Unit 10 - Class Reflection

In Unit 3 we were asked to reflect on the areas of psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being.

 I gave myself an 8 for my physical well-being. Now, I would still give myself an 8 because I am still working on getting a set workout plan for myself instead of being all over the place trying something new every other day. I actually believe that consistency is the key in physical well-being. I just need to be more specific about what I will do from day to day and build a schedule so that I am better able to stick to it.

I also rated my spiritual well-being at an 8 and I would still give myself the same rating again. I have started reading my Bible more now than I was before this class and it is almost like reading it for the first time all over again. There are so many life lessons within the pages of the Bible and I plan to continue my familiarization with it. There is more to be learned so I am far from a 10.

I previously rated my psychological well-being at a 7 and now I would rate it at an 8. Through this class I have learned to intersect my mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. I have a better understanding of how all aspects of my well-being work together to create wholeness within my entire body. With this understanding I believe I have moved to a rating of an 8 from a 7.

As far as the goals I set for myself in unit 3, I can honestly say that I have made definite progress towards each one of them. I have made myself more familiar with my Bible, I am beginning to offer tips on health and wellness information to my co-workers as a Regional Engagement Leader for our newly started wellness program. I also set up biometric screenings for all employees so we can all have a better picture of where we are in regards to blood pressure, BMI, triglyceride levels, LDL and HDL levels, and our actual heights and weights. Though I have not lost much weight (2 lbs.) I can honestly say that I have lost a total of 3 inches around my waist. I have not yet joined a Cross fit class but I have found a new church home and have begun to research different fitness certifications.

Unit 9 Final Project

 

I. Introduction

As a health and wellness professional, it is of the utmost importance to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. We set the standard for what we uphold to be integral health and it is up to us as health and wellness professionals to serve as the example for those we secure as clients. Listed below are the ways in which I believe health and wellness professionals should develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically.

            Psychological Development

In order to help others, regardless of the chosen career field you are involved in, you must have the right frame of mind and focus on the task at hand.  In health and wellness, one must be able to relate and interact with their clients in a way that the client knows the health and wellness professional is well versed in this field. This gives the client the confidence to trust you to help them achieve their goals. In order to do so, the mind must be free and clear of negative thoughts and focused on the good that comes from helping someone achieve their goal. One must also be able to draw from their own past experiences and relate them to the journey their client will have to go through to achieve the goals you have set forth for them. Psychological development starts from birth and continues on as you grow older. Experiences as well as the knowledge one gains while studying to become a health and wellness professional all contribute to their psychological development. Having a healthy and whole psychological development is of the utmost importance when it comes to being able to fully commit to helping others.

            Spiritual Development

Spiritual development is the one area that always seems to be the last portion that is looked at for development. I believe as a health and wellness professional, achieving integral health definitely involves spiritual development. Integral health cannot be achieved without looking at all aspects of health, which certainly includes spirituality. I believe in order to give clients a greater understanding of spiritual development in the body, they must understand that there is a greater force in this world that keeps our inner focus on alert. There has to be a balance within the body that included the spiritual aspects as a part of the wholeness that creates integral health. Health and wellness have to teach their clients that the entire body, inside and out, from head to toe, requires mental, psychological, physical, and emotional healing in order to work as one. In order to teach this to clients, health and wellness professionals must have and continue to practice wholeness in their life by constantly integrating the psychological, physical, mental, and emotional aspects of their being.

            Physical Development

Physical development, more than anything else, is the first thing a client has to go off of when they first see and meet you. Health and wellness professionals must maintain a great physical development because this is the first impression the client has of us. It is easy to tell someone what they should be doing to achieve great physical health but if we have not yet achieved physical health ourselves it can be very hard for a client to have belief that you are the right person to help them accomplish their healthy lifestyle changes. Physical development is just one portion of a bigger puzzle that once put together will be a picture of integral health. It is also important for clients to see you have a developed a great physical appearance because it shows proof that there is something you are doing right. This gives the client that bit of assurance to know they have made the right choice in picking you to help them reach their health and wellness goals.

Ultimately, in order to develop myself psychologically, spiritually, and physically I still need to concentrate on balancing all three together. I usually end up concentrating on one more than the other but in order to reach integral health, I should begin to maintain them all as one strong unit.

II. Assessment

Assessing my own health in each domain can sometimes be difficult. I say this because when I look at each one separately I believe I have made great strides and accomplished a great deal. When I look at all domains as a whole, I can easily see that I lack a bit more in some areas versus others. I believe my spiritual wellness has increased a bit since being in this class. I’ve been able to address some issues I’ve had filed away in my mental memory bank and doing so has lightened my mental load by a great deal, thus increasing my spiritual wellness. There still are things that I can do mentally to increase my wellness in that area. I say this because I tend to be a worrier and those things I worry about stay on my mind until I’ve found a reasonable solution. Even then I still think about them. It would benefit me greatly to learn how to let go of those things that are beyond my control. It is at that moment that my life will gain more control, but not until I relinquish those things I believe I have to control. I am also still on a physical journey and will continue to be for the rest of my life. I truly believe physical wellness is an on-going process. I work hard to get to my goals then once there I have to continue to work hard to maintain those accomplishments. In the long run, when I create balance among these three areas they will start to work together to help me maintain overall wellness.

 

 

 

III. Goal Development

Goad development is an important aspect in achieving integral health and continuing to maintain it. For my personal goal development I have targeted one goal that I want to reach in my physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness.

            Physical Goal

The goal I have for myself physically is to start cross-fit training. I have done Insanity and P90X but I now want to move on to a class that will allow me to interact with others. I crave the camaraderie and the motivation I would receive by being in a class and watching others strive for their own physical advancement.

            Psychological Goal

The goal I have for myself psychologically is to give myself more credit for the things I have accomplished in life thus far. I say this because I am super critical of myself and tend to judge my accomplishments on a different scale than the regular everyday person. This is because I have the perfectionist trait and I want everything to be done to the point that there are not possible ways to improve it. As I get older, I have realized that sometimes just right is ok. I have come quite a ways in letting things go but in my eyes, I still have some work to do.

            Spiritual Goal

My spiritual goal I would like to achieve is to become more spiritually faithful. I have a strong spiritual belief, yet at times, I have my moments of doubt. I want to get to the point where I am not second guessing or questioning the things I believe in and the way I feel about the spiritual aspects of things. I want to be able to trust in my spirituality completely and not find myself drifting back over to doubt.

I believe that by putting my plan into action and accomplishing these three goals, I will be able to make goals that are more long-term while I continue to move closer to being at my healthy full potential.

IV. Practices for Personal Health

The strategies I can implement to foster growth in my physical, psychological, and spiritual domains include:

            Physical Domain

I will incorporate yoga into my physical fitness routines in order to gain more flexibility and to calm my mind and body at the end of a long work day. I will also increase my strength training. Most times I concentrate on cardio but I need to either do free weights or use the exercise machines in order to increase my strength.

            Psychological Domain

I will incorporate having a designated time in the day for 20 to 30 minutes of undisturbed quiet time to reflect on my life and further understand what I need to do in order to continue to accomplish my goals. I will also incorporate chanting positive affirmations into my morning routine. I believe this will have a positive benefit on my frame of mind by the time I make it to work every morning. This will also create a better chance of my day remaining positive.

            Spiritual Domain

I will read my Bible more. As a child going to Sunday school I was able to quote just about any verse you could ask for but now not so much. I believe it is time I reacquainted myself with my Bible to gain an understanding of my spiritual self. I will also start going back to Bible study once a week. I will do this if for no other reason, to bring my spiritual being back out into the forefront of my life.

V. Commitment

The best way for me to assess my progress or lack of progress over the next six months is to actually sit down and write down my goals. I would first write down my short term goals (from day to day, then from week to week) for the first three months and from there I will develop my longer term goals for the last three months (from month to month) once I have accomplished a few of my short term goals. I believe that writing them down will help me to stick to accomplishing each one of them. Creating the short term goals first will give me the opportunity to commit to smaller goals, making it easier down the line for me to continue to maintain accomplishing my long term goals. This will give me a clear picture as to whether or not I am actually accomplishing all the things I have promised myself to do. The same way I write a to-do list every morning when I get to work is the same way I will write down my daily goals. This is a surefire way for me to stick to my timeline for accomplishing those things I have created a time limit for.

Fostering Mental Fitness

I must say the practice sessions have gone pretty good for me. If I had to choose two practices that were the most beneficial to me I would definitely choose the Loving Kindness and the Visualization. The Loving Kindness practice because like anyone else, I tend to get caught up in what is going wrong in my life and dwelling on it far too long. The Loving Kindness practice session helped me to focus on others whose situation is a little less ideal than my own situation. I believe when we get bogged down by those things we see as being terrible in our own lives the focus tends to be all negative. If I continue to adjust my thought pattern to someone who maybe isn’t able to make their own decision or who is no longer here on earth when I’m feeling a bit self-loathing I believe I will see the brighter side of my situations. This practice will help me to keep the negative thoughts out and continue to be positive, thus fostering my mental fitness.

The Visualization practice because this type of practice allows me to take my mind to a time and place that is perhaps better than the current state I am in at that moment. When I feel I need just a minute to calm my brain activity and relax a bit I always visualize the beach in Jamaica where I went on my honeymoon. During that time in my life I was venturing in new territory being married and it was a bit scary yet I was so excited and anxious to embark on that new journey. This brings me a sense of calm because I can remember the soothing waters of the ocean and just how clean and clear the water was. I visualize seeing my reflection in those clear waters and it makes me relaxed and calm. It takes me back to a time when the toils and troubles of life had not yet set in completely and I was still a bit more carefree in life. This is definitely a way to foster mental fitness because it helps me to self-heal and bring my mind to a state of calm quickly.

I will definitely continue to use practices like these and methods of meditation to foster my mental health in the future.

 

Meeting Aesclepius

My meditative practices for the week include meditation through visualization 3 to 4 times per week. If there is nothing that I want to visualize specifically, I usually think of one particular thing to visualize. I mostly visualize white sands on a beach with a slight blowing of the wind, clear skies, clear water and beautiful salt water fish. This week’s meditative exercise made my visualization of this scene even more brighter and realistic thanks to the ocean waters. Depending on the day I’ve had, my visualization can be extremely energizing or completely null and void because I fall asleep. I’ve noticed lately that I tend to doze while listening to guided meditation. My days have been rather tiring the last few weeks so I’ve not been quite able to focus as much as I’d like to. On those days that are difficult for me to focus I usually end up listening to the very distinct sound of white noise and this usually helps to wake me up. All in all, meditation has been very good for me and I will continue to do it even long after we are done with this class. I also believe meditation has opened my mind and heart to be more spiritual. This practice has allowed me through visualization to connect with a higher being and to create a higher level of consciousness in my mind, body, and spirit. I believe that continued meditation will increase my health and wellness leading me to optimal health.

The saying “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means you cannot teach someone about something you have yet to open your mind to. I see this saying as giving directions. It would be impossible for someone to ask me to give them directions to someplace I’ve never been to and all they have is the name of the place and no address. I can’t lead them in the right direction if I’ve never heard of or gone to the place they are asking directions to. The same goes for health and wellness. I believe that in order to help others reach their health and wellness goals, I would have had to go through the same training and dedication I would expect from my clients. Going through the same thing allows me to understand them from a different angle than just as a client/patient angle. The interaction becomes more personal because I am better able to understand the struggle and help them to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There definitely is an obligation to develop my own psychological, spiritual, and physical health because the client needs to be helped and trained in all of these areas. The client might actually open my eyes to an even bigger understanding of who I am from any or all of these angles through their fight to gain integral health.  

 

Loving Kindness and Integral Assessment

Boy oh boy! This exercise this week was a bit hard for me. I've typed this response on several occasions and just have not been able to get through it without breaking down. It made me think of the last time I talked to my father before he died. I'd always had a very close relationship with my father even though he was not living in the same household as I was. As I grew older our relationship slowly started slipping away. Even though we did not see each other as much we did still talk on a regular basis. The week before he died I had planned to make a trip to Arkansas (his hometown) with him for Christmas but my grandmother became ill and I couldn't go. He still went and he was still trying to get me to catch a later flight there but I didn't want to leave my grandmother while she was in the hospital. Two days later and one week before Christmas in 2009 he suddenly died with no indication to anyone that he was not feeling well. This meditation made me think of the last time I talked to him and how rushed the conversation was because I was at work. I wish on a daily basis that I could hear his voice again. This also made me think about others who have lost a parent/parents and who probably go through the exact same thing I was going through at this very moment. I don't feel that anyone is undeserving of love and though I know there are people who don't always get along with their parents, I realize that there was not a day that went by that I did not show and tell both of my parents how much I loved them except that last conversation I had with my father. Time is too valuable to waste on having ill feelings towards a parent. Now that I only have one living parent I do as much as I can for her and I talk to her and tell her on a daily basis how much she is loved. There is no reason whatsoever to ever allow my mind, body, or spirit to have ill feelings towards anyone because I know just how much it hurts to know that the very last time I spoke to my dad I didn't tell him that I loved him.

Doing this exercise and assessment made me discover that I have a need that is pulling at my subconscious to be more spiritual. I have not been to church in a while and I don't attend services on a regular basis, mainly because of work. I have chosen the spiritual area of my life to be the focus of growth and development. I've said it before and I will say it again; I need to get back to church. This is the time when I need to re-evaluate everything in my life and do some adjusting so that I can start back to going to church. Other than going to church I can pray and meditate a bit more. Increased spirituality will help to foster greater wellness for me.

Unit 5 PowerPoint Presentation

Loving Kindness vs. Subtle Mind

OK, after having a very long week and weekend I decided that listening to the Subtle Mind exercise would help to rejuvenate me and calm my mind racing. While I did like the Loving Kindness exercise because it allowed me to focus my thoughts and love on someone else other than myself, I truly enjoyed the Subtle Mind exercise. I say this because I am one who really listens to the background noises and music played while the narrator is talking. The sound of the ocean waves was so calming and refreshing that I pretty much zoned out and only heard that. I did hear the faint sound of a musical instrument as well but man oh man, hearing those waves took me back to summer nights when my husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) and I would walk along the lakefront and find a nice spot to sit and just be in the present! This type of exercise allows me to visualize more effectively because instead of hearing constant talking, I hear the background sounds and am able to transfer my thoughts to that place that reminds me of what I hear.

The connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is undeniable, at least to me. I believe when I have prayed and have given all things up to God, both my physical and mental wellness is so much better. This is why I believe it all begins and ends with the spirituality aspect of things. When my spirit is in the right place, I don't worry about things and my body feels a sense of relief because I am not worrying and stressed out about worldly things. Though I do not make it to church on a very regular basis, I am very much in touch with my spiritually and am able to make that spiritual connection with God in my own way. I am a firm believer that you don't have to be in church to show how thankful you are for your blessings. You also do not have to wait until Sunday to do so. I am making my connection with God on an everyday basis and this is healthy for both my mind and my body.