My favorite meditation practice is visualization exercises. These practices put me in a very calm and relaxed state. I have downloaded several guided visualization exercises on my IPod and I will listen to them at night before I go to sleep. This has helped me to sleep much better. What I like the most about visualization exercises these I have started sharing them with my son, as I have mentioned he is autistic and struggles with calming his self when he is upset. Our favorite visualization (which we do this one pretty much every night before he goes to bed) is called the falling snow, the script was one from one of my other classes. The exercise takes place in a cabin in the woods on a cold winter night. The snow begins to fall and you sit in a window seat inside the cabin and watch the snow fall. There is a fire burning in the fireplace you visualize the smells, sounds and sights. This is such a great exercise, each time we do it my son will add different things that occur while we are on the journey. Some times we walk out into the snow and listen to the sound of it crunching under our feet, sometimes we may build a snowman. What is nice is that it is relaxing and he can really picture our make believe cabin in the woods. He even ask if we can really go there sometime. We usually will put some calming music on and lie on his bed with our eyes closed as I recite the script of the exercise. Sometimes he gets upset and says "I can't see the cabin mommy" we then take a few extra minutes and lay there and breath for a few extra minutes until he can get the vision in his head. This is such a wonderful time for us, and I am so thankful that I have started this practice with him. It has made such a difference in both of our lives.
The second exercise that I enjoy is the Loving Kindness exercise. This is one that I have been trying to practice everyday (some days are harder then others to get the full benefit) This practice is one that has helped me to let go of some of my negative emotions that I struggle with and is really helping me move to a new chapter in my life, a much more positive one at that. There are days that I have more time to really sit and focus on this exercise with no other distractions going on around me, this is when I get the most out of the exercise. When my day is busy and I will attempt to do the exercise while I am driving or taking my shower in the morning. What I do know is that by incorporating these exercises into my daily routine, I feel like I am beginning to heal from the inside out. The amazing part is that prior to this I was unaware that I even needed to heal I just new something was missing and now I am beginning to feel more complete. My stress level seems to be evening out, I have a much more positive outlook, and I find myself in a good mood much more often than I am in a bad one. If this is the results after 8 weeks I am looking forward to seeing the results after several years of using these practices!
Laurie
Hello Laurie,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great idea to introduce guided meditation to your son. I am going to have to try this with my autistic daughter when she gets older. Right now I do not believe that she would understand visualization so we have her do breathing exercises to help calm her when needed.
I am happy that you were able to gain something from the visualization exercises. I LOVE the fact that you have downloaded some exercises to your IPod. That is a great idea that I never thought of. I could definitely find this practice useful. I find for me that my mind races a mile a minute when I lay down to go to bed. Sometimes it is hard for me to clear my mind enough so I can even feel sleepy. I think that using mediation exercises while I am lying in bed is a great way for me to try and relax. Thank you for the great idea! If I was working with clients, I would absolutely suggest your method of downloading exercises to their IPod. This also makes meditation portable since they can take their IPod with them when they leave the house.
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