Unit 10 post

Your final blog entry is to summarize your experiences in this course and discuss how it has assisted your well-being and your ability to assist others.

Complete the following and post in your blog:

Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas . How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

My Unit 3 assessment of the psychological, physical and spiritual well-being is still pretty accurate. I rated myself in each area as follows: Physical-6, Spiritual-7.5, and Psychological-7. I would say I am in the same position, and would rate them the same. I feel that until I am done with school and do not have to concentrate on school and full time work, I do not feel that I can concentrate on this as this kind of full time work/full time school schedule has a certain routine that prevents me from really concentrating on being consistent with this.  I have not made progress in achieving these goals, other than the fact that I was required to do some of the meditation exercises in class, and pursuing that aspect, I have not found an easy way to transition this practice into play in my life. I hope to be able to make this happen once things start settling down for me, in the mean time, I am gathering tools and going to practice once I can and try to find a way to incorporate.

Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain

I am taking the information and establishing a step by step process for each area and then plan to implement in my future along with implementing this into my practice as a practitioner.

Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

This course has opened my eyes to the layers of healing that I was always aware of but had the scientific research and support to back up the claims that Eastern Medicine has been claiming.  Eastern Medicine has not needed the research to implement into their health care system, instead tradition has been enough proof. This class has helped to improve "how" to make wellness a reality and given me a start on a toolbox that I can share with my clients, friends, and family. Being able to speak intelligently on this subject and actually have research to back it up is huge, that way I am able to, in a way, prove it all works. The most difficult aspect about this whole process is trying to join these theories with the mainstream lifestyle that demands our undivided attention with the pace and constant need for movement.  Getting out of routine is probably the biggest challenge for me and I know that once I "figure it out", I will be able to help those with the same issue work through it and get closer to their goal of Human Flourishing. 

I think the most rewarding aspect about this process has been the ability to identify how this will apply to my life and be able to share that with my clients in my future practice. 

Unit 9 Project

I.                        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?

On so many levels it is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically.  The most important reason for development in all of these areas is to be able to relate and to our clients. If we are not practicing or have not practiced development of these aspects, our clients will have no reason to believe the approach will work.  “By incorporating the integral process into our own lives, I am certain that we will each discover the profound possibilities of integral health and healing.” (Dacher, 2006) “We begin to know firsthand what can actually happen as we evolve a more expansive life.   We come to know that the alleviation of suffering and the ascent to human flourishing are more than ideas.” (Dacher, 2006)

The areas I need to develop to achieve my own goals include Physical and Psychological, although I do also believe there is always room for more development, so I would also include Spirituality.  On the Physical side, I have not incorporated movement into my life. I need to get to a point of understanding that movement is a necessity that needs to occur on a daily basis. This will help me with my health not only physically but also process psychologically.  On the psychological level, there is much that I still need to deal with to come to a full level of peace with all of the issues that have presented in my life.  Dealing with the psychological is a component that most do not understand will only positively impact the others. There is a saying that I have often heard, especially in Chinese Medicine that states in order to heal the physical, you must first address and heal the inner. We have seen this many times in our manual. I know that if I address these two specific aspects, I will be able to reach my goals of becoming a model for health and wellness and help others to achieve these goals as well.

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

Through Integral Assessment, I have began to assess each area of development which include Psychospiritual, Biological, Interpersonal and Worldly.  According to Dacher, these are the “for aspects of human experience.” (Dacher, 2006)  These lines of development are “all-encompassing, relevant to health and healing, practical and possible for each of us, and serve to exemplify from body to mind to spirit that characterizes human flourishing.” (Dacher, 2006)

If I were to score my wellness in each area on a scale of 1-10, 1 being least developed and 10 being the most developed, I would score each area as follows:

·         Spirituality Wellness – I rate at a 7, I feel that I am more developed in this area but definitely have room for development. I have been working on this area for 7 years.

·         Physically – I rate at a 4, I am healthy, no major issues, have some good muscle due to my occupation but at the same time I am overweight due to lack of physical exercise/activity. I do not exactly have a good support system in regards to this aspect. I need to develop a better support system and begin to incorporate more activity in my life, which will help in this area.

·         Psychologically – I rate at a 6, I was seeing a life coach in the beginning of my path and have been working on this area ever since. I know there is more to address, as I peel the onion layers away, and hope to use some meditative exercise to try to address.

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

·         Physical – My goal is to begin with 30 minutes of activity into my daily routine every day.

·         Psychological – My goal is to pursue and incorporate the integral model to begin practicing and continue on this path towards human flourishing.

·         Spiritual – My goal is to incorporate 30 minutes of meditation every other day, then increase to incorporate 30 minutes or more per day.

IV.                        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

o   A strategy to implement Physical activity into my daily routine would be to partner with someone to work out with and this could serve on the accountability side until I am able to develop a habit.

§  Qi Gong is a low impact, easy to follow, strengthening type of workout that would be appealing so that when I graduate to incorporate a higher impact workout, this will be an easy transition.

§  Keeping a record of my achievements to be able to track progress and serve as a positive influence to keep up with the activities.

o   My plan to implement these by scheduling it to my day and picking a realistic place on my schedule so there are less excuses to not be active. I also plan to develop a chart to track progress.

·         Psychological

o   The strategy to implement a healthy psychological aspect would be to effectively connect and balance the mind/body connection.

§   The Contemplative practice of development would be the best course in the Psychological aspect. “When we develop our psychospiritual potential, our consciousness expands. Our level of consciousness determines the text to which we access our undeveloped potential.” (Dacher, 2006)  This model will enable me to further connect the mind and body.

§  Implementing meditation to help to clear my mind and better enable me to process the information that unfolds each day

o   My plan to implement would be to incorporate a minimum of 30 minutes of meditation every other day. By trying to make a habit, I will increase the frequency and length every two weeks until I am up to at a minimum of one hour per day. I also plan to start the with the Contemplative practice and pursue each level, The Witnessing Mind, Calm-Abiding, Unity Consciousness and implement the Subtle Mind practice.

·         Spiritual

o   A strategy to implement Spirituality development would be to schedule in a realistic time in my schedule to practice meditation.

§  The Loving-kindness practice, which is designed to “ease your mind and open your heart,” which is a great start to get into the habit of meditation and help to access the spiritual aspect of my life. (Dacher, 2006)

§  The Subtle mind practice, which is designed to “assist you in progressing toward psychospiritual flourishing,” is an activity that I plan to implement into my daily routine.” (Dacher, 200)

o   My plan is to implement these exercises by incorporating it into my schedule, making the time realistic and something I am able to look forward to.

V.                        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 create a large chart on a poster-board that will track my weight, inches in common areas of my body, and photos to help encourage me to stay on the path.

The strategies I plan to use include:

·         using the resources available to me, like the Loving-Kindness exercise, Subtle Mind Practice, using QiGong for exercise and meditation. 

·         Creating a visual, like a chart or using a mobile application, will help to track my progress, which will encourage me to stay on target and keep practice.

·         Creating a habit with each aspect, Physical, Psychological and Spiritual, I will be able to stay on course and pursue human flourishing through practice of Integral health.

·         Further development is necessary in each area and, as stated in our manual, as we develop one area, we will be able to develop others consecutively. 

·         Human flourishing is the goal and through practice, I am able to practice long term Health and Wellness.

Unit 8 - choosing 2 practices

Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.

I plan to implement the visualization and meditation exercises into my practice. Meditation has been found, as we have read in previous chapters, to have so many positive effects on health, such as lowering blood pressure and brings us to a state where "our restless, thinking mind subsides into a state of deep inner peace." (Schlitz, 2005)

I am using visualization because this type of treatment can facilitate healing by method of distraction. Visualization exercises can also encourage self improvement on so many levels. Visualization can help to foster relaxation, healing, pain management-without drugs, self and spiritual development. 

With most of the exercises we have had for this class, they have all used imagery to guide one through the meditation.

I think these two techniques would be powerful to foster "mental fitness" which will in turn, the effect, help to improve one's self esteem and body image, among other benefits.

Schlitz, M. and Amorok, T with Micozzi, M. (2005) Consciousness and Healing. St. Louis, MO. Elsevier, Churchill, Livingstone.

Unit 7 Blog

Complete the "Meeting Asciepius" exercise on track #4 of the Dacher CD. Describe your meditative practice(s) for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

This meditation has to be my favorite so far.  I was able to feel a real connection and feel the energy flow freely. Mindfulness is a great technique used in meditation to guide towards an experience.  Mindfulness and Meditation have helped to open my mind and clear my thoughts, and experience deeper connections which also help to achieve higher levels of spiritual wellness. I feel that I need to continue a regime of more planned and constant use of mindfulness and meditation instead of occasionally. This will definitely lead me closer to Human Flourishing and Health and Wellness. 

Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (P.477) How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is basically stating that you must practice what you preach, it is not enough to study integral health, one must practice this path in order to become the expert and encourage others to take this path. The Health and Wellness professional  is directly related to the statement, it is imperative that if the processional is not engaging in these ideals and paths him/herself, there is a level that their clients will never fully reach Human flourishing. Experience is everything in these practices.

I am not sure that I have an obligation but more of an inner need to develop my health psychologically, physically and spiritually.  I do not think that beginning on this path is not meant to serve as a reason for anything or anyone else other than yourself. I have been on this path on and off for a few years and this course has reminded me to keep on this path and make it part of my everyday life through QiGong and meditation.

Unit 6 Blog post

Describe the exercise and assessment process. What did you discover about yourself? What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

Universal Loving-Kindness exercise begins by having you close your eyes for a minute or two resting into the "natural ease of your mind and body, and repeat the following phrases for 10 minutes.

• May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.
• May all individuals find sustained health, happiness and wholeness.
• May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.
• May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness and wholeness."

( Dacher, 2006)  This exercise is meant to expand the heart and mind.

The Integral Assessment is an exercise that has one "take inventory of the four aspects of my life and determine which area needs attention." (Dacher, 2006)  There are four quadrants that are associated with this assessment that include "Psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal and worldly." (Dacher, 2006)
This assessment has been very enlightening.  I have come to realize how effective a positive self-image is so crucial to how our body responds. I have noticed immediate results just from changing my thoughts.
I am working on the Psychospiritual aspect. Working on emotional patterns i have experienced is essential to the level of stress and how my body responds to stress.
I plan to use meditation and QiGong to pursue and create a habbitt around clearing myself of these holding patterns and energy.

Unit 5 Blog

1.        Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

The loving kindness exercise and the subtle mind exercise are similar, the same ocean waves and the same voice.  I think what I really like about the exercises is that for the beginner, it is a great guide but for those who have engaged in this kind of practice, the voice can just be too much. The loving kindness is great with the guidance it gives as well as the subtle mind. I think I prefer the Subtle mind exercise, it didn't seem to have as many interruptions and seemed to put me in a very relaxed state. 

2.        Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

We have all heard that to clear our minds we should exercise, and to keep our minds clear and in working 'order' we should be on a regimin of physical exercise. More and more research says that weight loss about is 75% mental and the rest is physical and diet. i think there is something to be said about this. Having a great positive self image is usually evident in those who are physically fit, is it because they are physically fit or because they have such a positive self image. I think it is due to a positive self image.  After some research, I actually tested this in my own life. After using positive affirmations, I found myself feeling better and cloths fitting better, even looser. I did not change anything other than using positive affirmations before bed and when I was in the shower. I recommend it to anyone and think combined with physical activity, could be a very powerful routine.

Practice 1-Loving Kindness

1.       Describe your experience. (Did you find it beneficial? Difficult?) Why or Why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or Why not?
The explanation by Dacher was a nice setup.  I really enjoyed the waves and silence it created for me. i was startled when the women spoke for directions.  I began by sitting in my room which faces a feild of hay. I could hear the birds more and listen to the cold wind dancing through the trees which separate the properites. I also enjoyed the aspect of turning the awareness towards myself. I started off this morning with a headache and ended up not having one after practicing this. I am a fan of this exercise and for someone starting out think it would be a good one. The only suggestion I would make, is to have the women come in softer, she's too loud. I thnk for someone starting out, this exercise would be simple and self explanatory.

2.       What is the concept of “Mental Workout? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a Mental Work Out? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

Understanding that daily practice is necessary, just like exercise, practicing loving-kindness is something we need to practice every day. "in the begining, we must practice this mental attitude, there will come a time in the development of our pscyhospiritual life that loving-kindness will reveal itself as a natural and effortless aspect of higher consciousness." (Dacher, 2006)
Just like with exercise, the more we create a habit with daily practice, our minds begin to evolve into the theory of Loving-Kindness. If you implement mental workouts with meditation/prayer, you will be able to foster an environment capable of retraining our minds into loving-kindness which has been proven to directly impact our psychological health.  The research says that those who have mastered this technique are using a greater capasity of their brain and seem to be at peace and free from disease and stress. It is amazing to think that the mind is that powerful, when indeed, it is.

Resources:

Dacher, E. (2006) Integrative Health. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications