The first exercise that I think to be most beneficial is meditation. I think that when you meditate you are in the most relaxed state that you can be in and that it relieves stress almost as soon as you start the meditation. I meditate at least once a day and it helps me even after the most ridiculous days. I have recently become a full time associate and I have started a new exercise program. My job is managing the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart. Now if any of you have been down a clearance aisle at Wal-Mart you know how bad it can get. The clearance aisle that I have to manage is horrible. Stuff is just thrown everywhere, there is nothing placed neatly on the shelves, and people have put stuff in the aisle that's not even on clearance. So needless to say I spend the whole day straitening up and putting stuff where it belongs; I do this everyday five days a week. Then I come home and do the Jillian Michaels exercises and believe me when I say this that woman really knows how to make you hurt. I also have two children, one is four and the other is two, so I have a lot of cleaning up after them, playing with them, and taking care of their every needs. So after one day I am so worn out and stressed that I just want to scream and rip all of my hair out. That is when I turn to meditation. By meditating I have learned to clear the mind of all that I did that day and just relax. This is when I am at peace and calm and I love it.
The next practice that I think that is the most beneficial is the loving-kindness practice. This exercise to me also helps me relax and be at peace and calm. I can do this exercise anytime that I want and anywhere that I want. I love the fact that I can take in all the bad and replace it with good. I especially love that I can do this with other people, I mean that I can take in all their bad and replace it with good. I wish I had learnt this practice/exercise about six months ago. My uncle had been in the hospital for probably three months before he had passed away from cancer. If I had known how to do this exercise back then, I could have been there for my aunt. I could have taken in all her pain and suffering and replaced it with good happy thoughts. I know that my uncle would have rather her remember the good times that they had together and not him laying up in a hospital bed fighting for his life. I can still use this exercise in my personal life by helping myself as well as others when needed. By this I mean whenever I am feeling down or going through a ruff time I can take all the bad and turn it into good same with others, when they are feeling down or going through a ruff time I can help them take in all the bad and turn it into good. I am truly glad that we have learnt how to do these exercises, they have helped with my stress levels tremendously.
Today was not a bad day. I did not meditate or do any other practices. I still enjoy doing the meditations and the loving-kindness practices. I am pleased to say that I had a less stressful day. I think that by doing these exercises/practices it is allowing me to have less stressful days, not to mention the fact that the new position at work is a lot easier now than it has been. Everyone leaves me alone, they don't hassle me to get things done, and I get to pretty much do what ever I want; as long as I get my projects done.
ReplyDeleteI also think that by combining the meditation, loving-kindness, and my new exercise program has helped me get a better nights sleep. Don't get me wrong I still have my nights where I cannot sleep at all but they are becoming less by the day. Hopefully I did not just jinks myself by saying that (lol). This class has taught me a lot in more ways than one. I am really glad that I had chosen this class as one of my electives. Even the blogs have helped me relieve stress. Just writing down what I have learned and how my day went relieves a little bit of stress.