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 professionals to develop psychologically because in order to effect healing in others, one must be open to the exploration of the inner aspects of our own life, thereby facilitating personal growth. It also means that development helps the professional to maintain adaptability to changes within and in the external environment. It is then that the same can be suggested to others as a step to healing.

Spiritual development is dependent upon the capacity to find and maintain connectivity to a higher power and personal relationships. It is important because an individual who is truly spiritual, provides a soothing presence that is essential to the promotion of health and wellness.

Physical development is important because it is visual evidence that the health and wellness professional practices what is taught. It is basic human nature to expect that the practitioner to be in good physical shape. It is also important for individual health and well being. It sets an example for patients to follow.

The area that needs development to achieve my goals is psychological. I have to learn to better access and take control of my mind and its activities. To do so I would need to continue to practice meditation and the subtle mind techniques as often as possible.

II Assessment:

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

Spiritually: I can be rated at 8 from a scale of 1 to 10. It is one of most important aspects of my life. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and I have been taught to so for as long as I can remember. My goal is to reach a 10 or higher, if there is such a thing for this score. This is part of my domain that is an important aspect of my daily life and everything I do. To have inner peace because of your spirituality is something that is not easily achieved, however, with a guided plan and a determined mind, it is achievable.

Physically: I can be rated at 8. Even though to onlookers, I may appear to be in the best of health, most times this happens by default. My caloric expenditure far outweighs the input, giving the illusion of perfect weight and health. I am fully aware that my weight maintenance can be done in better ways that would not affect me negatively as I grow older.

Psychologically: I can be rated at 5. This is so because while I have not come anywhere close to harnessing my mind’s activity, I have always managed to maintain a positive outlook on life. One strategy that have been using for a long time is to re-frame my views towards stressed. This has also helped to develop my attitude of gratitude.

III Goal development:

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

Spiritual

My goal is reach a point that my level of spirituality radiates and touches whomever I come into contact with.

Physical

My goal is maintain my present weight and body mass index, while ensuring that my health is functioning at its optimum levels and achieved in the right manner and not allowing my age to be a factor that affects it.

Psychological

My goal is perfect the art of training my mind so that I can fully control my stress responses and become less mentally disorganized.

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: As part of a healthy lifestyle regime, I intend to incorporate a balanced diet and regular physical exercise. My diet would contain more organic fruits and vegetables and trying to eat at regular times. Besides walking, I would also try to fit in at least one hour of mixed physical activity that includes any combination of jogging, jump rope, Pilates, weight training and yoga.

Psychological: Practicing subtle mind meditation will help me to achieve my goal of training my mind. This requires daily practice, so I will have to find at least thirty minutes at the end of each day to do this. Positive thought is practice in which I already engage. My intention is to continue to do so with the aim of also influencing others to do the same.

Spiritual: Prayer and meditation are two practices which foster my spiritual growth. The combination of the two strategies is meant to create peace and centering within myself as well as creating the perfect threshold to nurture my relationships with others. As a part of my daily routine, Prayer is the way for me achieve communion with God while meditation provides that stillness that is required to receive answers and become attuned to others.


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?

To assess my progress or the lack of it in the next six months, I will employ two strategies. One is to keep a daily journal that not only describes my activities but also mentions my achievements and challenges too. The other strategy is using a support system. This support system will consist of members of my family and close friends, whom I expect to remind me of what I should be doing, tracking my progress and pointing out the positives and negatives.

Subtle Mind and Loving Kindness

I have found the Subtle Mind and Loving Kindness practices to be most beneficial by increasing my awareness, but before I can even think about implementing them anywhere, I have keep practicing them until I can fully release and become completely open to the experience and explore all its suggested benefits.

Eventually I will be able to begin thinking less selfishly and embrace the feelings of others. I can learn how to let go and feel comfortable not being in control of my life all the time. I can also learn to get in touch with my emotions and not be afraid to feel them and work through them. My focus and concentration skills will improve. I will develop a greater appreciation for things that exist outside of me.

unit 7 "Meeting Asciepius

The practice of visualization can be a useful tool for centering, but it is something that I am a little resistant to. I tried following the suggestions and although it might sound “bull-headed”, it goes against some of the things that I have been thought while growing up. So therefore, I have chosen to separate the two. Meditation has increased my psychological wellness by helping to changing some of my thought patterns and therefore my approach to life and its many problems. It has also helped to alleviate the levels of tension that I feel at the end of my work hours, so that I turn and toss less and sleep more fitfully. I believe that I need to use these approaches to harness my anger expression.

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means that unless a person has not had experience, he or she is in no position to instruct or guide another person. A health and wellness professional should not make recommendations or suggestions to patients based only on what is read in a book. One of the best ways to convince a skeptic is by being able to relate and describe a personal experience. I do have an obligation to my clients by developing my psychological, physical and spiritual growth because being an example is the greatest way to teach.

universal Loving Kindness

To be brutally honest, this exercise brought on emotions that I have let lie dormant for over three years. Thoughts of my deceased mother, her smile and kind words together with the familiar sounds of the ocean induced a feeling of sadness and nostalgia that I did not care to experience. As the tears flowed, I am not sure if I felt relief or awareness. I stopped for a moment to allow the feelings to subside and then continued. I think that this process takes practice because I had a very hard time letting go and finding that inner calm. J did not know what to do with the silence. I am not sure if I was probably fearful of the previous experience occurring, but I found it difficult to complete the exercise properly.

I have chosen interpersonal aspects as the focus of my growth and development because my “perceived” inability to relax, release and rejuvenate is reflected in my chronic bouts of insomnia and hyperactivity. I believe that I should practice yoga and meditation more often and be able to practice deeper meditation after some time.

mental fitness

Loving-kindness and subtle mind are two practices that are beneficial in numerous ways. One of those ways is to help prepare for psychospiritual development. With repetition these practices bring greater skills and new insights. There is something new to be gained each time you practice. “We feel grateful and blessed, awakening to the possibility that we can actually change the course of our health and life” (Dacher, 2006).

Loving kindness practices attempts to embrace and share love and healing within ourselves and with others, while subtle mind practices encourages us to find or create peace and stillness within ourselves, fostering harmony between the mind, body and spirit.

I believe that subtle mind practice should be harnessed before attempting loving kindness. Loving kindness was difficult to do because I could not find the inner peace that I needed to move forward. So trying to embrace the energies of others would have been near impossible.