Does your mind feel fuzzy?

Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?

OK, so for the first time I was able to devote my full attention to this exercise. I laid down in shavasana (dead man’s pose), ignoring every itch, twitch, tinge of pain within my body. Aside from the recording, everything was quite, yet I could hear everything (the kids breathing, the cat licking her fur, the toilet bowl water running in the bathroom). My body was still but my mind was busy thinking of thoughts, most unrelated to this exercise. The recording lady said, to acknowledge each and every thought and let it pass. I though am I doing this right? I almost forgot the instructions each time until she would interrupt my thoughts. I breathed in others suffering and breathed out wellness. I took a breath for my enemies and breathed in for myself. I felt as though my body was at ease but my mind was a mess of thought after thought throughout this exercise.

What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

Research indicates that we can keep our brains working optimally though mental workouts.“Mental workouts,” are tools to boost brain power. Such training might include–meditation, relaxation, yoga, tai chi, mental imagery, cognitive therapy, and biofeedback. These workouts can have many benefits including:

• memory

•focus

•depression

•problem solving

•our reactions to emotions and stress.

•overall health

If anyone has any other thoughts our ideas please feel free to share.

The demise of negativity!

1.Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

I would give my overall well-being a 6. The problem is that I have negative self-talk. These negative thoughts influence my emotional, physical and spiritual well-being bringing me down sometimes.  I do an effective job of keeping my negativity to myself, however, it takes its toll on me bring me down from time to time.

 2.Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

 So my goal is to think more positively. Hopefully, I can think my way into having positive self-talk. Of course, I would also like to eat healthier, exercise more regularly, get plenty of sleep and do things that are part of a healthy lifestyle but first and foremost I need to adjust the way I feel about myself. And let’s be honest I can’t really be healthy if I’m not happy within my own skin.

3.What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

I have come up with some things I enjoy doing that I would like to implement in my life because I believe these would impact some of the negativity:

·         Engaging in feel-good activities (such as volunteering an organization.)

·         Spend time with others.

·         Exercise more.

·         Keep a journal.

·         Watch funny movies or read funny books daily

These are just a few suggestions that I came up with to boost my mood, and get more enjoyment out of life. If anyone has any other suggestions/feedback please feel free.

4.Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.) Participate in the Blogs of at least two other students.

During the exercise, I was able to articulate and envision some of the things that were being talked about in the exercise. It did a good job of putting my mind at ease. After finishing the exercise, I was extremely sleepy. Going forward I am going to make a mental note to listen to these exercises for class when I am not quite so tired. Also, why is it called the crime of the century??

Relaxation...is nothing more than a joke in my life!

It seems this class is a lot about creating a stress-free lifestyle for yourself. Relaxation is not my best trait. I admit, throughout the relaxation recording I found myself dozing off into a nice state of much needed sleep. However, it did give me motivation to start thinking about some practical stress and relaxation techniques I could use on a more regular basis in my life.

Here are a few  ideas I have come up with:

·         Go on a mini get-away

·         Gardening    

·         Exercising (yoga, quigong, walk, jogging)

·         Listening to music

·         Reading

·         Bubble bath

·         After snooze

Please feel free to add any suggestions you may have. Thanks for reading!

“Don't take life to seriously. You'll never make it out alive.” ---Bugs Bunny