Ok. I am suppose to post about my response to the Journey on relaxation. I am probably the only person who thinks it was totally cheesy and felt like a Saturday Night Live skit. It was not relaxing for me at all, I actually couldn't wait for it to be over. If I need to relax it has to be active relaxation- a walk, deep breathing, visualizing energy centers, napping, reading, etc. Sitting in a chair listening to someone with an SNL voice was more annoying than anything else. For me, conscious deep breathing is a very effective relaxation tool. So many of us forget to breathe. I mean really breathe. I often sit on the floor or ground cross-legged with my hands on my knees and my back straight and breathe as deeply and slowly as I can. I close my eyes and pay attention to the sound, depth, and rhythm of my breath. Then I visualize pulling energy from the ground up through my spine to ground me for the day. I may do this for 5 minutes or 30 depending on the day. This is very relaxing for me and helps fully oxygenate my body and open my energy centers. Sorry Journey guy, you just didn't do it for me.
Heidi,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your honesty. I enjoyed the relaxation exercise, but more because I was in the mood for it. I often would rather listen to soothing music while doing yoga or breathing exercises. Sometimes, I don't want to hear another person speaking, but want to silence to let myself meditate and drift. I appreciate the exercise of learning how to talk yourself through a relaxed state of mind and for many that have not done it before might find it useful. As for someone like yourself, that has experience in the use of meditation and other techniques, it would appear a little cheesy!
Love the photo! Where do you find them? I would love to add more to my blog, but this is all new to me. Yours looks great!
Heidi,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your sincerity in sharing your experience. Personally I enjoyed the relaxation exercise. It’s good that you engage yourself in technique such as deep breathing. For me Meditation focuses on breathing that allows clarity and calm of the mind and body via deep and controlled breathing.
I have to agree with you on how often we forget to breathe. Maybe not in the literal sense, but in the sense that we take things too seriously, get wound up over little things, and just don't take the time to relax like we should.
Thanks