Hello everyone--welcome to my blog (and my crazy life!.....lol). I have a lot going on--4 kids, school, and work. There are days that I wonder how I muddle through my stressful day, but I manage it.
I listened to the Journey On relaxation exercise that accompanied this Unit. I found it very helpful. Right before I started to work on this post, I had just finished a very aggravating day at work, and I found myself all tensed up because of the stress--I could feel it in my shoulders. After doing this exercise, the stress decreased tremendously. This is not the first time I've used this type of exercise, however. I use a similar exercise when I find myself unable to sleep. As I lay in bed, I close my eyes, breath deeply, and "shut down" my body piece by piece--first my toes, then my legs, then hips, etc., until I reach the top of my head. By the time I get there, I'm relaxed, and I fall asleep.
Hi Teresa. You sound as busy as me so i'm glad there are people that have a lot going on like me. I have 3 boys (8, 6, & 1). I found with the relaxation exercise that it did relax me, but it also made me feel awake at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI have also tried the same relaxation technique when I can't sleep. I work nights in an ICU so some mornings when I get home I can be a little stressed especially if I had to do CPR on someone. I carry my stress in my shoulders as well and have found that this technique does work. Did you try to follow the video and relax like he said? I found that it did work to an extent but not exactly like he said but it did work a little I think it might work better without his voice though lol.
Heidi Gencarelle (Elliott)
I did follow the exercise, and like you said, it did work to an extent, but I kept getting distracted by the 4 year old every few seconds, otherwise I think it might have worked better.
DeleteHi Teresa! I had a very similar experience with the Journey On activity. I held a lot of tension in my shoulders before I did the exercise that just seemed to disappear afterwards. Holding stress in our bodies can just really wear us down. This exercise helped so much, I will certainly be doing it again. I am glad it did the same for you!
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa,
ReplyDeleteLike a lot of us you have to find a way to juggle a million things into a 24 hour day. I think it's great that you have found ways to manage the stress levels of everyday life. It is very commendable for a working mother of 4 to also go to college and I applaud you for your efforts. I have two children ages 8 and 12 and I work evenings so my wife does most of the after school activities so I can fully appreciate everything a working mother has to do to keep the home running.
Teresa,
ReplyDeleteHow else do you think you could handle stress? It seems if you are sleeping it off that the stress will continue for you? Or subconsciously think about the stressors? It's great that you have found any other exercises that have helped you? It's great that you were able to reduce your stress through doing the exercise you said though.
- David
David, I don't "sleep off" stress. It's just that exercises of this type help me to get to sleep when I'm too wired up. I do other things to relieve stress--meditate in a hot bath, or lose myself in a good book. When I can, I even do a round or two or Tae Bo.
DeleteTeresa, I like the idea of shutting down the body systems to relaxation mode one at a time. I have tried this but was unsuccessful, I may have to revisit these ideas as I forgot about them. Early on in the class I had a much more difficult time with the exercises and relaxing.
ReplyDelete