Okay, first I have to say that i really like this one. This my daughter joined me, she may only be 9 okay almost 10 but if she could learn to this at a young age, it could only benefit her. I found the subtle mind exercise alot easier and relaxing then the loving kindness act. It seems easier to focus on my own breathing then figuring out who or how to send out love and kindness. My biggest obstacle has to be my own mind. Being able to settle my mind and not get all wound up in the thing that consume my mind. One thing i found helped was to place my hands on my stomach and able to feel the rising and falling of my chest. This reminded me to bring my focus back to the my breathing when some thought, feeling or picture grabbed it. I cant say that allowing my mind to acknowledge these distractions and then letting them go was easy so i visualized these things on a slide show. They entered my mind, I saw them and then they rolled by. Each time that they seemed to grab my mind, i brought my focus to my breathing. I think for now, focusing on my breathing seems to be the key for now. I can say with each breathe, I felt my body fall deeper in to a relaxed state. This may sound terrible but it reminds me of the time that I sprained my shoulder and my doctor gave me some heavy duty pain meds. I took them at night and it felt like my bed was giving me a big hug. It reminded me of the same thing. As I laid there on the floor, I felt like my body sinking deeper in to the floor. My daughter said that she feels light and refreshed and it helped her to breathe better. We have been all battleing a nasty chest cold.
My personal connection between my spiritual wellness to my mental wellness to my physical wellness seems to tied to the balance between the three.I have been working on my mental wellness to help relieve my stress levels with my over scheduled life. As my mental wellness becomes calmer, my spiritual wellness grow and I physical body is even better. I see the physical signs of stress and fatigue becoming less, my energy levels are increasing, my self confidence is becoming stronger, i am realizing that i am doing things that I once was to scared to do or things i thought I could not do and my relationship with other are becoming stronger.
Tammy,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, I like how you said you put your hands on your stomach to help you focus on your breathing. I also like that your daughter joined you with this excercise. At my childrens school they offer fun Friday clubs for about an hour during school. Yoga is one of many and I encouraged her to join. She did and is loving it.
Tammie,
ReplyDeleteI can see what you mean about the Subtle Mind exercise being much easier than the Loving-Kindness exercise. I have been practicing meditation for almost a year now and the breathing is always easiest for me, what I also tried doing was visualizing my breath as a glowing cloud that was warming and I watched it flow through my nose, into my lungs and out of my mouth. Any other techniques that you've tried to deepen your relaxation exercises? I enjoy reading that your daughter takes these exercises with you. What a great thing to introduce her to - opening the mind, relaxing the body. Kudos!
Hailey