Published in Authority Magazine by Parveen Panwar Nov 17
Emotional well-being: without daily exercise and meditation my emotional well-being would not be as strong as it is now. Meditation is a practice that helps me accept and respond to emotional triggers. Dealing with PTSD, my emotional well-being is crucial to keeping my mental health in check. Mindful meditation is a daily discipline that brings emotional balance to my life.
Mental wellness and Spiritual connection: The practice that blends these two together in my life is mindful meditation. With over 20 years of meditation experience, the practice really took hold in 2016 when the school from which I recently retired experienced three student suicides in the span of about a year; two were just before the start of school. Needless to say, it was a very shaky start that year. Meditation came back to mind, as a way to deal with grief and it seemed my students might need this calming practice as well. For a number of years after this experience, mindful meditation became a cornerstone of my teaching practice. Students of many ages and backgrounds have shared mindful meditation together and have expressed the benefits they felt from a moment of calm body and peaceful mind.
Emotional well-being: without daily exercise and meditation my emotional well-being would not be as strong as it is now. Meditation is a practice that helps me accept and respond to emotional triggers. Dealing with PTSD, my emotional well-being is crucial to keeping my mental health in check. Mindful meditation is a daily discipline that brings emotional balance to my life.
Self-care: Daily meditation practice and physical exercise routines are the main ways I focus on self-care. Self-compassion and non-judgment are skills a person learns from mindful meditation practice. There are many types of meditation techniques and all have a self-care component that encourages being kind to oneself and finding joy or contentment in life. Bringing awareness to the body in the present moment through meditation anchors such as breath and sound or sensations allow me to take care of my emotional needs while physical exercise allows me to engage in movement, which is a vital daily need. When the weather or time of day does not permit outdoor exercise safely, yoga supplements my daily need for physical exercise.
Physical exercise/sport: I have been exercising daily or several times a week for over 45 years. Over this time I have participated in competitive sports in college as well as triathlons and road races as an individual. At almost 60 years of age, my daily exercise session is still a mainstay. Walking, easy jogging, mountain biking, yoga and swimming are the types of exercise that I participate in. Without physical exercise, I can get pretty grumpy. For example, when I exercise outdoors, it is an active reflection time to work out personal and work-related issues as well as tuning in to my body and mind. I often literally talk to myself while exercising outdoors. There have been many imaginary conversations between others and myself in my life, be it a family member or work colleague. Luckily, I live in the country and don’t encounter many other humans on my walks and jogs! Usually, by the time I get back home, issues have been worked out and of course I feel much better.
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