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?
Answer:
As a healthcare professional I think it is important for me to portray a healthy image. We serve as role models for the clients we serve. If humanity is to evolve to integral health, it is imperative to create a healthcare system that supports our efforts(Dacher,pg.147). As human beings health care workers can be of little help if they are not physically and psychologically well. In our day to day activities it is very easy to forget to take care of ourselves. There is a vast body of evidence indicating that prayer and religious devotion are directly correlated with positive health outcomes(Amorok, Micozzi, and Schlitz, pg.230). It is important to become culturally competent in order to understand the diverse practices of the communities we serve.
Development in these three areas is ongoing. Since there is a mind/body correlation, I need to continue to develop the deeper realms of my mind and be aware of my own health needs to address them in order for me to be a role model to others.
II Assessment:

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
Answer: Based on my reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 ( ten being optimal wellbeing) I have assessed my health in each domain as:
A.) Physical - I rate my physical wellbeing as a five because at my age I have no major debilitating diseases. I do not smoke or drink alcohol, except for an occasional drink at social events. My lack of consistent exercise and unhealthy eating habits are two areas that I need to develop to achieve my goal of optimal health.
B.) Spiritual - I rate this area as six. I could not get through a day without my faith. I feel that although I pray and have a solid relationship with our Lord. There are many ways in which I could reach out more to do his work for those who need me.
C.) Psychological - I will rate this area as a five. Most of the hurdles I face daily are due to the “chatter” in my mind. I would like to achieve a Unity consciousness, a deep insight into our selves and our life(Dacher, pg.74). I know the steps that I must take, now that I have the initial skills I will begin to develop them through contemplative practice.

III Goal development:

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Answer:
A. Physical- I plan to increase my activity level each week beginning by walking at least 30 minutes three times weekly. I will gradually increase to 45 minutes after three weeks. I will lose ten pounds by Thanksgiving.
B.) Psychological-I will increase the amount of time I spend in quite meditation to 30 minutes prior to work each day.
C.) Spiritual- I will reserve one day a month that is specifically for my own needs.


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.
Answer:
A.) Physical- Two examples of exercises that I can implement are walking and deep breathing exercises. Walking can be done all season long without any special equipment. During the warmer months I can walk at a moderate pace around the neighborhood. A complete cycle is approximately a mile. I can set a goal of 30 minutes to begin ( there are hills ) and try to work that down to 20 minutes within six weeks. The deep breathing exercise is a relaxation technique that I can practice throughout the day. I need only find a quite area and as little as five or ten minutes.
B.) Psychological- The Witnessing and Calm-abiding mind are two practices that I need to review often to achieve my goal of Unity Consciousness. I often find myself unable to concentrate on the task at hand because of other thoughts that are constantly plaguing me. Using these mental training techniques will help me to direct my focus back to the present(Witness) and tame and subdue it(Calm-Abiding).
C.) Spiritual-Meditation and prayer are two practices that would help to further growth in my spiritual domain. I will begin and end my day with prayer and quite meditation, before I even get out of bed I am usually laying there for 30 minutes before I decide to get out of bed. I will clear my mind and use this time for prayer and meditation.

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?
Answer:
Since beginning this course I have made steps to improve my health. I tried to come up with an answer to why it has taken me so long to take these steps and the only answer I have is, awareness. This course forced me to take a look at what was happening in my life and when I did, I began to take baby steps to improve it. Although these changes may seem small to the ordinary person, for me they have greatly improved how I feel about myself and everyone else. I have healed a friendship that was seemingly lost, made a commitment to taking my hypertension seriously and changed the way I feel about my occupation. All these things touch, in some way all three domains (Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual). My biggest hurdle, I believe is keeping myself aware of the state of my own well-being. I will keep track of my personal progress for my physical health by keeping my appointments with my physician and taking my hypertension medication as directed. I believe that keeping a journal will help me to track my progress over the next six months. I am committed to continuing the changes that have begun since starting this course and feel that recording each step is a good way to check progress or lack of it.







References
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing: Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Amorok,T. ,Micozzi, M. Schlitz, M (2005). Consciousness &Healing: Integral Approaches to Mind -Body Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Inc.

Unit 8

Question 1 response: I believe the two practices that seem to be the most beneficial for me are the Loving-Kindness and Subtle mind practices. The subtle mind practice is helpful because its focus is breathing. There is a direct relationship between the breath a d mind. Peaceful breathing patterns lead to a peaceful mind(Dacher,p.75). As I have gotten older it has become harder for me to stay focused, at times I find myself immersed in the "clutter" of my mind instead of falling asleep or concentrating on what I'm doing. I have already used the Loving-Kindness practice to heal a relation with and old friend. Embracing what is "good" while focusing only on love allowed me to let go of the negative feeling I had towards this person, holding onto the negative feeling was actually more damaging to me than I'd thought. I felt such a sense of relief after letting it go. This practice encourages you to develop the mental attitude of Loving-Kindness.
~Mary

Unit 7

1. 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?
Although I found the mindfulness exercise for unit 7 difficult, I believe that these exercises have fostered an awareness for me that I didn't realize. Purposely taking the time to focus on what is going on in my mind and body is something that I do not ordinarily do. Since starting this the one of the main things that I have realized is how tense my body is. I react to stress whether it is good or bad with body tension. Since I have had a lot of problems with my back, shoulders, neck and legs this year it was an important discovery for me. Now that I realize I am doing this I do relaxation techniques several times during the day.

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?

These questions remind me of my daughter's journey with juvenile diabetes. I remember the look on her face as a child listening to an adult telling her she needed to face the fact that she would need to give herself shots for the rest of her life and it would make her life easier if she learned to do it herself. Well, that adult did not have diabetes, was not eight years old and when they were the biggest problem they most likely had was not worrying about keeping their blood sugars in good control so that they could stay out of the hospital. Many of these adults would use scare tactics, like telling her she would lose her legs, feet or go blind. Their bedside treatments actually caused her to have further problems with depression, anxiety, stress which lead to further problems controlling her blood sugars. Many of the professionals she saw just did not have appropriate training in the care of children with chronic illnesses. How could they help my daughter or our family if they did not know themselves? I believe that we do have an obligation to our clients to treat them holistically if we really care about the patient and the care we are providing. It is difficult to find individuals who really care about aspects other than the physical in any field.

Unit 6 Exercise

The Loving Kindness exercise is completed by finding a comfortable place, closing the eyes and repeating the selected phrase. The phrase that I repeated was similar but not exact. This was not the first time that I had done this type of Loving-Kindness exercise. Since this exercise was focusing on the suffering and happiness of others and not on myself I really felt a sense of peace after doing it. I didn't find the second exercise, The Integral Assessment as relaxing. I believe that I am at the point of my life where I am often asking myself these questions. I have chosen to start focusing on my own physical health. Each time I start the relaxation part of these exercises it amazes me that I am as tense as I am at the time. My blood pressure has been a concern for me for the past ten years. I am trying to make small changes in my life to help control it.
~Mary