Final Assessment

I reviewed my assessment from unit 3 and feel that I am still at the same level.  What has occurred for me in this class, is the awareness of the areas I need to evaluate and improve.  It introduced me to options to see out and add to my knowledge base. The reality is that I need to progress at my pace,and that is slower than most people. 

My goals were made for self improvement.  I am using nutrition and physical activity to change physically.  I feel healthier and will continue to move forward.  My mental health is good and I am still working on positive thinking and self-talk.  My spiritual connection is still in progress. 

My personal experience in this class was to learn about ways to improve our self through a mind-body-spirit connection. The introduction to meditation techniques and options to use for self improvement.  I enjoyed the task we completed and the seminars.  I learned a lot and want to thank everyone for a wonderful term.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Unit 9 Final

Integral Health Plan

Introduction    

            Integral health is an essential part of health and wellness.  As professionals, we should embrace all aspects of integral health and heal ourselves.  We need to be connected to the teachings of integral health so we can help a patient or client use the same tools.  If our spiritual, psychological or physical self is not fully developed toward the benefits of integral health, it is difficult to help someone improve.  Developing these areas give you firsthand knowledge of the benefits, can offer as a guide for over-coming struggles and the feeling of accomplishment.  I need to focus on all areas and continue improve. I feel confident that I am on the right path by integrating aspects from our class.  I have worked on meditation and will continue.  I have adjusted my nutrition plan and am working on a physical activity regime to get myself back.   Working spirituality will be a continuous effort.  I continue to use exercises to calm my mind enough to hear what I am really saying. 

Assessment

            This assessment proved to be a tough one.  I know that I have improved in these three areas over the last 10 weeks, but still have work to do.   Dr. Dacher discusses evolutionary steps as part of the 5 parts of integral health. (Dacher, 2006)   I feel I have done this relatively well.  Using the meditation tools as a start, I was able to understand why is helps improve health.  It is almost like a restart button to a very busy day.  It helped my calm my judgments and realize sooner that we all have things going on.  I am handling the day to day stressors with more grace.  Overall, I rate my psychological self at a 7.   The spiritual ties in with this, but is lower since I have some work to do in this domain.  I will rate myself at a 5. Basically it is practice that is needed.  I need to continue with the pieces I know and expand them out to continue to broaden my tools.   Physically I am at a 6.  I rate myself here because I was broken before starting this class.  I held on to bad habits that were not productive and exchanged them for healthier options.  As I said earlier, I have improved my nutrition intake and my activity.  I have made it a priority, when I haven’t in the past.  I think the biggest step is taking the first step and continuing to walk the right path.  Don’t turn around to see what you missed, especially if it is bad habits.  Just keep moving.  I am excited to meet the new me in few months.

Goal Development

            Physically I am going to increase my physical activity to reduce my stress even further.  I think for me I need to keep it fun, light and energetic.  Dancing is a good one as well as playing outside with kids.  Even though my schedule is crazy right now, I need to insert these things into my day.  Spiritually and psychologically I am going to continue to meditate.  What a great way to distress, listen to your mind and just clear your head.  Additionally I want to continue to blog.  No one has to be a fan of it, I just like the outlet and it lets me be me.

Practices for personal health

            A strategy I will use to increase my physical health is the power of telling someone.  If I tell someone I am going to do it, it helps me stay on track.  My friend and I keep each other in check.  The other strategy is putting a picture of my soon to be diploma saying I am a graduate of the Health and Wellness program.  This will help me focus and stay the course.   The activities I am going to use are increase walking time and speed and more play time.   The next strategy to grow spiritually is to continue meditation and to seek teachings from other health and wellness programs.  I haven’t fully committed, but would like begin using yoga.   Psychologically, my strategy is to learn all I can.  Learning helps keep me involved and helps foster stronger mental health.  I may consider seeking guidance from a life coach or counselor to continue my progress.

Commitment

            I will assess my progress in the next six months or more by my preparedness.  My family has been supportive and is willing to give me great feedback.  I will work with them to discuss these domains and help them grow.  They will be honest and tell me that I need to have more expertise in the subject and it will help me circle back to the area I need to improve in.  Really I think that maintaining this practice is a desire to help people and improve their lives.  My core values urge me forward to give them the best I can offer, so improvement is natural.  Other strategies are checking in with a like professional to bounce ideas around and learn from them.  Having a mentor is a great way to have a checks and balance for integral health.

Meeting Asciepius

I want to start first in saying the meditation has improved my overall well-being.  I am calmer and I feel better each time I work on it.  Meeting Asciepius was an interesting exercise of visualization and breathing. I still struggle with the visualization because my mind wonders off into "my to do list" and I lose the focus needed.  Currently I am stronger in the mediation when I a told to focus on a tangible item, like my breathing. I will continue to work with the visual methods as I continue practicing.

Next, my decoder ring is ready and I am deciphering the phrase "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself”.  This means that you really can't expect someone to follow your advice if you don't follow your own.  This is very true.  I am a reforming skeptic and generally need some type of example when it comes to a new process or exercise.  I find it hard to believe someone if they have never experienced they thing they are telling me.  One example that comes to mind is how some people without children try to tell you how to raise children.  They has such ideals, like we all did before we experienced the joys and trials of parenthood.  I find it difficult to trust their advice, because I feel they have no idea.  If I were to tell a patient to go and meditate and never used it myself, it makes the treatment less credible. The goal in our profession is to help health holistically, so we should have some insight about the practices we prescribe. I feel it is our obligation to provide a good example to patients and work toward holistic health in ourselves.  It proves to be more believable and patients can use our experience as a stepping stone in their process. 

How can I or what will I do to make this happen?  Good question.  First, my education guides me to learn about the topics and apply them while in class, but the main thing is to stick with it and use what I preach. I want to continue meditation, but I also need to find other tools to help me improve me.  I have a lot of leaks and tattered walls, but each day I work on something to improve me. A patch here and a patch there; it is a step in the right direction.

Thanks for reading! 
Kris

Loving Kindness and Integral Assessment

These were great exercise and learned a few things about myself. 

Currently the loving-kindness is too advanced for my skills.   My concentration has a span of 30 seconds.  I needed to redirect my focus several times within the loving kindness exercise. That said, this is only the second time I've tried this mediation exercise, and even with the struggle was able to, cross my fingers, help my loved one. Back to learning how to focus.

The Integral Assessment brought out a side of me I wasn't expecting.  I chose to look a my relationships and improve them.  In doing so, the exercise actually shifted to improve my spirit.  My spirit has been hidden for a few years.  It suffered from life and tasks and things that really don't matter.  So with renewed focus, my spirit is the first thing to attend to.  I am going to continue mediation, but from there I draw a blank.   know that I am open and receptive to ways to improve, so I am going to remain this way and flow the path the is set before me.

Compare and Contrast

I listened to the Subtle Mind file this week. This was the first week I have had success with the exercises.  I was able to focus and follow along with the exercise.  It relaxed my mind, even though it kept wondering to sounds and other communications, I was able to bring myself back to focus. 

Spiritual wellness has a strong connection to mental and physical wellness.  I see this in my mother-in-law.  She has had several health issues, but keeps a positive spirit through the most difficult stages of her illnesses.  My mother-in-law is very spiritual and places her faith and healing in her God.  She keeps mentally positive through prayer, limited physical activity and a strong social network. She is doing well and is healing.  If the spirit isn't connected to health and mental wellness, the situation could be reversed.  She might just hide under the covers and not do anything.  I firmly believe spiritual wellness is a very important part of the connection with mental and physical wellness. 

Loving Kindness

As I work through this class, I am finding the methods that work for me.  This particular assigment was wonderful.  I enjoyed learning about the breathing technique and the purpose for this task.  It took me a while to relax and I didn't the first time, but it is something I am build on.  I would recommend this to people who are just starting.  This technique seems to be more of an introductory step versus plan meditation.  It teachs the breathing and visualization rather well.   I still don't like people talking in the CD.  It is a distraction for me. 

The mental workout concept is a method that allows a person to move into a different frame of mind.  It lets you look inward, but it also opens your mind and heart to expand our internal growth to others.  It also teaches a technique that helps calm you and see beyond everyday stress. I think continuing with the loving kindess cd will help further the implementation of the mental workout. 

Reflection Exercise

Self assessment can be a difficult thing.  It opens up our eyes to things we may not want to see or admit. This exercise has been difficult because I have been in a denial.  Denial that my physical health is somewhere between a 4 and 5, my spiritual being is at a 5 and my psychological well-being is somewhere around a 6.  When I started this process I realized I was neglecting me. I've cried a lot, evaluated areas of my life and pushed through the other side for possibilities.  This isn't going to be instantaneous.  I have to work hard at improving my well-being, and I finally see why it is important. 

Some of the things I am incorporating into my process for well-being is better nutrition and more activity.  Decreasing negative self-talk and saying one thing (to myself) everyday that is positive.  Working on my spiritual being is taking more time.  I am working on some form or meditation or reflection time to connect with my representation of spirit. 

Meditation would be a great tool for me, but I am struggling with the right form.  I found that I don't do well with meditation offerings were the person speaks; or maybe when a man is speaking.  All I know is that I don't trust it and fight against it. The link from Seaward isn't the style that works for me.  I think I would do better with an instrumental.  I will continue to find the best one for me. 

Reflection

I want to reflect on the positive in my life.  I am in good health, have a great family, am working toward my career goals, and overall feel somewhat content.  True, I have some emotional healing to do and I feel I am working toward that.  The first step is caring enough about yourself to improve.  I have decided this is the year for this, no more doubts holding me back or self-degrading ways to talk myself out of it. 

I am working on the positive and me, it is time to put the wounded child to rest and let the woman take over.

Journey on Relaxation

I have mixed feelings about this audio.  I understand the purpose of it and what it is meant to achieve but wasn't receptive to it. It could be because I lack trust and this audio, innocent and peaceful as it was, enticed a struggle to not relax. 
Does this mean it won't work for me?  I don't think so, I just need to continue to listen to it and slowly become more receptive.
This class and the stress class I am enrolled it are going to be great tools this term.  I have gotten so used to the level of stress I didn't realize how stressed I am.