Unit 9

                     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?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because personal experience will make your plans for your clients more believable. How many times have you had an overweight M.D. give you lifestyle advice? It is hard to take advice from somebody who does not take their own advice. You cannot speak confidently to the benefits of meditation if you have not experienced these benefits yourself. If you develop yourself psychology, spiritually and physically you will be of a sounder mind to help your clients develop in these ways.

The goals I need to develop to achieve psychological, spiritual and physical growth start with taking up jogging and yoga again. This will obviously develop me physically. I need to flush out those stress hormones. Jogging and yoga will not only develop my physical growth but they will enhance my spiritual growth. Jogging will get me back out into nature which is very spiritual to me and my yoga helps me to connect to Unity Consciousness. Reiterating that we are all connected will develop me spiritually as well.

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

Physically I could be better. On a scale of 1-10 I would say I am at a 5 right now.

Spiritually I am at a 7 right now. These meditations have helped me connect to a higher power and realize that I have the power to be happy. It is my choice entirely. I will continue to develop this domain. Maybe someday I will be closer to 10!

Psychologically I am an 8-9 on any given day. I have learned to let things go in the spirit of remaining calm. I really have this class and the meditation assignments to thank for that.

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

A goal I have physically is to lose my last twenty pounds and to continue to maintain a healthy weight after the fact.

A goal I have psychologically is to have control over my thoughts so I am not experiencing the physical effects of the fight or flight response as often.

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.

Strategies I can implement to foster growth in the physical domain is to not make excuses as to why I can’t make time for yoga and jogging. Yoga and jogging are really my salvation in every domain.

Strategies I can implement to foster growth in my psychological domain are to use diaphragmatic breathing when I feel stressed or to call and talk my issue out with a friend who offers sound advice. The latter would be performed after my diaphragmatic breathing so I could not be as flustered when I am working out a solution to my problem. The contemplative practice would also be a useful tool for psychological growth as it really helped me to start to learn how not to react to my thoughts.

Strategies I can use to foster growth in my spiritual domain are to give more love to my family and those around me. The loving-kindness meditation practice would be a great tool to implement in carrying out this show of love. Also, the Meeting Asclepius meditation practice would help me to develop spiritually because healing people makes me feel closer to a higher power.

                 IV.               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 have been on a water fast for the past 8 days to reverse candida in my intestines. I have started a journal documenting how I feel from day to day. I will assess my progress in my mental, spiritual and physical progress by continuing to document my days in my journal after the fast is over. The journal in itself will be a strategy to maintain a long term practice for my health and wellness because I won’t have anything to write in my journal if I don’t do anything for my personal growth in my day!

Another strategy I have used in the past is to make an effort not to overthink a practice I need to implement. For example, there have been many times in the past that I have not looked forward to a jog. So I tell myself that I am just going to go for a walk. Since I don’t feel any pressure, it usually turns into a relaxing jog. It has been a relief to get to know my mind as I get older.

 

Most Beneficial Practices

The first of my two choices for most beneficial practices is the Loving-Kindness practice. It has been very beneficial to me to practice loving kindness. I live a very stressed life....third shift job at night, homeschooling eight year old identical twins during the day, a husband who barely gets home everyday in time for me to leave for work. It is very stressful and it makes me feel like a victim who is doing more than everyone else.

In the midst of this mindless stress, I was too quick to anger. The loving kindness practice has helped me to understand that it is stressful for everyone and it gives me more power over my reactions. I am not so quick to anger at a husband who falls asleep at the end of a long day when all I want is for him to stay awake for another half hour before I have to leave for work. My mind has shifted to realizing that he needs this sleep to heal and prepare for another day. I don't feel so desperate to talk his ear off about everything that happened during my day. I just look forward to the weekend.

The Subtle Mind practice would have to be my second choice. I have very physical reactions to stressful thoughts and a stomach ache piled on top of a problem that needs to be solved is not helpful. You don't think you are "doing it right" during meditation but you do realize after a week of doing it that your mind has learned how to notice thoughts rather than physically react to them.

I plan on continuing with these practices daily to continue to improve on my mental health. One thing I would like to do is rearrange my room so it is a more peaceful space. I have way too many things and it creates physical clutter in my home and mental clutter in my mind. I will also continue to use these practices at my work. I get a bit worked up when I am away from home every night and I feel trapped when I am at my place of work. Using the Subtle Mind practice is especially helpful when I feel trapped at work.

Meeting Aesclepius

1. Complete the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 (located in the Doc Sharing area). Describe your meditative practices 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?

 

It was really hard for me the first few times because I was really hung up on the fact that I had to make up an image of  Native American woman in my head to concentrate on as my wise healer. I had a hard time realizing there is nobody in my life that even comes close to symbolizing the person I had to make up in my head. That was a bit sad for me. In fact, it still is!
Eventually I was able to let go of that, at least in part. Once I was able to concentrate on the task at hand I was able to benefit from the exercise. I love visualizing the light, especially the rare moments where I can actually feel it. I hope to cultivate this skill as I continue on.
My phychological and spiritual wellness have improved in a way that affects everyone in my household. I find I don't get mad when my husband gets home and falls straight to sleep. Three weeks ago I would have been upset inside because I want his help....I have even been known to wake him up angrily to give him a long list of things I need done. Now I just feel more love for him and realize he really needs that sleep after 10-14 hours of being outside doing manual labor. He needs to sleep and he needs to heal. Instead of stomping around angrily, I put a blanket on him and tiptoe around doing the things I need done so he doesn't have to worry about it.

My wellness has manifested in other ways, as well. I have more patience with my children, my clients, my co-workers, etc. It is easier on everyone around me but it is also easier on me. I will continue to use these concepts learned in these exercises and hope to involve my children and husband in them as time goes on.

1. 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 means that you can't teach what you don't know. You can't describe an experience if you haven't experienced it yourself. I do have an obligation to develop my health phychologically, physically and spiritually because I cannot relay the fruits of this labor without gaining this insight for myself first. I will continue to implement phychological and spiritual growth in my own life by continuing my daily meditation and yoga videos.

Unit 6

Although the loving-kindness exercise was short, it was the first one that I didn’t find myself looking at the clock for how much longer I had to go! Quite the contrary, as I went to twelve minutes before I checked the clock for the first time. The phrases encompass exactly why I have decided to go back to school. I want to attain a dual degree as a Naturopathic Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic. I am happy to report that I could have gone another half hour repeating these phrases and not gotten tired of it. After completing this exercise, I feel calm and I feel less daunted by the years of education I have ahead of me. This exercise has reaffirmed that I am meant to do this.

The second exercise was not as easy as it had to do with healing myself, rather than others. I would say my biggest problem is anxiety (although this has diminished greatly with the meditations and exercises in my courses). I need to learn how to witness my thoughts as I would if I were jogging. Think about them to find a solution rather than let them peck away at me emotionally.

A specific exercise that I can do is to continue with the guided meditations and train my mind to witness thoughts, rather than react to them. I can also find time to exercise again. I always exercised to lose weight but now that I am a reasonable body weight and I have hours of responsibilities between my job, my children and now school, I have let go of this important aspect. I am a healthy weight now but I still need physical exercise for a sense of healthy well being.

Subtle Mind

The Subtle Mind exercise was similar to the Loving-Kindness exercise in that you need a quiet place where you can sit comfortably, free of distractions. Both exercises left me feeling more calm and able to take deeper, more satisfying breaths. I also took this sense of calmness into the rest of the day. The Loving Kindness concentrates on forgiving/loving the people in your life and the Subtle mind practice concentrates on observing negative thoughts without reacting to them. The Subtle mind exercise did annoy me slightly because there is a section where the speaker tells you to let go of negative emotions and I was already at a point of relaxation that I had done so. This was a reminder of negative emotions and forced me to go through the calming process all over again. I think that physical wellness, leads to mental wellness, which in turn leads to spiritual wellness. This may not be true for everyone but this has been my experience. Anytime I get into the habit of exercising the mental health just naturally follows, and once that happens, the spiritual health is ready and willing to be cultivated.

Loving-Kindness

The only reason I found this exercise difficult is because it is literally impossible to concentrate on anything with bickering children in the background!! I did manage to find time twice to do it without distractions. I really liked imagining turning on a “love faucet” in my heart. I am not sure I liked the mention of negative thoughts during this exercise, only because I wasn’t thinking of any until it was suggested that I give them loving-kindness as well. I would recommend this guided loving-kindness exercise to others because it does resonate into the rest of your day after you have completed it. The concept of a “mental workout” refers to your mind’s ability to strengthen itself through exercise. The loving-kindness exercise can help your mind strengthen it’s ability for love and kindness, while studying or brain games can help you exercise your mind’s ability to absorb and retain new information. I would use the loving-kindness exercise to help me get through frustrating encounters with less than reasonable co-workers or to interact more kindly with my children. For now, I think my college courses are exercising my brain enough!!

Self Reflections

My physical well being I would rate at a seven. A goal for my physical well being would be to lose twenty pounds. An exercise I could implement towards that goal would be yoga and/or jogging. My spiritual well being I would rate at a five. I have come far but also know that I am not spiritually sound. A goal I have for my spiritual well being is to be more appreciative of the world around me, e.g: stop and smell the roses. I could implement daily meditation to work towards achieving my spiritual goals. My psychological well being is at a five. I worry too much and I don't get enough sleep, which leads to more worry. My psychological well being goal would be to have a quieter mind, leading to less worry and more sleep. I could use relaxation recordings before bed to achieve that goal or meditate with that goal in mind as an intention. After listening to the Crime of the Century relaxation exercise, I felt more calm. I think concentrating so intently on your physical body gives your mind a break from racing thoughts. The different colors felt familiar, like they belonged emanating from that particular part of my body as he assigned the color to that region. This exercise could be used at any point during the day, but for me personally, I would use it before bed to promote a sense of well being and relaxation.