Unit 9 Reflections

In my Unit 3 overall well-being rating was physical well-being at a 7 ½, my spiritual well-being as an 8, and my psychological well-being a 7. I feel slightly improved on these ratings, but not incredibly. This is mostly because I was doing what I could to maintain and improve my health and wellness prior to this class. I would love to have the personal time to focus on myself to improve these numbers as much as possible; however right now the time that I have to devote to integral health is short of what I’d like. I have been able to maintain my physical wellness throughout my pregnancy, and spend a little more time reflecting and meditating, which has been beneficial. I have also made attempts at organizing and arranging my space to allow my psychological stress to decrease. In time I will be able to dedicate more time to my journey towards integral health, and improve my overall health and wellness with the practices recommended in this course.

This course has opened many opportunities and new thought processes for integral health improvement. I have been motivated to learn more about each aspect of integral health based on mind, body, and spirit connections. Personal time to focus on these improvements has been my biggest obstacle. Finding that time will be my next commitment; hopefully that happens before this baby comes! Implementing the practices presented in this course into daily life and the lives of others will encourage the journey towards greater health.

Unit 9: Health and Wellness

Health and Wellness

1. Introduction

It is essential for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically in their own lives. Personal integral health is a critical aspect of promoting wellbeing in others. Practices such as goal setting, forgiveness, positivity, journaling, meditation, prayer, visualization, adequate sleep, proper nutrition, hydration, and exercise keep the journey to integral health flourishing. Individuals that neglect particular pieces of integral health become especially imbalanced. Additionally, recognizing the connections between all aspects of integral health allows room for growth and development. Cultivating psychological, spiritual and physical health in one’s self encourages growth in others; fostering the journey towards integral health.

Personal areas of my journey concerning integral health that need special attention are found in each, psychological, spiritual and physical aspects. Integral health is a life long journey that will require balanced attention in each area if I am to improve, foster, and develop my overall integral health position. My goal is to continue growth in all aspects of my life; increasing my health, happiness, and wholeness which reflects true integral health (Dacher, 2006).

II. Assessment

Assessing my levels of psychological, spiritual, and physical health is not as simple as rating myself. Many factors relate to my overall standing, wellness position, or view of my life. There are good days, bad days, strong days, weak days, happy days, sad days, stressed days, easy days, and I could go on and on. There is not one level that adequately reflects my entire integral health position at any one time.

Accounting for my wellness is difficult with simple scoring methods; while I feel that I’m adequately developing in all areas, I recognize the opportunity for growth. I don’t believe I am lacking excessively in any specific area; however my journey for improvement will continue. To begin with, finding a balance requires devotion to each area. Psychologically, I am strong, but often become overwhelmed with responsibilities and emotions. Working to prioritize and organize my life is an ongoing struggle that I work at. Looking positively at life and forgiving others for wrong doing is one way that improves my psychological outlook on life. Additionally, my spirituality is secure; however reaching deeper levels of consciousness and completeness will require time and attention that might be spent in meditation, visualization, prayer, and silence. Finding time for these practices will allow calm, strengthen, and ease my mind. Lastly, my physical health is above average for my age, gender, height, and other tracking measurements. I feel like physical wellbeing is a journey and can always be improved with attention to appropriate nutrition, adequate hydration, and intensified exercise. Attending to changing needs and issues with the body requires a lifelong commitment to fitness and health. All of these aspects relate to one another and connect my personal integral health and wellbeing; balancing my life favorably.

III. Goal development:

            Specific goals for improving psychologically, spiritually and physically are easy to find; but may not be as effortless to achieve. Nurturing the developments of integral health is a journey. I feel like anything worth achieving may take time, but it will come with a feeling of accomplishment and pride.

            My goal for improved psychological health is forgiving others, and allowing myself to grow from that experience. My goal for increased spiritual health is more time and attention dedicated to meditation development. My goal for physical health is to strongly maintain my current levels of nutrition and fitness; while striving for improvements in strength, flexibility, endurance, and speed.

IV. Practices for personal health:       

Psychologically, one goal I have set is I’d like to allow myself growth through forgiving others. I don’t feel I need to notify those people of my decision, I only need to encourage myself to let the past go and simply forgive them of their wrongs towards me. This may not affect anyone else immediately; however my newfound peace and tranquility will no doubt reflect on others in time. Finding the strength to forgive others might prove heartbreaking; due to the reliving of many hurtful memories. Taking the time to keep a journal reflecting my emotions about events, people, and situations will help me to organize my feelings and allow forgiveness. Additionally, allowing myself to feel the hurt without holding it inside will help me learn to express myself and eventually forgive those who have hurt me. Removing negativity and replacing it with positivity will help to transform my outlook on life (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). I feel like getting past these issues and freeing my emotions of resentment will strengthen my psychological health.

Spiritually, I have set the goal of furthering my meditative abilities. This ambition expresses my belief in myself that I am capable of reaching The Witnessing Mind, Calm Abiding, and Unity Consciousness (Dacher, 2006). Quieting my mind is a struggle that I have dealt with and overcome in small expanses in the past. Allocating time each day to accomplish this goal is essential to my success. Additionally, devoting my attention to positive visualizations will open opportunities for positivity to spread in my life. Reaching a point where it is easier for me to accomplish a less chaotic mindset and experiencing positive visualizations will allow me to develop even further in my aim for meditative growth.

Physically, goals are straightforward; improve strength, flexibility, endurance, and speed. Realizing these goals requires that I break them down into smaller, specifically achievable tasks. Presently, I am in my second trimester of my second pregnancy; this puts added emphasis on health and wellness for me. Not only am I keeping physically healthy for myself, and my daughter, but also for the new baby I’m carrying. Maintaining my existing nutrition and fitness levels are priority goals right now since they are currently considered above average by fitness professional standards. While practicing precaution, I plan to improve strength, flexibility, endurance, and speed, although possibly minimally, throughout my pregnancy. Strength training goals are extending my arm strength through swimming, planks, push-ups, and light weights. Additionally, swimming, squats, lunges, and walking will increase my leg strength. Core strength may have to wait, but I am able to perform top crunches, and planking will also keep my core muscles strong. Pregnancy is a great time for flexibility development. Increasing my static and dynamic stretches will keep me active and help me after the baby is delivered. Endurance goals are currently based on swimming and walking; with intensity intervals. My speed may not increase, but keeping consistent effort will help me bounce back and return to my speed development after my baby is born. All of these aspects of physical health will improve my health, my daughter’s outlook on health, and my baby’s future health.

 V. Commitment:

            Assessing progress in these areas of integral health will be based on my overall sense of health, happiness, and wholeness (Dacher, 2006). The next six months will carry me through my pregnancy; a perfect timeline for integral health growth. A journal following my progress of time spent on each aspect, development in specific areas, and also developments in my psychological, spiritual, and physical changes will be beneficial in keeping me on track. Noting setbacks, distractions, and obstacles in my journey will also help me in maintaining my goals. Overall, true dedication to improving my health and wellness will be the best strategy in achieving my integral health goals.

References:

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health; The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications

Schlitz, M. Amorok, T. Micozzi, M. (2005). The Return of Prayer. Consciousness & healing; Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri. Elsevier Inc.

Favorite Practices::

Unit 8

I have really enjoyed experimenting with the meditation practices mentioned in this course. I am also looking forward to finding more that might work for me. 

My favorite practice was the Rainbow Meditation. I found this practice came very naturally to me, and I was able to fall right into it. My experience with this practice game me a light, carefree feeling- kind of like being a kid again. I feel like using this meditation in my daily routine will help me put life into perspective, let unimportant or negative aspects go, and help me to grow spiritually. It was kind of like a cleanse and I really like that.

My next favorite practice was Meeting Aesclepius . This practice gave me the chance to connect to a very special person and to allow him into my thoughts, emotions, and spirit. Some people just have a calming effect on us, and he is one of them, adding him to the guided practice gave me a genuine sense of hope for my future, since that is what he is always encouraging and addressing. Keeping up with this practice daily could give me peace of mind, serenity, courage, creativity, and more- all qualities and aspects that I value about him. 

 

All of the meditation practices were interesting and beneficial in particular circumstances. I think I will find them all useful in my future involving health and wellness.

Aesclepius

Unit 7- The Meeting Aesclepius exercise was calming and fairly easy for me to follow. I feel like this is because I had a great subject to focus on. I thought of one of my favorite people and past neighbor, Forest, and his impact on my life. I imagined his storytelling, knowledge, skill, and experiences as an adventurer, author, and reporter. This exercise eased my mind with thoughts of him and memories that I cherish. I was reminded of how much better I feel when I see or hear from him regularly. The chaotic ‘waterfall’ of my mind slowed considerably because of this exercise; I feel like using it often will reconnect me to Forest’s essence even when I can’t see him physically.

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself,” is an incredible statement (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005). This describes the importance of having experienced life, situations, emotions, and events in order to express your knowledge of them and how they affected you. Providing a client or patient with direction or information that you do not fully understand first hand is a misuse of their trust. Truly experiencing the processes that you are trying to teach and provide is essential for a quality experience; we are obligated to continue and expand our journey towards our psychological, physical, and spiritual health if we intend to ‘teach’ others of those benefits. We can accomplish this through engaging in practices such meditation, exercise, and education in various ways. I think as long as we are learning we are growing.

Schlitz, M. Amorok, T. Micozzi, M. (2005). The Return of Prayer. Consciousness & healing; Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. St. Louis, Missouri. Elsevier Inc.

Unit 6 Discoveries

Unit 6! This week has been chaotic for me! Finding enough (quiet) time to practice these meditations and assessments has been difficult.

I found the Loving Kindness exercise very straightforward and enlightening. I especially liked the idea that I was almost ‘praying’ for others, but not addressing a specific religion, but rather the universe in general.

I also liked the simplicity of asking myself for the answers to questions such as, ‘What aspect is the source of my difficulty; psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, or worldly?’ I feel like I need to focus attention on both biological, because of my pregnancy, and also interpersonal.

Beginning my focus on biological development, I can direct my attention towards eating even more nutritiously, and also on finding the time for more activity; such as swimming, walking, and strength training that is appropriate during my pregnancy.

Additionally, I think evolving my family connections will help me during this time as well. Family is so important to me, and I need to reconnect to many family members!

I think this is a great start to my development!

The Subtle Mind

We’re half way through the course! Time has flown by! For Unit 5, I tried The Subtle Mind Practice. Compared to The Loving Kindness Practice last week, I was able to focus more easily on this week’s exercise. The loving Kindness Practice had more ‘instruction’ from the speaker; which often makes it harder for me to concentrate and finish the exercise. The Subtle Mind exercise gave me plenty of time between guidance to focus on my breath. Maybe this exercise was easier for me because I have practiced breath work before. I felt very relaxed, like I might want to crawl back into bed, even though I could hear my mom and daughter arguing about breakfast in the kitchen… Or maybe that’s why I wanted to crawl back in bed!

There is a strong connection between spiritual wellness, mental wellness, and physical wellness. None of these aspects can be well if the others are not. Of course, some may be stronger than others, but all should be attended to on a regular basis. If one aspect is neglected the others will suffer, and the person will be unbalanced and disrupted.

Personally, I feel unstable when I disregard one part of my wellness. For example, if I am inactive due to illness or a busy schedule, I feel sluggish and my mind is unclear; I might feel confused or impatient. I have figured out that if I focus on each aspect of myself that I am able to feel more whole and balanced in my life.

 

Loving Kindness Practice

My experience with the Loving Kindness Practice in HW420 was similar to my experience with our first meditation practice in this course; I couldn’t really get into it. My first thought was that 18 minutes was a long time to sit still, knowing that I had so much work to do. My next thought was that the ocean waves remind me of all the fun I could be having at the beach- more active than relaxing, but balancing, regardless. I could have focused more accurately on the meditation if I had actual free time to listen to it; instead, I found myself almost forcing my mind to pay attention to the instructions- it didn’t come easy to me. Dacher recommends simply remembering the basics of the practice and directing your own meditation (2006). This worked much better for me! I was able to spend as little or as much time on the subjects that really mattered to me.

I would suggest others do this in the early morning maybe, or before bedtime- depending on their schedule- to increase their attentiveness and awareness. I feel like someone could master this meditation if they really concentrate.

According to Dacher, mental workouts require concentration, dedication, and consistency (2006). Keeping the mind responsive and open is important for mental health and increasing self-awareness. A workout for the mind is just as important as a physical workout for overall health and wellness.

Dacher, E. (2006). Psychospiritual Flourishing. Chapter 6 .Integral Health; The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications

Reflections and The Rainbow Meditation~

Unit 3 and the Mind-Body Connection is already here! Time seems to fly by! After taking a time out to reflect on my overall well-being, I think I can comfortably rate myself on a scale of 1 to 10. My physical well-being can be rated at a 7 ½, my spiritual well-being is an 8, and my psychological well-being is a 7. To begin with, I think we can all improve, so I would never give myself a 10. There is always something that can be worked on, modified, eliminated, or amended in some way.

 I believe my physical health is very good; I’m active and follow a healthy vegetarian diet. I think I could improve in my strength training and endurance; I’d love to start cross fit and participate in parkour. As a goal, I plan to add intensity to my daily activities; if I’m running, I’ll run faster- if I’m swimming, I’ll swim farther. In addition to enhancing my daily activities I would like to significant add weight training to my agenda.

My spiritual well-being is strong. I am very comfortable with my spirituality and I have an ability to open myself to new ideas. I would like to try new methods of spiritual development in the near future. I plan on attending some sessions that are different for me at a nearby mediation center. Kirtan is one option that I’d like to experience.

My psychological well-being could be improved the most. I feel a little overwhelmed with life right now; but I keep in mind that others are facing an even harder struggle. My goal is to reduce my stress and ease my mind. I feel like some stress management or simply learning to ask for help might reduce my stress levels dramatically.

The relaxation exercise that we tried this week reminded me of chakra cleansing; a simple self-guided meditation that I’ve been practicing for years (and even taught my daughter at a very young age). This exercise was easier for me to concentrate on than last weeks; maybe because I was more familiar with the format. Differences in the Rainbow Meditation and chakra cleansing were evident, though. This exercise began at the root, and continued to the crown; I begin chakra cleansing from the top down. Also chakra cleansing doesn’t have to involve specific color, although it can. For me, it often involves images such as smoke, flames, waves, shapes, even words. Maybe I’m getting better at the courses meditations, or maybe I was more prepared for this week’s exercise; either way, I was more relaxed for this one!

Journey in Relaxation Reflection

The activity we participated in to promote relaxation was similar to meditative exercises that I have practiced before. Relaxation is essential to our hectic lives and chaotic schedules!

 The basis of relaxation activities is incredibly beneficial and worthy of practice; however I am much better at guiding myself through relaxation than I am at listening to another’s interpretation of it. I seem to be distracted by the speakers’ voice; instead of focused on what he is instructing. For example, I was working at my own pace- relaxing my mind and body- and then was disrupted by the speaker and his recommendations to move on and work on another aspect of relaxation.

Overall, I think this concept is great for reducing stress, managing anxiety, and increasing concentration. I would advocate creating your own guide to relaxation; based on personal preferences of pace and also putting specific attention on problem areas. Get started by playing a soft melody in the back ground; while possibly glancing at a checklist until you are more familiar with your custom-made routine of relaxation. After a few sessions, you will know what works for you and how long you need to effectively relax your body and mind! Good luck!

Welcome to my blog, Professor and class!

Hey everyone!

This is my very first attempt at real blogging! We had our own little blog set up in another course but it was mostly done for me except for my posts! I'm not sure I got everything right here, if anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!

I'm looking forward to this course and all of the material we will cover. I'm very interested in all of our topics! Can't wait to learn more about you all on our blogs!