Unit 10: Personal Assessment Revisited

So here we are at the end of the term. This class has taught me a lot and has opened my eyes to what true health entails. In unit 3 we performed and personal assessment and rated our health physically, spiritually, and psychologically. I scored myself as follows:

Physically: 5
Spiritually: 3
Psychologically: 5

Then in unit 9 we were asked to reevaluate our wellness and score again. I did this without looking at my unit 3 scores so that I could go off of what I have learned and not on what I put before. Here are my unit 9 scores:

Physically: 5
Spiritually: 3
Psychologically: 4

So my scores were pretty close. I did not expect them to get better I actually expected them to get worse. The reason being that for one during the class I did not have a lot of time to devote to strengthening these areas and two at the beginning of the class I think that I thought I was healthier than I truly am and throughout the class I found out how much I really have to work on.

In the unit 3 assessment we had to come up with goals for each area.

 Physical: to work out at least 3 times a week
Spiritual: incorporate my beliefs into my daily life
Psychological: learn to keep my emotions in check and to calm my mind and focus on the task at hand
I have begun to work on the goals in the physical and psychological areas but not the spiritual aspect. Spiritual growth is going to take a little more planning and research to get going. I have been working out and practicing my meditation throughout the day.

In addition to the goals we had to list some activities to incorporate to help strengthen each area.
Physical: yoga, P90x, Pilates
Spiritual: examine my personal beliefs
Psychological: meditation
I have been doing my yoga, no P90x or pilates yet, but joined a gym and just registered for the foam fest 5k run. So excited about the run. Also, my fiancé and I going trail riding on our bicycles. As mentioned before I have not started on my spiritual growth but plan to start soon. There is an Amrit Yoga Institute near where I live and I plan on doing one of the retreats there. I have also always wanted to take a religion class to learn about different religions.

This course has been very eye opening and exciting. It has helped me to see what areas in my health and wellness need strengthening (all of them) and also has made me think more about what services I would like to offer at my wellness center. I am better able to guide my clients on ways to improve their health and wellness. The most difficult thing about this experience is finding the time to devote to practicing meditation, evaluating my wellness, and changing my habits. This is definitely something that takes time and patience but will be well worth it later.

Unit 9: Integral Plan

I.                   Introduction

As a health and wellness professional my clients look to me for guidance on health and wellness issues. As a massage therapist my clients ask me for advice n many subjects dealing with their health. Now, as a massage therapist I am not able to diagnose or prescribe but I can help guide my clients in the direction to find the information they need. Also as a health and wellness professional my clients look to me as an example of a healthy person. All these reasons and more are why it is important for health and wellness professionals to constantly be working to strengthen their physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being.

II.                Assessment

I have not been able to fully assess my integral health as much as I need or would like. My schedule is starting to become more organized and opened and this will allow me to spend the time I need to do a full assessment and plan. I will use the six principles of integral assessment (Dacher, 2006) to find the areas that need the most immediate attention and devise a plan from there. I know even without the assessment that all aspects need strengthening, but the assessment will give me a starting point and a plan. As of right now I would score my spiritual wellness at a 3, physical wellness at a 5, and psychological wellness at a 4.

III.             Goal Development

As I mentioned before I need to strengthen all aspects of my well-being. To do this I have set some goals for myself in each area.

Physical:

1.      Work out at least three times a week.

2.      Do a mud run

Psychological:

1.      Practice meditation every day

2.      Work on controlling my emotions

Spiritual:

1.      Assess my beliefs

2.      Practice my beliefs

IV.             Practices for Personal Health

There are many practices and/or exercises that can help foster growth physically, spiritually, and psychologically. The following are exercises that I choose to use.

Physical:

1.      Walk 45 minutes twice a week.

2.      Circuit train twice a week.

Psychological:

1.              Meditation

2.              Journaling

Spiritual:

1.      Study religions/spiritual practices

2.      Chanting/praying

I plan to use walking and circuit training to build my strength and stamina for the mud run. Practicing meditation every day (even if for only a few minutes) will help strengthen my mental well-being. I will use journaling to help express my emotions positively and to help reduce stress. Spiritually I need a lot of work. I figured by studying religions and spiritual practices I can find the one that most matches my beliefs and personality and begin to practice and strengthen my spirituality.

V.                Commitment:

Over the next six months I will continue to focus on strengthening all aspects of my well-being. I will assess my progress by using the integral assessment once again. I will also re-evaluate my ratings for my physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being and compare my ratings. These steps will show me in what areas I have improved and in what areas I still need to work on. I will need to stay focused and motivated in order to maintain my long term practices for health and wellness. I will try to seek our professional help if I get stuck in a particular area and need guidance. I will work developing my meditation skills by trying different exercises and finding the ones that work for me.

I have a lot of work to do on my journey to integral health. It will not be an easy journey but I know it will be worth the time and effort.

Reference

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications.

 

Unit 8: Powerful Practices

Out of the exercises we have practiced this term the two that I feel are the most beneficial to me are the Loving-Kindness exercise and the one we did this week A Taste of Human Flourishing. These two are the best for me because the Loving-Kindness one reminds me to find the love in me for everyone. We first did this exercise when I was having some issues with my parents and it did help me. I can use it whenever I am feeling like I am drifting from someone or if I do not like the way I am feeling towards someone such as aggravated or mad. The Taste of Human Flourishing exercise can help at many times. I can use it when I am feeling sad by using the happiness part, when I am feeling disconnected by using the wholeness part and when I am feeling ill or rundown by using the health part. Both of these exercises can help with my mental fitness.

Unit 7: Meeting Aesclepius

This weeks meditation exercise was called Meeting Aesclepius. I think I am getting better at staying focused on the right things during these exercises. Although I do not think that I was visioning the exact thing I was supposed to the whole time, I was able to at least stay focused on stilling the mind and I believe at one point I was in a bit of a trance. These exercises have made me more aware of the benefits of mindfulness and the need to evaluate my psychological and spiritual wellness. I think it will take lots more practice before I see the a difference in these aspects of my wellness but I am definitely willing to try. I think that by continuing these exercises and practicing I will become calmer, less stressed, and more focused in general.

One cannot lead another where on has not gone himself.

This saying is particularly true for health and wellness professionals. It means, how can you expect someone to believe or trust what you say if you do not live it yourself. A great example that has always puzzled me is the fat doctor. Seriously, how can a fat doctor truly care for his patients if he does not care for himself. Could you imagine being told by a fat doctor that you need to loose weight or watch what you eat or exercise? It is like going to a hairdresser that has horrible hair, you just wouldn't trust her. For the health and wellness professional, how can you convince a client that they would benefit from meditation if you your self have not experienced it? Or if you are not healthy  would anyone take health advice from you? Now with that being said, of course one person is not going to know everything about everything or have personally experienced everything but if you are going to suggest something to a client then you either need to know it or know to whom to refer them to. It is our responsibility as a health and wellness professional to know when to refer a client out and to try to help them find a professional that can help them. By practicing meditation, mental training, and evaluating my beliefs I can begin to strengthen my psychological and spiritual wellbeing.

Unit 6 Integral Assessment

Revisiting the Loving-Kindness Exercise

This second time of practicing the loving-kindness exercise was a little easier and a bit more emotional this time. I was able to follow along and concentrate better. When it came to focusing on strangers the only people I could focus on were those involved in the recent elementary school shooting. I get choked up every time I think about it or see the news about it. I did however still enjoy the exercise and plan to continue to practice it. I can see how beneficial it can be.

Integral Assessment

For the integral assessment I chose my interpersonal aspect of life to be the one where I am feeling suffering. As mentioned in a previous post I have had a fallen out with my mother and it is still rocky as well as a very good friend of mine that has became angry with me and I am not sure the real reason why. For this reason I chose family as my line of development even though I feel that all lines of development (family, community, and personal) are in some way suffering.

For the second part of the assessment I chose the biological aspect as the one that is ready for growth and development. The lines of development included here are fitness, nutrition, and self-regulation all of which desperately need some attention. I have been currently trying to focus on these areas. To further implement wellness in these areas I can work on healthier eating habits, start a work out routine, and continue to practice my yoga and meditating. I picked the biological aspect because I feel that working on my physical and mental health will help me to be better equipped to work on the other aspects of my life.

Unit 5: The Subtle Mind

This weeks exercise was The Subtle Mind. In this exercise the goal is to experience the witnessing mind. The witnessing mind is when you are able to observe the mind and how it works. You observe your thoughts and try to come to a stillness. This was a fun exercise to do. I enjoyed this exercise because you are focusing on your thoughts (which flood my mind) and you learn to let them go. I was able to actually do this exercise even though towards the end I started to get restless and was ready for it to be over. It will definitely take some practice to be able to make it all the way through. I did find that listening to the exercise instead of just reading it (as I did with the Loving Kindness exercise) is better and allows you to concentrate more on the exercise. In the Loving Kindness exercise you are given specific things to concentrate on and in the Subtle Mind exercise you are free to concentrate on your thoughts and letting them go. I can see how both are important exercises to master when working on training the mind and your path to integral health. Learning to recognize your thoughts and being able to let them go and still the mind is a very valuable tool and can help to free the mind up for focusing on the things that matter most. This can help organize your life and let you be more productive. I was actually able to see my thoughts like movie scenes on a reel and see them flash by and then disappear.

The Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

We are learning through research that the mind, body, and spirit are all connected and work together to create overall wellness (or lack of in some cases). Whenever we work to strengthen our body we in turn strengthen our mind. When we work to strengthen our mind we in turn strengthen our spirit, and the circle continues. We may not realize that when working on one aspect we are helping the others but it happens. When we realize the importance of strengthening all aspects we notice that we are capable of doing this easily. By this I mean, we can do little things to work on all aspects at the same time and not have to focus on them individually. Example: when working out physically you can visualize the increase in strength, flexibility, and endurance you are gaining from your workout. Now you are strengthening multiple aspects. You will gain more through exercises like this.

This is something that I have to start focusing on myself. I need strengthening in all aspects of my life (physical, mental, and spiritual). I just have to make the time to devote to my strengthening.  As a massage therapist this concept is one that is important for me to teach my clients as well.
Happy Strengthening!

Unit 4: Have you worked out mentally?

This weeks exercise was called Loving-Kindness. In this exercise you are asked to visualize a person you love and feel the loving-kindness is your heart and your body. Then you are asked to visualize someone that you love that is suffering and you are to breathe in the suffering and exhale loving-kindness or whatever it is that you think will help the person. The exercise continues to include strangers then everyone. This exercise will definitely take some practicing specially because it is not an audio. It was interesting and it definitely hit me when it came to the family member part. My mother is suffering from severe depression and obesity amongst other medical issues. We have recently had a falling out and have not really spoken to each other. I used my mother for this part and it was pretty emotional for me. I can definitely see how this exercise can make you change your view of others and how it can make you change your attitude. This is an exercise I would definitely recommend to my clients, friends, and family and one that I plan on incorporating into my life.


In order to strengthen our inner self and strive for integral health we must work out mentally. The exercise described above is part of this mental workout. Just like an athlete has to train his or her body to perform, so does a person on the path to integral health have to train his or her mind. The mind is a powerful tool that is capable of many amazing things including healing when trained. By  practicing (working out) daily we can train our mind. Research proves the power of a trained mind to be able to affect the body and its health. Dean Ornish a cardiologist proved that a holistic mind-body-spirit approach can reverse heart disease in patients old and young, mild to severe cases.