Mental Fitness Exercises that Fit Me

Unit 8 Assignment: 

Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.

Of the four mental exercises I was assigned to practice during this college course the only two that I found beneficial “Journey on Relaxation” and “Universal Loving Kindness”. The first mental exercise entitled “Journey on Relaxation” guided me with an autogenic training technique which reminded me of a standard yogic relaxation technique used at the end of asana (physical practice). I am very familiar with this technique and have cultivated preferences on how it should be administered because I find it to be quite effective. This guided relaxation method truly assisted me in finding balance between my sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. 

Although I know that this particular relaxation technique is not in the style that would best work for me, I have started utilizing a very similar relaxation method before I meditate. I find that tuning into my physical self to both calm it down and find the most comfortable seated position before meditation is helpful. The mental exercise of addressing my physical awareness before engaging my spiritual exercise has helped to extend my meditation practice.

The “Universal Loving-Kindness” meditation was the second mental fitness exercise which I found to be the most beneficial. Personally, recitation of any powerful mantra keeps the mind and spirit fit and focused on the bigger picture. Dacher’s affirmation is one that promotes an expansive quality that reminds me of my purpose to serve man/woman-kind. It is easy for me (and I am sure most) to include my loved ones in my prayers and just as easy to forget the rest of the world that connects to us all. By training my mind to recount the goal of wanting all to experience health, happiness and wholeness leaves with a feeling of true connectedness.  

In an effort to experience oneness frequently in my life, I have recently included Dacher’s affirmation at the end of my meditation practice.  I have found that ending with this affirmation not only brings the bigger picture back into my mind as I wrap up my spiritual practice but also helps me to acclimate back into reality and leaves me with a sense of purpose that I take with me throughout the day.  The integration of these powerful mental fitness exercises have shifted the way I prioritize decisions for myself, my family and the world around me.