The two exercises I find to be the most beneficial are: Visualization and The Subtle Mind. The visualization exercise was a great way for me to re-experience times in my past when I have felt the most connected, whole and peaceful. Just visualizing being outdoors in the sunshine on a hike is enough to put me in a more relaxed and peaceful state. I have been trying to do this even when I am driving in traffic or waiting in a long line to minimize my stress and "forget" where I am for a few minutes.
The Subtle Mind practice is something I try to do right when I wake up or sometimes before bed. I just have to be careful I am not too sleepy before bedtime while doing it, or I tend to fall asleep! This is a wonderful practice that clears my mind of mental chatter and makes me feel more relaxed and peaceful too. I do find that some days are harder than others to slow the chatter in my mind, but for the most part I am pretty successful with it.
Both of these exercises are ones I try to accomplish on a daily basis even if it is just for 5 or 10 minutes at a time.
I loved the subtle mind exercise. I do it at bedtime because of the fact that it does put me to sleep. I was having problems with too much chatter going on in my head when I tried to go to sleep. This exercise has really helped. I also have noticed that my days seem less stressful now. Have you noticed this happening with you?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the visualization practice as well but I still found the meditation and loving kindness exercises to be more helpful to me. Maybe I will try to the visualization exercise again just to see if I would want to use it instead of the loving kindness exercise. Great job.
ReplyDeletegigi
I also try to do the meditation exercise in the morning. It clears my mind and everyone is out of the house.
ReplyDeleteI also started doing some small things I used to do with my family. I have started hugging my husband for a few minutes after his alarm sounds. It helps us connect for the rest of the day. Also, sending him sweet text messages through out the day has brought us closer together. I also ate breakfast with my son early this morning while watching Sponge Bob with him. This is something I have not done in almost a year! He was so happy.