There is a spiritual connection to mental and physical wellness. An example of how this is evident in my personal life would be through the changes I have gone through during my pregnancy thus far. Since I have been pregnant, I have gained a total of 23 pounds so far. My doctor says that I am doing great with the weight gain--I am right where I am supposed to be. However, as a woman brought up in American society, it is hard to watch the scale creep up at each doctor's visit. This is where I have to remind myself that this is all healthy weight gain, and that I do need to gain a certain amount of weight to have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby. So that covers the physical and mental part of my current wellness status. The spiritual part of my wellness status comes from knowing that once this little girl is born, I will embark on a journey that will last a lifetime as a mother. Together we will grow as people. And together we will grow in our relationships. I know that having children will be a rewarding experience for myself and my husband. We are both very excited and nervous at the same time. I pray that I will make a good mother, and that I will successfully instill in our children values, work ethic, respect, and love.
Mariah
Dacher,
E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna
Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications,
Inc.
Hi Mariah,
ReplyDeleteI think all new parents a little nervous, but I am sure you will be fine. It is a natural process. I know when I had my first I was extremely excited to be pregnant, but I didn't know or do any meditation at that time, so you are ahead of the game. In my second pregnancy my daughter popped her name right into my head. I was already meditating by that time and was in school for massage therapy, so we used to meditate before classes all the time when I was in school. Until she told me her name was Jessica, I was going to name her Melissa. I am happy to have named her Jessica and I am sure you will be a great mom. Just have patients with yourself and your child.
Mariah,
ReplyDeleteI am pregnant as well. I'm 15 weeks along and due at the end of May. When are you due? I should probably take this subtle mind activity and use it everyday. I can see how advantageous it is to have a health mind for our babies. Just think how stress causes us to react and how the babies feel that too. Best wishes on your pregancy and I look forward to more posts from you!
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
DeleteI am 31 weeks pregnant and due the beginning of February. I just can't believe it sometimes. I look at myself in the mirror and see the changes my body has already gone through and await the changes to come. It's so crazy to me! Have you felt your baby move yet? I started to feel little flutters around 12 weeks, but it was also kind of hard to differentiate the baby from my digestive tract at that time too! haha! But by about 17 weeks, it was unmistakable for me. And now, she beats me up! haha! I just can't wait to meet her! I hope to goodness that she is chubby! haha! How has your pregnancy been for you so far? Do you enjoy it? Have you been sick? And are you going to find out what you are having?
Mariah
Hi Mariah,
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed the subtle mind exercise better. The only thing that was a little distracting to me is the chimes that I heard off and on in the background. I love the sound of the ocean in the background. The sound of water is always nice to me. It was good that you were able to literally talk yourself out of focusing on what is distracting you, and bring yourself back to the importance of quality sleep and calmness. It is important to be able to push away unwanted thoughts and move back to the objective. Do you use any of these exercises on a regular basis to help with your pregnancy? I think mental fitness can be so helpful, especially when your emotions get the best of you. Good luck.
Myra
Hi Myra,
DeleteTo be honest, I have not used these exercises to help with my pregnancy. Although, it probably would not be a horrible idea. I have just done them for the class assignment. I have found myself feeling more rushed lately. You know, with the baby shower, getting the nursery ready, the holidays, etc. I hate feeling rushed and the exercises are certainly a good way to make myself slow down.
Mariah
Hello Ms. Mariah! Loved your post as always this week. At first I didn’t realize that there was that much of a difference in timing between the loving-kindness exercise and the subtle mind practice until I tried them after reading your post. I thought they both had really the same timing, but really – of course you are right, that the subtle mind practice has more time allotted between the direction. Having said this, I think I am glad that I didn’t know this until after I had practiced a few times. I know that sounds a little strange, but I really depended on the direction and the guidance – and I felt overwhelmed the longer I had between prompts. However, with the subtle mind practice I didn’t feel that way and it was so refreshing. I don’t know if it was because of the reading material that went with Dacher’s explanation, noting I would need repetitive practice, and that was okay but I was able to settle in on this one and be less chaotic. I also combined the suggestions that all of you wonderful teammates suggested the last couple weeks. By the way, I feel you will be a wonderful mother – just from the way you continuously support fellow classmates every week. I can only imagine how you are with friends and family!
ReplyDeleteEmi
Hi Emi,
DeleteThank you for your response! I can see where you would feel that the longer pauses would make you feel overwhelmed at times--it could make you feel as if you are missing something, or forgetting something, and you are just ready to move on to the next thought and set of directions. There is nothing wrong with that. It's good that you are utilizing these practices on a regular basis, though. I probably should also do so myself (I've been feeling a bit rushed lately, and this gives me an opportunity to slow down). You know, with the holidays, preparing for the baby, doctor's appointments, and other obligations. :) And thank you for the returned support. It means a lot, and it's nice that we can connect through this blog. I actually kind of like blogging! :) See you in your next blog!!
Mariah
Hey Mariah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I enjoy the subtle mind practice way much more than the loving kindness exercise that we did last week! I felt that my mind and body calmed much quicker, allowing me to fulling open my mind. I also really enjoyed the sound of the waved in the back ground!
Mallory
So I will break the chain and be the first guy on here. Congrats on all the babies everyone my wife and I have a 1ye old and another on the way she is about 10 weeks. Anyways I wish I knew about this exercise last year when we had our son, she was so stressed out and could not find a way to clear her mind and just relax. I guess it is hard to do when in labor but it was not helping our son, whatever she was feeling so was he and we ended up having an emerngancy c-section. Now everytime I do this exercise she joins me. It has really been helping her with this pregnancy and her job. She is a nurse and she works night shift and I will tell yall this she is not mean when she comes home anymore. Her stress has gone down and even with the mood swings and morning sickness she is still an angel. So all you pregnant woman I would sugest you guys do this one it helps and again congrats on the babies.
ReplyDeleteHi Steven,
DeleteThanks for being the first guy to post! :) It's funny how we do not realize how much stress we actually do have in our lives until something happens that we have to actively acknowledge the fact that it does exist in our lives! That is how it was for me. Since I have been pregnant, I have been more aware of my stress level...and it's a good thing, but I don't like that I let myself get stressed out about things! Taking just a few minutes to do these exercises is definitely a good thing! I really should make a conscious effort to perform them more often throughout the week. Congrats on the second baby! I hope everything goes well for her! (and you!)
Mariah
Hi Mariah,
ReplyDeleteI also liked the subtle mind practice better, especially because of the long pauses. I felt that it really gave me time to catch up on what the person was saying and allowed me just to be still. If a relaxation video moves too fast, I am always thinking about what they just said, then what they tell us something new, I'm still thinking about the first thing. Anyways, I hope that made any sense. Have a great week!