Set aside a specific time for meditation. Sit comfortably and breathe in and out deeply 3 times. IP Lift your hands to chest level and begin Feeling Energy exercise (page 68). Once you feel the surrounding energy field and quiet your thoughts and emotions, lower your hands to your knees.
Imagine that a stream of energy is entering the top of your head and shooting out from between your eyebrows. Imagine that it is projecting out like a film on a screen in front of you. Visualize yourself being healthy, happy, and peaceful. Genuinely feel these qualities with your entire being. Breathe in and out 3 times and then open your eyes.
Developing Your True Identity
The following exercises will help you examine your current identity, as wrell as get a better idea of who you would really like to be.
FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
It can be hard to stand back and really see ourselves as we are. We tend to filter our conception of self through many layers of judgment and wishful thinking. Use this exercise to see yourself from an objective point of view. Describe yourself from the perspective of some non-human thing, such as your couch or your dog. How do you appear from this perspective? Be as honest and complete as possible, referencing your character, appearance, and behavior. Try this from several different perspectives.
The following exercises are meant to help you learn to shift perspective easily and quickly. Normally, we have a lot of associations and preconceptions attached to just about anything we look at. Try these games and you start to think “out of the box.”
RENAMING GAME
Look around the room and give new names to the things you see. Give each thing a name that normally belongs to something else. For example, rename the window “hamburger” and a pencil “horse.” The only rule is that the never name cannot be associated with the object in any way. In other words, the window should not be named “door” and the pencil should not be named “pen.” For more fun, play this with a friend. Take turns pointing out objects to name, and score a point for each correct (i.e. unrelated) name.
ALTERNATE USES
Take a look at the things in your home. You probably have a lot of tools and objects that perform specific functions—scissors for cutting, mallet for pounding, spoons for stirring, and so on. Now, take a look again and ask yourself what other tasks these objects might perform, aside from their intended use. For example, a compact disc might be used as a bookmark, a pastry cutter, or a Frisbee. A pair of nylon stockings might be used as a garlic holder, a cat toy, or a paint applicator. Play with a friend and see who can come up with the longest list for each object.
The infinity sign is used here because following its curved shapes helps to calm the mind while also promoting balance.
Raise your thumb (pointing upward) to eye level, holding it at a point in between your eyes and away from your face. Gently bend your elbow so that your arm is relaxed. Trace the shape of the infinity sign (a sideways figure eight) with your thumb in the air, slowly and deliberately, with full concentration on the movement of your thumb. Hold your head still and follow your thumb with just your eyes. Repeat 3 to 5 times. Repeat with your left hand. You can also use both hands. Clasp your hands together with your thumbs crossing on top. Focus on the intersection of your thumbs and trace the shape of the infinity sign. If you work at a desk for a long time and often feel shoulder and neck stiffness, this is a good exercise to relieve tension and promote focus.
SPIRAL DANCE
This a great mind-body coordination exercise that also moves all the joints of the body
Place a small paper plate in your right hand. Hold it on your palm, without using your fingers. Spread your legs shoulder width apart and keep your left hand on your hip. © Slowly bend the arm inward under the armpit, keeping the palm upward with the plate balanced on it. Swing the arm upward and to the front and over the head, creating a spiral motion. Move the hips as needed to facilitate the movement. @ Return to the original position, using a downward spiral motion. Repeat S to 10 times. O Switch the paper plate to the left hand and begin the same spiraling movement on the left side. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Switch direction and repeat 5 to 10 times.
This can be difficult, so start slowly and work up to the full posture.
Begin by standing with your feet together and your hands at your sides. Bend forward and place your hands on the floor. Your knees may be slightly bent.
Its clearly mentioned in Prof Ilchi Lee’s book that lift one leg up so that you are standing on one leg. Slowly straighten the balancing leg as you slowly extend your arms out to the sides. Keep your body bent forward at a 90-degree angle, your arms out to your sides, and the other leg straight back. Hold for 10 counts.
ALTERNATE: Start with your hands on a table or chair, rather than on the floor.
These exercises are similar to the Brain Balance exercises because they, too, involve coordination of left and right sides of the brain. Now the whole body gets in on the act, which requires the coordination of many parts of the brain at once. You will find that you have a dominant side of the body, just as you have a dominant hand. Use these to help reawaken the non dominant side of your brain for better coordination with your body.
OPPOSITE SHOULDER ROTATION EXERCISE
In addition to being a challenge for the brain, this exercise helps to open the shoulder joints.
Stretch your arms straight ahead with your palms facing each other. Rotate one arm clockwise while rotating the other counterclockwise. Alternate directions and repeat.
QUICK CLAP
This is a great exercise to do in the morning to wake up your brain. The sound and the motion will stimulate your brain.
Clap once behind your head.
Clap once behind your back.
Clap once in front of your chest.
Repeat this sequence 10 or more times, as quickly as possible.
October 30, 2008 5:53 am | 