The Crime of the Century (Rainbow) relaxation technique did not work for me. Imagining the colors was very distracting for me. I got stuck on imagining fruit; apple for red, oranges for orange, bananas…etc. I tried very hard to get pass that distraction but the harder I tried the more I was stuck. I enjoyed the phrases to repeat; I am grounded, I am centered, etc. I find that positive inner talk is very powerful. "My life has a meaningful purpose, my life has a meaningful purpose" Just saying it can be so uplifting.
I rate my physical wellbeing at 8. I’m in good physical shape because I have been active my whole life and have never have any extremely demanding or harmful physical experiences such as a car accident or being pregnant. Over the years I’ve become a fair-weather runner meaning that if the sun is shining I’m out there running. A goal I have for myself is to run even in cloudy, cold weather. Ultimately I’d like to be running four times a week. Another goal is to take another yoga class. I’ve done yoga in the past and enjoyed it very much.
I rate my spiritual wellbeing at 6. The lower rating here is because I’m often restless in my soul. I struggle with questions of what, how, and where am I going in my life? Am I making the right choices? Is time just slipping by? I have a wonderful husband, a great job, an amazing family and good friends; and still I’m uneasy at times. My goal in this area is to find peace; even if the peace is intermittent. The activity I feel would help the most with is mindful meditation. I’ve been reading more and more about meditation partly through school and partly on my own. Whenever I actually make the effort to meditate I enjoy great success in the quieting of my restless soul. I need to do it more.
I rate my psychological wellbeing at 7. I feel that I have almost complete self-acceptance of all the good and bad inside myself. There are always parts to work on but I have very relaxed with myself. It’s like I can step back and look at my spiritual uneasiness, acknowledge it and be okay with its presences. My goal in this area is to maintain my objectivity of my life and be kind to myself as I follow the journey of my life. An activity that would help improve my psychological wellbeing is journaling. Have perspective is so powerful when it comes to judging one’s self. Journaling could give me that viewpoint.
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYour post really struck me because I felt the same way when I was doing the exercise... imagining food! I wasn't even hungry... maybe that says something about... always thinking about food! I too was able to connect to the positive phrases, but had trouble with seeing the colored lights emitting from my body.
I think that the meditation and journaling you are talking about are great idea. I have journaled off and on for a few years. I mainly do it during really stressful periods in my life. I feel like that helps me to get the negative emotions/feelings out of my head. I have sometimes gone back and reread my journal over a particularly difficult time and I like to see if I grew from the situation or if I am still harboring some feelings that need more work.
Hi Catherine
ReplyDeleteI really like your ideas of journaling and yoga. I definitely think writing your thoughts and ideas down really gives you a different perspective as you have pointed out. I can relate to you when you say you have times of doubt-when you are asking yourself questions and wondering if this is alright or if this is ok. I am always worrying too and I have found that doing yoga besides from the physical aspect is really beneficial for all aspects of spiritual, pyschological and physical health. I think I need to do more yoga and meditation myself.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteLearning to "be" and "live" in the moment was one of the hardest things that I've learn to do, and still I can find myself in the "what ifs". I have found that if my mind will not "be still" I take a couple of deep breaths and tell myself, "be quit" and "be still", it works most of the time. Sometimes it is good to just talk yourself into being in the moment.
Hope this helps,
Darlene
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteGreat Job on your blog. I love the fact that you have already started to try to achieve your goal and went to a yoga class already! It is very rewarding to achieve a goal and I am sure yoga will help you physically and mentally. I think going to church and becoming more involved in the church may help you with your struggles within your self. I also have these struggles from time to time and I have found since I have started to attend church that it happens less often.