Unit 10 review of personal goals and growth

Review of assessment
Back in unit 3, I rated my physical wellbeing a 10 based on how closely I pay attention to my nutrition, fitness, and sleep.  Included in that scoring was my blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight.  I am in a healthy range in each of those areas.  I would still give myself a 10 in this area.  Not only am I still paying attention to nutrition, fitness, and rest, I am paying even closer attention than I was before this class. 
I rated my spiritual wellbeing as a 9 based on my strong faith and guidance from God in my life.  I will probably always rate myself a 9 in this area no matter how much progress I make, because I know there is always much more to discern and learn.  Therefore, I am still giving myself a 9 in this category.
Psychologically, I rated myself an 8 based on my past self-esteem issues and lack of confidence.  In this area, I believe I have moved up to a level 9 due to the growth I have experienced in this class leading to more self confidence than before.  

Review of goals
My physical goal was to continue toward a complete healing of my hamstring injury.  I am still making progress in this area.  The hamstring is not completely healed, but it is significantly better than before.  I still work on this daily.

My spiritual goal was to read through the bible in one year.  I have not missed a day yet, and I intend to keep working toward the final goal.

My psychological goal was to learn the art of visualization by carving out three 20 minute sessions per week for one month.  I am happy to report that I have achieved the goal of the three 20 minutes sessions per week, and I am still working toward the visualization skill.

Implementation 
I have implemented all of the activities I chose for each goal I set.  The plan is working, and I believe it is sustainable.  I am thrilled with what I have learned and am looking forward to continued growth in each area.

Summary
Throughout this course I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every unit.  I enjoyed the readings, the sharing on the discussion boards and blogs, the seminars, and the relaxation exercises.  I feel I have improved my overall well being and learned valuable lessons for my own personal health and wellness.  The growth has been very rewarding.  Giving myself permission to take time out to just be quiet has been wonderful!  It was difficult for me to do the visualization exercise until I found what I wanted to visualize and made it personal for me.  I believe the challenge and the growth through determination will help me be able to be a help to others on this integral health journey.

I have sincerely enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you during this class.  Thanks Professor for making the class as wonderful as it is!

Sherry

Unit 9 Final Project - Integral Health Plan

Holistic and Integral Health Plan

Health is something people strive for, spending tremendous amounts of time and money to achieve the goal: Vital health.  As health care professionals we have the obligation and the privilege to help people achieve that goal.  Health is more than the absence of disease or pain. Health, holistic and integral health, is physical health, spiritual health, and psychological health.  A shortfall in any of these areas affects the others.  To have complete integral health allows a person to fully experience the joy of living while, at the same time, minimizing suffering.  Dacher (2006) purports, “authentic health will change you” and it “requires a transformation of mind and heart” (p.1).  The result is the goal people are striving to reach – integral health.  With this in mind, the healthcare professional must strive first to achieve this integral health in his/her own life.  One cannot teach what one has not experienced.  We must be role models so that people will want the kind of health we have.  Then, we are in a great place to teach, nurture, and coach (Dacher, 2006).

            For myself, I am very physically active with a balanced fitness program that includes cardio vascular exercise, strength training, and stretching.  My eating habits are very health and nutritionally sound. Spiritually, I spend 30 minutes every morning praying, reading the bible, and spending quiet time in meditation.  Psychologically, I take time for myself, as well as, taking time to serve others.  However, there is always room for growth.  I will continue in each realm to fine tune and improve on the plans and routines I now have.  At this point, I feel that all of the three areas mentioned, physical, spiritual, and psychological, are healthy and balanced. The one area that I need the most practice is the meditation area.  This is new for me, but I am determined to learn the skill in order to inch closer and closer to that goal – integral health. Therefore, I would rate myself in each area in the following manner: On a scale of 1 -10, physically  - 9, spiritually – 8, psychologically – 8. 

            I have a goal in each of the areas mentioned.  For the physical realm, I would like to continue to improve on flexibility.  That is my weak area, but I feel so much better when I take the proper amount of time to stretch.  Spiritually, my goal is to master the skill of meditation.  I know there are many benefits to calming and focusing the mind.  I’m looking forward to increasing my skill in this area.  Psychologically, my goal is to do at least one nice thing for myself, and one nice thing for someone else everyday.  Giving is good for the soul.  It is tremendously satisfying to help others and know I am contributing to the greater good. 

            The strategies I have to accomplish my goals include practicing either yoga or tai chi every day to increase flexibility and balance.  Spiritually, I will continue to practice the Loving Kindness exercise or the Subtle Mind exercise at least every other day until I feel I am ready to practice meditation without the aid of a guide.  Psychologically, doing something nice for myself each day might be taking time out to read a book, getting my nails done, or watching a movie.  Doing something nice for someone else might include doing someone’s laundry for him or her, cooking someone his/her favorite meal, or just listening attentively without thinking about what I need to do next.  Giving someone your undivided attention is a great gift.  There are many other examples outside of the home to be a blessing to others, but these are just a few ideas. 

            In the next six months, I will assess my progress by measuring the degree of flexibility I have achieved.  For example, it is hard for me to put my hands flat on the floor when I am trying to touch my toes; my goal is to be able to put both hands flat on the floor.  Spiritually, I would like to be able to spend an entire 30 minutes in calm abiding.  This is a stretch for me since I am only able to do about 5 minutes at this point.  Psychologically, I will have to assess how well I am doing on my goal of one nice thing for myself, and one nice thing for someone else every day.  This one I will be able to measure on a daily basis. 

            With the goal being integral health, every aspect must receive special care and attention.  Integral health is beyond ordinary it is extraordinary.  Integral health is something that is self-cultivated and sustainable.  Integral health can lead to the ultimate human experience – human flourishing.  Human flourishing is reaching the highest level of physical, spiritual, and psychological health.  Flourishing allows the mind to remain calm rather than reactive to life’s circumstances.  Flourishing is achievable if someone truly wants to attain it.  It takes planning and commitment, but anything worth having is worth working for (Dacher, 2006). 




Reference:

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

Unit 8 post

The two exercises I have found most beneficial are the loving kindness exercise, and the subtle mind exercise.  The loving kindness helps me extend love and positive energy to others.  I can visualize sending good thoughts toward people I know are struggling.  I can imagine sending warm thoughts to people I come in contact with such as the checker at the store or the restaurant server.  I can use this in my mental fitness practice to help tame the business of my mind and reflect on other people.  I can visualize helping them, smiling at them, being at peace with them.  Through this practice I don't feel impatient or intolerant.  It actually helps me feel good about myself to send love to others in this practice.

The other practice, the subtle mind practice, is one of my favorites for calming the mind.  To enter a quiet place and yet not escape into a sleeping state is absolutely blissful.  I find I can focus on my breathing over and over as my mind wants to wander.  When I am finished with this exercise, I feel completely relaxed and at peace yet energized in a new way.  I am able to think more clearly for the rest of the day.  Perhaps because I have cleared out the clutter.  I can use this exercise in my mental fitness program to practice mental focus.  I believe learning this skill will help in my everyday life when I need to block out distractions and focus my mind on a task.

Both of this practices will become part of my mental fitness practice.

Sherry

Meeting Aesclepius - the journey

Today I participated in the exercise "Meeting Aesclepius." This was an interesting exercise.  I found it easy to imagine a wise person and even to commune with this person.  I was able to imagine a light shining from  his forehead into my mind cleansing my mind.  I was able to imagine the light flowing from his throat into mine, cleansing my speech.  I was even able to imagine the light flowing from his heart into my heart giving me a heart of loving kindness.  I had some difficulty imagining the entire light flowing into me and me becoming that wise person.  It seems it was easier to receive from the wise healer than it was to "be" the wise healer.

The practice of mindfulness and meditation has brought an awareness to my life that was not there previously.  I find I am able to calm my mind with greater ease.  This calming practice has given me more energy during the day with less mental stress.

I can continue these practices daily to get more and more skilled at mindfulness and meditation.  This will enhance my physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.  With this enhancement, I can be a blessing to others and make a difference in their lives.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).  This saying applies to health and wellness professional because the professional needs to be able to heal them self before teaching others.  If the healthcare professional can take on an attitude of loving kindness and see each patient as precious, the patient can experience a greater healing with a feeling of respect and tender-loving care.  This will bring more job satisfaction to the health care professional too, giving them a sense of purpose beyond just tending to someone's physical needs (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005).

Sherry

Reference:

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. (2005). Consciousness & healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone Publisher.

HW 420-02 Unit 6

1.  The universal loving kindness practice was simple and yet effective.  I could feel myself becoming part of a much larger picture.  The repetitiveness of the lines made it easy to keep my focus.  I can certainly see how this mini practice would be easy to incorporate most any time.

2.  The integral assessment exercise was interesting.  At first, my mind was totally blank.  It's as if I asked it a question and got the deer-in-the-headlight look.  Then a "feeling" started to creep in.  It was brought to my attention that my psychospiritual and worldly areas are needing attention.  I learned that although I am practicing meditation and participating in my prayer time, I have not completely surrendered and put my total faith and trust in the wisdom made available.  I still cling to past thoughts, fears, and reactions.  I am making progress, but this area needs attention.  The worldly area is an extension of the psychospiritual.  I put a lot of mental energy into trying to figure out the future rather than enjoying the journey and being grateful for the lessons presented and learned.

The activities I will use for growth in these areas will include continued practice with meditation, continued focused time in prayer including time to listen for the answers or words of wisdom.  I will continue with my daily eccentrics program (a blend of yoga, tai chi, and pilates).  I will practice incorporating mindfulness into everyday life, and I will practice trusting the wisdom within rather than fearing the unknown.

Sherry

Reference:

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

Unit 5 power point link

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dgftr2h6_0dkfwg2f4

Unit 5 Power Point Presentation

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dgftr2h6_0dkfwg2f4" frameborder="0" width="410" height="342"></iframe>