Final Blog 10

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?


WEEK 3 ASSESSMENT


On a scale of 1-10 I would have to rate the following as  physical well-being a 10, spiritual well-being a 7, psychological well-being 8. Physical well-being I ranked a 10 because I take pride in a body and eat right and exercise everyday. I feel that the body is a temple and must be taken care of first and foremost. Spiritual well-being I ranked a 7 because I try to read the bible at least once a week and I pray everyday. I could devote more time to spiritual well-being when I compare the amount of time I spend on my exercise. Psychological well-being I ranked at a 8 because overall I am a positive person and try to go into things with a positive attitude. I contribute my psychological well-being an 8 because I run so much it helps clear my head. The exercises that I am adding is yoga at first I didn't like it but it has become something that I do every other day to help relax my body. The crime of the century exercise was different to say the least. I found it to be a little irritating, the voice annoyed me so I listened to it later in the day and I felt the same way.


WEEK 10 ASSESSMENT

My week 10 assessment for my physical well being is a 10. I have started training even harder and getting ready to do an Ultra race. I take my health and nutrition very serious. During the snow, ice and rain I keep training through this is very important for me to succeed. I have incorporated more organic foods and vitamins into my diet.

However, when it came to my spiritual goal, I will increase my score to a 9.  The reason I upped my spiritual wellness is because of my consistent to prayer everyday and reading the bible. This has made me feel at peace and calm my thoughts.  I am thankful that I have been able to sit down and make time to do this.

 

My psychological wellbeing has been tested as well.  I think it is because I almost gave myself a 10.  I am still a 9. I have been faced with many obstacles these past couple of months. What has helped me is Yoga and meditation. Taking time out everyday to meditate has made a world of difference. At first it was difficult but after a week of practice it became natural.  But when it seemed I couldn’t carry on I relied mostly on the loving-kindness practice this practice has also helped me and I will continue to practice all three.

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





WEEK 3 GOALS

                 I.         My physical goal is to be able to run my first Ultra race in under 7 hours
                            II.         My spiritual goal is to more time to attend church

                            III.         My psychological goal is to make sure that I maintain my positive outlook

WEEK 10 GOALS

              I.   My physical goal is being met due to my running every day sometimes twice a day and I
                              am up to 21 miles a day.

                     II.  My spiritual goal is to ready my bible daily and start volunteering in my community

           III.  My psychological wellness was centered on maintaining a positive outlook I have blocked out any negative thoughts or people for that matter

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


            I have implemented my physical goal activities.  I am practicing yoga 7 days per week and running 7 days per week and sometimes twice a day   

My spiritual goal is met by taking time for myself and reading my bible daily

My psychological goal is met by practicing my deep breathing  and meditating.   

Breathing Exercise- Ujjayi Breathing – Conquering Breath

(oo-jy [rhymes with "pie"]-ee) 
ujjayi = to conquer, to be victorious

 1.     Sit comfortably and allow the breath to flow at its pace. 

 2.     Then take a slow deep inhale in through the nose and exhale through your wide- open mouth. 

 3.     Take another deep inhale and exhaling through an open mouth drawing out the exhale and making the HA sound

 4.     Repeat this several times

 5.     Taking another slow deep inhale and then close your mouth still making the HA sound. 

 6.     Repeat this several time inhaling and exhaling through the nose directing your breathing through the back of the throat.  You should hear your breath making a soft hissing sound. 

 7.     Continue this breath practice for 5-8 minutes, increasing time of practice as you feel more comfortable allowing the breath to be slow and purposeful allowing keeping the mind focus on the movement of the breath.

 8.     When you are finished allow the breathing to return to normal and then lie down in a supine pose.

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?




I have thoroughly enjoyed this course.  It let me know that I am doing quite well in taking care of my own health and wellness.  It also let me know that it is important for me to have consistent practice with my own wellness techniques in order to share wellness with my clients.  We have to be consistent with our practice in order to affect the health and wellness of the people we serve.  I have started back looking at my weekly, monthly and yearly wellness goals to make sure that I stay on track.  I want to continue to practice what you preach theory. I want to set a good example for my clients. My reward has come from the amount of time I can now spend without my mind running all over the place.  The improvement in my meditative practice has helped me through my struggles over these past month.  I feel more excited about how I serve my clients and extremely excited about moving more into integrative medicine program design and implementation now.  I have tools that I can use to make me more knowledgeable about how I want to offer more comprehensive wellness programming. 

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 because for any professional in a career they should incorporate what they do for a living into their own lives. I am a personal trainer and I practice what I preach. Being fit and mentally sound gives me the confidence to guide my clients into the direction of being fit and healthy. I see myself as an example to be physically and mentally fit because my clients look up to me. If I was overweight and out of shape people would not take me serious. I think reading text books on integral health is a great start, but until you practice it you will never human flourishing.

            For me I need to find balance for all three. I am physically fit and that seems to overpower me psychological and spiritually. I find myself focusing on those two areas last. I have started to meditate which has helped me find some inner peace when I find myself stressed.

 

 

 

 

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

            I have assessed my health in each domain by thinking about what areas in my life I need to improve on and the changes I want to make. I have always felt as long as I am still learning there is room for improvement. It is good to have balance of all three. I would score my spiritually at a 6 because I haven’t spent a lot of time focusing on this area of my life. When I think about it I will pray but I need to be more consistent. When it comes to psychological I would score myself at a 7 because I do practice meditating and breathing techniques to help calm my thoughts when I am stressed. My physical area of wellness would be a 10. Only because my life has always revolved around eating and being fit. I have always felt that if I am physically fit then my mind will be fit also. But I am learning that the two are separate and I have to focus on them separately. I a lot of practice and learning to go to reach long term flourishing.

           

 

 

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

            My goal for my physical wellness and psychological wellness is to train my body and mind to prepare to run an ultra-race. The race would consist of running 40 miles in under 7 hours is my goal. I know I can train all day but if my mind is not in it then I will hit the wall. My spiritual wellness would be to pray more on a daily basis and make it a habit.

 

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.

            To foster growth on physical wellness I would implement a new exercise technique at least once a week I would branch out and try something new. I run every day and do boot camps so I would like to start using different muscle. I want to implement vitamins into my diet. I would always start but then I would forget to take them and then fall off track.

            Psychological wellness I feel there will always be room for improvement. Subtle mind practice is something I would like to keep practicing until I can get it down and feel comfortable doing it. A lot of the time it is hard to let my mind relax and forget about my thoughts. The transforming exercise I really enjoy and plan on doing from here on out. The transforming exercise made me feel empowered. Both of these exercises I will practice so they will come natural like meditating.

            Spiritual wellness I would like to get back into church and give back to the community. I have always had this calmness when I would attend church and that feeling would stay with me all day. I plan on helping out and giving back to my community that has been so generous to me. I want to give back and help those who are not so fortunate.

 

 

 

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 have a good plan set in front of me and as long as I stay focused and not get caught up in the day to day stressors I will be successful. I have already started my training for the ultra-run so that plan is in motion. My psychological wellness will far be my toughest to stay on top of, but as long as I manage my time I will be able to fit it in. My spiritual wellness will be easy to incorporate because I know I need this in order to have a fulfilling life.

 

 

 

 

Creating Wellness Psychological and Spiritual Healing

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 because for any professional in a career they should incorporate what they do for a living into their own lives. I am a personal trainer and I practice what I preach. Being fit and mentally sound gives me the confidence to guide my clients into the direction of being fit and healthy. I see myself as an example to be physically and mentally fit because my clients look up to me. If I was overweight and out of shape people would not take me serious. I think reading text books on integral health is a great start, but until you practice it you will never human flourishing.

            For me I need to find balance for all three. I am physically fit and that seems to overpower me psychological and spiritually. I find myself focusing on those two areas last. I have started to meditate which has helped me find some inner peace when I find myself stressed.

 

 

 

 

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

            I have assessed my health in each domain by thinking about what areas in my life I need to improve on and the changes I want to make. I have always felt as long as I am still learning there is room for improvement. It is good to have balance of all three. I would score my spiritually at a 6 because I haven’t spent a lot of time focusing on this area of my life. When I think about it I will pray but I need to be more consistent. When it comes to psychological I would score myself at a 7 because I do practice meditating and breathing techniques to help calm my thoughts when I am stressed. My physical area of wellness would be a 10. Only because my life has always revolved around eating and being fit. I have always felt that if I am physically fit then my mind will be fit also. But I am learning that the two are separate and I have to focus on them separately. I a lot of practice and learning to go to reach long term flourishing.

           

 

 

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

            My goal for my physical wellness and psychological wellness is to train my body and mind to prepare to run an ultra-race. The race would consist of running 40 miles in under 7 hours is my goal. I know I can train all day but if my mind is not in it then I will hit the wall. My spiritual wellness would be to pray more on a daily basis and make it a habit.

 

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.

            To foster growth on physical wellness I would implement a new exercise technique at least once a week I would branch out and try something new. I run every day and do boot camps so I would like to start using different muscle. I want to implement vitamins into my diet. I would always start but then I would forget to take them and then fall off track.

            Psychological wellness I feel there will always be room for improvement. Subtle mind practice is something I would like to keep practicing until I can get it down and feel comfortable doing it. A lot of the time it is hard to let my mind relax and forget about my thoughts. The transforming exercise I really enjoy and plan on doing from here on out. The transforming exercise made me feel empowered. Both of these exercises I will practice so they will come natural like meditating.

            Spiritual wellness I would like to get back into church and give back to the community. I have always had this calmness when I would attend church and that feeling would stay with me all day. I plan on helping out and giving back to my community that has been so generous to me. I want to give back and help those who are not so fortunate.

 

 

 

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 have a good plan set in front of me and as long as I stay focused and not get caught up in the day to day stressors I will be successful. I have already started my training for the ultra-run so that plan is in motion. My psychological wellness will far be my toughest to stay on top of, but as long as I manage my time I will be able to fit it in. My spiritual wellness will be easy to incorporate because I know I need this in order to have a fulfilling life.

 

 

 

 

Subtle Mind and Loving-Kindness my saving grace

I have chose the two practices that have benefited me the most in the past couple of weeks. Subtle mind and Loving-Kindness, these two practices have brought me positive outcomes and I plan on continuing doing them from here on out. The reason I chose subtle mind practice is because I am busy all the time helping others meeting their goals and I never take time for myself mentally. I have the fitness and nutrition thing down but not the mental part. The subtle mind practice allows me to calm my mind and ease my stress. When I am done I notice that I can think clearly and my thoughts are not racing. It is not only my mind that is relaxed but my body is relaxed and I try to do this a couple of times a week.

The reason I chose loving-kindness is because this one comes easy for me to do. I always think of others first, actually maybe too much but it brings me happiness to see them happy. I focus on my friends suffering who has been battling cancer and wanting to get better. I have learned to take those feelings and use them in a positive way. Fostering these practices into my life will help me to concentrate more. The exercises that I have chosen to incorporate into my life are yoga which I love and meditation. Meditation has been a learning process but it is getting easier and I really enjoy it.

Meeting Asclepius

This week has been rather challenging with the kids out of school, family coming into town, school, and work so this exercise couldn't have come at a better time. Our assignment this week was to "Meeting Asclepius". Sitting silently and listening I began to feel at peace and tranquil. I felt a power of energy and all my tension was released. When I was done I felt a since of clarity the things that were bothering seemed not so big. This exercise helped me to be more mindful with the quality of my thoughts. It helped me to be positive and push out the negative thoughts. It would be nice to have a mentor to call on to help me with all my questions and to help guide me down the right path.

The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" this is a great saying. I agree that if someone is a professional and is giving advice on optimal wellness then they should have achieved this in their life. You have to lead by example to gain respect from your peers, clients, and patients. As a professional you have an obligation to your clients to set a positive example of health, psychologically, physical, and spiritually. They look up to you for guidance and answers. You have to live by what you teach. For me to have more growth I need to get rid of the old and in with the new.

Loving Kindness Meditation

When I did the loving kindness meditation I sat outside comfortably with my eyes closed until I was relaxed. Then I started to recite the following
- May all individuals gain freedom from suffering
-May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness
-May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering
-May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness

After a couple of times of reciting this I started to feel empowered, and connected with myself. This exercise was easy for me because I always think of other first and put them before my needs. It was easy to picture my loved one and wanting only the best for them. With that being said I have begun to realize that I have to also address my needs. If I am not healthy and in good spirits then I cannot begin to help other to my best abilities.

When doing the Integral assessment I focused on my life and what are my day to day struggles and difficulties. I excel when it comes to fitness and nutrition, but I really struggle with interpersonal. I have a hard time with relationships whether that be at work or romantic or friends. I am not a good communicator and I tend to put up walls. I am working on this everyday and sometimes I think I am making progress and then I take 10 steps back. I tend to let my thoughts consume me and think the worst without even talking it out. This is not healthy and it can start to wear on me and cause un-needed stress. Usually I will go run and it clears my thought into logical thinking but at times that is not convenient. So I start to breathing techniques and calm my thoughts. I am a work in progress.

Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind

Loving kindness and the subtle mind can both be practiced anywhere. They are both done to provide peace and calmness to the mind and body. I found the loving kindness exercise to be easier to do than the subtle mind exercise. I tried to do the subtle exercise at night and I could not relax and clear my mind. My night time ritual is chaos, from chasing kids to the bath, dinner, homework, and I usually do a late night running session so I am wound up. I think I will try it again in the morning when everyone is asleep. The spiritual wellness is what brings us awareness to our inner well being, once we have reached the state of calmness then you can move on to mental wellness. Mental wellness is being confident to control your emotions and focus. Once that is reached you can reach physical wellness which includes a healthy mind, body, and spirit. I know at some point I use these in my daily activity but my mental wellness I am still working on improving.


Thanks,
Kisha