Final Update

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     In unit three I felt like I was half way there in every category. After more reflection for the Unit 9 assignment I found myself to be a Psychological 5, spirituality 4.5, physically 3. I think that I have had the most growth in my psychological realm, I have truly embraced the practices taught in class and they have helped me mentally focus, observe and let go of things I have no control over and over my emotions. Its freeing. My spirituality is still a work in progress. I am learning, and understanding what messages in the bible mean in my life. I am using the word, praying more and witnessing on the goodness of God more. Where I need improvement is my commitment to Wednesday bible study. Physically I have not lost any weight, this is due to my lack of commitment to my exercise process and eating habits. I seem to have the most trouble here, I'm not sure if it is because I feel like I'm OK with my body or if its the first thing I can let go when things get busy.  I have to work this out, and figure out how to lose this weight.  I don't want to have diabetes, or high blood pressure. 

     I have stuck to my guns when it comes to me saying no and taking one task on at a time.  I'm not looking to far into the future at things that need to be done to help reduce my anxiety. I am working at staying involved with my community and being available for others who may need me and giving positive council to them.  I am working out for thirty minutes a day and when I have more time I'm doing more.  I have started a food and exercise journal to help me understand where the disconnect is with my weight loss success.

     The one main thing I think I got from this course is to be committed. I have to be committed to me, to the growth of my mind (psychological state), my body ( my physical health) and spirituality. I will be taking a trip to Hot Springs, NC in a few weeks to partake in the mineral waters, to meditate and just get some alone time.  Since healing is my desire, I will continue to use the tools given in this class and those I've taken before and continue to grow and share the best parts of me. I feel like I've found my purpose and I'm just beginning to live it. 

My Personal Journey

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My Personal Journey
1. 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?

Practice what you preach is something we have all heard and I know its cliche. However, as a wellness practitioner it is more than that. This must be taken seriously in order to relate to patients and their needs. Having and understanding and a developed psychologically, spiritually, and physically will allow a practitioner to be more relate able and believable when formatting a treatment plan for their client. To run your practice under the guide of do as I say and not as I do is hard for someone to trust and believe. I tend to respond to someone who has a passion about what they are talking about and that has a personal investment in the practices they are preaching.

There are several things that I need to do to reach my fullest potential in integral health. I feel that I need development in all the areas listed above and I'm not sure that my growth will ever end. Life is ever changing as well as the challenges that it brings. So adjusting the way I think, feel, and take care of myself physically will more than likely be necessary.

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

Spiritually- At this point in my life I feel like I'm on my way. I have renewed my faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and I know that I am nothing without Him in my life. Through his teachings I find peace, security, love, healing, trust, and selflessness. His words and works give me strength to take on any challenge and confidence that I'm good enough. I also know that I only have the power to change me but through prayer (meditation) and my deeds I can influence others to work towards all things that are good. I would say that I'm still a babe, well maybe a toddler but that I still have so much more to do. I would rate myself on a sale of 1-10 a 4.5.

Physically- This is my weakest point. My overall health is good, however there are some things that have been challenging. Since I had my last child nine years ago I have struggled with getting the weight off. This has never been an issue for me prior to becoming a mom. As a youth and young adult I was always active. I played collegiate sports and loved to dance. However, after becoming a mom I stopped it all. I don't have a desire to exercise, and I don't hit the dance clubs anymore. I have made many attempts at working out, whether it be joining a gym, buying exercise equipment for my home and even getting a Wii so that our video game play would get me off the couch. I have not gained any additional weight over the nine years but I have not been able to keep off any of the pounds I lose. Many times I just want to give up and just give in but I know that is not an option. What I have learned through this course is that I have to make a commitment to myself and keep it. That the weight will not go away overnight and that I have to take each day one at a time. I must allow myself some time for the process to work. I would rate myself a 3 in this category.

Psychological- Emotionally I have grown leaps and bounds. The things that use to frustrate me and cause me to go off the handle don't rock me anymore. The ability to quiet my mind with prayer and meditation has been a blessing. I can focus on one thing at a time which helps to reduce my anxiety. My need to judge others and their deeds has diminished. I now know that people are who they are and none of us are perfect and that's alright. I understand that some people are going to lie, cheat, steel, make bad judgement calls and that they may not do and see things as I do. Some of this is unfortunate and I may not like it but it does not effect who I am and their actions don't have to make me react negatively. I would like to strengthen my will in the hope to increase my chances of staying on a workout regimen and quitting smoking. I would rate myself a 5 in this category.

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

Physically- I want to lose 30 pounds. Plain and simple. I love myself and I have grown to love my body and my curves, however, for my internal health I know that this extra weight is not healthy. I have diabetes in my family history and I don't want to make it my history. The other thing I'd like to change is my bad habit of smoking. I want all the years God has assigned to me. I know that I am shorting them with this habit.

Psychological- My wish is to foster a stronger will. I want an unshakable will and determination. I want to be able to start something and see it through. Understanding that I may get not off my path some times but the motivation to get right back to work. This love for the things in my life that I need to be the best me. I'm tired of settling for just being OK when it comes to staying committed to me.

Spiritually- Here I would like to become more dedicated. I would like to be able to share more of what I have learned with others, grow my connection with my higher power, and be an example of the love, grace, mercy, compassion, blessings and strength of God.

3. 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.

Physical- What I have started to do here is to commit to at least thirty minutes of working out. This consist of at least a brisk walk. If time and daily events allow I will go to the gym to meet my trainer and work out there. I have also began to do yoga in the morning for at least a half hour to get my body and metabolism going. I have promised to take each day one at a time and to start each one new. Not dwelling on what I did or did not do the day before.

Psychological- This is a tough one for me. I'm not quiet sure how I'm going to develop my will other than through my faith in God and the promises I make to myself. I have given myself the option to say no or not right now. I have determined that I must take on a task, figure out what is needed to get it accomplished and then follow through. I have been able to get so many things completed with this thought process. I have completed more things in this last nine weeks then I have in the past six months.

Spiritually- My plan here is to volunteer more. I find here that I meet new people and more people from all walks of life. Here I will have a chance to share of myself, and the promises God has for all our lives. I know that I can not go and preach to the masses but that every situation will allow me some access to someones life if just with a glance, a smile or a hand shake to reach someone and brighten their day.

4. 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 plan to start a journal. I find that when I write out a least of the things that I want, and the things needed to obtain them I tend to get them. I will journal on a daily basis, my diet and what I was doing when I ate, my exercise and how long I worked out, the number of cigarettes I smoke and why and what I may have been doing when I lit up and I will also list all of the things I would like to get accomplished like school, home projects and finding new employment. I plan to continue to meditate and pray for success in all these areas. I will work on these commitments to myself on a daily basis until I don't have to reflect on them as often.

The resource tools that have been provided in this class will remain a part of my life and I will continue to grow my awareness. I understand that in order for me to be most effective I have to continue my journey of the calm abiding, exercise and diet, the witnessing mind and mental training to foster integral wellness.

Loving Kindness/Visualization

What I find to have been most effective for me is the loving Kindness, I find that is allows me to open up my heart, to increase my selflessness to others and myself.  I have the need to want to give more to the people around me and my community and some how I feel it is from the time I spend in this meditative state.  That when I'm conscious what once was hesitation for me is no longer.

Visualization is another method I like to use.  I have a lot going on in my life now and what I find myself doing when I'm winding down and taking time to meditate I'm visualizing the things I want.  I'm taking the time to see my self in these new places hoping to foster up the motivation to keep striving to reach my goals.


 

Cleaning House

This week has been very productive.  I have had a "To Do List" that has needed my attention and this weekend I started marking things off.  I started with dusting, I waited until everyone went to bed to begin.  I never can get anything done when everyone is awake and running about.  The next day I enlisted my husband in my cause and we began to take my daughters bathroom apart.  I've lived in my home for about 7 yrs but its 20 yrs old and it needs to be updated.  It felt so good to do something so physical, and we were able to get it complete with out WWIII starting between me and my husband.  LOL.  I polished my hardwoods in my living room and redecorated.  I feel so at ease and accomplished.  I did not get to do much meditation done this week but this was so therapeutic.  It was just like clearing of the mind.  The things on my list were like having a bunch of thoughts in my head and I needed them out.  The practice of training the mind, help me understand that I needed to stop putting this work off.  It was causing me anxiety and how much was not realized until I finished what I started.  There is more to be done but now I'm looking forward to the work, being creative and spending time with my husband.  A negative has become a positive.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself."  This reminds me of a saying in church, "you can not have a testimony with out a test."  Some things in life have to be experienced and lived.  It is one thing to read text and regurgitate the information out to someone but its totally different if you have person experiences that can be shared to express how something has worked or effected your life.  So yes I think life experience is the best practice if you are a health and wellness professional.  I think that if you have experience, that when a client has a pit fall you will be better equipped to understand and help them recover.

With the help of this class and church, I'm working on my walk in integral health.  There is not just one place that I put these practices to work.  I try to be more giving, do more in my community, spend quality time with my kids, find time just for me, pray and listen to my inner voice and work at curbing my tongue and temper. 

This week was Universal Love and Kindness.  It is the Love and Kindness exercise on a larger scale.  Instead of mediating on healing for my self and my love ones we were asked to focus on the world.  I spent about ten minutes doing this exercise.  I was first asked to go to a quiet place and get in a comfortable position.  Then to clear my mind and repeat mantra for healing of the world.  I always enjoy these exercises.  They relax me and then energize me for my next task. 

Now that we have done these types of exercises a few times I've noticed that it is easier each time for me to allow myself to go to a place of submission in the exercise.  I also realize that I have a great need to do more.  This week I went to our voter registration office an got registration forms and this Sunday I tried to aid people in either registering for the first time or helping them update there information.  It was such a good exchange of energy and information.  I would like to continue to do more service for my family, community and church.

Loving Kindness

I did this exercise this week and it was difficult.  I did not have a hard time visualizing my love ones.  I first thought of my mother and then my children.  This all made me smile and by the end of the week I was smiling and welling up.  I found it easy to think of someone ill.  I have a uncle who has stage 4 cancer and he has been in my prayers since we were notified.  I liked the idea of taking in his pain and worries and turning that into loving feelings and sending that out into the atmosphere.  I also did the same for the group of people who were not so close to me.  Good exercise.  However, some of the audio was difficult to me.  I could not always see the group of people, I would have to say the names in my head to connect with their pain and my loving feelings.

I would love to share this with a girlfriend of mind.  She does meditation but I'm sure nothing like this.  I think it could be beneficial especially the part about connecting with our love and giving it back to ourselves.

The concept of "mental workout" is to train us to think more positive thoughts, to see a more positive outcome and live a healthier happier life.  The benefits of this is slowing down the process of disease, a more fulfilled life, and better stress management skills to name a few.

I'm trying to lose weight and I don't always like what I see in the mirror.  With doing more of this mental work out I can help to foster more feelings of acceptance of my body right now.  With the understanding that I'm doing something with my weight training to change how I look, which will come through the way I feel and react to others.  

Looking at the woman in the mirror, self reflection

  This week I was asked on a scale of 1-10 and 10 being optimal wellbeing where I rate my physical, spiritual and psychological well-being.  After deep reflection and consideration I think I'm only half way there in all three catagories.  My physical health can be better, I need to loss some weight about 30 pounds, I need to increase my core strenght, my endurance and stamina.  My spirituality is in it's infancy stages, I know right from wrong and I have always been compelled to do what was right and do no harm.  However, I still have struggles with things when I feel that I have been hurt, disrespected or wronged.  I have recently given my life to Christ, and have leaned on his understanding and relied on his strength to help me get through the things described earlier.  I am still learning what his word means and how to use it in my life.  I'm learning how to love again, to see things with fresh eyes, but not being naive about the world.  Psychologically I know I need improvement, I just came through something pretty traumatic and I still have some mental scares.  However, with the teachings from this class, and what I'm learning in church the scares are starting to fade.
     Things that have happened in my life have made it hard for me now as an adult to trust people and let them in my life.  I also have a fear of judgement, and small places.  Through the things I'm currently learning I know that fear is not of good and it is detremental to a whole life.  I'm working to rid myself of these fears by learning to love myself and letting go of the need to control my environment at all times and trusting in others in ways that normally I would not.  Growth is my short term goal in all these areas, my long term is to be healed.  I plan to continue to go to church on Sunday and want to start bible study on Wednesday nights.  I'm currently going to the gym and I want to continue the weight training and maybe add some yoga and/or zumba.  I think that I will continue to do meditation exercises, like what we are doing in class.
     This weeks exercise was really enjoyable.  It seems the more I do them the easier the visualization gets.  This exercise asked use to focus on our breaths, and see colors that related to the shakra points as it explained what each represented.  If I had a hard time seeing a color I would think of something in that color and then I would be able to maintain it until prompted to move on.  I was completely relaxed and almost in a hypnotic state.  It took me a few minutes to realize my son had even entered the room.  I was amazed at how deeply I was tuned into the voice I was hearing and my breathing.  I'm sold, I will make this a part of my life, the benefits are that I feel relaxed, energized, and I haven't stopped smiling since.