Loving Kindness

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that your turkey day was full of family, friends, great food and most of all thankfulness! I was unable to start this exercise until Sunday morning, so I apologize for the late submission. We have a VERY full house from Wednesday morning until Sunday morning! And while I loved having them all here, it is next to impossible to do anything! As I said, the first time that I listened to the Loving Kindness exercise was Sunday morning. It proved to be a little more difficult than I had assumed it would have been. I am not sure if it was because I was the furthest thing from relaxed or that I had just spent almost 5 days living in close quarters with some of my loved ones. I got through about the first 8 minutes, turned it off and planned to try again later. Later that night, I got ready for bed, did my routine and then tried again. Immediately I felt a big difference, I was calm relaxed and was really able to focus and reflect. This time around I found it beneficial, opening my heart loving those I hold dear, those I have not met, enemies and myself. However, I did at times lose focus, than my focus quickly turned back. As suggested in our reading this should be practiced twice a day for a week, to really allow you to open your heart. And if I was to recommend this to others I would stress that. Keep trying, you’ll get it!
The concept of “metal workout” to me is to allow the mind to travel inward, working toward strengthening not only the mind, but the body and soul as well. Research indicated that training the mind can influence the psychological, hormonal and immune systems (Dacher, 2006). And can not only have short term results but long term effects as well (Dacher, 2006); allowing us to use our minds as instruments, helping our mind and body communicate. In order to foster your psychological health your need to follow three steps; first, “tame the minds ceaseless mental activities that obscure higher states of awareness; then, through mental training, gaining access to subtle levels of the mind; witnessing consciousness the mental states of calm abiding and pure awareness of a unity consciousness.” (Dacher, 2006). 

Until Next Time!
Mallory

References

Dacher, Elliot M.D., (2006). Integral health, the path to human flourishing. (pp. 59-69). Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, INC.

Wellbeing Reflections

I found it a little difficult to rate myself on optimal wellbeing. The reason that I believe that I did was because I do not believe in having a scale for optimal wellbeing. We are always growing, changing and learning; this is the same for our optimal welling. It is a journey that we should always be working on allowing our mind, body and spirit to be the best version of themselves and therefore should not be rated. Without rating my wellbeing on a scale, I can say that spiritually I am extremely content, physically I feel good, and psychologically I feel clear.  However, since we are always changing and growing, having goals is a healthy way to strive for more. Currently I am working on training for a half marathon so that would be my physical goal, spiritually I would love to take time to meditate at least 5 minutes a day and psychologically I would like to really take the time to listen, really listen. In order to accomplish my physical goal, I need to run. It is a slower process than you realize to train the body and the mind; allowing myself to be ok with this will help. Having such an amazingly busy life, it is hard to fit 5 minutes of anything in, let alone meditation. So for this I am going to just have to make the time, preferably in the morning. As for my psychological goal, that I believe is practice. I just need to remind myself to listen.

As for the exercise, I fell asleep, twice. :( I am going to try again in the morning! Will post afterwards!

Journy On Relaxtion Exercise

I tried many different times to listen to this relaxation exercise. Each time I did, I was extremely distracted and could not focus. Tonight I decided to listen to it around 9:45 pm. It was an extremely different experience. I was able to listen to the soft voice and allow myself to relax. The man that does this recording has such an incredibly soft and calming voice. At times I thought I might fall asleep, but when I was done, I realized that I was just in an extreme state of relaxation.  I have to admit my body felt a little like jelly (in a good way)! I have done a few different relaxation exercises before, but none like this one. 

The one thing that stuck out was that the music in the background was familiar to me. I sometimes play recordings of the hapi drum to relax at night. I find it so peaceful and calming. I wonder what was playing. Anyone know?

I will share a link to one of the youtube videos that I listen to!

Hapi Drum "Origin" model, E Akebono Scale solo 

Welcome to My Blog!

Hey all & Welcome! I am excited to be sharing my experiences with you throughout our class! I have been on my own journey to find my overall wellness and so far it has been challenging ans amazing all in the same. Nutrition has been a big part of my journey, I believe that our bodies are what we put into them. About a year ago, I was told that I have a gluten intolerance. Since then I have been learning how to live with out wheat, barley and rye. So sad... With this new discovery, I decided to do a complete overhaul on the way we eat. I say we because I am the one who does all the shopping and most of the cooking; I refuse to make two meals every night! I now have a great collection of recipes and if anyone would like, I would love to share! Beyond nutrition, I love to run! It is my saving grace, my place of piece. But, I would love to do more yoga! Throughout this journey I have become hungry for knowledge, and cannot get enough! Looking forward to reading everyone's blogs!