Unit 9

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?
One cannot offer true guidance and passion without following and believing in the path they are leading others to. I feel it is important to continually develop in the areas of psychological, spiritual, and physical well-being in order to coach others in these areas. It is important to be able to have empathy and true understanding for those we are working with. In order to reach the goals I have set for myself I will need to continue growing both spiritually and psychologically. I feel the one area that I need most personal growth is spiritually. Below I have outlined goals to develop further in these areas.

Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
Throughout this class I have been able to take a look at each domain; spiritually, physically, and psychologically. By doing this I have been able to take the time to rate each aspect on my own personal scale. I can say that I have personally rated each domain as follows;
Spiritually: is about a 5 on a scale of 1-10. This rating leaves a lot of room for improvement – which I feel I would benefit immensely from. I have set goals as outlined below to help me continually improve this rating.
Physically: is a 7. I am a very active person but feel that I would like to improve my physical state while having a stronger spiritual and psychological rating. I feel that by doing so I will be able to see my personal physical standing in a new light.
Psychologically: is about a 5 right now as well. I currently work out of town 3-4 days per week and go to school full time. I have allowed these aspects to add a lot of stress and anxiety into my life. I feel that this class has given me a few more tools on how to take control of my psychological well-being and plan to do so.

Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
1. Physical Goal: My goal is to complete a cleanse starting next week (once school is done!) that will last 5-7 days. I would also like to set the goal of attending a Bikram Yoga class at least 3 days per week starting April 1, 2012. I would also like to set the goal of cutting caffeine out of my diet and will give myself 1 month starting April 1, 2012 to do so.
2. Psychological Goal: I would like to set the goal of meditating three times per day (as mentioned under Spiritual Goal). I would like to use this time to clear my mind and allow myself to let go of any stress and anxiety I am carrying from the day. I feel that this goal will help me to reduce my stress and anxiety and improve my mental health.
3. Spiritual Goal: Starting April 1, 2012 I would like to set aside 30 minutes every day to practice either the Subtle Mind practice or the Loving-Kindness practice. I would also like to take 15 minutes first thing in the morning, halfway through my day and at the end of the day to meditate and calm my mind to help bring myself closer to a unity consciousness over time.

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.
1. Physical: By implementing an exercise routine and setting goals for my physical health I will be able to continue growing in this area. I can do this by setting health eating habits and goals along with setting a routine work-out schedule.
2. Psychological: Taking 15 minutes three times daily to meditate and clear my mind will allow me to reduce stress and improve my psychological well-being.
3. Spiritual: Practicing the Subtle Mind exercise on a daily basis while alternating the Loving-Kindness exercise will help me to progress in my spiritual development. I would love to continue my personal growth until I can reach unity consciousness. I feel that these practices will help me to foster growth in this area.

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?
Assessing progress is a large part of setting successful goals. If a proper assessment strategy is not set up when goals are set there is no real way for us to measure the success of our goals. I feel that a great place to start is to give oneself a deadline to reach the goal – this can always be changed as time progresses. Setting a deadline will give you a set time to sit down and evaluate your progress vs. the goals you set. I also feel that keeping a journal and notating your thoughts and feelings as you work on your goals is a great way to be able to evaluate any changes. A journal can also be helpful in tracking times and methods that were most effective in obtaining your goal.

Unit 9

Only one more post left after this week! It is amazing to me how fast this class has gone by. I hope to see and hear out of some of my classmates as we continue our personal growth!

Unit 9

I felt that the Loving kindness and the Subtle Mind where the two most beneficial practices from this term. Loving Kindness has been extremely beneficial to me over the last few weeks since it was introduced to us. I find that it helps me develop my patience and understanding for people around me. Using this exercise on a daily basis can help to overcome any ill feelings towards people in your life as well as those that pass through it. The Subtle Mind practice I feel was more beneficial to my personal development. Using the Subtle Mind practice has been helping me to grow towards a unity consciousness. This practice teaches us how to use our breathe to calm our mind. This practice has helped me keep a calm mind in my daily routine. When work gets busy or I get overwhelmed with work or school I am able to bring myself back down by using my breath. I hope that as time progresses after this class has ended that I will be able to continue my growth towards unity consciousness. Using these two practices on a daily basis or alternating the two practices will help me to transcend towards unity consciousness and improve my mental fitness.

Unit 7

The Aesclepian practice was a very beneficial practice to me this week. I will say that it is not my favorite practice we have been offered so far in this class. It did allow me to clear my mind and focus on an individual with a new view. By picturing this loving and beneficial person in my life I was able to bring a feeling of love and peace to my mind through this practice. Working on these meditation practices this term has caused me to focus on my spiritual wellness and allowed me to grow and expand in that direction. This has been the most beneficial class I have taken in regards to my own personal growth. By continuing these practices on a daily basis over the next few months I will be able to grow and develop my personal spiritual wellness. Using the different practices we have been offered depending on the challenges in my life at the time can help me overcome challenges. There is a lot one can take from the saying “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself”. I am graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in a couple of weeks and am looking forward to working as a Substance Abuse Counselor. The saying discussed this week offers great knowledge when it comes to offering life therapy to clients. To me this saying reminds us as professionals to work on our personal development so we can offer first-hand knowledge to our clients. I believe that one can pass on knowledge even if they have not mastered or practiced this knowledge themselves. I do however feel that developing my personal psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being will allow me further knowledge to pass onto my clients.

Hello everyone,

This week we practiced loving-kindness and focused on sending healing thoughts out to others as well as thoughts on how we can help others in their healing process. I found this exercise to be simple and effective in helping to open my mind up to others. I found that throughout the week this exercise would come to my mind when interacting with others. With an open mind and the thought of helping others in the front of my mind I found my attitude and outlook towards others was increased. I personally found the next exercise that focused on the four quadrants to be more useful to me this week - and it came at a good time. I experienced some struggles in personal relationship this week and it had my anxiety level at an all time high. By using this exercise I was able to still my mind and focus in the interpersonal quadrant. By doing so I was able to pin point where I could use some work and it helped me to look deeper into myself and how I personally have affected this relationship. I think this is a great exercise to use on a daily or weekly basis to help keep a personal assessment on yourself and where you may be struggling at any giving time. This could help prevent any building up or storing of negative emotions.

Unit 6

Unit 5

Hello Everyone,

We are half-way through this class now and I can say that I have benefited tremendously from the excersices every week. This week we listened to The Subtle Mind practice. I took full advantage of this excersice because I found it so benefitial personally. I decided that a great spot to practice this excersice was at the river bank. I did this by the Virgin River in Zion National Park, and I have to say that the combination of the natural beauty that surrounded me, the sound of the river in the back ground, and the gental guiding voice of this excersice was truly peaceful.
The main difference I found between The Subtle Mind and the Kindness excersice of last week is where our focus lies. Last week we focused on projecting kindness and loving to others as well as ourself. This week we worked on the witnessing mind. We switched our intentions to acknowledging our thoughts and learning to let them flow through our mind rather then grasping onto them. Working on the witnessing mind is a powerful tool that allows us to choose what and how we respond the thoughts of ourselves, as well as the words and actions of others around us.
Working on our spiritual wellness can drastically improve our daily lives by gaining control of our mental thoughts and choosing what and how we resond to daily situations. This is a great excersice that I passed onto my co-workers as I feel it is a great way to work with the stresses of working in customer service.