Unit 9 Project

I.              Introduction:
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because they themselves must achieve or at least be working towards total integral health for their patients to take them seriously when they are told they also need to develop these aspects of their lives to be truly healthy. As the old saying goes you must “practice what you preach”. The main area that I need to improve on and develop is the spiritual aspect of integral health.

II.            Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

I think my physical health is about an eight because I have been trying to drink less pop, eat less junk, and working out a little more to get ready for tryouts. I think my spiritual well-being has gone up a little from a three to about a five because I believe the things we have been learning and meditation exercises in this class have helped with that. I definitely still have a long way to go in this aspect but great things do not happen overnight. My psychological well-being has gone up from an eight to a nine. This class has also helped with that because it has been teaching me ways to reduce stress, and some of the other things in my life that were causing some mental anguish are working themselves out. It is not a ten though because there is always room for improvement.

III.           Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

My goal for the physical aspect is still to work out even more and eat healthier. Eating healthy has never really been one of my strong points. I think my goal for both the psychological and spiritual aspects are probably the same, which is to try to meditate more and really work on the visualization aspect of it because I know it would really help develop both aspects.

IV.          Practices for personal health:
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

For physical growth it is the same as the last question, to work out more and eat better. I will do this by setting a time each day for working out and stick to it no matter what. For psychological and spiritual growth I will use the loving-kindness exercise to work on visualizations and the journey on relaxation exercise to really get rid of stress and negative emotions because I know it works well for me.

V.           Commitment:
How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

I will use this same assessment process to rate my growth in the next six months. I will also write down workout schedules and meditation schedules on the calendar for each day as a reminder and a way of helping me to stick to it because I always do better if it is in writing and staring me in the face.  

Unit 8 Blog Post

Hello,
    The practice I felt to be most beneficial was the first one entitled Journey On Relaxation. I think this one was the most beneficial for me because I seemed to really be able to focus and feel the blood moving and the heaviness in my hands and arms which was interesting and very relaxing as well. Also I felt more calm and clear minded after completing this exercise. I basically felt the same about all of the other exercises. I found them all to be peaceful and relaxing but I had a hard time with all of the visualizations. I would start to get them then they would just fade away. I do not know if I am just lacking the focus right now or maybe I am just not far enough along in integral health and need to grow more. I can implement this practice in my life by finding more time for these practices and remembering them when I am beginning to feel stressed, angry, or overwhelmed.

Unit 7 Blog Post

Hello,
     I am really starting to think that I am not the meditating type. I really have tried to visualize the beams of light and the other things, but I cannot. I like the relaxation part and clearing your mind, I think it is helpful. Even though I am not very good at meditating I still think I am benefiting from the practice. I also use this in everyday situations when I am feeling overwhelmed to change my mindset to a more calm and peaceful state of mind. The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" basically means, practice what you preach. This applies to healthcare professionals in that they cannot tell people to eat healthy and not get stressed out when they themselves are overwhelmed and/or do not eat right and are overweight. I can implement spiritual growth in my life by trying to focus on finding the right spiritual path for me, and then developing it.

Unit 6 Blog Post

Hello,
    I think the exercise and assessment was more difficult this time without a recording to listen too. It is easier to clear your mind and focus with this type of exercise. I am learning that have a lot of work to do when it come to integral health, I have definitely been doing better though. I think my focus will be on the psychospiritual aspect of health because the mind is such an important aspect to overall health. To do this I am going to find more time for quiet reflection free from distractions to sort through my thoughts to develop my spiritual side as well.

Unit 5 Blog Post

Hello,
     I found this week's session to be about the same as the past few weeks. It was relaxing and nice to just sit back and listen to the sounds and the voice guiding you but I just really do not get the exercise itself. I think I just have a problem visualizing these things. None of them have been as beneficial as the first session and I am not really sure why. Spiritual, mental, and physical wellness are all connected because one has a direct effect on the other negative wellness in one aspect can have a negative effect on the others. For example when I am stressed or anxious I clench my teeth and get headaches.

Unit 4 Blog Post

Hello,

     I found this week's meditation session to be relaxing, as all the other ones have been. This one was also similar to last weeks in that I did not really get the breathing in other suffering and accepting your body. So I guess I did find it somewhat difficult. Perhaps I just have not yet gained enough integral health yet. When considering accepting your body I may also have a problem doing that considering I am a paraplegic now and cannot feel anything below the waist, and confined to a wheelchair. Don't get me wrong though I have no real problem with being in a wheelchair, I make the best of it. I am one more quarter away from my associate’s degree and I play sled hockey, as well as many other things. When it comes to recommending this practice I would have to say it would depend on the person's personality whether or not I would recommend it. 

Mental workouts involve training your brain to be able to achieve a certain mindset at any given time to help avoid stress and other undesirable states of mind. The biggest benefit of mental training is not feeling overwhelmed and not suffering from chronic conditions like high blood pressure and an enlarged heart. I will try to take deep breaths and remain calm in stressful or high pressure situations. 

Unit 3 Blog Post

I would rate my physical well-being at about a seven because I am sure I could stand to lose a few pounds and I am a paraplegic so there are some down sides to my physical well-being because of that too. However, I do play sled hockey so I am fairly in-shape. My spiritual well-being is pretty low probably like a three or four because I just do not know what to believe in anymore. I have been trying to find something that makes sense to me though. My psychological well-being is probably the highest at about an eight although it is really being tested lately. I keep it higher by trying to not let things get to me and keeping my emotions in check.

My goal for physical well-being will be to drink less coffee and other sugary drinks, I drink a lot of coffee and pop. For spiritual well-being I think I just need to find something that works. I do not really know how to set an exact goal for this aspect of well-being. For my psychological well-being my goal is to just remain calm and refocus the energy from emotional distress into positive things like the meditation we are learning in this class.

I need to start using my home gym more and really try to visualize and focus on the meditation we are learning because I can really see how it help in most of these aspects.

The session we did this week for meditating was relaxing to just take the time to lay back and listen to the instructors calming voice and focus on breathing and just relaxing in general, but I found that visualizing the light coming out to be somewhat strange. I guess I just did not really get the point of what the light was representing.