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