Unit 10

To be honest I believe that I have stayed the same with the assessment of myself.  I say this because I completely stopped exercising.  When I did this assessment back in unit three I was still running.  These past couple of weeks I have been slacking on the exercising part.  Good news though I am itching to get outside so that I can start back up again.  As far as my mind goes I believe that it is a lot more focused.  Thanks to the exercises preformed in this class.  So the physical and mind average each other out.  I have been praying regularly just like I was in my unit three discussion so that has stayed the same which bring me to the same number 8.  Not to make excuses but I do not think taking three class left me much time to improve.  I think that once I start to exercise again I will be at a nine.  It has been rewarding to learn from everyone in this class.

Final nine project

Lesson Nine Final Project: Personal Application

Health and wellness professionals should find it important to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically.  Listening to your patients is key to solving the problem and if the health professional is not whole how can he or she effectively listen.  After listening is when it is good to incorporate taking the parts; mind, body, and spirit by breaking them down individually.  This process will help to fix each part so that a person can resume feeling completely whole once again.  All three are linked together to make an endless circle.  If a link is broken then it is easy to feel off balance.  To be able to teach from experience is a lot easier to guide clients in the right direction to help themselves.  The one true thing that will help all human beings is finding their own inner strength.  Practitioners are there to guide the person by listening and truly hearing where the healing is needed.  According to Dacher, “I always remind my fellow practitioners that the moment they close their office door, the moment they are face-to-face with another individual, there is always a precious opportunity for open heartedness, loving-kindness, empathetic listening, and presence (2006).”  One cannot accomplish this if they are ill themselves because it can cloud your interpretation of healing someone else.  With this I need to examine myself.  I have found that with it being winter I have let all of my aspects go.  Therefore I need goals, plans of action, and a way to assess my progress.

Winter is hard for most by losing motivation and also it is easier for the mind to become depressed.  That is why trying to go outside everyday even if it is shoveling is getting the blood moving, can promote healing.  Depression is a dark and unkind presents that enters the mind and affects everything in the person.  Again the only way to break this monster is by the patient themselves coming to the conclusion that they have control over their own body.  But as the health practitioner the number one way to get to the root of this dilemma is by listening full heartedly to the patient.   My spirituality is about a six out of ten because I pray at least once a day.  Reading the bible and attending church would help significantly.  Being winter I stopped running and pretty much have not been active except for shoveling.  I would rate myself at a seven since my job keeps me walking a lot.  My mental health is at an eight for the season I believe it would be better if I could see some sunshine. 

My goal for being physical is to stay active, while it is cold outside I have chosen to do P90X.  For psychological it would be to complete my love and kindness exercise so that my mind can be relieved of that days burden.  Finding a church would be the main focal point for my spirituality because it makes me feel closer in my spiritual belief when I can be held accountable by my Christian brother and sisters.  These are my goals to reach the maximum level in each area for my health and wellness as a whole. 

To implement the physical part of the body a mix of P90X and yoga for three days out of the week is what I do.  I will foster growth in my spirituality by using the meeting Asclepius as a guide to strengthen my soul for ten minutes every day.  Then talk to people I know in order to find a good church.  Followed by continuous prayer and reading the scripture in the morning when I have awoken.  Love and kindness brings me happiness when I use it as an exercise.  Therefore using it after a long day of work will help to set my mind at ease.  By using the subtle mind process it becomes easier for the mind to focus instead of trying to stray away.  In this process it focuses on; the witnessing mind, calm abiding, and unity consciousness.  With these three concepts being experienced through the subtle mind exercise it can assure our psychospiritual flourishing will thrive.

By keeping myself committed for six months I must have some tools.  First I will turn the alarm on in my phone to remind myself to exercise, have quiet time for the love and kindness exercise, and also the meeting Asclepius.  Then I will keep a journal in order to keep track of my progress.  The last thing is to inform my husband of what I am doing so that he can encourage me to stay on track.  For long term I plan to set this plan in motion for the next six months and then continue the journal and phone alarm so when I get busy I will not avoid my duties of health and wellness to myself.

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

Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 8

Love and kindness and meeting Aesclepius were the main exercises that I feel I could gain the best results for strengthening my mental fitness.  Love and kindness taught me to open my heart which helped to center my body and open my mind.  Meeting Aesclepius helped me to strengthen my spiritual part because I thought of Jesus as being my wise old person that was supposed to be here or in the past.  Both exercises have inspired me I never knew that my mind and body was capable of focusing.  I must say that the first time I tried it my mind was bouncing all over the place.  But now I encourage myself that these exercises will heal, that it takes time, and I need to open my mind.  I know that after work would be the best time to get into a routine to spend ten minutes sitting in a comfortable chair and just even listen to the part with the waves.

Week 7

I feel as though I have a since of responsibility and gratitude for this person.  The wise healer that I had chosen was Jesus.  When I experienced this exercises visualizing him I felt as though the Holy Spirit was guiding my thoughts and words.  It was great to feel so special for a moment.  I feel as though I can shut my eyes and feel the warmth of love and kindness in my body and know that he is there.  Which is amazing to be able to feel so close to him.  I feel that if I can incorporate this feeling in me before I pray I will have so much more to feel thankful for and remember who and what to pray for. 

Dacher states, "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself.”  I believe he means if we cannot grasp these meditations yet try to make other do it.  How is our practice valid.  We must first become whole and go through the motions before we teach is right.

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

Health Publications, Inc.

Unit 6

The Universal Loving-Kindness exercise made me think of others instead of myself.  What I should do to help them and to stop worrying about trivial small things in my life. I thought of everyone I did know and did not know how I could release them from their pain.It is to easy to think of yourself it is challenge to be able to think of someone else.  It is heart felt love shared with everyone.   When the assessment asked, "What aspect of my life is being affected"  I knew instantly (Dacher, 2006).  We all have fights with someone that we love and this is one night that I had so interpersonal was what was bothering me.  I knew we both felt this way and the easiest way to stop it was to talk about it.  The biggest thing that hinders any relationship I fell is the communication barrier.  My husband and I have great communication skills with one another.  I think this night it was just best to go our separate ways to blow of some steam and then after a while talk about it.  So my growth for tonight is just to myself in his shoes to gain a better perspective of where he is coming from.  So that I can build a better understanding with myself.    I actually took a breather and did the love and kindness exercise.  It really calmed my mind, body, and spirit. 

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

Subtle Mind

The love and kindness breath is directed at healing your body on the ins and outs of breathing along with the subtle mind exercises.  The difference is that if we feel hostility toward someone or need to heal from a relationship, love and kindness is the exercise.  The subtle mind is geared at what the title states calming or relaxing the mind.  I think that the subtle mind is almost easier to stay connected by just focusing on the breathing.  The love and kindness almost made me think that and wonder if I was resenting someone close.  It made me stress out more than relax.  Unless maybe if I did have someone I was suffering from.

Being relaxed and rejuvenated from the subtle mind exercise can create the discipline that is needed for the continuous exercise plan in order to remain physical active.  The mind, body, and soul are connected as one.  If my spiritual wellness is not happy then I am probably not going to want to exercise as well.  I know a time this summer when my mind was so distracted by a someone close that when I did exercise I ran so hard and so much farther that I drain myself completely.  The next day my body acted as though it was sick because it was so mentally and physically exhausted.

Loving Kindness

I thought that this was a great relaxation technique if I was suffering from some pain with loved ones.  But I am very happy when I listened to this relaxation exercise.  They only thing that has been getting on my nerves lately is work.  Maybe if I listened to it again and placed the people that are close to me with.  Work then maybe it would be more beneficial.  A mental workout requires us to exercise our brain as much as we would physically.  I noticed this when I put off college for two years and then went back.  I realized that my mind is a lot more sharper now than when I was off for those two years.  Research was done to prove that if you do not use it you lose concept.  lol