It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically,
spiritually, and physically so that they can be the picture of human
flourishing that they want their patients/clients to be. It is very difficult
to teach what you have not experienced. It is important for a health and
wellness professional to be able to focus on their patients so that they can
pick up on important clues that the patient will provide in talking about their
conditions and what they want for themselves so that they can develop a holistic,
integral program that addresses the patient’s concerns and addresses some of
the underlying issues that are contributory to the patient’s condition. Of
these three areas of development, I need to work on the physical the most to
achieve the goal that I have for my integral health. My psychological and
spiritual areas are feed most often and the physical is the area that is
screaming for attention.
I have assessed my health in each of these areas by looking at how I
feel at this point in my life about each of them. As I stated earlier, my
spirit and psyche are feed all the time but my physical has been left starved
and wanting. I have made some small nutritional changes that will be beneficial
in the long term but I need to address exercise as a short term goal and I need
to establish a way to track my progress so that I know that I am intentionally
choosing to develop this area. I would score my spiritual and my psychological
areas an 8 or 9 and my physical a 5. Having assessed each area, it is time to
develop some goals to drastically develop my physical and to keep my spiritual and
psychological on a steady pace.
One goal that I have for my physical is to find fifteen minutes a day
to exercise. I find time to do all of the other things that I want to do so
there is no excuse. I am looking for some 15 minute workouts that will work my
entire body and I shooting to do the 15 minutes at night as I am not a morning person.
Any help you all can provide will be greatly appreciated. I need to get started
like yesterday. One goal that I have for my spiritual area is to attend Sunday
school on a regular basis like I used to do. I find that when I am spiritually
strong, I tend to be stronger in other areas as well. I will use my spiritual
to help me with my physical goal. One goal that I have for the psychological
area is to take more time each day to let it all go for a few minutes and just
enjoy being in the moment to allow the stress of the day to melt away and empty
my mind of all of the distractions. I find a few minutes a day to do this but I
would love to find more time. Maybe I can incorporate this into my exercise
routine.
Practices for personal health will include using strategies like
visualization and meditation. To obtain my physical goals I will use
visualization to get me started and to keep me going. I need to see myself
exercising for those 15 minutes and enjoying the experience, rather than
focusing on the negative aspects like the soreness that I know will come until
my body has gotten used to exercising again. I will also try to incorporate
yoga classes to aid in my physical health. I have taken yoga classes before and
I was much more centered and focused when I attended on a regular basis. For my
psychological health, I am looking to use yoga and meditation. This is an area
of strength of me so I just need to maintain course. Using one of my physical
goals for psychological development also will ensure that I don’t neglect this
area as I focus on the physical. Meditation will allow me to focus on the psychological
and spiritual both at the same time. I have found that when I meditate I am
closer to God because my mind is open to hear from Him when it is not
distracted and is calmness will help to reduce the stress as well as keep my
blood pressure under control or lower it, enhancing my physical health, the
area that currently requires the most attention. The two practices that I will
focus on for my spiritual health are the contemplative practices of Meeting Asclepius
and the loving kindness practice. The Meeting Asclepius visualization practice
was the practice that truly meets me where I am. I was engrossed in this
practice that I lost myself for a few minutes before I was able to return to
the room. Spending time in the space where I found myself will surely keep me
on track spiritually. The loving kindness practice will benefit my spiritual
and psychological health as well. When we are focused on others and not self,
we can give from a place of love and sincerity. Remaining in this frame of mind
will further develop not only my spiritual health but my physical and
psychological health as well.
To assess my commit, progress, or lack thereof, I will set both short
and long term goals for the next six months. I will set goals for two months,
four months, and six months for each area. I will develop one or two specific
goal for each area and interval. I will assess my progress at each interval and
make the necessary adjustments to do better or improve on what I have been able
to accomplish in each area. For my life long goals, I will try to keep this
practice of assessment and adjustment going, as well as learning new
contemplative practices that cater to who I am and who I desire to be. I will
be sure to keep the text books from this class as reference materials and
expand my knowledge and practices along the way. To ensue I stay the course, will
remember to continue to prepare the ground as Dacher instructed; faith for
motivation; cultivating an attitude of loving-kindness, using speech and
actions to minimize disturbing outer experiences that cause distress for others
and similarly agitate our own mind; and creating an oasis of silence and
solitude that will allow for contemplative practice.
