Unit 10 Blog Post (Final)

1.        Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas . How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

2.        Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

3.        Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

4.        Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

5.        Participate in the blogs of at least two classmates

 

Class, 

QUESTION 1

This class has been an important one in my journey to achieve optimal health in mind, body and spirit. I scored myself pretty high in Unit 3: Physical well-being=7, Spiritual well-being=7, Psychological well-being=6 (all out of 10). I have been dealing with a very personal family matter since December 26, 2010. It has involved domestic violence, lawyers, court and custody. This is my life; life on life’s terms. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since then however I thought I was dealing with it as best as possible. Taking this class has realized that I suffered unnecessarily and also I’m not prepared for the “curveballs” life throws at me especially with this situation. Because of this realization, I would lower the scores in spiritual and psychological well-being.

QUESTION 2

The only goal I reached is the physical goal (30 minutes of walking around my complex three times a week). While I’m not walking around my complex, I’m working out to two exercise DVDs. My spiritual and psychological goals have not been met on a consistent basis. I consider myself making progress towards each of these goals. I need to do better though.

 QUESTION 3

I have implemented the activities for physical and spiritual but not psychological. I’m not sure why I haven’t done the psychological part. I know it’s the “missing link” so to speak. One would think that the “free” part of the psychological part would be a motivator but it’s not. Now that I have a week off from school, I will call my EAP program tomorrow to schedule an appointment. I know that I need to talk to someone because the latest episode with my family issue has really thrown me for a loop.

QUESTION 4

My personal experience throughout this course has been a challenging one. The class is a level 4 class and required me to critically think about all topics. It required the usual reading, discussion board posts with the appropriate references to what I read. Because this class is a level 4 class, the seminar was not required however I attended all but two of them. They were extremely beneficial not only to the subject matter but in my life in general. This class also required me to do the contemplative practices and put those experiences in words. This class and my experiences have bolstered my faith! I want to thank my classmate’s honesty and willingness to share their experiences. It has been an instrumental piece in my experience in this class also. I had to take a hard, fast look at what I “think” I’m doing. I came to the conclusion that I was a “legend in my own mind.” However I know that God made me in His/Her image and God don’t make no junk. I am whole, perfect and complete even with my health challenges. I always share from my experiences and always preface something that is not my experience by saying so. I believe that we all are here to serve others in one capacity or another. I hope that I will be a beacon of light in someone’s life. If I touch only one person, than that is perfect! 

 

I want to wish all of you good luck and good skill And if you believe in God….God bless you!!!

 

Christine

Unit 9 Final Project

 Class,

 

Here's my Unit 9 Final Project. Any and all feedback is welcome.

 

Good luck, good skill and God bless you in all of your endeavors.

 

Christine

 

I.                   INTRODUCTION

 

According to Dacher, the healer is the key to the evolution and fulfillment of the integral healing process (2006). It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because in order to become agents of a more expansive health, they must begin with their own lives (Dacher, 2006). This requires hands-on learning as well as book learning. By developing psychologically, spiritually and physically through contemplative practices, health and wellness professionals will discover the profound possibilities of integral health and healing (Dacher, 2006). What better way to ascribe to a path of healing than to experience it yourself? This experience helps to confirm that it is possible to alleviate human suffering and ascend to human flourishing. This healing approach will become alive for them and their personal work will become a sacred responsibility. It will help others and create a better world (Dacher, 2006).

 

I need to develop in all areas: psychologically, spiritually and physically in order to achieve the goals I have for myself. I have realized that while I wholeheartedly believe that the approach of integral health can be achieved and have practiced it albeit fragmented over the years, that I am my own roadblock. I am great at starting things but lousy at the follow through. I start out with a bang and end with a whimper. This class has helped me see that I am allowing past relationships and situations to hinder me from achieving my highest self, my highest health! I need to develop a deeper sense of commitment to this process. Time management is an area that I need to work on constantly. I have to be able to integrate my work life with my school life with my personal life and create a healthy balance. I also have to be committed to the practices while being forgiving and gentle with myself if I do not do them.

II.                ASSESSMENT

            I have assessed my health in each domain by what I do for each area and how many times I do it. For example, how many times to I engage in my spiritual practice(s) on a daily/weekly basis? My spiritual practices include praying, meditating, reading scripture from the bible, reciting one positive affirmation and listening to an inspirational song. How many times do I work out a week? Am I eating healthy on a daily basis?  How committed am I to get real results--weight loss, quiet mind, stress relieved life?

            I currently give myself a four psychologically, a six spiritually and a 5 physically. I scored myself higher in the beginning of this course; thinking that I was committed more and doing more than I thought. However, as the weeks went on, I realized that I was being somewhat a “legend in my own mind.” I had to be honest with myself so that I can move forward and set real and realistic goals.

III.             GOAL DEVELOPMENT

1)      Physical goal: I have set a physical goal for myself already; to work out five days a week (taking Wednesdays and Sundays off). I will work out two days a week with Leslie Sansone’s Walk Slim (walking four miles) DVD and two days a week to Jillian Michael’s Banish FAT Boost METABOLISM). On the fifth day, I will either go for a walk in a local park or take a yoga class at a local recreation center.

2)      Psychological (mental health) goal: I will contact my employee assistance program (EAP) on Monday and find a psychologist or psychiatrist to help me sort through some things I have been going through since the beginning of the year. I get eight visits for free. I will see how I feel and also go under the recommendation of the physician if I need to continue or those eight sessions were enough.

3)      Spiritual goal: I will pray, meditate, read scripture, recite a positive affirmation and listen to one inspirational song once a day. I will alternate between the morning and the evening for two weeks until I find which time works better for me. After two weeks, I will decide what time is best and continue to engage in my spiritual practice.

IV.             PRACTICES FOR PERSONAL HEALTH

The most important strategy I can implement to foster growth in each of the domains is having an accountability partner. This will be a person or persons that I trust to follow-up with me and ask those hard questions. This person or persons will also be someone who has the same overall views of mind, body, spirit medicine.

            Another strategy is to re-read the chapters in Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing and jot down notes about what I read.

            And lastly, I can continue to look for new practices/exercises so I will not become bored with my daily routine. I have to ensure that these new practice/exercises are the equivalent to the one’s that I am I’m replacing.

EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• Yoga: attend free yoga class at local recreation center once a week
• Walking: Walk to DVD, around the block of my co-op complex or in the local park on the track

 

EXAMPLES OF PSYCHOLOGIAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• Talk therapy: Visits with a psychologist or psychiatrist to help me work on my current stressors: school, relationship, family situation involving domestic violence and custody
• Life coach: Re-establish relationship with my life coach to help facilitate change

EXAMPLES OF SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Meditation: I would do The Crime of the Century mediation once a day when I come home from work to wind down and help me get a good night’s sleep naturally.

Breathing and visualization exercises: I would practice different breathing and visualization techniques to help me relax at any time that I feel anxious, angry or fearful. Three that I have learned recently are 1) breathing clouds 2) alternate nostril breathing 3) energy breathing (Seward, 2009). These exercises are easy to do and can be done anywhere at any time.

V.                COMMITMENT

            I will assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months by doing a weekly checklist on the things that I have done and/or not done. I can have a visual on the things that are working and not working for me and make adjustments accordingly. I will also check in with my accountability partners (and ask them to check in on me on a weekly basis). This can be via e-mail, text or phone calls.

            I will also create a personal contract with myself to achieve all of the goals above, sign it and have a witness. I will re-read the contract once a month to re-affirm my commitment to my psychological, physical and spiritual health.

            Keep a weekly journal of my experiences with all domains. I can have my accountability partner read my journal to lend a second pair of eyes to my experiences and help me tweak my routine if necessary.

            The same strategies that I stated for the short term (accountability partner(s), re-reading Integral Health and making notes, utilizing different practices to keep my interest) are the same strategies I would use for the long-term goals.

            I truly did learn a different approach to mind, body, spirit medicine in this class and I am excited on using what I learned here and utilizing it to achieve optimum health and help others do the same. Together we can do something radical, promote loving-kindness, achieve the highest health in all domains and make the world a better place.

References

Dacher, E. (2006). For the practitioner. In Davis, S. (Ed.). Integral health: the path to human flourishing. (p. 167). Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications

 

Seward, B. (2009). Diaphragmatic breathing. In Goldberg, S., Flagg, L. (Eds.). Managing stress: principles and strategies for health and well-being. (6^th ed.). (pps. 348-349). Sudbury, MA, Jones and Bartlett Publishers  

Unit 8 Blog Post

1.               Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.

Class,

The two practices in this course that I determined were the most beneficial to me were “The Crime of the Century” relaxation exercise we did in Unit 3 and the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 in Unit 7. Both of these exercises relaxed and energized me at the same time. I was grateful for the way I was able to relax my body, release my anxiety and focus on what the narrator was saying.

I would start by doing The Crime of the Century once a day--when I come home from work. I know that doing the exercise at night will help bring me down from the busy atmosphere at work, relax me and help me have a good night’s sleep. Having a good night’s sleep will help me wake up easier and be more relaxed in the morning. I would also use it to calm me down if I find myself in any stressful situations. I would have to download it to my BlackBerry so I could have access to it anytime I needed it.

I would do the Aesclepius mp3 exercise on the weekends; Saturday morning and Sunday night. (I usually try to do something entertaining on Saturday night so I know I wouldn’t come home and meditate. I usually attend church Sunday morning and there’s usually a time in the service where the congregation engages in a mini-meditation.) I really like this exercise because it takes the focus off of me and onto someone that I love and respect. This exercise will do two things: 1) give me a different meditation to do 2) help me have more compassion for human kind.

Unit 7 Blog Post

1.                Complete the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 (located in the Doc Sharing area). Describe your meditative practices for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

2.                Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (p.477). How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

QUESTION 1

I realize that I need to do a “dry run listen” on any guided meditation. I get caught up in how long it’s going to be or what’s going to be said which takes away my ability to concentrate and focus on what’s actually being said. Despite my inability to concentrate and focus initially, I enjoyed this practice the most (so far) mostly because it was different from the others. It asked me to imagine someone else besides myself. I found myself more at peace with this practice. It helped me be more aware of my breathing and I found myself breathing deeper than I have in a long time. I give credit to the practice taking my mind off of myself and placing my thoughts, heart and speech with a person whom I love and respect. I also believed that I was in complete and perfect health during this practice. I have to be willing to commit to a daily practice to foster greater health and wellness. With each practice, the outcomes have been favorable in all three aspects of my being: mind, body and spirit. I was more at peace; I could breath deeper; I felt more relaxed and felt compassion for people that I normally wouldn’t have (like my co-workers).

QUESTION 2

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself.” This saying means that a person who hasn’t experienced or done something can effectively lead them to experience or do it. For example, if I want people to work on their integral health, I have to walk the talk and do the things to achieve integral health. Otherwise, a person might say to me “what do you know about it?” And an opportunity to be the change I want to see (Mahatma Gandhi) is lost.

Health care professionals need to be transparent to their patients/clients in order to be the most effective. I wouldn’t trust the care of my lung doctor, if she smoked cigarettes, my pulmonary rehabilitation specialist if he did not exercise or my nutritionist if she was overweight.

I believe I have an obligation to my clients to develop my health psychologically, physically, and spiritually for two reasons. A) If I believe we’re all connected, then I’m not doing my part to keep the collective consciousness whole, perfect and complete. B) I want my clients to see me ‘walk the talk’ as stated above so that they can see that I believe and practice what I want them to. If I achieve optimum health, then they can too.

Christine W.

Unit 6 Blog Post

Good evening class!

1. Practice the universal Loving Kindness (meditation) exercise on p. 93.
2. Complete the Integral Assessment discussed in chapter 11 (p.115).
3. Describe the exercise and assessment process. What did you discover about yourself? What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

1. I could not get into the universal loving kindness exercise because I had to keep my eyes open to read the statements over and over. I even tried to have someone read them to me and there was too much audio going on with my friend saying the statement and me repeating it. However, the statements are very powerful because they were bigger than me; they offered loving kindness to the entire world--the entire planet! I think I would be able to concentrate on the statements more and have the desired outcome of expanding my mind and heart if I were listening to them from  CD or other audio method.
2. I found the integral assessment confusing; not clear at all. While I like guided meditation, I'm a visual person and I needed clear cut instructions and a copy of the assessment map that the author used. I wasn't sure what image to use.
3. Despite the fact that I didn't connect with the loving kindness exercise or use the integral assessment, I would like to focus on biological flourishing (fitness, nutrition and self-regulation) right now. Fitness and nutrition will directly impact my health and assist me with managing my lung disease. Self regulation will also help me progress to homeostasis and other mind/body practices. This level seems to be the most important to me now.

Eating right, exercising and having a daily spiritual practice are ways that I can foster greater wellness in this area. Eating right means choosing foods that will nourish my body and that are environmentally safe. Exercising means to manage my weight, increase flexibility and increase lung capacity. Having my daily spiritual practice means praying, meditating, reading scripture and/or inspirational readings and listening to positive music.

Unit 5 PowerPoint Presentation on Mental Fitness

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-cf-xEfNpfQeTNZMXVTdGxLaUk/edit

Unit 5 Blog Post

1. Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.
2. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

1. I liked the sublte mind exercise much better. I was able to connect with the narrator's voice and follow the instructions even though the pauses were long like the loving-kindness exercise. I'm also challenged with taking deep breaths. Since I have diminished lung capacity, I often cough when I try to inhale deeply which interrupts whatever I'm trying to do. Despite this challenge, I found myself relaxing more with this exercise. I think at one point I was concentrating on my breath too much because I felt the muscles in my eyes tighten up! LOL So I brought my attention to my eyes and breathed "through" them so I could relax my eyes (which were closed).

I have A LOT of chatter going on in my head! I have difficulty staying in the moment. I found myself anticipating when the silence would be over and the next instruction to come. I'm not sure I achieved the witnessing mind though. I would be willing to continue with this practice and definitely recommend it to others.

2. There are many definitions of wellness but I like this one: "Wellness is much more than merely physical health, exercise or nutrition. It is the full integration of states of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being" (University of California, Riverside, 2009). The mind-body-spirit wellness connection takes care of the whole person not just one part. Practicing wellness for any part of the paradigm, positively affects the wellness of the other(s). In order for me to have complete wellness, I have to achieve it in all three areas. This connection is manifested in my life by doing something for all three aspects; it can be something as simple as saying "Thank you God" when I wake up in the morning (spirit), to sitting in my truck in the parking lot for five minutes after work to calm myself down (mind) or walking the 500+ feet both ways back and forth from the parking lot at work (body).

Reference

Wellness. (2009). Retrieved from http://wellness.ucr.edu/seven_dimensions.html

 

Unit 4 Blog Post

Upon completion of reading chapter 6, review the section ‘Getting Started’ (p.66). Begin practice 1: Listen to the Introduction mp3 and Loving Kindness mp3 (both located in Doc Sharing). Practice the Loving Kindness exercise this week. In your journal (blog), record your reaction to the exercise.
Answer each of the following in your blog:

1.Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?
2.What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?
3.Participate in the Blogs of at least two other students. Provide them with feedback on their experiences. Do you have any suggestions or support for them? How does their experiences compare to your experiences? What have you learned from their blog?

 

Class,

1. I didn't find this exercise beneficial. I couldn't connect with the narrator's voice and I thought the pauses in between were too long. I also thought the directions were too wordy. It was challenging to relax and follow the instructions. I probably wouldn't recommend this exercise because I personally didn't get anything out of it however I can't assume that just because I didn't get anything out of it that the next person wouldn't.

2. The concept of "mental workout" is training our minds. A trained mind has the ability to influence our psychology, hormonal system and immune system (Dacher, 2006). Research indicates that mental training can transform the mind by reducing negative emotions that cause anger, hatred, fear, worry and doubt while enhancing positive emotions like patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance and happiness. This transformation can also provide enhanced resistance to mental distress, physical disease and can expand our healing capacities and promote well-being (Dacher, 2006). I can implement mental workouts to foster my psychological health by writing down that I committed to doing them and set short and long term S.M.A.R.T goals. I would start by meditating in the morning on a daily. I would also like to try and record the loving-kindness practice in my own voice to see if I can connect to the practice.

 

Reference
Dacher, E. (2006). Psychospiritual flourishing. Davis, S. (Ed.). Integral health. (p. 61). Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications

Unit 3 Creating Wellness Blog Questions

1.               Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

2.               Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

3.               What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

4.               Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

Question 1

Physical well-being: I rate my physical wellbeing as a 7. After I was diagnosed with my lung disease in 2009, I embarked on a regimen that included eating right, exercising and developing a daily spiritual regimen. I exercised approximately 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes per day for almost 2 years. I haven’t worked out on a regular basis since June 2011 however I do what I call “practical exercises;” walking back and forth to the parking lot at home and at work, doing housework, lifting groceries, etc.

Spiritual well-being: I rate my spiritual being as a 7. After I was diagnosed, I prayed, read scripture, meditated and listened to music every morning and every night for the first year. I know that it helped keep me grounded, created balance and freed me from stress and drama. But somehow I got away from it. My faith hasn’t changed at all but I know what having a daily spiritual practice does for me. I try to pray in the morning and before I go to bed. I would like to get back to doing it everyday like I did before. Psychological wellbeing:  I rate my psychological wellbeing as a 6. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been dealing with an on-going family issue. It involves lawyers and the court system. I have come to the conclusion that I need to see a therapist; someone who’s objective that I can talk to help sort things out. I’m becoming more and more anxious and don’t want to take medicine for it so I want to take alternative routes.

After doing these reflections, I realize that when one aspect of my life is off, it affects the others; it affects the balance of me.

Question 2

Physical: 30 minutes of walking around my complex three times a week starting Thursday, July 26.

Spiritual: Say a prayer every morning when I wake up. If I forget to say a prayer, call a prayer line and listen to other people pray.

Psychological: Contact my EAP (employee assistance program) to get a referral to a local therapist by Monday, July 30.

Question 3

I can establish an accountability partner for each goal or one for all three. I can also ask my classmates to check in with me over this ten week period to see if I’ve done any of the things I set out to do. Another activity is writing it down. There’s something about writing something down that makes it real, tangible. I also get to see how far I’ve come or how much work I have to do.

Question 4

I absolutely LOVED the relaxation exercise. It felt like I had returned home after a long time. I have challenges with quieting the voices in my head so it was a little difficult at first to get out of my head and listen to the man’s voice. Also, I did it at work on my dinner break which worked out better than I thought. I could literally feel the tension leave my body. I’m a visual person so I really got into seeing the colors coming out of my body from my chakras. I am going to listen to this exercise at night when I get in from work (I usually get off around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.) to help bring me down or if I’m feeling anxious, fatigued, worried. It definitely helped energize me to finish my assignments for tonight.

7-23-12: Intro

Hello all! This is my very first blog. It's a requirement for a class I'm taking at Kaplan University On-Line called Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing. I hope to see the relevance of creating this blog in the units/weeks to come and I hope to be OF relevance in my blog posts!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Christine