Love and Kindness one because I feel that it is more beneficial for those who are beginning their journey with meditation and allows them to focus on breathing rather than try to conjure up a variety of images and feelings like the Love and Kindness. The Love and Kindness technique requires so much visualization and for some it is hard to be able to do that. Not having as many instructions and allowing my mind to clear as I focused allowed me a greater sense of accomplishment and feelings of inner calm.
Spiritual wellness can be viewed as someones values or beliefs in an higher power or searching for the meaning of human existence. When one has reached a state of physical and mental wellness, to feel complete, one can turn to the aspect of spiritual wellness to help them achieve a sense of wholeness. As en example, one could be actively practicing mental and physical wellness in ways of yoga and mediation, but finding their compassion and fulfillment in life is an important part of spiritual wellness. It can be manifested in one's personal life in a variety of ways. Whether an individual believes in a higher power, is looking more inward for their purpose, or becoming more aware of their feelings, this can be a way for someone to discover and maintain their spiritual wellness.
Hello Jen-
ReplyDeleteYour posts are so enjoyable to read. They are always on the bright side. That is great that you were able to clear your mind to feel an inner calming and accompishment. You were able to feel centered and energized. That is a great way to start your journey to spiritual wellness. Maybe you have found your knack!
Brandie
Thank you so much for the kind words. I am hoping that with this blog I can help people not only with their wellness needs, but anything that has to do wiht their health :)
DeleteI agree with your post. This exercise was much easier to concentrate on breathing and clearing your mind where as the Loving Kindness shifted the focus from family to images and at times combined both into one session which makes it difficult to concentrate on being relaxed. I did not feel it was much of a relaxation exercise as it was a focus session. I did not care for it as I did the first two.. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding to my blog. The Love and Kindness is definitely a technique that will take some practice. Good luck in your wellness journey!
DeleteHey Jen - like your post and I agree. I think that I like this exercise as it was much easier to follow. I think that the narration of the practice was helpful and insightful. I also like how it said that if you are focusing on a focal point and get distracted to look at it and get back to the practice. It was ok to mess up.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Lil
Thanks for responding to my post...it is so true about what you said about being ok to mess up. No one right off the bat is going to be able to nail and complete all of the meditation techniques without some practice. Good luck!
DeleteHi Jen, I agree I also found this exercise much more beneficial. I thought maybe because I was more familiar with this type of exercise but it is easier to concentrate on your breath than to concentrate on others in your life good or bad, I found that very frustrating and not relaxing at all. Proper breathing is healing in itself so it was much more relaxing. I agree that finding your passion in life is all part of spiritual wellness. Lisa
ReplyDeleteProper breathing is so good for you. Not only can it teach focusing techniques, but in times os stress, they can be a simple way to bring the body back to homeostasis :)
DeleteHello Jen
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I like how you mentioned yoga as a way to combine spiritual, mental and physical health. I believe that that is a great example. The place where I practice yoga incorporates breathing exercises throughout. This adds to the spiritual health of practicing yoga. This brings clarity to the mind and helps mental health. Lastly as a massage therapist I see many clients who have increased their physical health by practicing yoga. They have had increases in muscle tone, flexibility, and range of motion.
Pamela Johnson
I must say I really enjoyed this weeks exercise also, it opened my mind to alot of things and just knoewing waht we are thinking about is the key to a subtle mind. i am practicing this even as I type I just caught my mind running off but this exercise helped me get back on track and even tell you waht I oticed with practice comes perfection.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this week's exercise also...I think the key was the focus on the breath. I feel the breathing exercise is good not only for mental well-being but also physical well-being. During the exercise I did have thoughts come to mind that distracted my focus, but I allowed them to pass and brought my focus back to my breathing...as the exercise progressed it was much easier to keep my focus on my breath even if thoughts came up. This exercise made me realize that I have the power over my thoughts...it was a truly surreal experience! I just started doing yoga and find it quite relaxing. I definitely like the connection you made about it...the spiritual, mental and physical...it's so true! Great post!
I have also found that finding my passion gives me fulfillment in life. The closer I get to having it come to fruition the more confident I am on the right path to being a Health and Wellness specialist. I also find great peace in meditatition. Mindfulness meditation helps me to slow everything going on in my head and sort it out and let it go. It has helped me feel more connected to my thoughts instead of feeling frantic and worried about something because I did not focus on it. When I focus I realize some things just werent worth the fretting about anyways. This was a very good post Jen.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteIt is a goal of mine to feel whole and one way to be closer to fulfilling that goal is by distressing on a regular basis. The exercise was great and it gave me a new way to meditate and train my focus. It pans out to be a better way to focus and be less reactive to the things around me.
Hi Jen as the class draws to a close I just wanted to say thank you for your up beat way of helping me look at the world around me. I know this is a strange place to but this comment but I was going back through the blogs of those I like to read and this is where I landed. good luck in all you do.
ReplyDeleteRob
Thanks again for the kind words and I am glad that you were able to get a different view of the world. I am going to try and keep up my blog in order to help others and to bring awareness of a variety of topics in the health wellness fields. Good luck here at Kaplan and if you ever have any questions about courses work or life, I am here on the blog!
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