Unit 3: Level of Wellness

I guess we do not realize our level of wellness until we are asked to rate it. I know that there are definitely areas that I need to work on but when I actually sat down and started to think about it and rate it I was saddened. For this unit we are asked to reflect on our total wellness and rate our physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being 1 to 10 with 10 being optimal well-being.  Well, here it goes:
                                     
                                Physical:  5

                                Spiritual:  3
                               
                                 Psychological: 5
My reasoning for these ratings are because I am physically at the worst shape of my life. I use to compete in weightlifting and was very fit, now, not so much. I can really feel how unfit I am when I play with my children (it is very sad). Spiritually I am struggling with my beliefs and standing by them. I need to reexamine what I believe in and incorporate it into my daily life. As for psychological, I am a very emotional person and let my emotions get the best of me sometimes. I am working on meditation and calming my mind. My mind likes to wander a lot and it affects my sleep and my daily activities.

Goals:

Physical: to work out at least 3 times a week
Spiritual: incorporate my beliefs into my daily life
Psychological: learn to keep my emotions in check and to calm my mind and focus on the task at hand

Activities:

Physical: yoga, P90x, Pilates
Spiritual: examine my personal beliefs
Psychological: meditation

This weeks relaxation exercise was The Crime of the Century. Not sure why it was called that, I thought the guy speaking called it something to do with a rainbow. Anyway, this one was really hard for me to get into. It did not work for me I think there was too much to focus on and I just could not do it. I would go in and out of being able to concentrate on what he was saying. It was frustrating to me and I could not wait for it to be over.

Unit 2- Journey On: relaxation exercise

I love trying these meditation exercises. I have had to do this for another class and at first I found them kind of difficult as my mind likes to wander and is sometimes hard to focus on the instructions given in the exercises. I did find that this time it was much easier. 

I sat comfortably on my couch with my legs propped up. As he was talking in the beginning I began to focus on my breath and slow it down. Then as he began to instruct on the relaxation technique I did find that I was able to focus. It was awesome to feel the transfer of the blood from my abdomen to my arms. I felt as though  my arms were sinking into the couch. I was able to move my arms up slightly when he told us to try but they quickly fell back to the couch. When instructed to transfer the blood back to my abdomen I could feel my arms lighten and I felt like my whole body was sinking into the couch. I enjoyed this exercise and can see myself using it at night when I am having trouble going to sleep. I am a massage therapist and work all day to get people to relax. It is amazing how hard something so simple can be. I might even use this technique on my clients, this could make my job easier for those clients that just cannot relax.  

Welcome!

Welcome!

 Welcome to my blog on living well. I am excited to be starting this blog and sharing my experiences on my journey to a healthier, happier, and a more fulfilled life. A friend recently said something to me that made me think of my own life, she told me that the saying she has adapted to her life is "I choose only those who support and nourish me". Thank you Nancy for sharing that with me and I plan to make it my own. Healthy relationships are an important part of integral health. I hope that you find at least one thing to take from this blog that helps to improve your life in some way.