Unit nine

 (Google image, 2012).

I.                        Introduction:
Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically?

     I believe that the more one grows the more wisdom he or she will gain. When one choices to follow the integral path to health care he or she is developing and continuously allowing their psychological, spiritual and physical well-being to flourish. As we have learned throughout this class there is a connection to the mind, body and spirit; one aspect cannot be affected without affecting the other aspects. For a health care professional to treat a patient’s physical aspect he or she is not treating the whole person. In order for a health care professional to treat a patient as a whole he or she needs to believe and practice this concept of treating each part of the patient (mind, body and spirit). One cannot talk the talk unless they walk the walk.

     When a health care professional finds this whole connection between mind, body and spirit then he or she has discover integral health and healing. This becomes a personal experience for the practitioner who in turn allows that practitioner to treat and heal patients in the same manner but with experience, heart and soul. “Our personal work becomes a sacred responsibility, a way that we can help others and create a better world” (Dacher, 2006, p. 167). This starts with the health care practitioner developing psychologically, spiritually and physically through an integral approach to find this complete connection before he or she can truly treat the patient as a whole.

     When I was pregnant with my third child I wanted to have a natural birth like I experienced before but time and nature were not on my side so I was encouraged to get an epidural. When receiving this epidermal the nurse anesthesiologist tried 16 times before he was able to get the medication into the proper location. My back was sore but my anxiety about epidurals had gone from minimal to extreme. Two years later I was about to give birth to my fourth child and found myself terrified to even enter the birthing center because of the last experience that I had. My mid wife had gone through a traumatic experience during surgery and practiced mental imagery taught by her colleague. She stated that it helped her get over the fear and anxiety that she had from her traumatic experience to be able to go into the surgery room again and have another procedure done. Her experience and knowledge helped my find a technique to study from that same colleague of hers to easy my nerves when the time came to deliver my fourth child. She was able to offer me a different approach to overcoming my fears that no medication could offer. The thing that made the whole experience richer and more affective was that she had done the same thing and was there for me the whole time guiding me through the journey. She walked the walk and was able to hold my hand firmly as I started my journey; it was truly the most amazing experience ever and I believe it was because not only did she suggest a treatment (for say) but also had a personal connection to that treatment that made the experience so much more affective.

What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

     I believe that there are going to be areas for each person that need more work than others; that is why each person’s path to integral health is different. For me my goal is to develop a better mental connection with my body and soul. My first goal is to meditate to help stop the endless chatter within my mind. I am working on releasing negative thoughts and eliminating negative aspects in my life that are only a distraction to my life. I would eventually like to find that inner most self within me but I know that I have to work on this area first before I can come close to this ultimate goal. I know that part of me is there and waiting to come out but I feel I still have not discovered her yet.

     I think that the more connected I feel with my whole self the better teacher and health care provider I am going to be for my patients. I want the best for my patients but I want them to trust me and believe in me just like I do with my mid-wife/nurse practitioner. I feel that if I walk the walk then I will be able to talk the talk and gain the trust and belief from my patients to help them find their connection to their mind, body and spirit; helping make a better world. After I am able to reach my mental goal through meditation exercises, physical and mental exercises and loving-kindness and find my inner most self I intend to become that inspirational teacher and healer that my mid-wife/Nurse practitioner was and is for me.

II.        Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain?

     For my physical health I would have to say that each day I strive to continue to be active by allowing myself at least 40 minutes to do some sort of physical activity outside of my normal activities (playing with the kids, going for walks, etc.). I start with this area of my health because I feel like it is the strongest area for me. One thing that I have added is a fitness log for myself; I track the miles that I run each week, other physical activities that I do and try to keep a nutritional log. I have found this very rewarding to see what I have done each week and what I have put in my body to help fuel these activities. Another thing that I have been focusing more on while I am doing my physical routine is adding a mental exercise as well to help my mind and body connect while I am working out. I think that there is always room for improvement in anyone’s life; no matter how much we would like to keep things the same, life is always changing but we have the power to change with it.

     I feel like my mental health has improved and grown throughout my time here at Kaplan. This is not the first class that I have had that has discussed the importance of treating and healing the whole person but by far is the most extensive that I have been able to discuss and review the topic while practicing the exercises myself. I first started meditating three times a week and tried to concentrate on releasing all the chatter that was going on in my head. During this time I have focused on the negative aspects within my life and contemplate if these aspects could be eliminated of revised somehow to make them positive aspects. I have found this exercise to be rewarding and calming all at the same time. I have been reviewing my progress in this domain by keeping a journal of how each meditation experience has made me feel. I review the journals after each week and then throw them away not because I do not want to know my progress after a month, year, etc. but because I do not want to look back in the past; I only want to move forward and focuses on my growth in a positive way. My mental growth has improved but I feel that this is one area that I still need a lot of work on.

     I realize that all three areas (mind, body and spirit) are connected and for most the greatest obstacle is the psyhcospiritual to finding human flourishing but not for me (Dacher, 2006, p. 39). I have found a great passion in helping others flourish within their own life and help guide them but I also know that I can be a better leader if I focus on my mental and psychospiritual growth within my own life. I really have not kept a journal about how I feel spiritually or how often I pray to God I just know that through each experience I grow stronger and my connection with God and the world have become deeper. I feel there is no greater reward then helping others; there is a reason why we were put here on earth and I believe it is to help others to form a strong connection with each other and every aspect within in this world. For myself I need to focus on my mental growth to find that inner most self to connect all aspects within my life to make them all fit and so I can become a better teacher and healer throughout my life.

How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

     I scored all three of these areas using a 1-10 scale; one being the lowest and ten being the highest. I used this method because I wanted to review my progress from unit three to this point in unit nine. I feel like this is a good comparison to see if I feel like I have grown in each area in these short six weeks.

     In unit three I scored my physical health an 8, my spiritual health an 8 and my psychological health between a 5 and a 6. I would have to say that my physical health is still an 8 maybe a 9. I know that there are areas within my physical health that I could improve on and that physically I am not perfect, although I do not feel negative about myself physically,  I just understand that there is always room for improvement whether it include running harder or changing my diet to improve some nutritional aspects. With that said I believe that is why I felt my psychological well-being was so low because although these aspects seem to affect my physical self I actually view them as more of a mental challenge. I now would rate my psychological wellness a 7 because I feel like I have gained the power to incorporate mental and physical exercises which has left my mind and body feeling amazing. I am working on improving my mind to find a complete mind, body and spiritual connection and each day I feel like I am a little bit closer to that connection. Although I now have realized that my spiritual aspect has not changed. I feel this way because I do not feel like I can honestly say that my spiritual health has growth without improving my mind more to find that inner most self that lies within me. I hope that when I look back in six months from now and review these scores again I will have improved in each area because of the exercises that I have done to find a connection that truly helps each aspect within in my life flourish.

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

 (Google image, 2012).

     My physical goal is to continue to change my physical activities so I stay excited about exercise but also stay motivated to try new challenging things. I want to be able to enter into any race (no matter what the physical activity is) and finish as strong as I possibly can.

     One physical goal that I want to set for myself is to complete another half-marathon for the spring of 2013 and complete at least two triathlons. Along with these races I would like to enter into an overall physical challenge race for women within my state. I plan to follow a running guide for training for a half marathon along with meeting the physical criteria for a physical challenge race. I will focus on plans for both activities and record my progress each week. I think that it is important to have a plan that allows you to follow in order to meet your goal; I know that for myself when I train the best that I can I feel 100% ready the day that I stand on that starting line

     My mental goal is to be able to incorporate one mental activity each day before or during I do my physical activity. I have always felt very passionate about getting some form of physical activity (were my heart rate is up for more than 30 minutes) and this mind set has allowed me to stay focused, committed and motivated to exercise. I now need to find that same mind set toward mental exercise so I can find the motivation to practice each day to strengthen my mind, body and soul. I plan on allowing myself 10 minutes each day before I physically workout or during my physical workout to practice a mental. I would like to increase this time to 15 minutes each day before I review my progress in six months.

     My spiritual goal is to develop a witnessing mind in order to observe what is going on in my mind before I react. I believe this will help my spiritual aspect grow because I will be able to find peace and calmness and allow myself to developing a calm-abiding mind set or a loving-kindness. I believe developing a witnessing mind will allow my spiritual, mental and physical self to find a complete connection. I plan to do this my practicing meditation each three times a week and loving-kindness twice a week and really focusing on releasing the negative aspects within my mind and letting go of the endless chatter. I want to be able to focuses on the positives and tame my mind (Dacher, 2006).

     My ultimate goal is to find the complete connection and find a sense of calmness and peace all throughout my day instead of just in moments. I believe that each one of these goals will help me reach this final goal (that I believe will always change as I do throughout life). One small step in the right direction really amounts to a lot; I feel like each small goal is one more step toward the direction that I want to go in my life by focusing on the here and now instead of the past or what can be.

III.                        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.

     I order to meet my physical goals I need to keep my routine fresh and exercise like I am training for a half marathon and triathlon. I intend to keep running at least 20 miles a week (which includes one long run). I also intend to keep teaching my fitness class and lift weights but I want to incorporate swimming a mile each week. I use to swim a mile each week all summer long but then I completed my triathlon and stopped. I want to reintroduce this exercise into my routine to keep things fresh and exciting and to help me train for my upcoming triathlon and physical challenge race (even though it is months away).

     I feel like incorporating mental exercises while I exercise my body help my body work harder and build strength within and out. When I run I have been incorporating focusing on the sound of my feet hitting the pavement; this is like subtle mind exercises were one concentrates on a sound to allow your mind to calm down and witness and observe without distractions. I run every day of the week and I plan to focuses on the sounds of my feet for at least one mile of my run every day. One thing that I want to make sure of is that I am not timing this practice but enjoying it to get every ounce out of the experience. I feel that this practice has allowed me to grow internally and externally and find that connection between my mind, body and spirit.

     I would like to incorporate more stretching into my routine. I feel that by incorporating stretching I am going to be able to train better, feel better and become stronger at my activities. I always skip stretching because I feel like there just is not enough time to stretch before and after even though I know how important it really is mentally and physically. So as one of my physical and mental exercises I would like to incorporate yoga into my everyday routines. I would like to try four different moves each day for a week and then incorporate different moves the next week and so on. I have heard that yoga allows you to become more physical fit as well as finding an inner peace so I intend to give it a try and improve both aspects within my life.

     In order to foster growth within my mind I intend to practice meditation three times a week. Throughout this course I have found meditation to be a very calming experience that has allowed me to stop and think before I act. During these meditation practices I will use the word love to regain focus whenever endless chatter reenters my mind. I feel this practice will allow me to find my inner most self and allow my mind to be calm and still to help my body and spirit flourish along with my mind.

     One exercise that I have already practiced in my life that helps fosters my spiritual growth each day is prayer. I intend to focus on praying in more detail; I would like to pray each day for someone else. Praying helps heal the mind, body and soul but when you pray for others I think that allows one to flourish in a way that allows them to gain the peace and wisdom by helping others even if the ones that we are praying for are people we do not know.

     Loving-kindness is one exercise that I have not connected with yet this course but is one that I want to continue to practice. I have a hard time imaging taking love from someone but I want to try to understand this exercise so I practice this exercise. I believe in finding a connection with others and having an open heart, in fact I believe this concept very strongly (I think this is why I want to keep practicing this exercise because I believe in the goal). I want to enhance love, kindness, happiness, patience and openness within my life and I think that through the loving kindness exercise I can enhance these positive emotions to enrich my spirituality (Dacher, 2006). I want to find that connection to letting ones love in to make the entire exercise work because I feel this aspect will help my spiritual self-grow in a way that I have never experienced before. I am going to try this exercise once a week and then once I become more comfortable with it and understand it more I plan to add this exercise twice a week. I believe the more open I am to exercises the more knowledge I will gain and the better connection I will find to my body, mind and spirit.

IV.                        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?

     In six months I hope to have reached each one of my goals. I believe that achieving my goals I will be able to feel the progress I have made within each aspect of my life. I have enjoyed my blog and I feel like documenting my progress throughout this course has been a great way for me to keep track of my mental, spiritual and physical growth. I intend to keep documenting my progress each week so in six months I can not only read my progress but I hope I will be able to feel the difference within myself. One thing I would like to add to my blog is my achievements. I think it is so important to voice your achievements even if no one is listening you can say just how proud you are of you. Reviewing my blog posts has been really inspiring to me so far and I believe that in six months I will find the confidence and motivation to keep practicing and achieving my goals.

     My husband is extremely honest with me so I intend to ask him how he thinks my mental and physical aspects are now and then in six months I will ask him again and see if he sees a difference in my overall health (how do I act, deal with stress, communicate, etc.). Sometimes hearing what others see and feel about you helps you grow; another’s words may be expressed in a way that has the power to help you change.  

 (Google image, 2012).

Reference

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

     Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Google image. (2012). Mind, body, spirit images. Retrieved September 26, 2012, from:

     https://www.google.com/search? q

     =picture+of+mind,+spirit,+body&hl=en&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADSA_

     enUS389US392&prmd=imvns&tbm

     =isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=VxVjUKyuPIHYyw

     HuhYGIAw&sqi=2&ved=0CB0QsAQ&biw=1877&bih=743