1. 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?
·
Developing psychologically, spiritually, and
physically is important because it allows health and wellness professionals to
practice what they preach. Developing all these areas gives them the healthiest
start at being able to help others achieve this and their goals. It can be
challenging to gain the trust of others and to offer positive advice if you are
unable to achieve the end goal yourself.
·
Psychological development is important
because it forms who you are. I have always been a person who marched to the
beat of her own drum. Occasionally in life, I would attempt to fall in line
with the masses. This never lasted long. I am a strong opinionated woman but
have learned over the years how to listen to others and accept that my thoughts
are not the only correct ones. While I had been a very easy going child, my
older years definitely transformed me as I achieved levels of psychological
development. I, myself, am not a health or wellness professional. However, I
can say that going to a professional that can relate to what I am going through
makes me have more faith in their ability to help me. We know that thinking we
can get better, push farther, and get stronger:
will psychologically allow us to do just this. It is mind over matter.
·
Physical development has been a never-ending
challenge for me. Since I was in middle school I have had poor health. I am
sick often, to the point where school officials tried to hold me back entire
years because of the amount of school I would miss. My grades were never a
concern as it wasn’t my intelligence that was suffering. I attempted to be as active
as I could growing up but having time to maintain that as an adult is a
challenge many are faced with. I began to take this very seriously last year. I
have a five year old daughter who I take care of on my own. I did not want to
show her that my illness runs my life. I pushed forward to get myself healthy
not just for me, but for my daughter as well. We are responsible to set
examples for our children. I want hers to be a positive and healthy one. I hope
to further this area of my life and continue on my path to better physical
health. Currently, I run on the treadmill three times a week for two miles at a
time. I would like to incorporate weights into my routine at some point to gain
a more well-rounded form of health.
·
Spiritual wellness is new to me with this
class. I had not given it much thought before this term. Using the practices we
utilize in class will allow me to strengthen my spiritual development. I was
raised in religion as a child but grew out of it as an adult. Spirituality is
another matter though. I find myself focusing on meditation on a daily basis.
It allows me to focus and feel grounded.
2. Assessment:
Week
3 Assessment Review and Changes for
week 9;
On a scale from one to ten, I would give the following ratings:
A. Physical- I would state my physical
wellbeing would be around 7. I rate this due to my current health, including
illnesses and weight. A goal to improve this would be to maintain my current
exercise plan through the year. I began this plan in the fall of 2013. I have
already lost 20lbs and have been able to eliminate some medication that I was
on. This will not only assist me in losing weight, but it will also perk my
attitude up, increase my self-esteem, and create a healthier body in general. I would maintain my physical health at
a 7. While my weight is slowly getting better, the rest of my health is at a
standstill. Having a long term health issue makes it harder to make a quick
fix. I will continue my treatments and do my best to maintain my health to the
best of my ability. Exercise will remain a focal point and I hope to expand my
current exercise plan to include weights and abs.
B. Spiritual- I would place my spiritual
wellbeing around a 6. I place it low because I often forget to take time to
clear my mind and relax. Becoming one my mind will allow the other areas to
increase in rating as well. A goal that could improve this number would be to
set aside a certain amount of time and practice meditation on a daily basis. It
would be optimal to do this in the morning before I start my day so that it can
begin on the best note possible. My
spiritual health has improved with the guidance in this class. I would
currently rate it at an 8. I have begun to practice meditation daily for the
most part. This allows me to clear my mind of the stress and negative thoughts.
While I don’t always have time in the mornings to meditate, I have found great
benefit from meditation in the evenings after the work day is over. It is far too
easy to bring the stresses of work home with you.
C. Psychological- I would also give this a
rating of 6. The reason for this is the issue I have managing my stress. It is
easy to feel as though the rating is higher when there are no stressful events
in my life. Unfortunately, once these do occur, I have a hard time preventing
them from taking over my mind. A goal to assist in this would be to practice
thinking positively and apply the saying, “mind over matter”. If I want to see
the positive side of things I will, it just takes practice. Physical exercise
tends to alleviate the stress, but it does not actually eliminate the source of
the stress. Psychologically, I would
increase my rating to an 8 as well. This class has allowed me to make major
strides in handling and eliminating my stress. I have learned how to let the
stress roll off of me so that I am not holding on to it and allowing it to
affect the rest of my life. Taking my negative thoughts and turning them into
positive ones is something that I have really used a lot. I even began
suggesting it to others.
3. Goal Development:
·
I plan to expand my exercise routine in order
to create a better physical health.
·
I would like to try and meditate every day,
if not more than once a day.
·
Practicing stress eliminating techniques will
allow me to grow psychologically as it removes the power of negative thought.
4. 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.
·
Physical:
o
Running- I
will continue to run at least three times a week and slowly attempt to increase
my distance past two miles.
o
Weights- I
will begin to incorporate weights into my exercise routine. I will begin with
eight pounds and progress as I can.
·
Psychological:
o
Running- I
look forward to continuing my running. It allows me to clear my head and
release the stress.
o
Meditation- I
hope to continue my meditation at least once a day. A future goal would be to
turn this into twice a day so that I can do this both morning and night.
·
Spiritual:
o
Meditation-
Sorting through different meditations to find a few that will be most
beneficial to me is a goal I have. I would like to grow spiritually so that I
can have a healthy mind.
o
Yoga-
Performing yoga will allow me to connect all the parts of integral healing.
After yoga, one can feel as though they are floating. Yoga releases negative
energy and allows you to feel at peace.
- 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 currently have a dry erase board that I can
use to create a chart. This chart can track my performance for each of my
goals.
·
I also believe in the use of rewards for
myself. I do want to be healthy. I also have a strong addiction to coffee.
While I have my own Keurig, I do love going to the coffee shop. Setting up a
rewards system, specifically with my physical health goals, will encourage me to
push forward and be successful.
