Well, for me, all the exercises in which we had to listen to
the sound clips such as loving-kindness, subtle mind, etc, are not for me. I
think this is because I do not have trouble relaxing, and these exercises really just made
me sleepy. With that said, really, none
of the exercises have been very beneficial for me.
Maybe this is because I need to be surrounded by loud, extravagant noise in
order to focus, and I’m the kind of person who hears ringing in my ears when
sitting in a room that has no sounds in it. The ringing keeps me from falling
asleep, whereas the ocean waves are too constant and too calming for me. If I had to choose which
ones have had an impact, I would say yoga. Yoga is similar to meditation, except there
are positions that you have to sit or contort your body into which requires
concentration. Yoga works the body when stretching it for the different poses,
and works your mind when concentrating on the poses. I used to do yoga a long
time ago, but did not have the patience for it, and so I quit. My patience is
better now, so I believe that with time, I will get better at the yoga poses,
and maybe it will help me get to a place of not needing to be surrounded by
noise. I have actually just placed an order for a book titled Yogalosophy by Mandy Ingber, and will give it a try once it arrives, hopefully soon.
Hi Donna,I cant imagine how frustrating this course has had to be for you considering it is all about quieting and calming the mind when you can stand quiet. I am glad to hear your patience is better though because that will help in maintaining a lower stress level. Do you think maybe the visualization exercises would help more than just trying to sit quietly? Perhaps creating visualizations in your head as step by step approaches to an end result of something you wish to accomplish such as your yoga poses? At any rate, good luck to you and I hope you find what works for you. I really think to find the benefit in something like this it has to be something you yourself find beneficial.
ReplyDeleteMary
Donna,
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time with some of the exercises and like you, I used to have a hard time with too much quiet. Before I was a massage therapist I had a very hard time with too much silence. I've always needed to be engaged or engaging so if you can imagine, massage therapy school was a challenge for me in that aspect. I did learn to enjoy the quiet and as life got busier and more hectic, I learned to relish those quiet times that were few and far between. Yoga makes total sense and I never thought of it in that way until you explained it. What a great way to learn how to be centered and still use your mind to concentrate. It's the perfect way to engage your mind and body through movement and concentration. I hope the book works for you! I encourage you to keep us updated through the blog after the class is over. :)
Jo
I can understand your comment regarding the exercises making you sleepy; they did that to me too in the beginning but I changed the time of day that I did them and made sure that I didn't do them after eating. Oddly enough, it worked. I like yoga though I do not do it very often. I found visualization to be beneficial for me as well as meditation. Like you, I found the loving kindness exercise to be a challenge for me but I continued to do it and it became easier to relate to and connect with though I did not cite it as one that I found most beneficial. Sometimes, I function better in noise too so I could relate to that comment as well. Good blog.
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