Unit 8 Blog Post

I really did enjoy all of these relaxation exercises, and I think that they can all be used effectively by different people in different circumstances. If I had to choose only two, however, I would choose "From the Journey On" (the first exercise we did) and the last exercise we did on "Meeting Asciepius" (the visualization exercise). Both of these exercises focused on breathing, which I always find to be relaxing and helpful. Whenever I truly tune into my inhalations and exhalations, I can physically feel my muscles relax and calm down. I think that "From the Journey On" is a great way for those interested in meditation to begin, as it is simple and not too challenging to think about. The more and more I have been practicing meditation, however, I think that visualization exercises are great. I loved "Meeting Asciepus" because it enabled me to picture a person who I had positive feelings about. Whenever I can envision positive experiences (whether it be a person, a place, or an event as was in this exercise), I instantly am able to take negative behaviors and turn them into positive behaviors. Having the ability to re-experience happier times can help to create moments of happiness within my life presently.

I can use these activities to foster mental fitness because they essentially are "workouts" for my brain. Just as exercise is a workout for the body to foster physical fitness, consisent meditation and mindfulness exercises can help me to continue to expand my consciousness. Since these exercises are different, it will help to keep my mental workout vast and challenging. Over time, I will get "stronger" and closer to a sense of integral health. For example, practicing breathing such as "From the Journey On" will enable me to learn how to initally calm my body to prepare it for more challenging exercises later on. After time, visualization exercises such as "Meeting Asciepus" will enable me to reach into a deeper sense of consciousness and to continue to expand my mind. Again, I have really enjoyed these exercises, and I hope to continue using them in my own life!

Aimee Fairbanks

Unit 7 Blog Post

I actually really enjoyed the "Meeting Asciepus" exercise this week. I did not think it was going to work, but I have always liked the visualization exercises in helping me with meditation. This week, all I have really done for meditation was practicing deep breathing and learning to relax. I have not yet had the opportunity to focus on an image. In doing any sort of meditation, however, I am able to foster a greater sense of wellness because I suddenly feel a connection to the rest of my environment and surroundings. For a few brief moments, I am able to experience peace and calm. This helps me to refocus on what is important, thus enhancing my overall mental and spiritual health.

I think that the phrase "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is absolutely true. To me, it means that you cannot really attain a sense of sympathy for someone until you have experienced that same thing. To tell someone how to do something is one thing, but to actually live it is another. I think that this applies to health and wellness professionals because in order to be a caring person, it is always best to understand firsthand what someone is going through. I definitely think that health and wellness professionals have an obligation to their clients to help them "see the bigger picture" and to advise them to enhance all aspects of their healing, not just the physical ones. Even in my profession of dental hygiene, stress can certainly manifest itself through physical symptoms in the teeth, so I often find myself talking to patients about stress relieving techniques that can be used in their lives. I think that to ignore other aspects of a person just because you may not be that experienced in them is silly. They should at least be informed of other possibilities for care.

I think that you can implement psychological and spiritual growth in your own life simply by doing the things we have done all semester. By continuing to keep a journal or blog, by continuing to do the relaxation exercises, by continuing to read the textbooks, etc., we too can better find a way to draw closer to the other aspects of ourselves as well.

Aimee Fairbanks

Unit 5 Project

My Unit 5 Project ... ENJOY!

Unit 6 Blog

I must say that I actually did not mind performing the meditation techniques of the universal loving-kindness activity. While I had difficulty remembering all those lines at once, I eventually got the hang of it and felt truly relaxed at the end of the session. I can easily see how a person who is angry or upset could use this exercise to change his or her negative thoughts into loving and positive ones. From this exercise, I learned that I do have the ability to feel peace when I am overwhelmed or stressed out. Rather than dwell on my negative emotions when I am angry at someone, perhaps next time I will try this philosophy instead! I still think it would have helped to have a voice constantly whisper that to me during my relaxation session, however, as we have done in the past with the voice recordings.

I found the integral assessment to be a much harder exercise. Again, I do not know if it was because I had to stop my sessions to read about what I was supposed to be doing, or if I just had a difficult time with the concepts of the lesson as a whole. From this exercise, I discovered that there are several apsects of myself that can be the center for growth and development. For example, I choose my biological aspect as currently being the source of difficulty and suffering in my life. My husband and I just found a little while ago that I am seven weeks pregnant, and very much so in the middle of morning sickness! I have had about two full weeks of feeling really sick with nausea and migraines, and it is really starting to wear on me a little bit! As such, it is definitely starting to affect my psychospiritual development as well!

What I did find useful about this exercise was having the opportunity to truly focus on what my problems were right now and how I could go about fixing them. Rather than dwelling on the negative physical symptoms that I am going through right now, I instead tried to see the positive side of the situation by recognizing that my body is going through a lot of changes right now, and that in nine months, I will be given a beautiful gift that I could get no where else. I found that changing my attitude about the situation did help somewhat. Also, I have been practicing some deep breathing exercises lately when my symptoms are high, and I have noticed that focusing on the in and out's of breathing rather than my nausea does help me, both biologically and spiritually. I am able to better calm down and it keeps my body from tensing up. While I did have difficulty with this exercise intially, I do suppose that it has helped to push me in the right direction of growth and development within myself!

Aimee Fairbanks

Unit 5 Project

I have tried a million times to upload my powerpoint to blogger, and it is not working. Therefore, I am posting the link to my powerpoint that I was able to upload on slideshare.net

http://www.slideshare.net/AimeeFairbanks/unit-5-project

I hope this works for you guys to see!

Aimee Fairbanks

Unit 5 Blog Post

I definitely enjoyed the subtle mind exercise over the loving-kindness exercise. I find it easier to concentrate on my breathing because it is actually something I am doing over trying to visualize a concept that I am not in my head (such as in the loving-kindness exercise). While focusing on the up and down motions of my breathing, I can truly feel my body begin to relax. The only frustration I found during this exercise was that my CD messed up mid way through the exercise, which broke my concentration. But for the little bit of a mental work out that I did get, it was beneficial.

Having a good spiritual connection seems to make a person be able to better simplify his or her own life. Having a spiritual purpose in this life can help a person relax about the extra nonsense that fills our heads. By maintaining a simple purpose in this life (which usually is something that correlates along the lines of the loving-kindness act), a person is able to stay more centered and calm, enhancing his or her mental health. Since a calm mental state reduces stress, this will thus also enhance physical health as well. This proves that each aspect of a mental, physical, and spiritual state of being are important when it comes to a complete sense of health.

Aimee Fairbanks