Hello class and professor,
To start with, this exercise was both easy and hard for me-I do feel that overall it was beneficial and I will be trying it again every day for the designated 15 minutes. This exercise was a bit different than simply meditating, I feel that it was difficult for me to release my hold on certain emotions I had about my body, my knees in particular. You see, I have broken, twisted, and busted up both my knees numerous times over the years, I actually had to give up my first love of classical ballet dancing because of a drastic knee injury in which I never fully recovered from, so I have some underlying hatred for the pain I have in my knees on a daily basis. This was hard to release, it took me several tries to somewhat relinquish, but it did happen at some point during the exercise. I would definitely recommend this exercise to others, I feel that it made me come to terms with my held back emotions about certain aspects, I felt a great sense of relief when it was done though, a good first step in emotional and mental health.
Speaking of mental health, the mind has recently been seen as another part of the body which needs to be worked out in order for wasting not to occur. As they say, use it or loose it. It is important that we all use our minds in multiple ways in order to keep mental health and alertness as time passes-studies far and wide has shown that an active mind is more apt to stay active as age progresses. There are actually mental workout centers and personal trainers to help individualize a workout plan depending on what areas (math, science, literature, art, language) a person is most weak in-it is a proven method by way of detailed diary records taken by participants to show overall progress in certain skills. I think being able to use your mind as a muscle to be worked out is a clever tool to use in increasing creativity, openness, understanding, and overall wellness.
-Stacey Smith
Reference:
Tannen, S. Mental Fitness-exercises for the brain. Retrieved 2/28/2012 from www.bellydoc.com/articles/article 7.html
Hi Stacey
ReplyDeleteYour post was very interesting to read. My suggestion would be to keep up on trying to do the exercise for 15 minutes a day. If it doesn't work for that long at first, then start out with less time and work your way up. I have to agree with you on this exercise being both easy and hard. I had a lot more distractions that made it difficult to concentrate, but I was able to get through it. I have learned from your post that you gain a good sense of relief by doing the exercise. Keep up the good work and I believe you will be on your way to overall wellness!
DanielleBis