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 a health and wellness professional to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because the health and wellness professional cannot fully understand the process unless they have been through it.  This will allow them to guide with experience and provide them with the tools to help lead their client down the integral path.  My spiritual connection between mind and body is probably my weakest link.  I do not allow time for meditation. 

 

 

                II.            Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?     I have assessed my health in each domain.  My physical health seems to be in order.  My psychological health is also very strong. I could use a little more happiness and positivity.  I do think I can properly balance this with gaining a better spiritual connection. 

 

   III.        Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.  A goal in each area would be a good start to balancing my personal integral health.  Physical; maintain healthy vitals such as blood pressure. Psychological; reduce stress and anxiety. And spiritual; learn to achieve a subtle mind. 

 

 

              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.   The strategies that I may use to reach my current goals will be useful in my integral health.  Physical:  I am looking at the Mental Olympians, we can train the mind.  Also the use of stress reduction and relaxation techniques.  These will both take daily practice in order to be able to incorporate these changes in my life.  Psychological; Mental workouts are just as important as a physical workout. By practicing the witnessing mind and the calm abiding, I am learning to allow thoughts to flow freely in and out while training my mind to stay still.  This has no doubt been a challenge for me.   Spiritual; the loving kindness practice has been a favorite of mine. I also enjoyed the subtle mind practice.  I have been alternating these practices and thy both provide me with a calming sensation.  This is also helping to reduce anxiety for me. 

 

 

               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 will use the six principals of integral assessment to assess where I have gone with these goals for personal health.  The lines of development will be my guide.  Sometimes our personal assessments must be modified to accommodate the changing factors in our lives.

 

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc

 

unit 8

Unit 8

Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. (Loving Kindness, Subtle mind, Visualization, meditation etc.) Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster “mental fitness”? Provide specific examples.

 

Loving Kindness practice- this practice can allow you to open your heart to others and remove one’s self-centeredness.  I can implement this practice into my life a little each day. I feel that this will help me to me more loving and to be more excepting of others.

Subtle mind practice- taming the mind is important to practice.  To cease the mental movement and thought. I would really like to master this exercise.  This one really calmed me nd wiped my mind clean of daily stress. 

Both practices can be beneficial.  Mental workouts are beneficial to us.  One hour each day adds up.  Like any work out, if you stop working out your mind you will see its abilities decrease.

 

 

Unit 7

Unit 7

1.         Complete the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 (located in the Doc Sharing area). Describe your meditative practices 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 had a very rough time with this practice.  I do not know if I was just to wound up to relax into this week’s meditation.  I found it hard to focus on the voice guiding the practice.  I will retry this again tonight and see if I am able to clear my mind.  This is part of learning these techniques.  I am going to go with practice makes perfect.

2.         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? 

Wilber example of having a map of Hawaii is not the same as being there, is a great example of the expression used on page 477.  “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself".  You do have an obligation to your clients to have experienced in developing your own your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually.  If you do not have this, how will you help them through challenges they may face?  I will implement these areas of growth in my own life by changing my mindset.  I will start each day with a meditative practice to clear my mind. 

Shennen Wright

Unit 6

Loving-Kindness was nice. It seems like this is something I would have to practice regularly in order for it to have an impact on me. 

Integral Assessment-   relaxes and releases all mental activity.  Ask yourself what aspects of your life are suffering?  Focus on that area. What line of development is essential for me at this time? What is the current level of development and what can I am for?   Shift from focusing on healing to promoting.  What areas in your life are ready for growth? What would development look like for me?   Take notes.  Reflect daily.

I have chosen to focus on time management.  I also would like to repeat the loving kindness practice daily.  I want to be less self-centered and more open to the world.

Shennen Wright

Spiritual, mental and physical wellness

1.    Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

Both exercises were calming. I enjoyed the controlled breathing and the relaxation of them.  The loving kindness exercise was a bit emotional for me.  I felt all the loving kindness feelings but when I thought of someone in pain/need I started to cry instantly.  I gained control with the breathing and was able to get through it and come out feeling calm. The subtle mind exercise, I really liked.  I had a calmng effect on me. I was able to freely let thoughts flow in and out.  I did not feel the need to control them.

2.    Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

I have read that out mind, body and spirit are all connected and that we must balance them in order to achieve wellness. This is referred to as the transformative process.  I am experiencing this myself; I have been attempting yoga and meditation.  I find it very relaxing. I have wanted to try this for a long time and this course has given me that extra push to try it. 

Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Basic Health Publications

 

Hello Class,

Loving Kindness practice- this practice can allow you to open your heart to others and remove ones self centeredness.

Subtle mind practice- taming the mind is important to  practice.  To cease the mental movement and thought.

Both practices can be beneficial.  Mental workouts are beneficial to us.  One hour each day adds up.  like any work out, if you stop working out your mind you will see its abilities decrease.

Shennen Wright

Unit 3 blog

Based on my reflections, on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal well being). I would rate my physical well being as an 9. I am in good health and height and weight proportionate. Although there is room for improvement.  I would rate my spiritual well-being as a 6.  I do not have any strong beliefs or rituals. I would rate my psychological well-being as an 8.  I am a pretty stable person who others look to for guidance but I often find myself stressed and overwhelmed.

A physical goal for myself would be to tone my body all over for better health.  A spiritual goal would be for my to be comfortable with myself that I may be atheist. A psychological for me would be to be able to use relaxing techniques when I am feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

An exercise I can implement in my life to assist in moving toward each goal would be meditation and yoga.  This is something I have recently taken an interest in. 

The Crime of the Century technique was amazing.  This meditative, relaxation exercise really took me to another place.  I actually did this at work.  I closed my office door and followed the instruction.  I think this is a good daily strategy.