Thursday, April 22, 2010

Unit 10 Blog

From the personal assessment I rated myself in each one psychological, physical, and spiritual well being as seven. Now however having finished this course I realize how out of shape I really am so to speak. The scores I would give myself now are somewhat different. Psychologically I would rate myself a six. In Spirituality I think a need more work than before and would rate myself a four. In physical fitness I would rate myself now at a five. I have learned that I have so much more work to do to become integrally healthy. Although I have already begun the work and the most difficult part in my opinion is over because I am now aware of what to work on and have some tools to work with. I have begun exercising more regularly but have not started eating healthier. I have researched ways that could help me quit smoking now I need to use them. I do practice Loving Kindness, Subtle Mind, and Meeting Asclepius, but not as often as I would like to. These activities will help me with my psychological and spiritual goals by improving my ability to cope with stress, and want to smoke less. I thought quitting smoking would help my psychological and physical as well as spiritual well being but working towards these goals will help give me the ability to quick. I think that making time for me is important but now think that forgiveness and calm abiding might be better goals knowing what I have learned from this course. I really enjoy the practice and think it is rewarding. The most difficult was forgiveness, and this experience will make me more integral healthy and I will introduce my clients and make them aware soo that I can treat them with a holistic approach.

Unit 9 Blog

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?
Integral health is imperative for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because if the professional is not healthy or working towards this integral health they will not effectively treat others. I need to develop in each and every area to achieve the goals I have set for myself.II Assessment:How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?I had previously given myself scores of seven each domain. However after learning what I have in this course I think I should revise them. Psychologically I would give myself the score of six. I still have many areas to work on in this domain like forgiveness, and self esteem. Spiritually I would give myself a four. I am in tough with my spirituality however I have many things to work on and the Subtle Mind practice showed me just how much as did the Loving Kindness exercise. Physically I would give myself a five. I have a few pounds to lose and need to stop smoking, but most importantly I need to practice and learn to manage my stress more effectively in all areas so that I do not hold physically in my shoulders, muscles, and back. III Goal development:List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual. Psychologically I have the goal of forgiveness. Spiritually I have the goal of a subtle mind. Physically I have the goal of improving my fitness, stopping smoking, and releasing the stress I carry. 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. Psychological practices I can use for forgiveness are Loving Kindness and Meeting Asclepius (Dacher, 2006). Both of these exercises will increase my self esteem and help me learn to forgive and let go of negative feelings. Spiritually I intend on practicing the Crime of the Century and The Subtle Mind exercises to improve calm abiding of my thoughts, feelings and actions(Dacher, 2006). I also will continue prayer as this is an important way to improve my spirituality. Physically I will continue to walk for exercise and to relieve stress, eating better, healthier foods, and practicing the walking, standing and sitting meditation exercises I gained in this course (Boufis, 2009).
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?
This like other priorities in my life must be given appropriate time in my schedule. I will assess my progress every few weeks with a planned day and time in my schedule. I also intend on actually writing the time to do these activities in my daily schedule, this way I will keep the commitment and assess the progress according to these deadlines.



References
Boufis, C. (2009). Escape from pain. Natural Health, 39(9), 50-61. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=44326040&site=ehost -live
Dacher, E.S. (2006) Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications: United States of America.
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T. & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. Saint Louis, M.I.: Elsevier, Inc.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Unit 8 Comparison of two exercises

Loving Kindness and Meeting Asclepius are probably the most beneficial to me in my life right now. The Subtle Mind is definitely a strong one as well. I have already begun adding this to my daily life for several reasons. I am working on many things in my life right now and one is forgiveness. I need to forgive things that have happened in my childhood. Also I need to work on a stronger inner person. One that I respect love and take care of Meeting Asclepius is a great way for me to find and keep that person close. The Subtle Mind is very important as well because I need to control my thoughts, feelings, and images in my mind not allow them to control me.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Unit 7 Meeting Ascieplius

This practice was extremely beneficial to me. I had an empty house and could fully concentrate without any interruptions. Since I began these practices I can feel a change in my health and well being. I wake up refreshed, no soreness or stiffness. I have more patience with myself and my children. I have also had several incidences where I could have allowed negative emotions to consume me but I think positive thoughts and am not overwhelmed with negativity. My brand new mini van was in a hail storm on Monday and I know I mentioned this already in my discussion post last week, but I wanted to make sure I explained how my focus was so different in this situation. I was really angry, upset, saddened by this event. The van has considerable damage and is going to take several weeks to repair. I quickly found some positive aspects of the situation so I would not be consumed by the negative emotions. I concentrated on those and was for the first time in my life I was not consumed by them, I could concentrate on nothing else before as the images, emotions and thoughts ran through my head. But this was very different. I was amazed how quickly I was able to refocus my attention on positive emotions. Thanks for these practices and I will continue to use them daily and train my mind.

The saying "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" brings true meaning to learning from experience. This is very important for a health and wellness professional because you are not going to be able to lead someone to be healthier if you are sick yourself. For example, I was abused as a child, so I can understand what a foster child is going through, I can relate. I have empathy for a child going through the same things. If I do not improve on my integral health and well being I will not be able to lead someone because I will be sick and not know how.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Unit 6 Universal LovingKindness and Integral Assessment

The exercise was interesting, but difficult for me to stay focused and follow what I was saying. This is not my favorite practice but it could be useful for me to learn to love even my enemies by letting go of the anger, and sadness I have bottled up. The Integral Assessment will be very useful for my wholeness approach to well-being. I discovered I maintain many attributes and habits that contribute positively to my integral health, however there is still many things I need to work on. I didn't know where to begin. I am first going to work on my Interpersonal Development. I intend on taking time for myself, taking care of my personal needs. I then intend on working on my family by making activities throughout the week to make my husband and children integrally healthier. Family fun nights, with board games, video games.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Unit 5

1. Loving Kindness and The Subtle Mind are practices I have begun incorporating into my daily routine. The first practice Loving Kindness is based on breathing exercises and using the love and kindness to work in daily life for you and others. These two practices are similar in that they both require concentration and are centered in breathing while practicing them. The difference is in the Subtle Mind practice the breathing is a focal point. In loving kindness you calm your mind once and breath through out the entire session. In the Subtle Mind breathing is the focus and it is what keeps you from the distractions of thoughts, and outside noises. I hope to accomplish both of these completely. The subtle mind practice as with the loving kindness practice have obstacles for me. It will be very difficult for me to let go of the fear of the unknown, but I will practice this hopefully to succeed.
2. Spiritual wellness is vital to mental and physical wellness because you are not fully healthy and your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors will manifest illnesses and diseases in your body and mind without it. Personally I have difficulty with stress, it manifests itself and because I do not a full awareness that spiritual flourishing provides I am not capable of dealing with or being unaware of the stress created for me. I need to practice the abilities to calm, sooth, and find peace within myself to prevent the daily stress from making me ill.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Unit 4 Experience

1. This practice exercise was very interesting. I found it easy to find love for someone else. I used the love I feel for my children and my husband in the first part of the loving-kindness practice. There were two parts I found difficult and that was letting a loved one's suffering dissolve in my heart without keeping those feelings. I also found it difficult to wish this same love on my enemies. I did it and felt better but I am a grudge holder. I have a difficult time forgiving certain things that are in my past. These are not trivial easy to forgive occurrences and I realize that this part of my history makes me who I am today, but I have difficulty forgiving the person responsible because they have not accepted responsibility for their actions.

2. A mental workout is learning to take care of yourself by becoming more resilient and aware of your ability to cope with stress. This is a quality very important to your health and well-being. Psychological health is taking care of your feelings thoughts, and making conscious efforts to become at peace with who you are. The research indicates this will give you holistic good health and change you to become more of who you want to be.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Crime of the Century

This exercise was very interesting. I unfortunately was not able to relax with this one like the last. I did enjoy this but because of the amounts of stress and my cold I was not able to feel concentrate on relaxing. I will try this exercise again once I have recovered from my congestion and sinus headache to see. I felt like the light at the end was the sunshine. In the spring when I have been deprived of sunshine I like to sit on the deck in my backyard and let the sun shine on my face with my eyes closed. This part of the exercise reminded me of that feeling and I was feeling very relaxed at the end.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Personal Goals for Optimal Well Being

When it comes to my personal well-being I find myself contemplating optimal well-being. Currently I would rate my physical well-being a 7, my spiritual well-being is 7 and psychological well-being a 7 as well. A goal for my physical well-being would be to eat healthier foods, and exercise frequently. I would also like to quit smoking, but this is not just a physical goal it is all three. I depend on a cigarette break for all three physically calming to walk outside where it is peaceful, quiet, time for me, I also depend on a cigarette for that mental fix, and it is a crutch psychologically. This is a goal for a total optimal well being. The long term effects of this goal would be incredible towards my optimal well-being. Take steps to quit by researching which tools might work best to help me succeed with this goal. Spiritually I need to take time form myself to relax and unwind. Make time to take care of myself, do take one hour out of my schedule for everyone else in my life and do something for myself. Another goal is to say no sometimes. I overwork myself. I will make commitments and forget to take care of myself. I have four small children, a husband with an injury, and an elderly mother in law and I sometimes do not know when to say no.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Welcome to my blog spot! I look forward to learning about health and wellness and applying to my daily life. I am new to the blogging but hope this is a rewarding experience.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Relaxed

Hello everyone,
I just completed a relaxation exercise and WOW! am I relaxed and energized. I have meditation before, but right now I feel more relaxed than I have felt in a long time. I know you were supposed to close you eyes, but I enjoyed watching the light show while I was processing this journey. I intend on making this a part of my daily routine, because with four children, two part time jobs, full time learning, and an injured husband I can use all the help I can get. I enjoyed this journey and hope there are more relaxation techniques in future assignments. The tension I normally feel in my neck and shoulders creates numbness, tingling, stiffness, soreness and heaviness in my arms neck back and shoulders. I do not feel any of those symptoms. I see a chiropractor frequently, maybe these techniques will help with these symptoms. Right now I do not feel this way.