Resilience

Resilience
Student’s Name
Institutional affiliation

Resilience
Body Scan
Initially, I had trouble concentrating. My mind kept wandering off, and I found myself struggling to take it back to the body scan. After a few tries, I was eventually able to do the body scan on my arms. In a sitting position, I concentrated on my right arm, the point where my fingers touched each other and the sensation of moving the table. I had to repeat the process a few times, each time to concentrate on a different body part to feel a connection between the mind and the body. I could explore the control of the mind over the body parts and the connections between different parts of the body. The feeling was pleasurable, mainly because it gave me something to focus. I have been trying to use this approach to boost my levels of concentrations when doing tedious and repetitive tasks and so far, I feel that the body scan is bringing my mind to the task at hand and increasing my concentration.
Squeeze & Hold
After taking a few breaths in a comfortable standing position, my shoulders felt uncomfortable. They felt strained and tired. As per the instructions (Menakem, 2017), I held my shoulder blade for one minute and continued to rub it gently before squeezing the spot for another minute. After the squeeze and hold, I rolled the shoulders, feeling for the tension I had felt earlier. I felt relaxed, the feeling I enjoy after a long shower. Squeezing and holding relived the pressure on the shoulders and created a new feel-good factor.

Initially, I attributed the factor to the experience of relaxation. However, after repeating the process with my other shoulder and enjoying the same feeling, I am convinced that the squeeze and hold routine produced the change. It is incredible to think that a simple process can help me to overcome some concentration issues and focus on what I want to do.

References
Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Las Vegas, N.V.: Central Recovery Press.