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 :) )
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI actually felt the opposite as I did not enjoy the loving kindness as much as I did the subtle mind exercise. It looks like it did relax you though :) The picture you posted is beautiful and it really does correlate with this weeks readings. I agree with you on controlling your breathing while running. Sometimes I lose control of my breathing and my run becomes sluggish. If my breathing is not regulated my heart rate is not either. It takes a lot of mental control to regain my breathing once I lose it. It is impossible to have a productive run if breathing is not regulated. I always give this piece of advice to beginning runners. Have a great week and good luck on your running!!
Hi Erin.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I did this while lying down.... its just more comfy than sitting. Although, I do not fall asleep easily at all, so I did not have that issue.
I think these exercises are proving to be very useful for our class. Its introducing people to a whole new way to approach healing, which is something I am glad about.
btw ~ love the pic!
~Allison