Hello Classmates,
I must say that since I have had Dr. Stewart in a stress management and prevention class previously, I had a sense of deja vu when I heard this audio clip For the Journey On. Last semester, Dr. Stewart used to read us relaxing information that gave us instruction on how to breathe and focus our minds on relaxing. We were instructed to breathe in, hold our breath, then exhale slowly. It was very similar to what the gentleman in this audio clip did as well.
I absolutely love doing exercises such as this. I normally have a really hard time getting to sleep because I am always thinking over and over again in my head what I need to accomplish for the following day. After I tried some deep breathing exercises, however, I have found that I fall asleep quite soon after I hit the pillow. With this particular exercise, I found the man's voice to be very soothing, and I really connected with the whole "wet sponge" analogy. When he said to "lift up your hands", they truly did feel heavy, like I could not fully pick them up. I did feel my muscles relax quite a bit every time I would breathe in and out. I do feel like I need more practice in concentrating on the exercise itself, however. I think I am so used to having my mind run in 15 different directions all at once, and to focus on just one thing is very difficult for me. When the exercise was over, I also did not feel as energized as I was hoping. I actually felt too relaxed to get back up out of bed! Hopefully with more practice and with taking a few minutes out each day to perform relaxation exercises, my mind will better be able to focus on the goal at hand!
Aimee
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Hi Aimee! It's Kelly Luck. I didn't realize I would show up as Kellybythebay until I tried to post this. (Still getting the hang of all this!) I can completely relate to not being able to shut off your mind at night and go to sleep. I had the hardest time with this for several years. I finally learned that keeping a notepad by my bed and writing thoughts down as they came up allowed me to let go of everything knowing I wouldn't forget something tomorrow! When I discovered that I often feel asleep when trying to meditate my problems with insomnia started getting better! Now, if I want to do a relaxation exercise or meditation, I'd better be sitting up for it! With this particular exercise I found the musical tones in the background to be very soothing. If you find a good way to carve out a few minutes each day for this stuff, I'd sure like to hear about it. Time is always my biggest challenge.
ReplyDeleteHi Aimee! I have never used any techniques such as this and the ones that Dr. Stewart used in our last class. Its good to know that the techniques work. The Journey on exercise did help relax me.
ReplyDeleteHi Aimee,
ReplyDeleteI am like you in respects to trying to finish my mental list while laying in bed wondering why I can't fall asleep. It seems like that is the only part of the day when it's quiet since my kiddo is in bed as well and my fiance is already asleep too. I'm not tied to the house chores or trying to work on my schoolwork so it would only seem logical to use that time to figure out the next day... too bad that seems to interfere with the whole sleeping process:)
I too found the gentleman's voice to be very calming and relaxing and honestly it reminded me of the way my fiance speaks. The tone is soothing and the words are not rushed. In the exercise I also like the way he kept it simple and used words and ideals that everyone could relate too.
I hope that you are still finding positive results with the breathing exercises before bed and are able to achieve something resembling a good nights sleep!
-Jen
Hi Aimee,
ReplyDeleteI liked listening to the Journey On. Sometimes I find it really hard to fall asleep because I have so much on my mind. I liked listening to the relaxing techniques. I liked using the power of suggestion to help me relax.
-Aaron