Thursday, March 4, 2010

Wellness on 3 Fronts

I have learned that these things are interconnected, our spiritual wellbeing can inhibit or promote our mental and physical wellbeing and the same is true in every other direction; mental to physical, physical to spiritual, mental to spiritual on and on and on. For me personally a period of time comes to mind when I was very physically active and fit, but spiritually and emotionally I was lacking and although physically my body was in great shape I did not feel or see the benefits of it. I still found aches and pains and discomfort. Fortunately I have experienced tremendous growth since that point in time, I have reconnected with and increased my spirituality and begun to quiet my mind.
I was talking with a group of friends Tuesday night and I realized all of a sudden that I have cleared SO much of the negative thought patterns from my mind and it has created space for gratitude and peace and quiet. This one little thing of not allowing toxic thought to play over and over in my mind has had a huge impact on my wellness on all 3 fronts. When I pray to God at night I am able to 'Thank God' for the many blessings in my life rather than complain about the burdens.
The gym has always been a refuge for me, whether I am teaching or taking a class. It has been a time when I can life on hold and just enjoy the abilities I have been blessed with - my body is functional, I can run, walk, dance, lift weights, stretch and any other activity that I feel the urge to do. Knowing this all by itself strengthens my wellbeing in other areas.

As of right now I do not have a track 3 on my cd - it recorded poorly. I am trying to locate another one, but if anyone has it readily available and would be willing to send it to me I would appreciate it greatly.
I have read the Subtle Mind practice and it reminds me of running...I am not a well trained runner, I will get out there every now and again and force myself to run a mile or so and the whole time I am running I tell myself - just run, you don't like running but just do it and then you will get better at it over time. When I was looking at the subtle mind practice I felt the same way, when I am trying to quiet my mind with out a focused thought to hold on to I tell myself - ah just clear your mind and the more you do it the better it will get; but maybe I should change the idea to tell myself that I am already good at it and that will make the growth come all the better.
I found the loving kindness practice was easier for me to stick with because I had focused thought in that practice where as the subtle mind was that exact opposite - don't hold on to thoughts at all. That was difficult for me. I will keep trying however.

--Catie

3 comments:

  1. Catie,
    I'm not to sure but I think track 3 was messed up on everyones CD. I know mine had a great deal of feedback and static after about the first 4 mintutes. I had to shut it off after that.

    I like the gym but I would much rather work out at home. I just invested in a treadmill and it is awesome. So many people kept telling me "oh you bought a clothes rack." I would tell them "no, I'm actually looking forward to using it." And I do often. I am happy with it and so is my husband. I think if you purchase something like a treadmill you have to already be an active runner or really committed to start running. Otherwise it will just sit and collect dust.

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  2. Dear Catie,
    Don't worry about not having the right section on the CD because you will make out fine,if not better,without the narration. Breathing, as you know from being an active person, is the key to most anything especially relaxation. This exercise works well for me due to the breathing gives me something to concentrate on and keep unwanted thoughts from creeping in. I learned how to find a little peace through your post today.
    Gina Costello

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