnesses or diseases such as diabetes (yet), I know that I am taking a risk with myself in this area. The weight loss battle I have fought on and off since I was in my twenties.  I have gained and I  have lost and gained it all back again.  I know what I need to do.  I know how I need to do it and why.  I just need to get back on the wagon and do it.  I know how wonderful I feel when I am eating right, exercising regularly and losing weight.  I want to get that feeling back.  I need to for my own health's sake.  Heart disease and diabetes runs in my family.  My father is very ill right now because of both of these diseases.  I admit I have been very lazy and have not really cared that much about myself in the recent past.  I am changing that though.  I recently joined a gym and bought a treadmill for my home.  I am working on eating more healthy.  I just need to make it a habit.  A lifestyle change.  I know this.  I begin right now!  My goal is to go to the gym 3 days a week for 30 min. for strength-resistance exercises, as well as 3 days per week walking on the treadmill for 30 min., and following the Weight Watchers diet.  Go me!

Spiritually I will give myself a 7.  I am a very spiritual person.  I pray daily.  I listen to christian music daily.  I read uplifting and inspirational books including the scriptures frequently.  I try to watch only good, wholesome television programs and movies. I gladly enjoy helping others and look for ways to serve as often as I can.  I give myself a 7, though, because I  have not been attending church regularly for about two years since I moved to where I live now.  Attending church regularly is important to me and is how I view myself in being a spiritual person.  My husband and I had a discussion about this very subject earlier this week and we have already made this a goal for ourselves beginning next Sunday.  

Psychologically I give myself a 5.  Six years ago I went through a very difficult and nasty divorce after 22 years of marriage to the father of my kids.  During that 22 years he was abusive to me not physically, but verbally and emotionally.  Coming out of that I have dealt with severe self-image issues.  It has been a very rocky road for me to climb out of that hole I felt I was in.  I am, however, glad to say that I am on the mend. I now have a wonderful husband who treats me like a queen and has helped me overcome some very serious issues.  Without him I probably would not be here today.  With a little more refining in this area I will be able to give myself a 9 or 10 in the near future.  Since each one of these areas are interconnected the exercise and weight-loss goal that I have set for myself will also help me in becoming psychologically well as it will help give me more of a positive image of myself.  I will also continue to include positive self-talk each day and surround myself by positive and encouraging people.

Regarding the relaxation exercise... First, I just have to throw this out there....I still can't figure out why it is called The Crime of the Century!  While I listened I was able to lay down on a bed and went through the deep breathing techniques that helped me relax.  I got very relaxed that I actually drifted off to sleep and startled myself awake a few minutes later and had to start the audio all over again.  I got through it all this time, again very relaxed but I never could picture the colors of the rainbow in relation to the areas of my body except when I got to the spot between my nose and forehead. I felt like I could see the indigo blue sphere; but that was the only place.  I'm not sure what that means!  All in all I was definitely relaxed and felt that it was nice to take a break from my homework to do that exercise; I just don't know if I got the whole idea of it or not.  Maybe in my subconsciousness?

What about you?  You can listen to it HERE. Let me know!

Journey on Relaxation

As I listened to the audio of the relaxation exercise I was surprised by how easy it was for me to follow the instructions given in order to relax.  I closed my eyes and felt my arms and shoulders melt almost like they were a sponge saturated with water.  I felt warm all over and completely comfortable and at peace.  Learning how to control my mind and body into doing exactly what I wanted it to do was an amazing feeling.  I have not felt that relaxed in a long time.  When it was over not only was I relaxed but I also felt energized.  

My husband has practiced similar techniques to help him go into a deep sleep but I was never willing to try it out, believing that it was all in his head.  It might be all in his head all right because he is training his mind and body to do what he wants it to do.  So far this class is helping me step outside my little box world and opening up my mind to new things.  

I will be using this often especially at times when I am feeling particularly stressed.  I would think this would be a great stress reliever as well as a mechanism for sleep.  

Go ahead and give this relaxation technique a try.  See and experience for yourself what I mean by true relaxation!  Click HERE to access the audio.