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.