Last week I listened to the loving kindness exercise and
thought I got some benefit out of it, until I listened to the Subtle Mind
exercise. My life is always crazy so this time I decide to listen to this week’s
exercise with my earplugs so I can hear only the exercise. Well if you have
never used ear plugs before and you have a hard time relaxing please try it. I
was listening to the exercise and before I knew it I was out cold. I did not
realize I feel asleep until I woke up at the end of the exercise. I could not
believe it but I must say I felt really relaxed and also refreshed. So I would
have to say the exercise was great for me. I have never fallen asleep during an
exercise before so it obviously was very relaxing for me. I enjoyed itJ
Hi Monica. Thanks for the tip! I will have to try headphones next time. I had lots of distractions in my house, but I was tired and it was cold out and I had the fireplace going so this practice also almost made me fall asleep as well. I am sure if I had my headphones on that time I would have fallen asleep. The sounds of the dishwashing machine and the washer and dryer in the laundry room kept me from doing so, but headphones would have blocked that out.
ReplyDeleteMonica,
ReplyDeleteI've also found some major benefit to using headphones over just listening to it. First, I found out I can email myself the file. Then I use my cell phone to access my email and play the mp3 from there with my headphones in. Doing this I can pretty much take the exercise anywhere! This makes it much easier than trying to drag my laptop around. What I thought was kind of neat and ironic about Tonya's post was that I have an app downloaded to my phone that actually plays loops of the dyer or washing machine or loops of a fireplace going to relax you. haha. That being said there are also loops of busy street sounds from New York including sirens and horns honking. I think hat is relaxing to each of us is so very different. I love how unique we all are. So glad you were relaxed enough to fall asleep. It's a great feeling to wake refreshed, especially in the middle of the day!
Monica,
ReplyDeleteI think the lack of using headphones in the unit 4 may have been my problem. I used them this time and it seemed to work better. Then on top of that I had just gotten off a 10 hours shift and was really tired. Good job!
Too funny Monica! I would say you were most definitely relaxed! I too sometimes am very close to dozing off during the exercises. Great idea with the headphones to block out noise and also just help you to keep your focus and completely relax. I'm going to try it next time myself. We all have different techniques we can use to find our own inner peace. Great post!
ReplyDeleteTom
Headphones are a great tip! I live with four other girls so I use headphones quiet often!! They are a great way to help drown out any distractions that you have going on around you. I think it's funny how similar our experiences were! I didn't fall asleep but I got REALLY close! This is the most relaxed I have ever been after a relaxation technique.
ReplyDeleteMonica,
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoy exercises that are relaxing enough to help me fall asleep, I do not really feel I benefit if I actually do fall asleep. I think that this was probably good for you though because you mentioned it was the most relaxed you have been in a long time. I personally liked last week's exercise more, but I can see why you liked the subtle mind exercise.
Hi Monica,
DeleteDoesn't it feel so good to just have those 20 minutes all to yourself? I am so glad you were able to not only find a way to relax using the ear plugs but also that you were able to relax all the way to sleep! I think I can get used to these exercises! Did you try the loving-kindness exercise again with the ear plugs to see if that was what was so enjoyable?
Amanda
This is a little late because I'm still learning to navigate the blog board. But I also found it amazing of how relaxed I became. I've been practicing the breathing exercises faithfully and also discovered a restful and refreshing sleep. It's been quite wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIris