Unit 6

When doing this weeks exercise, I actually kept messing up what I was supposed to be saying for the first couple minutes, trying to remember exactly what I was supposed to be repeating! lol Eventually I got it though and felt the exercise was fairly successful for me. The main reason I think it was successful is that I usually already wish these things for people. I am lucky to have always been a pretty compassionate person, so I am always thinking of how others actions will make someone feel. This affects me so much that even when I'm watching those shows like Ridiculousness where an old person falls or something, I can't even laugh because I feel bad for how embarrassed that person is! lol This even happens watching the not top 10 on ESPN because I know how embarrassed those guys must feel when they miss a completely open basket or something like that. (and yes, my boyfriend always laughs at me about it lol). Anyway, that pretty much shows you that I'm always hoping the best for others so they don't have to be embarrassed or sad about anything!

When assessing myself I felt that I am most lacking in the physiological sense because I can't seem to get on a steady diet and exercise regime. I think this has a lot to do with my job as a server because I have a crazy schedule. We are always working different hours, and of course most are during when regular people would be eating meals (obviously) so it's hard to just eat a small meal and not snack on whatever is around. This also affects my scheduling a normal exercise time, too, as it would have to be different every day. Granted, I've never really been good at keeping a schedule, I think now I would do better if I actually had a job that allowed it.

I think I could probably figure this out with a little extra focus and on a week to week basis since that is how far in advance I know my schedule. I think every week when I get my schedule, I should be able to sit down and plan my meals and exercise around my work schedule. Totally doable, but I just have to actually do it!

Erin S.

Loving-Kindness vs. Subtle Mind

Hey guys!

I think I liked the loving-kindness exercise better than subtle mind from this week.  I think I probably would have liked them equally, but I kept falling asleep during subtle mind which was frustrating.  I literally tried to do it three times back to back and fell asleep within like 5 minutes every time! lol  I've decided that I probably am doing these exercises at the wrong time of day (which is usually at night after work) and in the wrong position (laying down) for myself because I'm relaxing too much which isn't letting me get the full benefits of the exercises.  I think the main thing I liked about last weeks exercise was that I felt like I was actually able to send love and kindness to everything in my body, like the recording suggests.  In the beginning it says something about letting love flow out like from a faucet and I actually felt I was able to do that and it kind of gave me like a warm sensation all over if that makes sense.  Anyway, of course this weeks I don't have much to say for thanks to my tiredness, but I'm going to try it again today (and sitting up lol) to see if I get all the way through it.

Spiritual, mental, and physical wellness are all intertwined.  I honestly think it would be very hard to fully accomplish any one of these areas without having the others to back it up.  By combining all three we are able to achieve the real meaning of health.  I think I use it most when I'm running.  Like Dacher said in this weeks reading, when doing physical exercise, try to concentrate on specific things.  When I am running I try to concentrate on my breathing pattern.  This is because the more I can control my breath, the better I can run.  If you just let it go and start panting all over the place you're probably not going to make it very long, right?  Anyway, when I focus on that one thing, I am exercising my mind and the control it can have over different aspects of my body, if I let it! :)

This is a picture I really like called "Deep Breath"

(thought it fit well with this weeks discussion :) )

Loving-Kindness

Once again when trying to do the loving kindness exercise this week, I found it hard to concentrate and relax enough to get the full benefits of it.  I think it's mainly because I've again been very busy and not any kind of organized, which is making pretty much every day seem crazy!  I can't stop thinking about other stuff long enough to fully get through this exercise yet, so I'm going to continue to try it out through the rest of the week (since that's what the book suggests doing) and then I'm going to update my blog about it.  I will say that the second day I tried it I was able to focus just a little more than the first day so I assume it will get better by Tuesday!  I would actually recommend others trying this exercise, but you really do need to take the authors advice and make sure to schedule it in like you do everything else in a day to make sure you actually have time to do it without worrying about what you have to do the rest of the day!

Mental workout basically means spending as much time making your mind fit as you do for your body.  This is done in the opposite way, however, using silence, reflection, and meditation as opposed to most intense exercises we do to keep the outter parts of us in shape. Research shows that benefits from these workouts can yield short and long term effects on the brain and can reflect in our health and overall well-being.  Taking time for daily meditation is probably the best way to reap the benefits one can have from these workouts.

My Well-Being

Hey guys!

When reflecting on my well-being this week I decided that I was a 7 in physical, 8 in spiritual, and 9 in psychological.  I chose 7 for physical because I eat fairy healthily and try to incorporate at lease some form of physical activity every day.  Currently, I am trying to improve upon my health because I kind of slipped for a while there and need to back on track (which is the reason for nothing higher than a 7 here).  Next, I chose an 8 for spiritual because I try to make sure to stay in tune with my spiritual self by insuring that I have time to reflect on thoughts and decisions I've made, as well as anything that may be coming up in the future.  I do this mostly by taking walks in nature to get that "silence" you can only have when walking a nice trail on your own! :)  And finally, I ranked my psychological well-being as a 9 because I tend to be able to stay pretty positive no matter what the situation.  The power of positivity has become very apparent to me working in the food industry because I've noticed if I am able to stay upbeat about a bad situation, my peers are able to do the same by following my example.

For goals in each area, I'd like to incorporate more intense workouts into my daily routine (which I am currently working on), as well as learn to balance my diet a little more specifically to me (which I am also doing through learning as much as possible through my nutrition courses) for my physical, spend more time meditating in silence for my spiritual, and try not to react (negatively) to quickly in stressful situations for psychological.

In order to make these improvements a reality I could make myself a workout schedule and eating plan and actually stick to it to improve physically (I have a time management issue lol), spend more time outside in nature and using relaxation exercises like the ones we've been doing in class for spiritual, and make sure to stop and think about consequences before reacting to situations.

When I did the relaxation exercise this week, I honestly wasn't very focused on the exercise because I had a lot of things on my mind (I've been really busy this week!) so I don't think I got the full benefits from it.  I was able to get the jest of it and it did relax me slightly.  I think the main part that I was focused on was the orange, which stood for centered.  When I had my eyes closed during that point, I could literally only see the color orange which I thought was odd since I wasn't focusing very well otherwise!

Journey On Exercise

So, last night I tried the Journey On relaxation exercise; another first for me.  I found that I did feel that I was able to redirect my blood flow into the suggested body parts and felt a significant difference in warmth when I did so.  It was able to make me relax at least a little, as well.  This wasn't surprising to me because I already know that so much can be controlled just by altering your state of mind.  Just think about a time when you've been trying to push through an extremely difficult workout.  Just as you start to give up, your brain kicks in with a pep talk and you convince your body that you can do it.  Some of us need outside encouragement to help us change our mental process (trainer, therapist, etc.), and I think I was one of those who needed coaching to relax, like the kind provided in this exercise.  Honestly, I think it's helpful for me to have encouragement from an outside source, just because I am always thinking about a million things at once.  Even during the exercise,  I found my mind wandering to what I still needed to do last night, what I was going to make for dinner, etc. However, I was able to redirect my thoughts each time there was a direction given, which helped me to actually focus on the exercise.  Overall, the exercise was a success for me, aaaand I'm done rambling for now! :)

(An awesome picture I took on a cruise.  THIS is relaxing! :) )

Intro

Hello everyone!

This is my first time with blogging, so sorry if it's kind of boring at first! :)  My name's Erin and I'm 27 living at the beach in South Carolina for now.  I'm working on my nutrition degree at Kaplan and I'm expecting to graduate in early 2015.  I love traveling and find it very relaxing.  I think this is largely due to my growing up a military "brat."  I know many people aren't too fond of change, but I love and welcome it!  Another couple of things I like to use for relaxation are nature and music.  Sitting outside or taking a walk around the lake and getting fresh air is so refreshing.  If for some reason I don't have that option, I can always escape with music.  I work as a server at House of Blues for now and when setting up the restaurant, I put in headphones and listen to my favorite songs instead of listening to the random gossip my co-workers may be passing around.  And, of course, laughter is always a good cure for anything!

I am excited for what I will learn through this class this semester and look forward to learning it with all of you!