Achieving Integral Health

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?

    Every person at some point strives to be a complete, whole individual.  To do this, mind, body, and spirit should be well balanced and in sync to achieve integral health.  As a health and wellness professional we may not be balanced psychologically, spiritually and physically at all times.  Our daily quest should be practicing, striving and continually developing towards integral health.  When we successfully achieve this, only then will we be able to be a more efficient professional by walking those footsteps ourselves.  The area I need to improve the most in is time management.  “Do not wait until the last minute” for all three phases.  If I rush trying to get through a meditation session, or not fully learning a lesson, or only allowing a short period of time for a work out, I am not going to benefit fully from the activity.  Preparation is key to a successful mind, body, or spirit session.   I need to avoid unhealthy distractions that prevent me from achieving my goals (TV, internet, unhealthy food choices, news, etc.)

Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

    The most successful assessment I have had to this point for each domain is this class and the weekly unit lessons.  My body is something I feel very in tune to and think about on a daily basis.  If I have low energy one day I have to question, did I sleep well? Did I fuel (eat right) myself properly the day before? Did I give myself enough recovery time after a workout?  My daily mind assessment is similar to my body assessment by needing proper sleep, nutrition and ample amounts of exercise.  However, I also need to be challenging myself by trying to learn something new each day and revaluating my accomplishments or failures daily.  My spirit assessment is something of a challenge because of not giving it the same amount of time allotted as the other two.  I feel very connected to nature and I try once a day to “stop and smell the fresh air” and evaluate my beliefs and faith.

    When rating these three domains I have to keep in mind that they are constantly in a state of change.  One day I can feel completely in sync with all three and the next I have less confidence in one or all areas from both internal and external influences.  One thing is certain, as I gain experience (age) I feel more confident in these areas.  Physically I have passed my peek when it comes to performance in sports like basketball, tennis or football.  This does not mean my body needs to be slowly dwindling.  Instead, I refocus in other physical challenges that are not as much ware and tear on the parts of my body that are struggling to keep up due to age and injury.  After changing my activities to swimming, yoga, biking, and weight training I actually have less joint pain and feel better the next day.  I would have to rate myself at an 8 physically.  I tennis three or more hours a day any more, but I can get up the next morning and feel pain free to enjoy my gardening or nature walks.  Psychologically is something I feel I have improved in the most these past several years. The biggest reason is in the area of my education I am achieving at Kaplan and finding success.  I have always been a poor student because of my fears of inadequacy in academics fostered in high school.  I have not completely overcome these fears (I still get anxious about big projects), but have grown leaps and bounds in my confidence of my ability to think, reason and communicate what is on my mind.  It also helps I have a wonderful wife that instills this confidence in me by teaching me to be a better student.  I still have growing to do in this area and would rate myself at a 6/7 and feel it’s trending up. 
As I stated before, spiritually is the most challenging area for me and I would rate it at 4/5.  I was raised a Catholic and never fully embraced it as a faith impart because it was something we did on Sunday to show our community that we were proper people.  I have lived most of my adult life influenced by the American culture; get what you can how you can to achieve happiness.  I am so glad that I have broken from that mindset, but I have, and still seem lost at times on a spiritual direction.  The closest I feel to spiritual fulfillment is when I’m on a hike, peacefully navigating waters or gardening, which tells me I need to pursue faith through nature.

Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
     In the area of goal development in the physical realm, it has been somewhat difficult due to surgeries that I have had this past summer in my knee and my hand.  Recently, and more significantly, I have been diagnosed with a mild form of asthma for which I need to use a daily inhaler.  If I can accomplish my goal of completing a sprint triathlon the first week of April with some success, this will hopefully set me up for my next goal in the area of mental health.  Recently I have been questioning my physical ability due to injuries and it has put a strain on my mental well being.  If I can physically complete the triathlon, it will be a positive step forward with my psychological development as well.  Combine this with finally finishing my Bachelors degree, something that I thought I could never accomplish, will only boost my confidence and my personal mental health as well.  In the area of spiritual development, my goal is to find a way for me to connect spiritually through nature.  My plan is obtain copies of some of the literary works written during the 1800’s by noted transcendentalists such as Thoreau and Emerson and use what they learned about connecting with nature to further my spiritual development.

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.
     As far as improving my physical growth and ability is to improve my swimming endurance and technique.  Swimming is not only a great cardiovascular exercise, but also a wonderful whole body workout that is easy on the joints.  My goal is to swim 1000 meters two to three times a week.  Right now I am only able to swim 250 meters with a good rhythm before I have to break to catch my breath and refocus.  If I can learn to control my breathing, and increase this distance by 100 meters per week, I will gain confidence in my swimming ability and also swim more efficiently.  The other area that I can improve in physically is in my running and biking.  My goal in regards to my running is to complete a 5k in 27 minutes.  This used to be no problem for me, but due to injuries in recent years, it has become difficult.  I would like to accomplish this within the next month and then continue to push hard to drop the time further.  I have a song set on my iPod that is exactly 27 minutes long and my goal is to finish before the last song ends. 
    Psychologically, I think it would benefit me to incorporate yoga into my exercise routine at least once a week.  I feel that this will help me make a mind-body-spirit connection where I am forced to slow down and be at one with my body and my thoughts.  After a yoga session I feel refreshed and connected with myself and my goals for the day.  It has been difficult to try to squeeze this into my schedule.  My plan it obtain some DVD’s and perform these at home and try to get my wife involved as well since she has flexibility issues.  I am also going to integrate listening to classical music in the mornings and afternoons on my long commute to and from work.  I feel the music will be soothing and help me to keep calm psychologically when the traffic wants to the get best of my well being.  This will help put me in a positive frame of mind for my workday and my home environment to help it be more productive and meaningful. 
    My spirituality will be my biggest challenge to foster and improve upon.  I would like to implement a nature walk/hike for at least 60 minutes once a week.  I feel that this will give me time and a relaxed atmosphere in which to reconnect myself with nature and can put me on a positive spiritual path and provide me with a sense of purpose. The other thing I am going to do is spend much more time in my garden now that spring is arriving.  I spend time daily in my gardens (both flower and vegetable) and it is a very peaceful way for me to connect with nature, and again, feel as though I am connecting on a spiritual level.  This begins for me with the first till of the soil, sowing the seeds, and many days and months of TLC to help these plants grow as they were meant to do.
    In all three of these aspects I am going to practice a loving-kindness approach to help me feel more complete in these three areas and hopefully bring them together to help me grow as a whole.  This will be my staple for my lifelong approach to living day to day, not only now, but in the future as well.

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 have never kept a journal, but I have friends that have that speak about how helpful it can be.  In the evenings I am logging all of my goals for that day and what I have or have not accomplished in each of these three areas.  The most difficult part of this is keeping with the habit of writing in it each night, preferably at the same time so as not to forget or make excuses for not doing it.  I have placed a sign right on my dresser to remind me each night, and hopefully, within time, this will become and ingrained habit and I will be able to take down the sign and automatically feel the need and desire to write in my journal.  The other tracking tool I am going to use is surrounding me with like-minded individuals who have similar goals as I do.  Attending group workouts, joining a nature club or a community garden, and setting up time with friends for positive, healthy activities can keep me motivated and enhance the experience.  Getting positive feedback from others will help me track what I am accomplishing and keep me motivated. 
      I have yet to feel “whole” in the mind, body and spirit, but each day I feel I am moving closer to that goal.  Pursuing this degree and taking these classes are not only helping me earn my degree, but also helping me reach my personal goals.  I truly believe that sometime in the near future, thanks to planning, contemplation and goal setting I will come closer each day and finally achieve my goal.  As they say, it’s not only about the destination; it’s also about enjoying the journey on your way.

IT DOES WORK!

The two best practices that work for me are the loving kindness practice and swimming.  What really hit home for me was when I realized that when practicing the loving kindness methods, I cannot always expect to be treated the same way back.  Practicing this unconditionally on a daily basis, (I do it in the morning and afternoon on my commute to and from work) will keep you mentally fit and prepared for those pleasant and unpleasant encounters you may come across throughout the day.  By practicing this twice daily it keeps me centered and feeling lighthearted throughout the day.  The other practice that I love is swimming laps. For me, this is a great mind-body-spirit experience that leaves me feeling relaxed and accomplished.  It all starts with the rhythmatic breathing performed with each stoke so your body and breathing are synchronized. After several laps of this harmonized ritual you feel this sense of weightlessness as you glide through the water.  Your mind begins to drift on pleasant and uplifting thoughts or a visualization of what you can accomplish that day.  I work this in my morning weekly workouts which set me up mentally that day.  After my swim things that earlier seemed stressful and overwhelming tend to slow down and seem more manageable.  I understand this is not for everyone and finding a pool can be difficult at times, but since reintroducing this into my life I have felt much more at ease.      

I had a hard time coming up with an image of a wise person that I can connect; with the exception of one of my previous professors I had Prof. Earon Davis. Even though I never met him I used his image, and in particular, his relaxing and wise sounding voice.  With the waves in the back ground and my image I open up and had a since of no responsibilities but only to myself. This is always a refreshing moment and important for integral health.  
In my opinion leading by example is the strongest possible qualification to a wellness professional.  Education and practicing your own profession will make you a better counselor because, more often than not, you’ve walked that path your clients want to go.  Practicing meditation or prayer on a daily basis can help you understand yourself through life’s up and downs.  Re-centering yourself from time to time is very important to do before you can counsel some as a professional.   

Individuals

When attempting the meditation exercise I was able to repeat the four phrases a few times before my mind started wondering who the individual might be.  I kept coming back to friends and family and could not remember the phrases. So I ended up finishing the exercise on how I may be able to improve myself to help the ones close to me. I choose to focus on becoming a better listener without suggestions or trying to fix what is troubling the ones I’m listing to. Some activities that help me accomplish this are trying to sympathize with others. A lot of people just want to be heard and acknowledge that things are tough, most of the time they understand what needs to be done or why a certain situation is happening.  A sympathetic ear can go a long way to improving yourself and someone else’s overall wellness.

AWE! the sounds of the Ocean!

 I don’t know what it is with the sound of waves but it almost always puts me to sleep.  Although I was able to keep my mind focused and not wander I still eventually dosed off. It may have been only for a short couple of minutes, it seemed like a long, refreshing nap afterwords. Between the two exercises, I was able to stay focused longer because of the thought of friends and family using the loving kindness methods. 

The biggest part I feel with spiritual wellness is a sense of not having the weight of the world on you.  That it’s Ok not to be perfect yet you have a sense of guided direction. This allows you to pay more attention to what you can have an effect on, which can be your mental and physical wellness.   

Made it through awake!

I actually wanted to stay awake this time for the exercise so before I started I had a cup of coffee and was pretty wide eyed.  At the beginning when she said to focus your energy on yourself a feeling of guilt came over me. If it wasn’t for this being an assignment I would never have allowed any time for this.  But when my loved ones came into the picture the feeling of guilt was replaced by the sense of joy and pride.  Before I knew it the exercise was completed and I felt very much centered and sure of myself which is something I haven’t felt in awhile. 
Mental workouts can be a quiet meditation focused on any particular part of your life you wish to improve. Whether it’s to teach yourself patience or to get your daily mind set into a kind, loving, focus, the important thing with making a habit stick is to see it through for an extended period of time to where it doesn’t feel like an exercise but a part of your life. 

physical, spiritual, psychological well-being

I would rate my physical wellbeing around a 7 mostly due to the fact that I’m dealing with several injuries.  As I age my two surgically repaired knees (especially the right) are acting up a lot, particularly when I try to participate in cutting sports like tennis.  My psychological well-being I would have to say rates as a 7 as well.  One area that seems to be eating way at me in this area is my job.  Although at times I don’t mind it, I often find myself day dreaming of working at something more meaningful to me and not just simply a pay check.  As far as my spiritual well-being I would rate that the lowest at a 5. I was raised catholic but I’ve never really bought into it fully.  With so many different spiritual practices how can I be sure what’s right for me? And therein lays the problem. I tend not to have belief or faith in something I cannot physically control. This is an area where I need the most work.

My physical goal would be to strengthen my muscles.  This applies to my legs in particular because it is winter and I love to ski.  Strong legs can help prevent injuries.   Taking an extra spin class after I do a leg workout could help.  I think a good goal for my psychological self is to keep plugging away at school and finish my degree.  For my spiritual wellbeing I have a harder time pinning down an activity that can help me.  One thing that I’ve always wanted to do is a three month hike through Appalachian National Scenic Trail. It is a passive recreation footpath that runs 2175 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.  I have a fondness for nature and feel that this alone time along the trail can help me perhaps come to terms with some of my spiritual shortcomings.

For the relaxation exercise I tried to make a conscious effort to stay focused on the presenter’s suggestions and completed it all the way through.  Again, I dosed off but seemed to stay with it longer than most.