Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise.

The Loving Kindness exercise forces you to visualize and feel different experiences within one exercise. Both exercises require you to be at peace and at ease. The Subtle Mind Exercise which is so far my favorite showed a direct relationship between the breath and the mind. Peaceful breathing pattern leads to a peaceful mind. We learn that we can use our breath to tame and stabilize the mind.

Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

I have started to use the technique of slow and deep breathing a while ago. It does not always work for me, but this one was one of the best for me. The last one was hard for me to focus. With this one, I was able to attain a moment of silence where I think my mind stopped to think for a moment. I felt at peace and felt fully relaxed. I had a terrible migraine prior to starting the exercise, but did the exercise anyway. I have not felt the migraine since then.

Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness.

Physical Wellness – It is the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get through our daily activities without undue fatigue or physical stress.

 Spiritual Wellness – It is the ability to establish peace and harmony in our lives.

Mental Wellness - It is the ability to understand ourselves and cope with the challenges life can bring.

In order to obtain wellness, we need a full integration of states of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Each of them acts and interacts with each other in a way that contributes to our own quality of life

Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

I have always had bad luck with my health since I was a child. But I am learning that if the mind is healthy the body will respond as healthy and the spirit will be all knowing and healthy as well. Therefore, I can use what I am learning to improve my overall health. I would like to take less medication. So far, I am finding that I am still physically and mentally fit because my mind is stronger and has not failed me. I would like to keep on making it stronger in order to achieve my goal of a good health.

References:

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Wellness, S. D. (2012, September 27). Retrieved from University of California, Riverside: http://wellness.ucr.edu/seven_dimensions.html