Personal Application of the Physical, Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Wellness

Here is my Unit 9 Project. I was in a bit of a rush when I wrote it.

Introduction
It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because all aspects of an individuals life must be in order for him or her to be able to help others. To be whole in mind, body, and spirit, the health and wellness practitioner must study and develop every aspect of the three to bring balance to his or her life, in other words, he or she must walk-the-walk before being able to talk-the-talk. Once this balance is achieved, the health and wellness practitioner can begin to branch out and help others attain human flourishing. It is easier for an individual to help others when he or she has gone through the development process, and there is more understanding and patience on his or her part when mistakes are made or a client just is not progressing as planned. The client will also appreciate the practitioner more and respect his or her abilities. The area that I need to work on psychologically is my ability to cope with stress. While I often use self-talk and deep breathing as a coping skill, I still need to develop other coping skills to deal with the occasional stressors I encounter on a daily basis. Over the last year, I have focused on fitness and nutrition and this has helped me feel better physically but I still need to get more sleep. I sleep about 4-5 hours a night and according to Doctor Sheps of the Mayo Clinic (2010), getting less than six hours of sleep a night can compromise the immune system and cause elevated blood pressure readings. Going back to school as an adult has helped me progress in intellectual wellness as well as occupational wellness. Intellectual wellness is achieved by learning new things and occupational wellness by taking steps to achieve my career goals. I would like to develop the spiritual aspects of my life a little more through religion, yoga, meditation, or tai chi chain.

Assessment
Of all the domains of wellness: physical, psychological, and spiritual, I consider my mental health to be the strongest. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it an eight. Of course, there are improvements to be made, like achieving balance between home, work, and school, but I consider my life a work in progress and I am not finished with it yet! I am a happy person with a positive attitude who enjoys life and does not worry excessively. I tend to bounce back from problems quickly without becoming angry or feeling crushed. I would rate my physical wellness as a seven, because even though I have a fitness program in place, I do not always follow it to the letter. Some days I do not make it outside or manage to do any fitness, but I believe that if I can do it the next day, then no is harm done and I can get right back on where I left off. I make it a habit of not missing more than two days of exercise unless I am injured or having surgery. The spiritual aspect of my life is the weakest and the one that I need to work on the most; therefore, I would score it at only a five. Prayer has always been a way for me to cope with stress and my connection with a higher power is important to me. I will join a new church home in a few weeks, but I feel that other spiritual philosophies can lend support to my quest for spiritual wellness. Loving kindness and visualization meditation, as well as yoga and tai chi chuan are good examples of more secular forms of spirituality that I can incorporate into my daily life to strengthen the overall mind-body relationship.

Goal Development
To achieve a goal in each of the three domains of wellness, I must first believe that I can achieve them, and this might take some soul searching in order to battle old fears and habits that are getting in the way of my achieving complete wellness in mind, body, and spirit.
My goal for physical wellness would be to step-up my level of intensity of exercise and make fitness a priority in my life by finding creative ways to get more exercise into my daily routine, especially when I do not feel up to it. For example, I could do stretching exercises like flexing my feet to get the blood circulating while sitting at a computer and walking or biking to work instead of driving, as the weather allows. My goal for psychological development would be to achieve balance between home, work, and school. To achieve this balance I will need to improve my time management skills to give each area the attention it needs. My goal for spiritual development would be to practice many forms of spiritual awareness in order to give my life meaning and to achieve personal discipline and inner peace. Returning to a church home and meditating on a daily basis heads my list of goals. Practicing Tai chi chuan by continuing to use the DVD: Tai Chi For Life: The Ultimate Pathway to Health, and then returning to Master Lu's Health Center in Salt Lake City to attend a few classes to make sure I am doing the exercises correctly, in order to fully incorporate them into my life (Lu Health Center, 2007).

Practices for Personal Health
In order to implement strategies for further personal growth I will need to keep an open mind and be willing to change my program to better suit my needs in the attainment of personal health and well-being (Dacher, 2006). To foster growth in the physical domain of integral health I will need to make sure I do at least moderate exercises five-six days a week consisting of walking, biking, and swimming as the weather allows. I am currently working on incorporating more whole and organic foods into my family's diet and cutting out as much processed foods as the budget allows. I need to get more sleep at night, and learning to manage my time better will allow me to go to bed at a reasonable hour and get at least 6.5 hours of sleep a night. Schoolwork is one of the culprits, and if I can set aside blocks of time for schoolwork, I can get the sleep I need for optimal human flourishing. To foster growth in the psychological domain, I will need to implement meditation into my daily routine for at least 30 minutes, twice a day, in order to center myself and find peace of mind and to handle daily stressors. A second way that I can foster growth in this area is to learn to cope with work stressors by keeping my objectives in mind, which is progressing toward my career and the goals I have set for myself to attain them. Spiritual wellness is my search for meaning in my life. In order to foster growth in this area, I will need to attend church services every Sunday as my health permits. Meditation and Tai chi chuan will help me to stay focused and centered and help bring the spiritual aspects of my life into greater awareness.

Commitment
I can stay committed to my goals and monitor my progress by keeping a record by way of a chart of my progress on a weekly basis. I will include the times I participate in physical exercise, meditation and Tai chi and the number of times I attend church and the activities that I complete. I will also see if the fellowship I encounter is good for my sense of belonging in the military community, and if it helps with my ability to cope with stress. I will involve my family, not just my immediate one, but also my extended one as well in my commitment to integral health.

References
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, California: Basic Health Publications.
Lu, C. T. (2007). Tai chi for life: The ultimate pathway to health (DVD). Utah: Action West Video.
Sheps, S.G. (2010). High blood pressure (hypertension): Is it true that sleep deprivation can cause high blood pressure. Retrieved on August 10, 2010 from the Mayo Clinic website, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sleep-deprivation/AN01344

Optimal Well Being

The two exercises that I have had the most success with and think that I can implement into my daily life are loving-kindness and subtle mind. I chose these mainly for the breathing exercises and the way they seem to relax and quiet my mind (somewhat). My mind doesn't wander as much as it use to mainly because I make sure and find a quiet place away from any loud distractions. :)Belly breathing has really helped me to focus attention away from distractions and focus on my breathing. I can do this during work while I'm at the computer, and no one is aware that I'm doing a wellness exercise. The loving-kindness exercise can be done anytime during the day when I am home, but I think that performing it just before I come to work will help me be more compassionate toward my supervisor and manager(she's a real piece of work) and help me get through my hectic day. This exercise along with the subtle mind exercise can be done when I have a few moments in my office or during breaks. When I come home both of these exercises are good for winding down;especially the subtle-mind exercise.

Meeting Asciepius and Transformation of the healer

Hello Everyone,
After a busy day and week I had trouble with this imagery exercise. I had trouble visualizing my deceased father, even though I know what he looked like. Was I forgetting my father, whom I was so close to all those years? I was kind of frightening. A few years back I was disturbed by the fact that I couldn't remember all the details of my grandmothers face. I think you all should try to visualize a long diseased relative and see if you can remember all of their features. I'm sorry to say I fell asleep three times (I started the exercise over three times) during this exercise because it was very relaxing. I think this was a more advanced exercise and should be done after you have gone through the loving-kindness and witnessing-mind exercises and have turned inward to the calm abiding step of your transformation to integral health. I haven't been doing the mindfulness exercises on a daily basis but I have been doing abdominal breathing religiously on a daily basis and they do seem to relax and calm me, which is probably due to the increased oxygen supply from the deep inhalation and exhalation.
The saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" means that an individual must experience his or her own spirituality and flourish integrally before he or she can help another. Experiencing the different holistic practices gives the practitioner and idea how he or she can help another and which might be better for the client in the long run. This can help the individual develop mentally, physically and spiritually.

Universal Loving Kindness and Integral Assessment

Hello Everyone,
I practiced the universal Loving Kindness exercise and thought it was relaxing. I got as far away from the bustle of the household, and escaped to my backyard sanctuary at dusk, where the only sounds I could hear were the trickle of my neighbors water, the wind chimes with their deep resonant tones and the soft whisper of the breeze. I let myself experience these sounds for a few minutes and then I drew my attention to my breathing-the rise and fall of my stomach as my breath goes in and out, in and out. I do this for about 5 minutes, enjoying the stillness and bringing my "monkey mind" back assertively to focus on my breathing, and just when I thought I had the hang of it...I forgot the words to the phrases! My "monkey mind" was unleashed! : ) I had trouble remembering the exact words of the phrases, but I got as close as I could and started the exercise again. I thought it would be more difficult to repeat words or a phrase as the focal point than it would be to focus on my breathing, but in fact it kept my "monkey mind" occupied and my focus stronger.
After completing the integral assessment, I determined that out of the four aspects of my life I needed to focus my attention on the biological quadrant because it is in distress at this time in my life. I have been diagnosed with a problem and now I will need to see a vascular surgeon. I will need to adjust my nutrition and develop better self-regulation skills. I have lowered my sodium and caffeine intake and I am working on disciplining my self to attain a more desirable weight. Hopefully these practices will take some of the pressure off of my leg and allow it to heal properly.

In Love and Wellness,
Pen

The Key Role of Thought in Wellness and Healing

Hello everyone,
I've completed the loving kindness and the subtle mind exercise, and I think they will fit nicely into my daily routine, if I can be more disciplined about it. The loving kindness exercise was a lesson in feelings of caring and compassion, and it gave you many choices to practice the concept on. On the other hand the subtle mind exercise was a lesson in the openness and vastness of the mind and how to quiet it's restlessness. The main idea was to focus on either the breath or the rising and falling of the abdomen, thus bringing the wayward mind back into focus. While loving kindness was based on gently expressing love to yourself and others, The subtle mind was more assertive-forcing the wandering mind to come back and focus, no matter how many times it took. This is definitely the style my wandering "monkey mind" needs. The loving kindness practice had short pauses to allow a thought process or concept to sink in but not to let your mind wander too far. The Subtle mind exercises had longer pauses that where so long that when the lady started to talk again I was startled! I think I might have dosed off, but it didn't feel like it. : )This exercise might not be good when you are exhausted. I love the quietness and stillness throughout both exercises and the flute added to the ambiance.
Stress often manifests itself in the mind first before progressing to the physical body and then to chronic ailments like heart disease, cancer and stroke. Spirituality can help calm these destructive thoughts and help an individual attain a better sense of overall wellness. These spiritual meditations will be able to help with my stressful, restless mind if only I would show a little more discipline and incorporate them into my daily life. I think that if I take it one step at a time I will succeed.

Take care,
Pen

Loving Kindness Review

Hello Everyone,
As always, the mental exercises seem to relax me, but I have a hard time believing that I'm actually doing the exercise correctly. While doing the Dacher exercise on Loving kindness I could picture the person or persons but I wasn't sure I was taking in the negative energy and exhaling the healing energy correctly. I know most of this is in the mind, but what does it feel like to do it correctly? When I become better at it and more in control of my thoughts then yes, I would recommend it to others, if nothing more than to relax them.
When we train our mind we can influence our physiology and our immune system to help us ward off ailments and disease. Mental workouts can help alleviate the stresses in life and put us on the path to better health through the mind body and spirit.

Take care!
Pen

Reflections on Wellness

Based on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate my physical well-being a 6 because I do have some health issues that are stress related and I don't get as much exercise as I would like. My spiritual well-being is rated a 5 because I don't attend church on a regular bases anymore. I use the excuse of "I slept in" but I would like to return and join in the fellowship. We have a nice little community chapel on Base and the people are friendly, so I'll give it a try soon. I would rate my psychological well-being a 6 because I really have difficulty quieting my mind and not harboring ill will towards my boss who makes every one's life a living hell while at work.

The physical goal I would set for myself is to squeeze a little more time out of my busy schedule to exercise more. The spiritual goal I would set for myself would be to attend church more often and join in the activities and fellowship. The psychological goal I would set for myself is to be more assertive, but in a non-threatening way.

The activities or exercises that I can implement into my life to assist me in reaching these goals is to walk a little each morning and evening when it is not so hot, attend church this Sunday and prepare to incorporate the integral health preparation exercises into my life, especially loving-kindness.

After completing the relaxation exercise, "The Crime of the Century" and trying to understand why it is called that (to get my attention?), I felt that it was a good exercise, but I kept thinking that I would have to remember all of those colored lines, where they came from and what they meant so that I was a little distracted during the entire session. It didn't help that my husband came in and started making a lot of noise.

I hope all of you can find peace.

Pen

Welcome Statement and Journey On Experience

Hello everyone,
I hope you like my blog site. This isn't the first time I've blogged, but I don't blog often. I'll try to do better this time and maybe continue on after this class.
I had a very pleasant experience with Journey On's relaxation exercise. I sat in a chair this time around, but I think I'll lie down next time to become more relaxed. As I imagined the blood flowing from my abdomen up to my shoulders and down to my arms it seemed that I would get stuck at the shoulders and not make it all the way to the hands and fingers. I guess this was alright because I did feel the heaviness and warmth that the moderator was talking about, and found myself too comfortable to lift my arms. Returning the blood to my abdomen seemed more difficult, but I didn't panic and stayed within my comfort zone till the end. All-in-all I had a very good experience. I hope all is well with everyone, and may you find peace in your life. : )

Penny