Final Thoughts

My scores have not really changed since the beginning of the term.  There has been a significant amount drama and stress in my life so I have not made much progress. That being said I feel that I am on the way towards improvement because I have the tools to make the needed changes.  Spiritually I would be a 5 and a 2 on the other two.  The goals I have for myself have been started but I can't say that I have made significant progress. This is not where I expected to be by the end of the class so I have taken a few days off next week sort of as a JumpStart and expect that by the end of next term my final assessment would be significantly different.
The one thing that I have done is implemented some of my activities for improvement.  Spiritually I have dedicated time for concentrated prayer and made plans to attend Adoration at church this week. I have been meditating the past few days and have enlisted additional help for my psychological health. Physically I have not been able to implement what I wanted but have taken time to walk and eat better which are the first steps.

I honestly think that my struggles during this class and how hard it has been to implement some of the practices will make me even more qualified to help my future clients.  By having gone through my own challenges and given where my assessment put me when I finally get to a better place I will have a story to tell and be able to relate to a wide variety of people and situations. I am not sure why this has been so challenging for me, I was honestly looking forward to this class and have been disappointed in my own lack of success and focus this term.  Life gets in the way sometimes and without going into details I was significantly derailed early on with situation involving my son. What is has shown me is that I need the information in this class more than any of my other ones and even though it will be a little late I am jumping in now with both feet.

Unit 9 Project

Introduction

It is important that professionals in the health and wellness world incorporate integral health practices into their daily lives because in doing so it puts them in a better position to really affect the lives of those they service. Without going through the process of Integral Health in your own life how can you help someone else through the process?  Often times the best teachers are those that have walked the walk already. We must first start with ourselves and the work outwardly towards others.  In addition, when you have been through the process and then turn around and share that experience with another person as they are experiencing it you often times continue to grow in your own development (Dacher, 2006).

I can think of several examples not directly related to integral health where this concept plays out.  AA sponsors gain as much from helping another person through the process of sobriety as the person they are helping.  A personal trainer, especially one that has struggled with their weight, is likely to be more successful than the lifelong athlete when working with people new to the habit of physical fitness.  There is a shared joy that comes when helping someone reach a milestone when you have been there yourself.  I have spent much of my adult life struggling with the faith I was raised in and its doctrines. In that time I have had many people work to instruct me, the person that was able to help me the most was the person that left the faith and returned because she had been through the same experiences and was able to relate to me on a different levels than any of the other teachers before her. This is what we, as health professionals, can accomplish if we take the time to integrate the principles of integral health into our own lives because we will be able to connect with our clients in ways that we currently may not know, simply because we have “walked the walk”.

I really need to work on all three parts but most significantly I need to develop psychologically and physically the most. These are areas that I have been increasingly ignored and have atrophied in the past few years as life and family situations have taken over my life. Spiritually I have been fortunate enough to work on consistently but there is always room for improvement and growth but I am on the right track in this area of my life. 

I have many goals that I want to accomplish but the deficiencies that I have are dramatically impacting my ability to accomplish these goals but being armed with this information and having a way to develop them will allow me to push past my current roadblocks towards accomplishment. I have a quote I found on an old bookmark that I am putting as my guidepost “It is never too late to become what you might have been”-unknown, this has become my motto as I move down the path of Integral Health.

Assessment

Psychologically

I would rate myself a 3 of 10. Currently my life seems to be spinning a little out of control and the harder I try to grab onto something to more things seem to slip through my fingers. Chronic behavior issues due to my son’s struggles with ADHD take a constant toll on my life. These issues impact my marriage, my job, my mental health and as a subset my physical health. To make things worse, I am the one who is left to find the solutions for him. Not my husband or ever our school system has been much of a help.

  School has been a challenge and I have allowed grades to slip when I was on point to graduate with a 4.0 until this term. I am learning to handle this but I have become increasingly disappointed in myself. I went back to school to prove something to myself and even though my grades are still okay I feel like I have let myself and my family down when I am not doing what I consider the best I can do.

  I am not sure of the status of my marriage. There have been cracks in it for years and I am not sure how much energy I am willing to put into fixing them. For my children’s sake I am trying different things but I honestly feel like I am at the end of the road after 16 years. Constant fighting, struggles with alcohol and enormous debt all factor into these struggles in which I feel fairly alone. Some of the meditation practices in this class have helped calm my mind significantly but there is still a lot of work to do.

Physically

I would rate myself a 2.  I have gained 20lbs in the past year, abandoned the strict workout routine I spent a lot of time building and had started smoking again.  I don’t like the way I look or feel.  A few years ago I was training for a ½ marathon and today I would happy to walk up the stairs without getting winded. I believe that the psychological issues that I am dealing with have played a huge part in my physical issues and as I set forth goals I am hoping that by focusing on each of them I will see improvement in the other areas, which is really the goal.

The biggest issue with where I am physically is that I have been down this road before and swore at the time that I would not repeat it but here I am. I fought and struggled for over a year to lose weight, stay smoke free and get into shape only to fall back into old patterns. The overall disgust that I have with myself on this point is definitely playing into my psychological state which then creates a cycle that I am working to break out of.

Spiritually

I would consider myself a 5-7. I have spent a lot of time over the past year working on my faith and getting in touch with my spiritual side.  I recently began using a tool in my spiritual growth in some of the other areas of my life and I hope that with continued focus I will begin to see things change or at least will be able to find peace with any decisions I make.  I have been raised in a very religious household but it was not as spiritual as it could be.  Essentially both of my parents are ministers in my church but day to day spirituality was not a factor growing up. This is where my disconnection with organized religion originally stemmed. As I have learned to appreciate the routines of my faith I have incorporated a love of the spiritual things in life as well. I am able to see God in most parts of my life and world. I vocalize those experiences for friends and family in ways that I was not privy as a child and I am already seeing how my own kids view the world with respect to spirituality.

I cannot rate myself higher as there is always growth that can be made and since I have only recently begun this part of my journey I have no idea what the future will hold.  This is one part of my life where I feel that I am making the most strides. I know that I am seeing this growth due to the effort and energy I have put into it, even before taking this class, and it gives me strength that when begin to put the same level of effort into the other areas that I will see the same level of change.

Goal Development

Psychological

To write a book, this has been a lifelong goal of mine that has consistently been put on the back burner for other items.  I want the rough draft done by the end of the year.

Physical

Restart my cycling regimen. I would like to complete the 45 mile trail between my parents house and my sisters by the end October. 

Spiritual

To complete a retreat within the next six months is a primary goal. There are several offered by my church and several that I can do on my own. Spending time with my creator on my own terms is just another step in my spiritual journey.

Practices for personal health

Physical

Being deliberate in my physical activity is one strategy. This means carving out time at least three times a week for my physical development. What I do within in this time can change, cycling, taking a class, walking etc but the key making the time a priority in my schedule rather than the afterthought it currently is.

Menu planning was a big part of my previous physical development journey and needs to be again. A busy lifestyle makes healthy eating a challenge but by menu planning for health I am more likely to be successful in my long term goal of health.  This will allow me to maximize my physical output with what I am taking in.

Psychological

Meditating regularly is definitely something that needs become a regular part of my routine. I have found many of the exercises in this class beneficial but not have been the perfect fit so I will need to continue to explore additional exercises and incorporate dedicated mediation time into my life at least three times a week.  I find that when I make the time to mediate there are immediate results from which I benefit but they are easily forgotten when I do not stay diligent in doing them.

In addition, I am at the point where I need help beyond what I can do on my own, seeking out a support system either professional or in a group setting will help me as I work through the various issues currently plaguing my life.

Spiritual

Journaling is not something that I have ever been very good at but have recently begun using a new tool and have found it beneficial. For my spiritual journey taking note of my thoughts, prayers and actions will help me continue down my current path and allow me to grow.

Adoration is a Catholic practice of simply being in the presence of the Lord. It is a simple yet profoundly powerful act that is often not practiced. This is something that I did when I was younger and will resume. It is a time that I can spend simply reflecting on my faith or life while taking in the Spirit.

Commitment

            Being accountable to your goals allows the commitments to take place. There are many ways to assess and track progress. I am a big fan of using what we already have. I carry a cell phone and an Ipad for work, in these tools I can create a workout schedule, send reminders, and build my menu and journal on one device.  Having a tool to do this removes any excuses I might set for myself and is ultimately convenient. I am also able to set goals and milestones, inspirational quotes to keep me motivated throughout the process.

            Keeping motivated for the long term might be a little more challenging because inevitably life will start to get in the way. To avoid this it will be important to remain ever aware of the journey that I am on and have taken.  I also think that as a long term plan being actively involved with others and helping them through the process will keep me on track. 

Unit 8

I am finally feeling back to normal. I thought I was just battling a summer cold but after two &1/2 weeks I finally went to the doctor and found out that I have a pretty bad case of bronchitis.  I should have gone sooner and maybe my grades wouldn’t have suffered so much but it is what it is.

In thinking about the practices we have done for the past several weeks I would have to say that I have found most of them beneficial but the two that I have found the Loving Kindness exercise and Meeting Asclepius were the ones that seemed to work the best. The Loving Kindness one I found to be  a bit more challenging than the others but given things going on in my life at the moment it really hit home when I did it. With this exercise you focus outward on people that you know and when I did this with someone that I didn’t like I found it very calming and have noticed that our relationship is changing. This has been  long time coming.

 The Meeting Asclepius exercise I found very comforting. Maybe it was the person that I imagined and was able to see myself in a different light. Both exercises, for me, allowed a part of who I am to surface in ways that I hadn’t expected. Taking the time out my day to complete these exercises has also shown me the value in doing that even when I think I don’t need them.

Unit 7

1. 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?

I reallly enjoyed this exercise, more so than some of the others.  The first time I did have some problems staying awake but then found that I really enjoyed it. I have not been one for meditation in the past and even though we have to do these exercises and I am enjoying them I feel like there is still a roadblock up at the moment. I know that simply doing the exercises each week has opened me to a better understanding of myself, what drives me and how I can improve and I will need to continue to try different things until I find the one or two that really make a difference.

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?

"In order to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk" is a phrase that I like and it means basically the same thing as the one here.  Basically this means that before you can tell someone what to do you should have experienced it yourself.  As a health care professional it will be extremely important and obiligatory to my clients that I be actively developing myself. I have not yet figured out the best way to implement these practices in my own life but thats part of what I am trying to learn.

My presentation

I hope this works. I sent my presentation to google documents and published.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BykfFLaIc4itMzY4MDJhNWEtOTA4Ni00YTZjLTlhOTMtN2EzZDMwOWI5MjIw&hl=en_US

Unit 5

Okay so I am late again with this thing but this week its not completely my fault. My department, usually 3 people but currently 2, was given a project that had to be completed. I have worked everyday since last Tuesday with 3 days being 12 hours each, not including tonight. UGG! Things should calm down this week and I have a random day off which will help. All that being said here are my thoughts on the questions for this week.
Last week I really enjoyed the exercise and would do it again. It was a little unconventional for me but I enjoyed it over. This week I was so mentally distracted that I don't know that I was able to reap the benefits of the exercise, try as I might. Most days when I attempted it I fell asleep and didn't finish. In some ways that was probably good because I was exhausted this week. I wish I had more to share on it because overall this seems to be a little more up my alley and I really need to learn how to declutter my mind. I am hoping to use it this coming week so I can try to post a little more on it next week as an add on.

I am a walking example of the mind/body connection this week. I have been so torn in so many directions for the past 7 days and everything about me is suffering as a result.  My mind won't shut off so I am not sleeping well even though I am having a hard getting up. I am cranky and short with people and I physically ache. Having learned more and more about the connection between the mind and body you would think that I would make time to balance things out. Knowing something and doing it are not always the same thing. From my past experiences I know that when I take time for me, whether its to exercise, ride a bike, read a book or just spend some time alone to process I am a much better person both in personality, appearance and mental alertness. Now I just need to force myself to make the time.

Unit 4 Reflection

Overall I found the Loving Kindness practice beneficial and fairly easy.  The taking in of others suffering was unusual but I was not really opposed to this concept as I think we do this in many ways without defining it.  I found that the background noise was soothing and appreciated how each section of the exercise was broken down.  I would not immediately recommend it for another person but would make it available for them to give it a try. I have enjoyed doing this for the week and will likely continue it for a few more to see what I can glean from it.

Mental workouts are just what it says it working out the mind.  Just like with the body the more we put into our mind the more we get out of it. I work hard to keep a positive mental attitude, take people for what they are and not sweat the small stuff. When I was thinking about this I think of it in reverse in thinking about my grandmother.  She was a sweet woman but negative constantly. This made it hard for her to even enjoy small things and it often rubbed off on those around her. She exercised her mind with negativity and it showed. I try to not to do that even though it seems to be in my family nature.