Unit 10!!!

I can't believe we are already in unit 10!! We made it! :) 
I now score my wellness spiritually at an 9, psychologically at an 8 and physically at a 8. I have I am doing better physically (finally). This last term was stressful so that is why I got out of eating healthy and working out. 
I believe overall I have made progress towards my goals. I do believe I have accomplished a lot of my goals. I have been meditating (which I always wanted to do) trying deep breathing exercises (especially at work with all of the kids I have to deal with) focusing on positive thinking and drinking more water. :) I have also been walking on the beach more (which is something else I wanted to start doing). 
My personal experience in this class has been a great one. I took this class hoping to gain something from it and I definitely gained more than just something. I always wanted to know more about meditation and what it all really meant. I feel this class has answered those questions above and beyond. I am excited to move forward with my new found knowledge and start really focusing on which path I want to take in order to achieve my goals of human flourishing.
 I believe the most difficult thing for me was the mind chatter. My mind seems to never shut off and I am still continuing to work on this, but it is a work in progress (in a positive direction). As I said before, I am always thinking and it's hard for me to clear my mind. My experience will help me to assist others I believe in many ways. I can explain to them my experiences and difficulties.


I wish everyone the best of luck in their new adventures in finding complete human flourishing!! We all can do it with positive thinking. :) 

Unit 9 Blog! :)

 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?

We have all heard as well as mentioned the saying, “practice what you preach”.  I think it is critical for professionals in any career to integrate (incorporate) what they do into their own lives. I wouldn’t go to a hairdresser with bad hair, a dentist with bad teeth, and certainly not a nutritionist who ate all junk food. “To become agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own life.” (Dacher, 2006, pg. 167). When it comes to integral health, you can only learn so much from reading textbook material. It is important to experience the effects of a developed psychological, spiritual, and physical wholeness to fully grasp the possibilities of human flourishing. When we gain this confidence it gives us the ability to “help others and create a better world.” (Dacher, 2006, pg 167).

In reality I need to develop all three areas to achieve my goals. I am significantly stronger physically then I am psychologically and spiritually. I would like to find balance between these three areas to obtain integral health and I see that this class has started to help me already.

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

            I have evaluated my health in each domain by determining which areas of my life that need attention and what changes I want to make. I also used Dacher’s six principles of integral assessment (as I’m sure most of you looked at as well). These principles are to ease suffering and to promote human flourishing, determining the difference between short and permanent suffering, immediate pleasure and long-term flourishing, the essential development of the psychospiritual, deep listening and guidance, and relevant development to current situation (Dacher, 2006, pg 106).

            I would score my physical area of wellness as strong. I am a strong gal J  However, there is always room for improvement. I can be inconsistent at times (who isn’t).            

            I would score my psychological and spiritual areas of wellness in the medium range. I have a very impatient mind and tend to have no focus sometimes. My mind is constantly racing (especially when I’m trying to fall asleep at night). I wish I could fall asleep as fast as my husband does. Men seem to always fall asleep quicker (or is it just me who thinks that?)

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

            My goal for my physical wellness is to start running. I used to run all the time with my Mother and my husband and then I just stopped. I would like to start off with a 5 K marathon (3 mile) and then continue to a 10 K (6 miles). I will be 26 this December so hopefully by next Spring, I can run my first marathon. I think that this will also help clear my mind and help with stress management. My goal for my psychological wellness is to start meditating every day, which will take a considerable amount of practice. Right now, I do it whenever I can. I could learn some pointers from my Father-in law. He meditates every day! Last, my goal for my spiritual health is to begin some type of prayer routine, and possibly start going back to church.

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 – Diet and Exercise. I am a pretty healthy person except I don’t drink enough water like I should. I actually don’t drink much of anything. If I am drinking, it is water, but for some reason I am never thirsty. I need to change that.

            Psychological – Subtle Mind and Transforming Work Exercises. I have an extremely unfocused, unintentional train of thoughts running through my mind constantly. By using the three steps of the Subtle Mind exercise, Witnessing Mind, Calm Abiding Mind, and Unity Consciousness, I can learn to not grasp at thoughts, but let them pass by. This would definitely help me. When I am able to successfully accomplish this, I can learn to replace reactivity with intention and gain enlightenment. One of my biggest stressors in my life is actually fear of the unknown. However, I am starting to learn that it is okay to not know what is going to happen in the future. It is the same for everyone. No one knows what the future holds.

            Spiritual – Prayer and Volunteer Work. I love working with pets so I may start volunteering at the animal shelter again. I always thought it was great that people are because it seems to offer a sense of overall comfort. I just could never make that "prayer" connection to my own life without feeling like some sort of affiliation was necessary. However, I like the idea of communication with the absolute because I think I need to make some sort of connection with the universe. This can be done with prayer beyond the physical or even meditation for ten minutes a day. As long as I am making some sort of connection beyond myself. I would also like to make this connection through regular volunteer work. I want to give back in a universal sense. Kind of like a pay-it-forward type of deal.

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?

            Physically, I will assess my progress by my health, my ability to maintain my eating schedule, and my physical performance. I can start keeping a food journal as well as a workout journal. I used to do this but I stopped for some reason. My long term plan is to sign up for marathons and go to the gym 3-4 times a week.

            Psychologically, I will assess my progress by my ability to meditate, clear my thoughts, let thoughts pass by without grasping them, and maintaining a positive attitude at every day. I will maintain this long term by setting aside time everyday to practice these exercises. I’ve already started and I have seen a change in me.

            Spiritually, I will assess my progress by my feeling of oneness with the universe and my ability to maintain loving-kindness towards everyone. I will also assess my progress by the amount of volunteer work and the service I can offer in six months. I love helping out at the humane society so I will be be volunteering here. I can maintain these long term by signing up for volunteer work and attending church on a regular basis perhaps.  

                                                            Reference

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

Unit 8 Blog

I really enjoyed all of the exercises that we were taught in this class. I have always wanted to try meditating and different kinds of exercises (such as these) but never got around to it. I learned so much from all of the exercises and believe I will continue to incorporate all of them into my life. 

However, if I had to pick two exercises that were most beneficial then I would have to choose the art of meditation and the subtle mind exercises. I believe the whole concept of meditation will foster mental fitness because meditation helps me focus on deep breathing, finding peace, tranquility and calmness in my hectic, busy life. I conclude that the subtle mind exercise will help foster mental fitness because it aids my mind in finding the calmness it needs and it helps to see the mental chatter yet let it be and watch it go. It allows my mind to be aware of the chatter, yet not get caught up in it. 

As I have said before, my life is busy, and I sometimes get stressed out easily. With these practices I believe I can find the calmness that my mind, body and spirit needs in order to improve my overall health and goals of complete and whole body wellness. This is something I have needed for a while.

So, I will continue to use all of the practices we have learned in order to keep on my path of complete human flourishing.

UNIT 7! =)

I wasn't really able to fully concentrate on this exercise this week due to moving, starting a new job, unpacking, etc. However, I did try it and was unsuccessful at accomplishing what I was hoping to achieve with this exercises. My mind was just all over and it kept wandering from one place to the next. Even still, I was able to feel a little calmer after the exercise.

To me, the saying “One cannot lead another where on has not gone himself” means that a person cannot fully explain and offer advice to someone without having experienced the situation themselves. (Like practice what you preach, again).  I believe as a practitioner clients need to feel and see this in you in order to trust your advice and what you are telling them to do. I believe we do have an obligation to our clients in developing our own psychological, physical and spiritual health because this will give the clients confidence in your guidance and trust that you are leading them in the right direction. By implementing the meditation practices, yoga, Tai Chi,  positive thinking, I can grow my personal psychological and spiritual health. =)

UNIT 6! =)

The integral assessment asked us to close our eyes and for a minute or two rest into the natural ease of our mind and body. It then asked us to repeat the phrase:

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.

What does Dacher say? He says this mini practice will be helpful in expanding our hearts and minds and it will serve as an antidote to hatred and anger (Dacher, 2006).

I felt very calm, peaceful, just at ease after this exercise. I could definitely feel all the positive feelings just flow out of me towards others.

When I did the next exercise, I discovered, which I pretty much already knew deep down, that I had several areas I need to focus on. They were (are) psycho-spiritual flourishing and biological flourishing.  I really don't take time to focus on myself much. I am not practicing mediation every day like I wanted to (and other exercises like I should) and I am not keeping up with my nutritional and fitness goals like I was 2 months ago. I got out of everything when I started working full time and doing school work. There is no point in moving forward if I am not going to practice these things in my own personal life. How will I ever be successful in my own practice if I cannot practice them myself? Remember....practice what you preach."

With that said, I am going to focus more on time management and setting more time aside for myself and practicing more meditation. I would absolutely love to sign up for Tai Chi, or possibly yoga. As for the biological flourishing, I will focus more on biking, swimming, and I will be starting kick boxing in a week (I hope). I laid off most of the carbs I eat. I am trying to eat healthier. I'm actually eating grapes as I'm writing this rather than ice cream haha ;)  I'm ready to make my some healthy changes to my life. I mean I'm going to be 26 this year and I'm not getting any younger lol


Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health; the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

UNIT 5 BLOG

Compare and contrast the loving kindness exercise and the subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

           

Both of these exercises were very calming. I really enjoyed the controlled breathing and the relaxation feeling from them. The loving kindness exercise was a bit emotional for me (as i stated in my unit 4 blog). I felt all of the love and kindness but when I thought of someone in pain, I became very emotional and sad. I did really like the subtle mind exercises. I had a calming feeling wash over me. I was able to freely let thoughts just flow in and out (rather than focusing on just one thought). I did not feel the need to control them.

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

I have read that our mind, body, and spirit are all connected and that we must balance them in order to achieve wellness. This is referred to as the transformative process. I have been attempting meditation and I am going to start yoga very soon.

UNIT 4 BLOG

Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not? 

The loving kindness exercise was a different kind of experience. It was joyful, touching, and emotional. I felt all of the love and kindness I have when I thought about the people I really care about in my life. I could just feel all of the happy feelings surrounding me. It was a relaxing, calming, and pleasant feeling. However, when I started thinking about my loved ones suffering, it was somewhat overwhelming to me. Though it says not to be concerned with being overwhelmed, I couldn't help it. I like the statement "from now on, breathe out health, happiness, and wholeness to loved ones. Take in the suffering of your loved ones on the in-breath, and on your out-breath send out health and joy." I like that idea. I would recommend this to others because I think there are some who would definitely benefit from this. 


What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

In my opinion, "mental workout" implies exercising our mind or working our brain to be healthier. According to Dacher (2006) "mental workout" means utilizing contemplative practices to help tame the mind''s constant mental activities and train it along with opening one's heart, expanding consciousness, and progressing towards psychospiritual flourishing. The goal is for progressive development of an expanded consciousness and healing within the mind, body, and spirit. Loving-kindness, and subtle mind. :)