There are several aspects to this post.
First, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being optimal well-being) I will rate my physical
well-being, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being? I will also
explain why I gave the rating, a specific goal for each area, and any activity
or exercises I can implement to reach my goal. Then I will wrap up with a brief
reflection of this week’s relaxation exercise.
Starting with my physical well-being, I
will give it a rating of 8. I exercise 5 days a week which includes strength
training and cardiovascular training. I deducted 2 points because I could and
should do more cardio work, but because I do not like it I tend to let it
slide. In order to reach a rating of 10, my goal would be to run for at least
10 minutes 3 times a week.
I rate my spiritual well-being at 6. I
attend church every week, but I do not always make the time to read my Bible and
pray every day. This is the main thing I need to work on and make the time for
even if my schedule is hectic. My goal would be to start every day with reading
the Bible and prayer. That way I can eliminate any excuse of why not to read
and pray that are easier to make as the day progresses, and can start my day
off on the right foot.
Finally, I give my psychological
well-being a rating of 7. I maintain a very positive attitude and outlook on
life, but I can get stressed out. The stress usually does not last long, but it
is stress nonetheless. To decrease my stress level and increase my rating to a
10, my goal would be to take at least 10 minutes, close my eyes, and
concentrate on my breathing. I think this would help clear my mind and better
enable me to deal with whatever the stressor may be.
The last part of this post is about the
relaxation exercise. Although it was relaxing, I had a difficult time
concentrating. I did not feel any different picturing the colors and did not
see the point of imagining the light coming from specific points of our body. That
being said, I would say it was beneficial because I was able to take the time
and close my eyes and relax, but at the same time it was slightly frustrating
because I did not see the same results as I did from the unit 2 relaxation
exercise.
Colin,
ReplyDeleteI felt very similar to you when experiencing the relaxation exercise. I did not prefer this type of technique, felt disconnected and had a hard time identifying with the color method. I too found the voice soothing and calming, but the messages distracting. I did much better with the previous week when I could focus on breathing and relaxing pinpointed areas of the body. I also exercise 5-7 times a week and rated myself at a 7 because there is always room for improvement, especially for those of us who place such an importance on living healthy lives. I commend you on your dedication to mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and look forward to learning more about your journey.
I enjoyed reading how you rated yourself with each aspect of wellbeing. I didn't quite think of myself in the manner that you did, but it gave me something else to think about and trial for my next strategy whenever I need to rate my physical, spiritual, and psychological wellbeing. When I think spiritually, I do not think of how I am connected within a church community or other type of tradition and possibly in the future I will try to include a new experience with going to church and see if it works as a relaxation technique. My mom told me that people used to fall asleep in church and she was one of them when she was a child. I think that speaks that if it was the adult sleeping they definitely must have been relaxed. You have a great physical exercise regimen and I have a feeling that is a good portion of how you are able to regulate your stress and use breathing techniques with success. Breathing doesn't always let go of the mental stresses in my head, but eases my abdominal stress. I actually enjoyed the relaxation exercise but I think it had a lot to do with the overwhelming day I had and sleep deprivation. I can't help but wonder why this relaxation exercise was named "The Crime of the Century." I couldn't help but think it was going to have some loud and obnoxious music in the background and I was glad to hear it was more quiet in sound. I just got terrible news while in midst of writing this post and hope that I can curb the stress before it controls me.
ReplyDeleteHi Colin,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. I too need to spend more time at church and reading my bible. I do however pray very many times on a daily basis. I realized I could pray silently in my head without disturbing anyone. I believe that since God knows our hearts, he knows our thoughts as well. You seem like a well-rounded individual from what I have read. Thank you for sharing!
Colin,
ReplyDeleteI had a difficult time when I first did this relaxation exercise. This is the second time I did and I have to say this time the experience was much different and I was able to focus a whole lot better. The different lights are represented of the different chakra each color represents certain areas of the body, organs and emotions. Those same colors also correlate to the foods we eat. If someone complains of tiredness they me imbalanced in the root chakra this is that red light that grounds you so you might want to eat more foods in the red category cherries, tomatoes, red snapper etc. It is pretty interesting. Maybe the next relaxation exercise will suit you better. Great blog Collin.
Hi Colin,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog this week. I think your goals would be appropriate for me as well. I have been trying to run more consistently, but I have been dealing with some foot pain. So, I know that I need to get this pain taken care of and probably get some new shoes, and just write a time into my busy calendar for this. I also like the idea of praying and reading the Bible first thing in the morning. This may be a good thing for me to adopt as well because breakfast is the only meal that my boys and I are guaranteed to have together, so it would be a perfect time.
The only other suggestion I may offer for you is to use some soothing music, if you like that, to help relax. This is one of the most common techniques that I use for relaxation. I do think your strategies would work for my clientele. Even though we are all very busy in different ways, we need to set apart time each day with things that are important to us, including prayer. By engaging in prayer early in the morning, it helps to set the stage for the day; just like it would help relieve stress from the day just before going to bed. I usually say my prayers just before I go to sleep, although I admit that sometimes I do forget as well. I should make it a habit of saying my prayers before I check my calendar for the following day.