Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.
The two exercises that I found most beneficial to me were the Journey on Relaxation and the latest visualization exercise. I have done the Journey on Relaxation several times and have really started noticing a difference in my demeanor. I am usually a pretty calm person, but having a family of five means I am always on the go, and if things don't go as I work so hard to plan, then I tend to get a bit frazzled. I am finding myself taking changes in my plans with a grain of salt. I can look at the situation and I know that it will be okay, regardless of the change, and that it's really "all good". It's been a nice change that has other people noticing as well.
The latest exercise was beneficial to me because it brought me back to the most important things in my life: my family and my health. When things in my life aren't going as planned, or I am feeling down and out, focusing on what brings me happiness, makes me feel whole, and my own vitality brings me back to what matters most. This is a very important exercise and I think that many people would benefit from focusing more on their blessings, rather than the things that are out of their control. This is an exercise that I will definitely be doing with my children on a weekly basis. During the week we do bible studies in the morning. When we do this, it starts our day on a positive note and we take that time to focus on something other than ourselves. I think if I start implementing this exercise on Saturday mornings then we can carry those good feelings on into the weekend. I think ending the week with focus on things that brought happiness, wholeness, and positive energy to us the week prior is a great way to give thanks for the blessings of that week.
I think your plans to practice this meditation with your children once a week is a great idea! It's awesome when parents are able to get their kids started on a healthy path early on so they can continue using these skills they learn throughout their lives. Do your kids enjoy the exercises or do they see them as a chore right now (like I'm sure some kids would if they didn't get it! :) )? Do you think they're likely to continue practicing these meditative practices without your guidance?
ReplyDeleteHi there! I also think that is a great idea to incorporate meditation practices with your children every week. Why not? It's great for the just as it is you and it can help them to start healthy lifelong habits that they can carry out for years to come. If I had been taught meditation as a child I would definitely be more inclined to do it as an adult because that's just how we are built. I also think that they might be able to start and create their own types of meditations and it would be really interesting to see how they apply them to their day to day lives.
ReplyDeleteHello Jo,
DeleteI used to be so stressed out all the time with things that were out of my control until I learned a couple of relaxation techniques like mediation. I think that these exercise are so beneficial to our health in ways we will never really understand.I'm glad you want more time to focus on your health and family. Your should make family time more about health and wellness like your plans to mediate with your children is great idea and get everyone involved.
Great post,
Leena