Reflections and The Rainbow Meditation~

Unit 3 and the Mind-Body Connection is already here! Time seems to fly by! After taking a time out to reflect on my overall well-being, I think I can comfortably rate myself on a scale of 1 to 10. My physical well-being can be rated at a 7 ½, my spiritual well-being is an 8, and my psychological well-being is a 7. To begin with, I think we can all improve, so I would never give myself a 10. There is always something that can be worked on, modified, eliminated, or amended in some way.

 I believe my physical health is very good; I’m active and follow a healthy vegetarian diet. I think I could improve in my strength training and endurance; I’d love to start cross fit and participate in parkour. As a goal, I plan to add intensity to my daily activities; if I’m running, I’ll run faster- if I’m swimming, I’ll swim farther. In addition to enhancing my daily activities I would like to significant add weight training to my agenda.

My spiritual well-being is strong. I am very comfortable with my spirituality and I have an ability to open myself to new ideas. I would like to try new methods of spiritual development in the near future. I plan on attending some sessions that are different for me at a nearby mediation center. Kirtan is one option that I’d like to experience.

My psychological well-being could be improved the most. I feel a little overwhelmed with life right now; but I keep in mind that others are facing an even harder struggle. My goal is to reduce my stress and ease my mind. I feel like some stress management or simply learning to ask for help might reduce my stress levels dramatically.

The relaxation exercise that we tried this week reminded me of chakra cleansing; a simple self-guided meditation that I’ve been practicing for years (and even taught my daughter at a very young age). This exercise was easier for me to concentrate on than last weeks; maybe because I was more familiar with the format. Differences in the Rainbow Meditation and chakra cleansing were evident, though. This exercise began at the root, and continued to the crown; I begin chakra cleansing from the top down. Also chakra cleansing doesn’t have to involve specific color, although it can. For me, it often involves images such as smoke, flames, waves, shapes, even words. Maybe I’m getting better at the courses meditations, or maybe I was more prepared for this week’s exercise; either way, I was more relaxed for this one!