Unit 9 Project

Unit 9 Project

       I.            Introduction:
It is crucial for professionals in the health and wellness field to incorporate integral health practices into their own lives so that they know what is possible before they try to teach others (Dacher, 2006).    Dacher states that it is not only through book learning but through hands on experience that we become agents of a more expansive health (Dacher, 2006).  By incorporating the integral process into our own lives we will discover the profound possibilities of integral health and healing (Dacher, 2006).  We need to lead by example since our clients are not going to want to follow our direction if it does not seem that we are flourishing.  No one is going to take dietary advice from a overweigh person or addiction advice from a smoker.  You need to live it to help others learn it.  I need to work more on my psychological aspect of health.  Although through this course I have decreased my stress levels.  I still have a tendency to stress out.  I find myself clenching my fists and have to force myself to relax.  I believe that through meditation I will be able to achieve a less stressful demeanor. 

    II.            Assessment:

I rate myself an 8 on physical well-being. I am 39 years old, 5’4” and weigh 117.  All my blood work is in range.  My doctor said you could not ask for better numbers.   I work out at least three times a week and eat a healthy diet. I would rate myself higher if I was more flexible. I tend to take classes that are high impact like kick boxing or circuit training and these do not do enough for your flexibility.   Flexibility is important as we age since it decreased the chance of injury and movement limitations (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 2005).  I would rate myself a 7 on my spiritual well-being. I attend church but do not feel that I pray enough. I have started to make daily prayer a priority.  I also would like to incorporate gratefulness into my prayers.  “Moments of gratefulness very often bring a sense of being connected-acknowledged, recognized, present to existence in a richer sense (Schlitz, 2005)”.   My psychological well-being would also be rated a 7. I feel like I am a well-adjusted and well grounded. I am kind and loving to my family and friends.  I am a giver but tend to get overwhelmed and stressed when I take on too many tasks.   I need to work on incorporating more meditation into my life to be able to raise my score in this area.   Meditation is beneficial and by practicing it you can also be happier and calmer (Allen, 2003).

   III.            Goal development:
My goal to increase my physical well-being is to add yoga and Pilates to my work out routine to increase my flexibility.  I have yoga and Pilates DVD’s and I need to make it a priority to do them at least 3 times a week. I would like to add more prayer and gratefulness to my life to increase my spiritual wellness. My goal is to pray nightly before bed and to include what I am grateful for in the prayer. To increase my psychological wellness I would like to start incorporating meditation and visualization into my life.  Loving-Kindness, skillful action and silence and stillness are the steps that Dacher outlined in the reading. Adding these to my life will help eliminate some of the negative junk. “Cultivating what brings us happiness, health and wholeness and abandoning what keeps us stuck in stressful and unproductive life patterns (Dacher, 2006).

 IV.            Practices for personal health:
Obtaining my goal of adding yoga and Pilates to my exercise routine three days a week will help me achieve my goal in the physical domain.  Also remembering to pray nightly and to be thankful for all that I have will benefit me greatly spiritually.  Meditation and visualization will be a great help to me psychologically and will help me to quiet my chattering mind.

    V.            Commitment:
I keep a detailed calendar/journal of appointments and commitments.  I believe the best way for me to assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months would be to record when I practice yoga, pray and meditate in my planner.  If I am reaching the goals I have put in place then I am successful if not then I would need to reassess the goals and try again.  They now say doing something for sixty six days makes it a habit (University College London, 2009).  I would think after six months these behaviors would be second nature.

References:

Allen, Colin.  (2003). The Benefits of Meditation.  Retrieved February 20, 2012 from  http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation.

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

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T and Micozzi, M.  (2005). Consciousness & healing.  Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine.  St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Inc.

University College London. (2009). How long does it take to form a habit?  Retrieved March 4, 2012 from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0908/09080401.

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.  (2005). Flexibility and its importance.  Retrieved March 4, 2012 from http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/exercisefitness/exer3104.html.