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Show Emotional Health Intellectual Health body mind spirit Physical Health Social Health FOR STUDENTS STUDENTS BY Spiritual Health Written by Saeed Abbaszadeh & Stephanie Liebmann wareness To r become mindful, that is the answer. Our behavior is often mindless. How many times has this occurred to you? set out for work or school without thinking about how you got there, yet you arrive safely and on time? While mindless or automatic behavior is useful because it frees our conscious mind to think about other things, mindless behavior often means we get into ruts.That is, even when we 1 should change our habits we don't, and, as a result, we keep doing the same things over and over. If we want to change we need to become mindful of our cognition. When we become mindful we gain the power to change and control things.The ability to control or simply . the belief that one can control his or her destiny has always been You important for physical and psychological health. How does one become mindful There are . editation ' What to do: Listen to yourself for n is. you're like most people, your mind at way too many thoughts per minute, telling you what you need to do next..or that Biochem ' i i i your point? Your mind talks too running through the day's events (or '.. what to do the next day) for at least half an hour. How can you quiet your mind enough to pay attention to what matters ?...More importantly, how d can you reclaim that extra, really vi? happen. Third, you learn not only to make decisions but you learn how to make decisions. Decision making is something that all of us need to practice. If you learn to make decisions about simple things, you will T I- much-neede- half develop the ability to make decisions about important things. Fourth, you learn to take control of your thinking process. The more you think about your thinking, the more you will hour of sleep? Through the practice of meditation, you can become better acquainted with '' forcing yourself to make a conscious decision about things that you do, you slowly become aware of the fact tha you often do things By your mind by learning how to turn off I I that inner dialogue that sometimes distracts you from real new-foun- life. With this quiet you can learn how to d better control your mind and body. for reasons. The next time you turn on the television ask yourself: "why am I Also through meditation, you can balance turning on the television? Is there something else I could do?" You can use your chakras which can lead to better emotional and physical health and, ultimately, ' itifuc iwi eimwai cvciyuinig jvu If do. you find yourself making a value judg- ment such as " I hate living in this climate, this ii to a higher state of consciousness and greater connection with your Supreme Being. city, working with these people," ask yourself exactly what it is you don't like and if you want to do something about it This forces you to make finer and finer distinctions. In doing so, ycu learn to isolate or identify what it is that you don't like. You might discover, using Get Started As a beginner, it is very easy your job and leave your friends in order to be happy, you only have to a new house or apartment What have you done is turned what to move appeared to be an insurmountable problem into a very manageable one. discovered that you can become happier without having to quit your to avoid any extra distraction. This means you may have to meditate early in the morning or late at night if you live in a noisy place! a quiet place - ) if 7 ff. You can bring symbols of your faith ful Images (like a or a cross or other power- ,? kA mood and help you clear your mind. on the floor (you can d touching the ground (or as close as they can get without being uncomfortable). This forms your connection to the earth. Keep your back straight automatically hold your back will you straighten A straight back aligns your chakras for meditation, but don't strain or force your back to straighten. You want to be comfortable and not thinking about your back is straight enough. There are many mudras (how if resting on your knees, your hands resting palm-dow- This n. complete circuit for your body's energy to flow through. Now, close your eyes and lightly touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Breathe naturally but deeply through your nose, feeling your lower abdomen expand and contract with each breath. Your body should be completely relaxed, and your mind should be clear. Experience every sensation your body feels. Now focus on your breath, watching and out of your body. Count the first inhale as I , then your exhale in as 2, the next inhale as 3, Directly translated from Hindi, th word chakra means wheel of spinning energy, and so the 7 major chakras are major energy centers of our bodies. There are dozens of minor chakras. but the major chakrai are located within the body, aligning vertically along the front of the ver- When the chakras are balanced, as through g meditation or techniques, the Kundalini serpent of energy and awareness rises crystal-balancin- www.yogajournal.com wwwyogaslte.com from the root chakra and releases Its energy through all chakras, ultimately connecting us with the Supreme Being. When the chakras are not tebral column and correlating to major nerve balanced, creativity, spirituality, and life energy (chl or ql) cannot flow freely, leading to poor emo- ganglia In each region. tional and physical health. rS rSS & For more Information on yoga: www.yogafinder.com www.yogadirectory.com Yoga classes are also offered through the University, Adult Community Education, & Yoga studios throughout Salt Lake. For more Information about Student Health Service, SHAC, or Head to Tot contact Head to Tot Edited by: Stephanie Uebmann and Rick Thompson 58S-S29- 5. and so on. If you're counting breaths, and thoughts arise (other than the counting), re-foc- us on your breath and start your counting over at ...and, yes, thinking, I I thinking?" counts as a thought!) At first try, you may be lucky to get past I, but with practice, you will be able to count higher and higher. Try to practice for at least 10 minutes at a time, at least once a Chak creates a Simply be. is certain- ly not necessary. It may be helpful to burn incense (my suggestion: nag champa) or a candle to set the th sit on a pillow), your feet between your calf and thigh and your knees ("Am Buddha figurine) into your meditation place to focus on, but this You job and leave your friends. As a result you have gained a great deal of power and control over your life. It all happened because you learned to become mindful of your cognition. to get distracted during meditation, so you will want to choose thing such as traffic. If you come to realize that it your neighborhood and not the city, you have gained a great deal of power. Now, instead of having to quit cross-legge- it flow Create an environment this approach, that it is not the city you are living in that you dislike but rather the neighborhood in which you live, the house, or even some particular count-every-brea- the hands are positioned during meditation), but let's try having your wrists The answer, my friends, is meditation. will meditation--th- e spine, out of the top of your head, and into the sky. Visualize this, and even go to sleep at night without v. W start with an easy as if a string were running up your mean- ingless things. Most people can't ! the ocean. Right now we'll Sit opt for gum instead. c in meditation: that breath mints much and too often about change.When you generate alternatives you learn to appreciate the fact that life is always made up of alternatives. Second, you gain a sense of control. When you make a decision you become aware of the fact that life is not just happening to you but you are making it r kill chewiness of gum and the next time you'll you need a quick breath-fix- , I My sound, several things happen when you do this. First, you learn to generate alternatives. If you are going to make a decision you obviously need to have alternatives. Generating alternatives is a creative act and is the basis for all behavioral una to are tasty, but you like the satisfying ing may become aware of your cognition and the more you be able to control your thinking. is really going GPA this semester...or ; f ' number of things you can do. Each time you decide to do something, ask yourself if there is something else you might do instead. As trivial and banal as this line of question- than there are waves is rac- ing of one's enanitinn? a There are more ways to meditate mean really listen...What do you hear? I If a minut- e- day. Meditating right before bed is a great mind and body will already be relaxed, so it will be easier to fall idea--yo- ur asleep, and you will sleep more deeply! Regular practice will help you learn more about your mind and body and how to better control them...talk about stress relief! Funded In part by th University of Utah Publications Council. Designed by Amber Lee Smith RED MAGAZINE I JANUARY 10, 2002 |
