Loving Kindness Exercise

1. Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

This is the first exercise that I identified with. I was able to relax myself, my pain eased, my negative emotions are now gone. I can’t even remember what I was thinking of that had me so anxious before. I know I was stressing out about getting my homework in on time, about my kids not getting to bed on time, and my back hurting, but it’s as if those things just disappeared- and I made it happen! It was incredibly difficult to become comfortable and relax in the beginning, but I convinced myself I could do it, and I began to relax little by little, taking in the words of the instructor, and turning my “black clouds” into “clear blue wind.” I would definitely recommend the Loving Kindness exercise to others. If it can help me, it can surely help anyone.

2. What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

A mental workout, to me, means exercise for your brain. This includes being alert or calm depending on the circumstance and focusing on the positive and what really matters. The best way I know to implement mental workouts is to stay in school, learn as much as I can, and attempt to stay calm and motivated every day. Another big goal for me is to reduce distress from every aspect of my life!

Reflections and Relaxation

Wellness, as a person centered orientation, relies heavily on the concept that the individual is aware of his/her strengths and needs. However there is often little encouragement or expectation for the individual to self-reflect or take a holistic personal inventory or to convey their awareness with their health practitioner.

1. Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

A, 8 (I thought of four positive, and two negative, so I took the difference from 10). B, 6 (I would like to know myself better and be more in control). C, 5 (Same as the spiritual, but I think if I knew my inner working better and how to enhance positive and not dwell on negative stressors, I could be happier and more fulfilled).

2. Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

Goals: Physical: Have a healthy weight gain throughout my pregnancy and wear my glasses when I’m supposed to. Spiritual: Have more faith in myself and stop second-guessing my intuition! Psychological: Decrease one distress or do away with it completely.

3. What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

Implements: Physical: Eat more vegetables, fruit, and watch portion sizes. Spiritual: Ask myself why more; do some research into my own thoughts. Ex. Why did I come to this place, thought process, decision? Psychological: Make more lists and give more time to complete them. Stop procrastinating so much!

4. Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

I liked the exercise at the beginning. I began to relax. The guy said to envision a window at the base of my spine and imagine the color red coming from it. I repeated that I was grounded. Then, he said make another window at the spine across from your belly button- THE SHAPE OF A CIRCLE! Who thinks of windows as circles?! Threw my whole thing off. It’s always something stupid that ruins it for me. But I listened to the whole thing, tried to reconnect and relax, then the guy said at the end, you’re not sleepy, you’re energized! WHAT?! Heck no guy, it’s 11:00pm and I want to go to bed. I was so ticked off. Talk about frustrating.

Journey on Relaxation Exercise

When I first started the track and began to relax, I tried to do what the speaker was telling me to do. After a minute, I became more aware of my body and alert to what the speaker was saying. As soon as my energy started to come back, I started to feel antsy. I don't think these kinds of exercises are for me. My arms never felt heavy or warm. I merely got the urge to move, like I had ants in my pants. Guess I just have a really hard time settling down.

For all intent and purposes

This blog was set up to use for my current Wellness class, but I hope to learn from it as everyone else who stops by surely will. Any questions, comments, and/or suggestions are welcome! Thanks- Staci (Lovey890@aol.com)