Monday, July 19, 2010

Unit 10 - Personal Assessment

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?

Based on my assessment from unit 3 my physical wellbeing was rated as a 7 – I now rate myself at a 9 as I have included in my workout schedule weight training and cardio. It helps me to relieve stress and feel good about myself. Spiritually I rated myself at a 5 – I am now at a 6, this is a slow process for me, but with continued meditation I believe that I will be able to increase my faith and spiritual wellbeing allowing God to handle my problems by praying more. Psychologically I rated myself at a 7 – I am still at a 7, I need to be able to learn to keep a still mind which would allow me to focus and concentrate on my well-being. Being able to grow psychologically is something that I need to do in order for me to let go of obstacles that may arise.

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

My goals:
Physical wellbeing was to have a routine exercise program where I could at least get a 45 minutes workout 3 - 5 days a week. I have achieved this goal and workout at 4 days a week.

Spiritual wellbeing I wanted to start attending church more often and read books that will open my mind and spirit to reunite with my physical body by having a closer walk with God. I still have to work towards this goal and get myself on the right track by opening up my heart and mind.

Psychological goal was to have that awareness of calmness in my mind and body, and being able to make the change that will lead me to becoming a whole person physically, spiritually, and psychologically. I have begun working on this goal also, but sometimes I get distracted and have to refocus my mind. I do this by doing some of the meditation exercises which does help.

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

I have started to implement the different activities that I have chosen. Some of these activities (spiritual and psychological) are taking a little longer to get into than others, but overall I find that I am making progress.

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?

My personal experience in this course has been quite an experience. Before taking this course I never gave thought to just how important all aspects of life are and how my spiritual, physical, and psychological wellbeing have to be connected in order to reach and maintain my wellness and health. Keeping an open mind and heart is essential if I want to have a clear mind and positive thoughts.

Practicing the meditation exercises has helped me to have a clearer picture of how life is supposed to be. I am now less stressed and not easily frustrated. The rewarding part of this course is being able to keep a positive attitude and improve my overall health and spiritual life. This experience has made me realize just how much we take for granted in life and once I can get myself together on that path to integral healing then it is up to me to share this joy, peace and calm with others.

I wish everyone good health and success as you continue to grow spiritually, phsyically, and psychologically.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

My Plan - Unit 9

I. Introduction
It is extremely important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically in order for them to help their patients/clients reach that path to integral health. Professionals in the health and wellness field must first develop psychologically by learning to open their hearts and mind to the positive things in life. Once they are better prepared they can provide the healing that their patients need. Spiritually they have to be able to have traveled down the road to integral healing by doing so it becomes personal and then they will know firsthand what will happen as the advance into a more spiritual expansive life. By becoming spiritually in tune with the mind and body they will be able to open up and their patients will see the transformation that they have gone through. It allows them to develop confidence about the inner aspects of health and life. Physical wellness is also very important and these professionals have to practices what they preach. They cannot tell their patients that they should exercise or do meditation exercises if they themselves are not doing it. Professionals that exercise regularly and practice find that inner peace, are full of life, less stressed and they have that willingness to share their experiences as they now have a sacred responsibility in helping others to gaining integral health and healing.

The aspect of my life that needs continued growth is spirituality. I feel that this is the most underdeveloped aspect of my life and I need to learn how to let go of all the negative thoughts and emotions, and replace them with positive thoughts. I need to be able to get where I feel that inner peace and connection with God. Being able to be spiritually in tune will help me to reach that level of wholeness, this will in turn open my mind and spirit to reunite with my physical body by having a closer walk with God.

II. Assessment
Since I began this class I have learned the importance of having integral health. By doing physically exercising and doing meditation practices it will open my heart and mind to become a more humble person. On a scale of 1 – 10 I have scored my spiritual wellness as a 6 as I need to continue meditating on the good things in life and be grateful for what I have. I want to be able to increase my faith and allow God to handle the problems by praying more. As they say I have to “let go and let God.” Physically I rate myself as an 8, I love exercising and it helps me to relieve stress from work and things difficult situations in life. Psychologically I rate myself as an 7 - learning to keep a still mind would allow me to focus and concentrate on my well-being. Being able to grow psychologically is something that I need to do in order for me to let go of obstacles that may arise. Once I can reach that stage of growth I will be able to handle and overcome anything that life may throw my way.

III. Goal Development
A goal that I have set for myself is to practice the meditation exercises that I have learned on a daily basis. Physically I want to be able to reach ultimate health and these exercises will help me to get rid of stressors, help with diseases and keep my body and mind healthy. Spiritually my goal is to read more spiritual books that will allow me to find that inner peace and wellbeing. It will also open my heart and mind to looking at things in a positive light and increase my faith. Psychologically I want to be able to calm my mind from “mental chatter” and allow it to focus on the positive aspects of life. My mental health is very important and once I can continue with the subtle-mind exercises it will allow me to grow spiritually, physically and psychologically by connecting my mind, body, heart, and spirit.

IV. Practices for Personal Health
The exercises that I will use regularly to help me reach integral health are the loving-kindness exercise and subtle mind. I will also begin eating the foods that are healthier and that will help me to sustain my physical health. Meditation is great for my psychological well being and it will help me to relax my mind and body. The loving-kindness exercise has helped me to release negative emotions and stress. By practicing this exercise on a daily basis I can begin my day feeling refreshed and renewed without being easily frustrated. Whenever I practice this exercise I find that I have this inner peace and calm about myself and I can focus more on positive emotions. Doing the breathing techniques is also essential and it helps to relax the body allowing the mind to become at ease. In my spiritual life I can attend bible study and join a group that will help to uplift my mind and spirit. These exercises helps to open my heart and mind to becoming a better person and to refocus on my spiritual well being and getting all aspects of my life together. When doing these exercises I tend to feel a sense of relief, relaxation and inner peace.

V. Commitment
I have made a commitment to myself to meditate and practice loving-kindness at least once per day. I will monitor myself by beginning a journal log, which will help me to see just how far I have gotten with my spiritual, psychological and physical well-being. Keeping a journal it will help me to write out my feelings and what happened during the day, whether I allowed the negativity of others to get me frustrated or I was able to stop, take a minute and do some breathing exercise that will calm my mind. I can also monitor my progress with eating and exercising and what I learned as a result of attending groups mentoring sessions at church. The strategies that I can use to assist in maintaining my long-term practice for health and wellness is to get up each day and read a positive quote that will help me on the right track, I will also start off my mornings with meditation and allow my mind to be clear before I face my day. I will continue to exercise regularly and monitor my transformation of finding peace, calm, and integral health.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Favorite Exercises - Unit 8

The two exercises that I have found most valuable are Loving-Kindness and Subtle mind. The loving-kindness exercise has helped to release negative emotions and stress. I have started practicing this exercise whenever I get really frustrated and it has helped me to find peace and calm. The subtle mind exercise was one that was really hard for me when I first did it, but since I've been practicing my breating I've found this exercise to be very fulfilling.

Both of these exercises have helped me to open my heart and mind to the positive things in life and let go of all the negative thoughts. Practicing these exercises have helped me to refocus on my spiritual well-being and getting all aspects of my life together. I have found that by practicing these exercise I tend to feel a sense of relief, relaxation, and inner peace. I can go through my days without becoming frustrated and stressed out.