Unit 9 Blog

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? In order for health and wellness professionals to be able to convey a program with a sense of truth to it we must understand the concept of psychological, spiritual and physical growth. The only way to truly be able to understand that is by fully developing these aspects of our own health. We have to be able to teach from experience. If we approach a client preaching about something that we personally have no development or experience with then they will have a hard time taking us seriously. I, personally, need to work on all three aspects. However, I have spent years working on the physical and psychological aspects of my wellness; however, my spiritual wellness still needs work. Yoga has helped me begin to develop my spiritual side. It is a long process and I can subsequently relate better to my clients because of this journey.
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically? I have used the tools given in this course to assess my health in all of the domains mentioned above. I have found that physically I am very strong. From a psychological standpoint I am strong but could still use some work. However, from a spiritual standpoint I need quite a bit of work. I always thought myself to be a spiritual human being; however, I have not cultivated this side. The meditations and visualizations used in this course have helped me considerably.
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual. My goal development has evolved dramatically over the course of this quarter. I have come to realize that certain things are more important than other things. First and foremost, I intend to continue to meditate on a daily basis, even if it is just for 10 minutes a day. This has a dual benefit as it helps my psychological and spiritual development. I will also participate in a guided visualization daily, doing my meditation in the morning and the guided visualization in the evening. On a physical level, I intend to watch the food that I eat more closely and also will exercise at least one hour a day.
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. From a physical standpoint I can use strategies to help free up my time more so that I am able to exercise more. I will also watch my calorie intake and keep it at 1500 calories or less daily. From a psychological standpoint, I will meditate at least 10 minutes a day with working up to 20 minutes per day to help my parasympathetic nervous system and enable me to be calmer and feel better mentally. From a spiritual standpoint, I will use the guided visualization practice that we used on the CD daily as well as taking time to nurture my spiritual side by increasing my yoga as well.
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 intend on keeping a journal of my progress. I have found over the years that I am much more accountable when I write down my progress. I feel that setting small goals for me will yield the best results. When I try to set very lofty goals I generally find that I am unable to keep them. However, by taking small steps and keeping up with the goals I set daily through a journal I should see the affects and be able to assess where I am on a weekly basis in order to determine if I am moving forward or beginning to fall back into my old habits.

Unit 8 Blog

Upon reviewing the exercises we have completed, I have found the meditation and visualization to be the most helpful and beneficial for my mind. I tend to have a very busy, scattered "monkey" mind that always has too many things going on at once. When I practice meditation I am able to quiet my mind if only for a few moments. However, I find that I am calmer throughout the day when I continue to meditate on a daily basis. Just like any other skill it has to be practiced. I also find that when I use visualization I am able to replace negative thoughts in my mind and plug in happy thoughts that help me restructure the way my mind is working. It really helps me to be a more positive person.

Unit 7 Blog

My meditation this week has improved. I do not want to promote my own personal problems but it seems like the more burden I am carrying in my mind the easier it is for me to find a meditative state. I have been able to focus on my meditation because of all the stress I have in my life right now with my job, school and a new business.

I think the quote "One cannot lead where one has not gone himself" is very profound especially in health and wellness professions. Since I own a yoga studio now I am very in tune with how I behave from a standpoint of how it will affect my clients. I try to eat correctly and be an example. I cannot ask them to do something I am not willing to do myself.

If I continue down my current path I should be able to grow my meditation practice and become better in tune with my spiritual health.

Unit 6 Blog

I practiced the universal loving kindness meditation exercise and found it to be very peace promoting for me. There are many times when I get caught up in my own life and forget about the problems of others. This helped me overcome that and think about others more. The integral assessment was very enlightening because it showed me what I need to work on from the inside out. The exercise allowed for a quiet meditation that evoked positive feelings and areas that I need to work on. Through the evaluation I found that I need to work on my psychospiritual suffering. I believe meditation and affirmations would help me improve my psychospiritual issues, but it would be something that I would need to practice on a daily basis in order to see real results.

The Subtle Mind

I wish I could say that I was blessed with the gift of a subtle mind, however, I am a very type A, serial multitasker who has worked for years to even have an occasional glimpse of the subtle mind. The loving kindness exercise was not as good for me personally as the subtle mind exercise. This really did help to quiet my mental chatter. I am most definitely going to incorporate this into my daily routine (in between multitasking). I enjoyed the loving kindness track but I feel like I am already practicing this, so essentially it does not help me other than giving me a good feeling. However, the subtle mind practice does work on my constant, and I mean constant, mental chatter. Yoga has helped me as well, but it still is something I must work to control on a daily basis. I have learned the hard way as I have gone through my life that spiritual wellness, mental wellness and physical wellness are all related and if one is out of sync the others will ultimately follow. Yoga was the help I needed and has made a huge difference in my mental, spiritual and physical peace.

Unit 4 exercises

After listening to the tracks and having a previous concept of "loving kindness". I found this a very good exercise for me. I have practiced yoga for over 7 years now and practicing loving kindness is something we try to incorporate into our practice. When we practice loving kindness towards ourself then we can practice it towards others. It is not easy. It takes awareness of every action and thoughtfulness. I still tend to be harder on myself than I should be.

My dad is a good example of someone who needs a mental workout. He is 78 years old and is in excellent physical health, however, his cognition has begun to deteriorate over the past few years. He does not participate in any social activities that require him to be verbal. He does not read or do crossword puzzles. Our mentation needs to be exercised just as much as our body does.

Reflecting on Wellness

When I look at all aspects of my health, looking at spiritual, psychological and physical I can rate these pretty easily. From a psychological standpoint I would give myself a 7. From a spiritual aspect I would give myself a 8 and finally from a physical standpoint I would give myself a 9. Physical exercise has always been my coping mechanism, therefore, it is my strongest rating.

Psychologically I would like to be stronger. I would like to be able to maintain a normal level of mental health without too many fluctuations of my mind. I think by meditating at least 15 minutes a day I could find more stability psychologically.

Increasing my meditation time will help me obtain my goals. Also, by just being more aware and thankful for all the friends and loved ones I have in my life helps me work towards more balance in my psychological state.

The Crime of the Century exercise was very interesting. I did not enjoy it as much as the previous exercise we did. I did find myself a bit more relaxed after the exercise, but again, not as much as I did with the previous exercise.