Unit 10

Reflection

In my personal assessment for unit three, I rated my psychological wellness at an eight, my physical wellness at an eight, and my spiritual well-being at a five.  During this course I did experience a bit of growth in all areas.  Utilizing the practices in the text caused my spiritual well-being to increase by one, and my psychological and physical to increase by ½.

The goal I set for myself in physical well-being has not quite been met since I am currently not doing any strength training but the frequency of exercise and duration has increased.  For my psychological well-being I set a goal to practice new types of meditation and this goal has been met.  As for the spiritual aspect I wasn’t quite sure how to develop this area.  Personally I feel the loving kindness practice has the helped me.  I feel that implementing these goals have improved my well-being.  They have made me more aware and conscious of my actions or lack thereof.

Overall this course has been a great personal experience.  Not only have I learned about integral health but I have learned a lot about myself.  The most difficult aspect of knowing all of the information was holding myself accountable for the decisions I make that affect my well-being.  Now comes the time where I must practice what I preach so that when I assist others I will be speaking from personal experience and regular practice.  It is very rewarding to see my growth and I am eager to continue.

Unit 9 Final

Maria Mejia

Unit 9 Project

September 28, 2013
 

I think it is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically spiritually and physically as experiencing growth in these areas gives the professional experience and knowledge that can be shared and modeled to those who are just learning the process. The words of advice and support from the experience professional are genuine, they have learned of compassion and want to see clients succeed and eliminate suffering. For myself, I need to develop all three of these areas as growth is an ongoing process.

In the beginning of this course I assessed my health in each domain and I can say that at this point, each has improved even if just a fraction. My physical well-being score was pretty high as I have always been very conscious of my eating habits, staying away from processed and packaged foods. I have been more consistent with exercise than I have been in the past, so I feel that that has brought my score up to an 8.5. My psychological well-being score has gone up a bit as well, 8.5. Like I have said before, I am very optimistic and handle stress pretty well although I did struggle when it comes to sticking up for myself sometimes and I tend to just let things slide. However, there have been a few instances recently where I confronted people when I needed to without hesitation. I was proud of myself for doing this and to me it was a sign of growth. As for spiritual well-being I still struggle with this. I believe that utilizing some of the practices in this course have helped in the area of spirituality which is now a 6 since I catch myself putting others before myself occasionally. Assessing myself now I can say that by just being aware and acknowledging the need for development in these aspects is growth in itself.

A goal I have for myself in physical well-being is to get a gym membership, create a routine, and adhere to it. For psychological well-being I plan to broaden my meditation and yoga horizons, implementing new techniques and work on those that I struggle with. For spiritual I want to work on connecting with people and nature on a deeper level. My overall goal is to reach a point where I don’t have to think twice about developing my well-being, that it just becomes a part of my life naturally and easily.

I plan to implement a workout routine incorporating weight training to tone my body. In addition to creating growth in my physical well-being, I would also like to increase my running to at least 5 days a week. Being in a good physical state will keep me in shape and confident.

For spiritual I would like to practice the loving kindness meditation and imagery practices a few times a week. I think being outdoors will help me feel connected to nature while exercising the area of spirituality. I also plan on inviting others to meditate with me to create a sense of connectedness to the individuals joining which can promote understanding, nonjudgmental attitudes, compassion, etc.

Creating a meditation and a yoga routine will foster growth in my psychological well-being. I find that these types of practices work best for me at night when I am already winding down. Doing these things will keep stressors at bay leaving me with plenty of room for focus and peace.

To stay committed to these goals I think journaling would be a great tool for tracking my wellness progress.  I am a visual person so to have the documentation of what I am doing on a day to day basis and knowing my thoughts/feelings in the process will be motivating. Keeping a wellness journal will hold me accountable, I won’t like to see regression.

References;

Dacher, E. S. (2006) Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publishers. Laguna Bch, CA

Unit 8

Reflections....

Subtle mind and visualization have been the two practices I have found to be most beneficial for myself. Subtle mind I often do when I need to focus, the simple breathing technique of focusing on inhaling and exhaling keeps me on track and concentrated. Visualizations, especially of landscapes are very relaxing making it easier to still my mind. Typically I feel refreshed and energized after practice.

 To foster mental fitness I plan to continue exercising with these two practices weekly and progress to more days and longer duration of each. When I feel secure and confident I will most likely take on the practices which are a bit more difficult for me personally so that I may evolve other aspects of mental fitness.  

Unit 7

The meditations for the week as usual were a bit difficult to start but they are becoming less so. With the more time I spend on meditation, I find myself less stressed about little things. I think back to them throughout my day and the feelings I had immediately after an exercise (refreshed and relaxed.) I will continue to implement the practices and gradually add more throughout the week and time during each.

As for the saying “one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself”, it is perfectly applicable to a health professional and their client. I know that as a client, I would prefer someone I can relate to through their experiences/skill. As a professional one would need to be knowledgeable of what they are teaching and constantly developing oneself so that understanding the client’s needs and conditions are relatable and genuine.

 

Maria

Unit 6

Hi!

 

In the assessment we are to ask ourselves which aspect (worldly, interpersonal, biological, psychospiritual) is the source of suffering or difficulty and find ways on how to develop that area. I decided to focus on psychospiritual more specifically the emotional portion of it. I feel I have a neutral state when it comes to emotions and I can deal with them pretty well however, I have a difficult time with being angry or upset with someone. I don’t express to the person my feelings as I would rather avoid conflict and wind up keeping the issue bottled up until I’m “over it”. I know the steps I need to take but it’s as always, easier said than done.

 

Maria

Unit 5

Hello Everyone!

When comparing the Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind practices I can say that Loving Kindness was much easier. Subtle mind was difficult for me because there was so much focus on breathing  and that left plenty of room for my mind wander, often! With Loving Kindness I could focus on people, thoughts and feelings which gives a lesser opportunity for mental chatter.

Mental wellness (knowing and understanding ourselves on a deeper level), physical (achieved though exercise and a healthy diet) and spiritual wellness (peace and harmony within and with others) are all interconnected. When I am lacking in one area I notice the effects in another. I really need to work on giving each of these aspects equal attention and know that doing more in one area isn’t going to make up for the rest.

Unit 4

Loving Kindness

Hi!

In my last blog I talked about how I was unsure of how to become a more spiritual person and after doing this exercise I felt as if this could lead me in that direction. It was different in that I was sending or wishing others thoughts of happiness and health opposite to the approach that I was used to as a child, rather than asking a higher power I was doing it myself. I would like to make more time to do mental workouts such as these, it gets me back in touch with myself and others and keeps me from putting things on the back burner.