Several weeks ago I had to do a personal assessment on my psychological, spiritual and physical well-being; I would love to say that I have made significant improvements since then, but unfortunately not so much, but overall some improvement is better than none. Reflecting on the scores I gave myself on psychological 5, spiritual 6 and physical 8, some small changes have taken place, but not enough to grade myself much higher. Psychologically I had a problem with centering my focus and allowing myself time to meditate and practice breathing exercises. Currently I am working on my focus and am a little better than I was, as far as meditation I just simply have a lot going on with school, home, family, work and the other demands I have in my life, so I will admit that I don't practice as often as I should.
My spirituality has improved from a 6 to 7; I am improving my spiritual health by being more prayerful, forgiving and practicing gratitude. Physically I have included some weight training to my workout routine, nutritionally I have also made progress by monitoring my food intake with a journal which has made me more cognizant of the foods I’m eating and my portion sizes, so physically I would say that I stayed the same because I am not consistent with the changes. I continue to have a regular workout routine, working out 4-6 days per week for an hour to two hours each day.
My personal experience of this class has been rewarding, learning the benefits of both emotion and physical exercises and the effects to our total well-being. I have developed my total well-being in various aspects, learning the exercises that are beneficial and the proper techniques for better results. There was difficulty with some of the exercises, visualization, meditation and the loving-kindness was challenging initially, but like with most exercise the more you practice and the more effort put forth, that all leads to better results. As health and wellness professionals, our job is not only to help others achieve optimal health, but we must also seek optimal health for ourselves. With the understanding and challenges, it put us at an advantage to be more understanding to others and to realize that we may have the same issues, but we have different ways of handling them.
The gratitude and forgiveness exercise was especially important for me. We oftentimes do things with little or no thought to how it affects others and an act of forgiveness or gratitude go a long way. A few weeks ago I wrote gratitude emails and most recently forgiveness emails to several friends. The responses were overwhelming, everyone responded positively, to quote one friend, 'this was a first from anyone to me, it reminds me that an attitude of gratitude is a wonderful virtue”. I now have a clearer understanding of some of what the profession of wellness entails and I feel confident that I be able to touch lives in the future.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Unit 9 Final Project
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?
As professional it is important to “practice what we preach”. In order for us to be productive and effective in what we do we must have firsthand experience in developing mind, body and spirit. Our physical workout is more than just exercising our body; we sometime do physical exercise as a part of relaxing our mind and increase our focus. Each client must be treated as an individual and needs must be assessed as such, as individuals we have different ways of dealing with our setbacks in life and we have to make the clients feel comfortable enough to confide in the professional. I believe that I am a work in progress, there are many things in my life that needs t be improved, but most of all I need to prioritize my life and daily schedule in order to be progressive. Being true to myself and having realistic goals and expectations will allow me to be successful on my journey toward optimal health and wellness.
II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
I would score my spiritual wellness at 6. Many things in our lives are brought to light because of something else that happened in our lives, I have a strong belief that there is a higher power and that prayer is extremely powerful. Spirituality allows us to develop a new perspective to see how life works and to develop a more meaningful relationship with life through whatever entity that brings us closer to spiritual wellness. I am making progress in my spiritual life through the practices of meditation and yoga. It’s truly a process and in time and with practice of the exercises it is allowing me to become more centered and more focused, it is opening the door to new levels of freedom, power and contentment.
Physically I would rate myself an 8. I am not quiet where I would like to be, but I am certainly making progress in the right direction. I have a workout routine that I am committed to and try not to get off course. I try to set new goals for myself along the way and challenge myself to reach higher limits in my physical fitness. There is so much more that I would like to achieve and I know with determination and strong faith it is possible
Psychologically I would rate myself a 6. I am work in progress. One of the things I have learned along the way is that I am responsible for my own happiness and in order for me to be truly happy on the outside, I have to also be happy on the inside. I have learned to prioritize my life and realized that I can’t be everything to everybody, by learning how to say no.
III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
My physical goal is to develop a weight training routine and enhance it along the way to get to the fitness level I desire. I would also like to get better control on my nutrition, I tend to be swayed by what people around me order when I am in a group setting while at a restaurant.
My psychological goal is learning how to be more focus and allowing myself the quiet time I know I need and deserve. I would like to learn to not let the little things govern my life as much as they do which causes me to get more upset. I would like to get to a point where I can find an effective way to reframe the small things in my life that irritates me and turn them into a positive to reduce the stress in that area.
My spiritual goal is to be more prayerful and incorporate meditation and prayer into my daily life. I’ve recently started express gratitude to myself and to others in my life that is deserving of it.
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:
Zumba is a fusion of Latin and international music which a mixture of salsa, reggae and meringue. Not only is it fun it is a great workout and allows me change up my routine and introduce something new to keep me encouraged.
Walking outdoors, normally it is not something I do on a regular basis. I normally go the gym, but walking outdoors, experiencing nature creates a sense of calm.
Psychological:
Meditation allows quiet time to myself and creates calm
Yoga focuses on posture and stretching and more important breathing.
Spiritual:
Yoga teaches physical and mental disciplines, it tones and stretches muscles, and improves mental fitness. Yoga also has a spiritual connection, improves flexibility, strength, reduces anxiety and improves mental clarity.
Meditation is a discipline that involves training one’s mind; it is used for relaxation and stress reduction. It is a simple and inexpensive technique and requires very little time to practice.
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?
I believe that making the commitment to change our lives is sometimes harder than incorporating the steps to do. Keeping a journal is an excellent way to keep track of my progress; I keep a food journal and track my meals along with the emotions. That allowed me to realize that some of my eating had many emotional attachments. I have discussed my plan to become more physically with my family and try to include them in the decision making process so as to not let anyone feel like they are bring neglected.
Creating a journal overall allows me to record my goals and record my progress and monitor it regularly. Making our goal known to others , not beating ourselves up when we fall short of our expectations, include a reward system to reward myself when I reach a goal I set for myself. It is most important for me to be realistic about the goals I’ve set for myself, having unrealistic goals can be setting g myself up for failure. I recently wrote emails of gratitude to several friends and was amazed at the responses, not only was it an uplifting experience for me, there was gratitude from each and everyone for letting them know that they are truly appreciated.
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?
As professional it is important to “practice what we preach”. In order for us to be productive and effective in what we do we must have firsthand experience in developing mind, body and spirit. Our physical workout is more than just exercising our body; we sometime do physical exercise as a part of relaxing our mind and increase our focus. Each client must be treated as an individual and needs must be assessed as such, as individuals we have different ways of dealing with our setbacks in life and we have to make the clients feel comfortable enough to confide in the professional. I believe that I am a work in progress, there are many things in my life that needs t be improved, but most of all I need to prioritize my life and daily schedule in order to be progressive. Being true to myself and having realistic goals and expectations will allow me to be successful on my journey toward optimal health and wellness.
II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
I would score my spiritual wellness at 6. Many things in our lives are brought to light because of something else that happened in our lives, I have a strong belief that there is a higher power and that prayer is extremely powerful. Spirituality allows us to develop a new perspective to see how life works and to develop a more meaningful relationship with life through whatever entity that brings us closer to spiritual wellness. I am making progress in my spiritual life through the practices of meditation and yoga. It’s truly a process and in time and with practice of the exercises it is allowing me to become more centered and more focused, it is opening the door to new levels of freedom, power and contentment.
Physically I would rate myself an 8. I am not quiet where I would like to be, but I am certainly making progress in the right direction. I have a workout routine that I am committed to and try not to get off course. I try to set new goals for myself along the way and challenge myself to reach higher limits in my physical fitness. There is so much more that I would like to achieve and I know with determination and strong faith it is possible
Psychologically I would rate myself a 6. I am work in progress. One of the things I have learned along the way is that I am responsible for my own happiness and in order for me to be truly happy on the outside, I have to also be happy on the inside. I have learned to prioritize my life and realized that I can’t be everything to everybody, by learning how to say no.
III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
My physical goal is to develop a weight training routine and enhance it along the way to get to the fitness level I desire. I would also like to get better control on my nutrition, I tend to be swayed by what people around me order when I am in a group setting while at a restaurant.
My psychological goal is learning how to be more focus and allowing myself the quiet time I know I need and deserve. I would like to learn to not let the little things govern my life as much as they do which causes me to get more upset. I would like to get to a point where I can find an effective way to reframe the small things in my life that irritates me and turn them into a positive to reduce the stress in that area.
My spiritual goal is to be more prayerful and incorporate meditation and prayer into my daily life. I’ve recently started express gratitude to myself and to others in my life that is deserving of it.
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:
Zumba is a fusion of Latin and international music which a mixture of salsa, reggae and meringue. Not only is it fun it is a great workout and allows me change up my routine and introduce something new to keep me encouraged.
Walking outdoors, normally it is not something I do on a regular basis. I normally go the gym, but walking outdoors, experiencing nature creates a sense of calm.
Psychological:
Meditation allows quiet time to myself and creates calm
Yoga focuses on posture and stretching and more important breathing.
Spiritual:
Yoga teaches physical and mental disciplines, it tones and stretches muscles, and improves mental fitness. Yoga also has a spiritual connection, improves flexibility, strength, reduces anxiety and improves mental clarity.
Meditation is a discipline that involves training one’s mind; it is used for relaxation and stress reduction. It is a simple and inexpensive technique and requires very little time to practice.
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?
I believe that making the commitment to change our lives is sometimes harder than incorporating the steps to do. Keeping a journal is an excellent way to keep track of my progress; I keep a food journal and track my meals along with the emotions. That allowed me to realize that some of my eating had many emotional attachments. I have discussed my plan to become more physically with my family and try to include them in the decision making process so as to not let anyone feel like they are bring neglected.
Creating a journal overall allows me to record my goals and record my progress and monitor it regularly. Making our goal known to others , not beating ourselves up when we fall short of our expectations, include a reward system to reward myself when I reach a goal I set for myself. It is most important for me to be realistic about the goals I’ve set for myself, having unrealistic goals can be setting g myself up for failure. I recently wrote emails of gratitude to several friends and was amazed at the responses, not only was it an uplifting experience for me, there was gratitude from each and everyone for letting them know that they are truly appreciated.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Loving-Kindness & Meditatiom
When we are younger we think we are invincible and we are owed the
things that are done for us by loved ones and friends. We often forget
gratitude and compassion, but as I get older I realize it is important
to let people know how much they are loved and appreciated. I am ever
evolving and each day I feel a little wiser and stronger and more love,
so as I continue on my journey to achieve wholeness, and to help others.
I am practicing daily showing gratitude, loving-kindness and meditation.
I continue to do for others despite their lack of humility, respect and
gratitude, because my heart tells me it’s the right thing to do and I do
so because of the self-satisfaction I receive.
The loving-kindness exercise was a little hard for me because it meant
that I had to deal with some of the things that didn't always allowed me
to be compassionate and at times grateful. Practicing to give love to
everyone around me, including people I felt don't always have my best
interest at heart was very hard. The mind is amazing, and once we are
able to concentrate and focus our energy on achieving balance, the
practice becomes a little easier each time.
In order to extend compassion and love towards others, we must be able
to feel it within ourselves, if we are able to feel the effect of
loving-kindness from within then we are able to show it to others. We
must first acknowledge our own suffering and struggles and embrace it,
and transform feelings of hopelessness, lost and alone to universal love.
The feeling of calm that comes from meditating is rewarding in stressful
times. I must admit that focusing was very hard for me, keeping a mental
calendar of my days activities and always feeling hurried because there
was so much to do and not enough hours in the day to accomplish them.
Less than five minutes can restructure my thought process, and realize
that I created my own stress. I learn to say no, and allow myself to
take the time I need for myself. I am on a life long journey to
achieving wholeness, the road may get bumpy at times, but so far I am
enjoying the ride, and I believe that it will get better each day.
things that are done for us by loved ones and friends. We often forget
gratitude and compassion, but as I get older I realize it is important
to let people know how much they are loved and appreciated. I am ever
evolving and each day I feel a little wiser and stronger and more love,
so as I continue on my journey to achieve wholeness, and to help others.
I am practicing daily showing gratitude, loving-kindness and meditation.
I continue to do for others despite their lack of humility, respect and
gratitude, because my heart tells me it’s the right thing to do and I do
so because of the self-satisfaction I receive.
The loving-kindness exercise was a little hard for me because it meant
that I had to deal with some of the things that didn't always allowed me
to be compassionate and at times grateful. Practicing to give love to
everyone around me, including people I felt don't always have my best
interest at heart was very hard. The mind is amazing, and once we are
able to concentrate and focus our energy on achieving balance, the
practice becomes a little easier each time.
In order to extend compassion and love towards others, we must be able
to feel it within ourselves, if we are able to feel the effect of
loving-kindness from within then we are able to show it to others. We
must first acknowledge our own suffering and struggles and embrace it,
and transform feelings of hopelessness, lost and alone to universal love.
The feeling of calm that comes from meditating is rewarding in stressful
times. I must admit that focusing was very hard for me, keeping a mental
calendar of my days activities and always feeling hurried because there
was so much to do and not enough hours in the day to accomplish them.
Less than five minutes can restructure my thought process, and realize
that I created my own stress. I learn to say no, and allow myself to
take the time I need for myself. I am on a life long journey to
achieving wholeness, the road may get bumpy at times, but so far I am
enjoying the ride, and I believe that it will get better each day.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Meeting Aslepius
In the past I’ve had a hard time concentrating during meditation exercises, maybe it was the distractions around me, or maybe it was that I keep a mental calendar of my daily activities and placed stress on myself if I am unable to accomplish each task for that day. For this exercise, I intentionally placed myself in a quiet and calm place with minimal distractions, and the person I envisioned was my maternal grandmother. For me, my grandmother was the epitome of a woman, and that transcended to my mother, me and now my daughter. She had style, compassion, wisdom and most of all she loved herself and her family. It is hard at times to become another person, adapt their strength and wisdom, but for someone I admired, it was surprisingly very easy. I often talk about my grandmother strength and wisdom which had an impact on shaping my life. The exercise for me was calming, there was a sense of peace after I was done with the exercise, I even found myself smiling during the exercise, I believe that the love I felt for her made the exercise much easier to do and kept my focus intact.
As a provider we must work on ourselves, mind, body and spirit in order to help patients towards achieving it. I believe as professionals we do have an obligation to our patients to learn, understand and practice what we teach.
As a provider we must work on ourselves, mind, body and spirit in order to help patients towards achieving it. I believe as professionals we do have an obligation to our patients to learn, understand and practice what we teach.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Universal Loving/Kindness
I had the opportunity to practice loving-kindness on a family member over the weekend. I was is Canada for a wedding and saw family members I haven't seen in years. Naturally with families there is good and bad, well the bad is that one family member have a problem with abusing alcohol. Several emotions were expressed by other family members, frustration, anger and disappointment to name a few. The one emotion I thought was needed was not expressed, compassion. I sat in the distant observing and realized that alcohol was the surface problem, there is much more that was much deeper than the alcohol. We went to talk by ourselves and he vaguely touched on some of the thing that I think contributed to this behavior, unfortunately alcohol is the best way he knows to numb the pain. Of course I do realize, he has a serious problem and needs professional help, but just being able to talk with him and offer compassion, and reassuring him that I don't love him any less because of his problem, and, although I am miles away, if he needs to talk, I am phone call away. It broke my heart to see him like this, and I only hope that he realizes that he has a problem and gather the strength to get the help he needs before it's too late. I discovered that I've developed my listening skills and I am able to be more objective about situations. I also realize that we each are very different individuals, and have different ways of handling the same situations.
I've chosen to focus on the biological aspect of my life with the emphasis on nutrition which is the cause of much difficulty. The line of development that is most essential for me at this time is to find a way to stop sabotaging my weight loss efforts. I am aiming at maintaining the food journal I started several months ago to realize my eating patterns and the emotions associated with then. I am giving myself a week to get the momentum back to start journaling, I need to channel my energy elsewhere when I feel the need to eat even when I am not hungry. I believe that journaling my feelings will help to realize the emotions associated with times I eat mindlessly.
I've chosen to focus on the biological aspect of my life with the emphasis on nutrition which is the cause of much difficulty. The line of development that is most essential for me at this time is to find a way to stop sabotaging my weight loss efforts. I am aiming at maintaining the food journal I started several months ago to realize my eating patterns and the emotions associated with then. I am giving myself a week to get the momentum back to start journaling, I need to channel my energy elsewhere when I feel the need to eat even when I am not hungry. I believe that journaling my feelings will help to realize the emotions associated with times I eat mindlessly.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Loving/Kindness and Subtle Mind
I certainly had a different experience with the Subtle Mind exercise than I did with the Loving/Kindness, it may be that I was more relaxed, didn't have anyone around me or I was able to be more focused. From the loving/kindness exercise it is important for us to expand our consciousness, diminish the focus on ourselves and learn to be compassionate to others. Developing loving/kindness for the four different types of people must start with ourselves and then passed down to a loved one, one who is sick or suffering, a neutral person an an enemy “, in order to love others we have to love ourselves first”. There are so many distractions in our lives that can causes us to sometimes forget the positive effects of loving/kindness or developing a subtle mind. We have to train our minds, that even when we are in a sour situation we have the capability to train the mind to arouse positive feelings.
The subtle mind is developed through deep and calming meditation, it helps to overcome weaknesses and fear, and to re-focus even through distractions, which I think is essential to the discovery of ourselves. The subtle mind exercise allowed me to be more focused and to realize that there are things about myself that I must deal with in order to create a healthy balance in my life.
Oftentimes we put very little emphasis on our physical wellness until we are in a crisis and we are told usually by a medical professional that we have to make changes in our lifestyle if we want to enjoy a better quality of life. For several years I have been physically active, after my own health scare, but never paid much attention to the effects both spiritually and mentally. I usually go though the physical process because I knew I had to do it , and then I developed a love for it. When we realize what our bodies can do physically, it often translates spiritually and mentally. Our spiritual and mental wellness is developed and enhanced through different types of physical activity that requires strong focus which keeps our mind engaged. Believing that there is a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives, making time for ourselves daily to practice relaxation exercises, guiding your values by your decisions and actions. I would love to say that I have achieved spiritual, mental, and physical wellness, but I am on the path, as long as I am aware of my goal, I believe that I will be successful in achieving wholeness in my life, which I hope will transcend to others.
The subtle mind is developed through deep and calming meditation, it helps to overcome weaknesses and fear, and to re-focus even through distractions, which I think is essential to the discovery of ourselves. The subtle mind exercise allowed me to be more focused and to realize that there are things about myself that I must deal with in order to create a healthy balance in my life.
Oftentimes we put very little emphasis on our physical wellness until we are in a crisis and we are told usually by a medical professional that we have to make changes in our lifestyle if we want to enjoy a better quality of life. For several years I have been physically active, after my own health scare, but never paid much attention to the effects both spiritually and mentally. I usually go though the physical process because I knew I had to do it , and then I developed a love for it. When we realize what our bodies can do physically, it often translates spiritually and mentally. Our spiritual and mental wellness is developed and enhanced through different types of physical activity that requires strong focus which keeps our mind engaged. Believing that there is a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives, making time for ourselves daily to practice relaxation exercises, guiding your values by your decisions and actions. I would love to say that I have achieved spiritual, mental, and physical wellness, but I am on the path, as long as I am aware of my goal, I believe that I will be successful in achieving wholeness in my life, which I hope will transcend to others.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Loving-Kindness/Mental Workout
I found the loving-kindness exercise a little difficult, overall I have a hard time meditating and focusing my attention on the positive aspects of meditation. I find that I have several thoughts going through my head which makes it hard to focus. It was even more difficult to put my focus onto others including my enemies, which I am hoping I don not too much of. This is the mental and spiritual aspect of my optimal health and I have constantly work on to achieve wholeness. I certainly have no doubt that these exercises are very rewarding and is a stepping stone towards optimal well-being, but first I have to have some control on my thoughts in order to focus and get the best out of these practices.
Mental workout is somewhat like physical workout, the more we work at it is the more physically fit we will be, so in essence our mind can be strengthened with regular training. Exercising different parts of the mind helps with overall mental clarity, alertness and concentration. It is giving yourself permission to take a break from worries and concern and dedicating time to do the thing that rejuvenates us and makes us feel more confident.
Mental workout is somewhat like physical workout, the more we work at it is the more physically fit we will be, so in essence our mind can be strengthened with regular training. Exercising different parts of the mind helps with overall mental clarity, alertness and concentration. It is giving yourself permission to take a break from worries and concern and dedicating time to do the thing that rejuvenates us and makes us feel more confident.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)