Unit 9 Project

Introduction: 

In the field of health and wellness it is extremely important to have qualified well connected individuals to serve the profession. As we have learned, all aspects of health are interconnected and reaching a state of human flourishing cannot be achieved without practice. By developing an understanding in the psychological, spiritual and physical aspects of one’s life it will help to create health and wellness professionals that can lead and teach from personal experience.

In my life I believe that I need to develop in all areas. Continued education and discovery is important to help me achieve the goals I have set for myself. I cannot coach and help those around me if I am unable to do the same in my own life. Throughout my life I have not always been attentive to my needs as an individual. I have spent much of my time trying to please others, often neglecting to focus on my own inner development. I have set many goals in order to reinvent my life around what makes me happy. To do this I will have to focus on all three aspects, psychological, spiritual, and physical. By doing so is will better equip me to work towards helping others.


Assessment:
Overall my spiritual, physical and psychological health needs a little work. Physically I would give myself a B+. I often put effort forth but sometimes fall short of my goals. Psychologically I think I fall somewhere in the B- category. I often know what is best for me and how to change how I feel, but just lack the motivation involving making difficult changes. For my spiritual health I would have to say a C. I have never put much thought or effort in to discovering my spirituality. By comparing where I am versus where I would like to be it is evident that I need to provide myself with some time and energy to reach better wellness in all areas.


Goal development:

Physical goal: To incorporate physical activity in to my life on a daily basis. To
boost my health status and feel good about my body. In order to reach this goal
I will have to practice self-discipline. I have always wanted to be in better shape
but have always used time as a barrier. Recently with the warmer weather I have
been able to incorporate more fitness time into my day. The best way to continue this is to make it a habit and a priority in my life. I need to schedule a set time
each day and have a workout preplanned. I also will incorporate others in to my
goals, by sharing them with family and friends it will help me be more
accountable. Over the next six months I would like to lose 3 inches off of my
waist and develop more core strength in order to counter act back pain caused
by poor posture and muscle weakness. I think that both goals are reasonable
and can be sustained long term.


Psychological: To practice meditation as a stress reducer and to develop into a more connected individual that does not allow anxiety and fear to have control. I
choose this goal because I have spent too much time in my life focusing on the
negative and missing out on experiences. My goal includes meditation; this is a
huge challenge for me. I struggle with meditation. Turning my concentration
inward and focusing, for me, is an extremely difficult task but I feel like if I can
master this then my life will be open to so many more positive things. Another
aspect of my goal is positivity and being open minded, not allowing anxiety and
fear to control my happiness. I don’t want to doubt myself and I want to develop
courage to face my fears. I think that my psychological goals are going to be the
most difficult to achieve. In order to reach them I need to rewire the way I view
situations in my life. I need to practice meditations and visualizations that
promote positivity and inner strength. I also am going to need to incorporate
those around me to support my goal and set a time each day to practice my
meditation as well as creating a plan for each day, ahead of time. This will help to
keep me on track and focused. I also think that writing down positive things about
each day will help to me see how wonderful my life truly is. I believe that I can
achieve this.

Spiritual: To explore and develop a relationship with a higher power. I would like
to discover what true spiritually is. To learn and participate in a group setting in
order to develop in to a more spiritual person over all. I have never been one to
participate much in religion practices. Nor before this class had I put much
thought in to my spirituality. My goal for this aspect of my life would be over all
exploration.

Practices for personal health:
There are many practices that I can implement to foster growth in the spiritual, physical and psychological aspects of my life. For all the areas I can include outside support from family and friends. By keeping loved ones involved will help to keep me on track and working towards my goals. This is especially important for my physical goals. In order to reach my goals for better psychological health I need to focus on seeing the bright side of things and not allowing myself to become pessimistic when my expectations do not line up with reality. For my spiritual goals I need to put an effort toward discovering my beliefs. This can be done through independent research or with the support of other who are well established within their spirituality.

Commitment:
Over the next six months I will assess my progress based on how I feel and how close I have come to achieving the goals I have set in regards to my physical, spiritual, and psychological wellness. Currently I know that I need a lot of work, but with time and dedication I think that in six months my life can be very different. By then I plan to have a much more positive outlook. All of my goals are designed to become long term. By consistent practice and determination my goals can become a natural part of each day.



References

Dacher, E.S. (2006) Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications.

Schlitz, M. Amorok, T. Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and healing: integral approaches to mind-body medicine. St. Louis, Missouri. Elsevier.

Unit 8

1. For me the most beneficial practices have been the loving-kindness and the human flourishing visualization. I liked both of these because the really focused on the positive aspects of life. I also found them easier to hold my attention and actively participate with them. I know that both of these practices will continue to be a part of my daily life from now on. They really have helped me to understand how important it is to relax and focus on the positive. I all too often focus on the negative which upsets me and those around me. I can implement both practices daily by starting my day with them. With more time and practice I hope to create a calmer, happier, and generally more connected self. With implementation I would like to also be able to impact those around me. By practicing loving kindness daily, maybe I could make another persons day better. 

Unit 7

This week I made more of an effort to incorporate meditation into my daily life. My favorite so far is still the loving kindness. I liked the meeting Aesclepius meditation however I still struggle with the concentration aspect. Each day that I have practiced one of the meditations I feel calmer and less like I want to panic over the thought of moving forward away from my failed relationship. By completing the exercises it can help me relax and gain a better more level headed perspective of my life. With time I think this will help to harbor a more positive attitude.

The saying “one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (p.477) is a very true statement for the health and wellness profession. If you were to take advice would you want it from someone who has experienced it first hand or from someone who read about it in a book. Personal I would prefer the first hand advice; it helps to build trust and understanding between the professional and the patient. As a professional it is important to develop your own health. Unfortunately I see this every day. Working in the nutrition field and providing counseling, it is important to practice what you preach. All too often my coworkers do not believe in this guideline and set bad examples for clients which in turn lose trust or willingness to value the education they are being provided, based on the practitioner that did not bother to take care of themselves.

By practicing meditations daily, working to decrease stress, and making more of an effort to enjoy life I can make my personal life and the lives of others around me better.

Schlitz, M. Amorok, T. Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness and healing: integral approaches to mind-body medicine. St. Louis, Missouri. Elsevier.

Unit 6 :Integral Assessment

For this week I gave the Loving Kindness a few more tries. I discovered that it is getting a little easier but it is still a huge challenge for me to concentrate. With moving out of my house that I have called home with my boyfriend of three years, to separating possessions and dealing with leaving my dog I have had a few things on my mind. I hope that with more time I will be able to fully benefit from this practice.

The integral assessment was good. I discovered that I have quite a few areas that need work. Right now the most important for me to focus on is the emotional and personal relationships that I have with those around me. I feel like both areas are extremely important at this time because of everything I have been going through lately. Some activities that I can implement to increase my wellness in these areas are writing. I have found that to keep my daily thoughts and feeling jotted down it helps me to see how I deal with my emotions. Being able to assess emotions later when I am not upset has helped me to see how incorrectly I deal with them at times of frustration. As for my personal relationships I can visualize having fun times and planning events that will lead to happiness and not harboring feelings of loneliness or sadness.

Unit 5 Subtle mind

 

For me the subtle mind exercise was even more a challenge than the loving kindness. I did not enjoy this one as much. Although the background sounds were soothing and I did relax a bit I really struggled with controlling my thoughts and focusing on my breathing.  A few times I was able to regain my concentration but only momentarily. This is extremely frustrating for me. I know that right now I have a ton of things going on in my life and I really think that I could benefit from both exercises. At this particular time in my life I am struggling through a painful break up and I think that process of moving and separating lives is really taking a toll on my spiritual well being, as well as my mental and physical wellness. With this I have discovered more than ever how connected the three are. I think that by placing more focus on calm and relaxing time to help heal I will be better able to reach a more connected understanding of why things work out the way they do. Maybe I will give the exercises a few more tries.

 

 

Unit 4

 

For me the loving kindness exercise was a bit of a challenge. I have found that I really struggle with relaxing and being able to concentrate in silence. I cannot figure out how to turn my mind off. Its always running a mile a minute. After about half way through the exercise it got a little easier and at the end I did feel a little more relaxed. I think that maybe with some more practice this exercise could be very beneficial to me. I would recommend this to other simply because it is important to relax, myself like a lot of people have a hard time with it.

What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

Mental workouts are important to help keep our minds sharp and functioning at their highest capacity. The brain is just like a muscle in the body, if it does not receive enough exercise it begins to lose its function. Some great mental workouts that anyone can do are meditation or visualizations.   

 

Unit 3

1. Physical well being: Score of 7. I decided on a 7 because I need to be more physically active and eat better. At this time I have let my fitness practices go to the point that I am suffering from intermittent back pain due to lack of physical activity. A goal that I have to increase this score would be to practice the exercises from physical therapy in order to get back on the road to an active lifestyle. Activities that I can do to reach my goal are the daily stretching learned in physical therapy and to remind myself of all the fun things that I can participate in once my healing is complete. 
   
   Spiritual well being: Score of 5. I choose a 5 because up until recently I had never even explored the idea of spiritual well-being. It is rather new to me and I feel that I still  have a lot to learn. A good goal for me is to continue to explore the world of spirituality and find what fits me. A good exercise for me would be to dedicate time each day to practice a new spiritual exercise.
   
   Psychological well-being: Score of 8. Trying to keep everything in my life balanced is a difficult process. I know that sometimes the stress and fast pace takes a toll on my psychological well-being. Since being out of the country on vacation for the past 10 days and trying to readjust and catch up on my daily responsibilities I think this score may be even a little lower. A good goal for me is to keep organized, this will help to reduce some of the stress. An exercise that I can do would be to keep a list handy to help remind me of what I need to get done each day.
   I  completed the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. For me it was difficult to keep my concentration and focus. I kept having to refocus and try to catch up on what I was zoning out of. After about half way thought the exercise I became frustrated and restless. I think that I need to adjust my timing of the exercises. Maybe the evening is not good, I maybe should try this in the morning when I do not have a million things on my mind

The beginning

Hello everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog. I feel like I have met a few of you on the discussion board but for everyone else that I have not talked to yet my name is Ashley Nardi. I am 24 and live in Columbus, OH. I am studying at Kaplan to earn a degree in the Health and Wellness Program. I currently am a nutrition counselor for a government assistance program. Eventually I would like to transition in to a health coach career. I love to help others make positive improvements in their lives. I also have found that when I am helping other it enriches my own life!
I also am an avid traveler. As I have grown up in Ohio I have discovered that it is not for me!  I am most alive when able to spend time outdoors and in the sunshine. I absolutely love water, the ocean in particular. Eventually I would love to move south, Florida is my dream. But for now Ohio is home. So to compensate for this I am always traveling or planning my next big adventure. My next adventure comes very soon, Friday to be exact! I am headed to the Caribbean to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. I am so excited for my trip that I have been having a hard time concentrating on my school work!

I came across this in our book and I just thought I would share it for everyone. Truly one of the greatest quotes I have enjoyed.
 “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” 
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Hope everyone has a great week!