Hello,
Fostering mental fitness can be done in many ways. We have learned about several through the course content. Out the many that we have learned about we are to chose two that we found the most beneficial and how to incorporate them into our lives. Personally, relaxation exercises and visualization are the two practices that I have most beneficial.
Relaxation exercises can be implemented very easily, as they do not take a very long time and can be practices almost anywhere. All that you have to do is find what helps you relax. Personally, all I need is a quiet room. I can find this at work or at home and then I can start to quiet my mind. After listening to a few voice guided relaxation exercises, it is pretty easy to remember the basics of them. Quieting the mind and then focusing on different areas of the body is usually all I need to do in order to feel more relaxed. I can concentrate on calming down and letting my mind unwind and let go of the pressing thoughts that fill it up. Once I feel more relaxed I can slowly re-focus on the world around me. After practicing the relaxation techniques I go back to what I was doing and am more focused and refreshed and usually more productive. This will help foster mental fitness because it helps de-stress which will aid in reducing the risk of stress related illness. It also helps to prioritize thoughts on what needs to be done right away and what can wait.
Visualization techniques are also fairly easy to incorporate into daily routines. They can be as simple as visualizing a happy memory in order to not become angry in a situation. Or you can expand on this and visualize your goals in life and picture yourself where you want to be in order to build motivation. Visualization also can be done as a relaxation tool, you can picture yourself in a relaxing setting. Again, this can be done anywhere and at anytime you have a few minutes free. This will foster mental fitness because it can used to build self confidence and motivation. It also reduces stress and helps to focus your mind to achieve goals.
Hi Kelicia
ReplyDeleteI am impressed that you are able to calm yourself and participate in meditations. I myself have trouble with them. Did you practice these sort of exercises before this class?
Have a great day!
Michelle
Kelicia,
ReplyDeleteI like your explanation of the exercises that you find most beneficial. I liked the loving kindness and subtle mind the best, but really enjoyed all of them. All of them help me to settle down and clear my mind.
Stacey Hayden
Kelicia,
ReplyDeleteI like doing visualization meditations, but I did not really like the ones we did for this class. I chose the subtle mind exercise mainly because of the focused breathing and that you just observe your thoughts. Going forward, I have a few mediations that are visualization and guided imagrey I would use.
The tool I need the most is one that will slow my mind down so that I can focus on reading and studies. I have used the subtle mind a few times before studying and it seems to help a little.
Be well,
Sarajane
Hi Kalicia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the two practices you have found most beneficial during this course. You are so right; relaxation exercises are great and can be implemented very easily. I am a big a fan of deep breathing, it can be a great tool to calm the mind and body and can be done anytime, anywhere. Visualization is also a wonderful tool; I have used visualization exercises for years. I began utilizing visualization for sports when I was in high school.
Thank you and all the best,
~Bridgett