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What Are Mental Exercises?................................................................................................................21-22What Are Mental Exercises?
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What are mental exercises and why are they just as important as physical exercises?
Growing up the importance of exercises was instilled at an early age from parents, school, tv, and magazines. I watched my mom do Jane Fonda videos, go for walks or belly dance to maintain a healthy body and keep physically fit. In school, I had gym a couple times a week and recess till I hit junior high. Gym in middle school was spent walking around the football field and trying to get out of the gym because I didn’t want to change in front of the other girls. TV and magazines..media and physical fitness… What unreal expectations!! I won’t go off on a rant about that just now.
The old saying of I wish I knew then what I know now is so true. If I had been taught to do mental exercises, the physical exercising would have come more naturally. I have learned that mental exercises are not about math and word problems. They are about calming the mind, taking in uplifting content and learning to listen to the consciousness that is encouraging and loving.
Here are 6 things that you can do to start mentally exercising.
1. Create an adequate sleep schedule. Going to bed at 11pm/midnight and getting up at 5am/6am is not getting adequate sleep. They say most adults need at least 8 hours a night. It doesn't matter if you need 6, 8 or 10, if you don’t do all the things to make sure you sleep well, it doesn't matter how much you sleep, you will still feel sleep deprived.
2. Journaling allows you to get out of your head what is bothering you or what you wish for? Writing and reflecting on your day or your experience gives you the opportunity to reflect on them, see what you need to learn or what your patterns are that need to be changed so that you can have a more calm and happy life.
3. Practicing gratitude for what you already have everyday will shift your life in a direction to be even more grateful. I know it is easier said than done, especially if you are coming from a place of lack. If you feel you have nothing to be thankful for, you won’t have anything to be thankful for. So start small. Go into deep detail. For example…Be thankful for the pen that you hold, that it has ink, that it has black ink, that it glides across the paper so smoothly like butter glides onto the knife. Be thankful that the clicky part click and you can close your pen or that the cap fits tightly so that ink doesn't spill onto your shirt or into your bag. Be thankful for the beautiful words that it writes. Have gratitude for everything and gratitude will come back to you.
4. Meditation is said by beginners to be hard…of course it is, it's new, your mind hasn’t done it before. Meditation isn’t always about sitting with your thoughts in complete silence or trying not to think. It is more about being in the present moment. Listening to what is going on around you and what is going on in your head. It is a good idea to get into the habit of meditating, then journaling. You will be surprised by what you write about.
5. Reading uplifting materials is another way to do mental exercising. Reading positive posts, learning something new or enjoying a good mystery book will allow you to use your imagination or broaden your scope of thinking.
6. Walking, while walking is a physical action, it helps mentally as well. It is easy on the body. While walking for mental exercise, you are not trying to complete a certain number of steps or for any other reason than to help clear a path for your mind to be a little more clear. You can listen to a book while walking, do walking meditation, dictate into a digital journal and practice gratitude all while walking.
I tell my clients, you are worth spending your time on and mental exercise is self-care, it is deliberate self-care. It is needed on a daily basis. Find the time to add these mental exercises into your day. If you don ’t think we have time, you can do 5 at once while on a walk and that walk will help you to sleep better.
