Evaluations and Reflections

Here we are at the close of an excellent class. This health and wellness class has helped shape an improvement plan to improve the health of my mind, body, and soul. Earlier in this course, we assessed the physical, spiritual, and psychological well being. While my physical well being has not improved just yet, I do have an action plan that I want to stick to. The spiritual and psychological areas of my health have improved some, but I still need to do more with removing some of the activities and chaos in my life.

One of my goals was to lessen the activities and remove some of the riff raff in my life. This has been improved some, but could use some more work. I plan on continuing to lessen this in the up and coming months.

I have implemented many of the activities we have learned in the course such as the relaxation, subtle mind, and loving kindness exercises. They have provided me a great benefit in my spiritual and psychological aspects of my life.

The rewards that I have experienced in this course have been a renewed well being where I now have an outlet to reduce or eliminate stress and anxieties. My brother actually just came over today and heard about some of the things we have had to face with the kids and the fact that our house was flooded right after the start of this class (they still do not have all the repairs done!). My brother commented on how I was handling it and was like, "wow, I just don't know how you handle it so well" and he was glad that given everything going on I was doing well. He noticed I was not all tense like I used to be. This class has helped me more than I knew. He was right. I was not as tense as I used to be.

The most difficult things for me is just having enough time and money to address the physical aspects. Healthcare is not cheap with a high deductible health care plan and being able to make it to appointments to follow up on my physical health can be difficult working in a call center where you can only get time off (that you have available to take off) two moths out. Most days are taken and waiting two months is not ideal in some situations. I will get through it though.

This class has helped me to understand that in order to help others I have to be open and accepting of the changes myself. With having the benefits of making the changes in my own life, then others will be more likely to accept my recommendations because they can see that I have benefitted from the changes. Also, I will be more familiar with the challenges facing them as well. If nothing else, others around me can benefit from my positive outlook and moods.

I can only hope that others can see the benefits and can learn to be open to the ideas we covered over this course and our lives going forward. If they can embrace what we did during this course then they will have the same benefits of a whole, happy, and fulfilled life of wellness and have a total healthy mind, body, and soul.

Integral Health Assessment & Plan

This project aims to introduce why it is important for health professionals, others, and me to participate in integral health activities. The introduction will open up with the importance for health professionals and open up the areas that I need to develop. The assessment will introduce how I assessed these areas and how I scored the areas of wellness relating to spiritual, physical, and psychological wellness. The goal development section will address the goals for each of these areas. In the practices for personal health section I will explain the strategies and practices (including examples) that can address each of the areas. The commitment section will provide the plan of assessment for 6 months and for long term health.

Introduction

Dacher introduced a metaphor when trying to explain the reason for why health care practitioners should develop and practice health and wellness in the areas of spiritual, physical, and psychological areas of their lives. Basically, the metaphor was suggesting that if health practitioners, or any of us for that matter, are not willing and open to developing these areas then we are not able to retain, benefit, or help others. The metaphor specifically referred to a pot being upside down and the inability to fill a pot when it’s upside down which means that you can’t retain what was being filled into the pot and you are not benefiting from the knowledge or practice. You are also not able to share what is in the pot because nothing is there to share (2006). It seems that the metaphor is a strong statement. Health care professionals, and the rest of us, have to be open and willing to learn in order to benefit.

The areas I have to develop to reach my goals would be the psychological, spiritual, and physical areas. These areas are essential to my integral health and to be of a healthy mind, body, and spirit they will be my focus going forward. The ones that are a bigger area of need for me are the psychological and spiritual areas because stresses from everyday life seem to take a large toll on me. More will be explained soon in the assessment section.

Assessment

            When it comes to the psychological and spiritual assessment I looked at how I react to things going on in my life or around me. I tend to react with knowledge and reasoning when I can, but sometimes I react with emotions or the lack of self control because I find it difficult to be at peace. Being at peace takes work for me because we have to practice at it (I now know this) and it is not second nature to do these things. Normally, I try to be upbeat and positive. I try to look at the good that can come from a situation. When it comes to emotional development, I can be driven by fears and anger – thus where stress comes in.

            When it comes to the physical assessment, I recognize I am not as healthy as I should be. I have areas within my health that need addressed which have not been. I do not always eat the right foods, but usually avoid the unhealthy foods. I recognize that I could be eating more fruits and vegetables. Also, I do not get enough exercise as I should.

So when I assessed myself in these areas, I looked at a scale of 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Then I evaluated myself on the psychological, spiritual, and physical. Since I tend to be upbeat and positive most of the time, I can say that I rated myself a little above average with a score of 6. I know that I am not always upbeat because the stresses can bring me down so I still have room for improvement. For the spiritual aspect, I know that I am not at peace enough on a daily basis and I am not able to be in a happy state like I should be. So I rated myself below the midway point at a 4. I can see that I have a larger area of improvement to do in this area. For the physical area of assessment, I rated myself at the midway point of 5. I did this because I do make some effort to eat healthier (try to avoid fast food burgers and fries most of the time and eat things like Subway or Eegees when I eat out), and I have been taking on activities to get some exercise. Some of the activities are bowling and just finding other ways to be busy like chasing after my great nephew when he is over.

Goal Development

            Dacher suggests that integral practices aim to remove our daily or life’s wounds and that it helps to remove our negative or conditioned reactions. He suggests that through training of the mind and subtle consciousness we are able to be successful in other practices which touch other areas of our lives. To be successful, the practices should also be suited for our own needs and we are responsible for our own development (2006).

            With these in mind, I evaluated the options and goals I must make. One goal for me is to remove excess activities where I can to make life simpler and less chaotic. I can remove things like controlling who comes over and when in order to get things done when they need to be and to find more time for important things. This primary goal can serve to address the psychological, spiritual, and physical areas because it will allow me more time for the following goals. For my psychological well being I need to make time everyday to incorporate exercises that help lift up my mood and remove the stresses and anxiety. For my spiritual well-being I need to make time for clearing the mind through meditative exercises. My physical goal is to follow up with my doctors and to take on physical activities which can improve my overall health. Overall, I believe the goals are to make life simple, less chaotic, and to find more time to focus on practices that will make my body, mind, and soul happy.

Practices for Personal Health

In the area of physical health I have been lacking so I have three specific practices to address my physical health. The first being, I need to make appointments to see the doctors and then make sure I make it to the appointments, even when I can’t afford to go, and any necessary follow up appointments. These will likely include a regiment of taking any necessary prescriptions (probably for cholesterol levels) and/or through following nutrition guidelines. The next practice would be to set a schedule, outside the bowling exercises, to get better exercise. It might include scheduling time to go on a walk. To start, I would like to set aside time for at least two days a week. Hopefully, I can get my husband to join in my efforts too. The third practice is to try to set aside time weekly to come up with a menu in order to control food costs, but also in order to eat healthier foods. My husband really loves cheese, but there is some truth to the idea that too much of a good thing can be bad for you, thus my cholesterol levels.

In the area of my psychological health I have been lacking control because stress can be overwhelming so I have at least two practices I would like to use to help in this area. The first practice is to use the loving kindness exercise. I will need to complete this exercise at least every other day if I can and whenever I feel my mood slipping away. The second practice will be to use the relaxation exercise because I am more upbeat when I am less stressed and I can be more compassionate to others as well. This practice should be completed at least every other day as well or whenever the stress is overwhelming. For both of these practices, I will need quite space away from others.

The loving kindness exercise will start me off by focusing on love for myself – to breath in and let my own sorrows go and to give back love to myself. Then I look to someone close to me who I feel needs my love and I do the same – give them love by removing their sorrow and only replacing it with my love. Then I look to others a little more removed from close family and do the same. The end of the exercise will be for me to repeat it one more time, but by repeating it for everyone. When complete, I will feel the great mood I have created for myself and for others around me, because it is hard to come away from this exercise feeling bad.

The relaxation exercise will be good for my psychological well being because it gives me the outlet to release stress. To start with, this exercise will require my minds power to move blood around in my body to relax other areas of tension in my body. I will start by channeling all the blood within the core of my body. Then I will envision moving the blood to my neck and arms. When successful, I will find that my arms will no longer be movable thus signifying that I have managed to fill them like a sponge. Then I will channel the blood back to the core of my body to lighten up the spongy arms. I will then be able to move my arms again. If needed, I can focus on other areas of the body the same way. Sometimes we workout our legs and need to relax them, so I hope to utilize this once I get to more physical activities to see how it works.

The area of spiritual health can use a couple practices too. The two I think that will benefit me are the subtle mind exercise and the exercise of meeting my Aesculapius (my inner mentor). For these exercises I will need time away from others, but also I want to be able to use these either daily or at a minimum every other day as well. The subtle mind exercise is easy to do because it’s about focusing on my breathing. I start by focusing on breathing in, breathing out, breathing in and so on until I have full focus. Then I focus on letting any images that come to my mind just be – for a few moments and letting them go. Then I bring back the focus on breathing in, breathing out, breathing in and so on until I have cleared the mind again. I repeat for a while and any thoughts can be witnessed and let go again.

In the exercise of meeting my Aesculapius, I focus on someone who is or was special to me. I focus on every detail about the person such as their character, their wisdom, their compassion for others, their love for others, or how they were at peace. I just sit their focused like I am connected to them in the present. Once I have grasped the vision of my Aesculapius,  I envision a beam of light from their head to mine – for them to share all of their being into my own and to cleanse and clear my own mind. Once complete, I repeat with the envision of light from their throat to my own – so they share their speech with me and I can sound like them. Next, I envision a light from their heart to my own – in order of receiving the loving and compassionate ways as my own. Next, I envision my Aesculapius a just a white light and their being becoming my own by entering my body from top to bottom. When complete I feel like I have all the qualities of my Aesculapius. This helps me to feel renewed and strong, smart and wise, loving and loved, and upbeat and positive.

All exercises will work best for me in the later hours of the day where I feel the need to release stresses and anxiety, but from time to time, I must admit that I have found myself trying to do some of these on the fly around others. I may find it easier in different situations to reach into my new toolbox and use different exercises to my advantage. One specific example of where I used an exercise on the fly was where someone recently was really making it hard to control how I responded and I really felt like strangling their incompetent and arrogant butt, but instead, I started practicing the loving kindness right on the spot. It seemed to at least keep my mood reasonable and kept me from adding fuel to the fire.

Commitment

            To be committed, I must have a plan that tells me how I am doing. For this, I will evaluate the success or lack of success over the next 6 months on a bi-weekly basis. I will evaluate how I am doing in each area by evaluating the way I did for this assessment. I will compare those results with previous results to identify if my action plans or goals need modified. Also, I will see if I was regimented enough to meet my goals as well. I will then make adjustments as necessary to get back on track or stay the course if I am already on track. I expect that some goals will be hard to keep up with in the beginning, but with constant and continued practice, I will get better.

            For long term health, I need to understand that total commitment where I dedicate time and resources to my health and well being is a must. Otherwise, I will never have a whole and happy life or a well body, mind, and soul. For long term success, I must also constantly re-evaluate the mind, body, and soul to determine where I need to focus. I understand that this can change frequently and without re-evaluation, I might not be focusing my intent and dedication on the practices where they need to be. I believe by having the intent and committing to fulfilling my health and wellness, I can have a whole, happy, and fulfilling life as well as a healthy mind, body, and soul.

             

 

References

Dacher, E.S.(2006). Integral health: the path to human flourishing (eBook). Basic Health

Publications.

Most Beneficial Exercises

This week we were asked to reflect on the recent exercises and determine which two are most beneficial and then asked how we can implement them in our daily lives. For me the two most beneficial exercises were the subtle mind and loving kindness exercises. 

The subtle mind exercise for me helps me remove the chatter by focusing on breathing, then witnessing moments of thoughts, but coming back to the breathing. Ultimately, it is very relaxing and leaves me at peace. I can incorporate this everyday after the workday to de-stress and let go or I can use this when I find it difficult to relax. 

The loving kindness exercise allows me to love myself, others close to me, and others outside my close family circle. I find the exercise very good in removing negative responses to stressful situations. It helps me want to be compassionate and caring and I end up feeling great and with good thoughts when complete. This one can be incorporated frequently and even daily after a days work when I can find a quiet place to relax. I can use it to change a bad mood when I can find some alone time as well. If I am in a good mood this one can help keep my mood a positive one.

Meeting Asclepius

This week we met our inner mentor, our Asclepius, and it was yet another experience I much enjoyed. I did not find this one easy to do though and for some reason it quit short (my device timed out); however, I felt connected with the person I was envisioning. To feel like I was connected with their wealth of wisdom, their speech, and their heart. I came away from this exercise feeling very relaxed, at peace, and loved by this person. Making them my inner peace mentor will work well.

I believe what makes this person my Asclepius is because they were the type of person, that in their ordinary sort of way, could captivate an audience for hours. You always felt loved, respected, and their speech was captivating. I can only hope to instill their qualities in my daily life. It would be hard, but with this exercise I feel I can be more like them. I believe what also makes them the perfect Asclepius is because they shared love with others so easily. They we adored by so many because of this and their service to others.

I walked away feeling renewed after a tiring day.

The phrase, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone before" (Schlitz, Amorok, & Micozzi, 2005, p. 477), basically means that we cannot help others if we have not helped ourselves to be well. Put another way, practice what we preach because if we don't then others do not respect or believe what we say. If we appear to have a healthy mind, body, and spirit and explain how we do, then others will be more likely to want to give the practices a try.

In the medical field, patients would expect their providers to be healthy and practice what they preach. It would seem a disservice to patients to not be practicing what we preach. How would one convince a patient to follow doctors orders in order to treat what's ailing them if the doctor or other provider is not well? They wouldn't be able to.

Physiological and spiritual health starts with understanding our mental state and intently practicing several exercises to bring us balance and inner peace and to continuously reevaluate our mental state and other integral health needs. We need to focus within and remove negativity, stresses, and anxiety from our lives.



Reference:
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M.S. (2005). Consciousness & healing: integral approaches to mind-body medicine (eBook). Elsevier Churchill Livingston Publications.

Integral Assessment

This week we were to practice the Loving Kindness exercise again. For me, this went similar to the last one. I was easily able to give myself loving kindness and when it came to loving someone close to me I was able to feel relief that I was able to give love to this person. Like before, I was able to breath in their sorrow and suffering and give back the love. I was able again to do the same for others. When completing the exercise, I felt relief again and felt good because I was able to share my love. They may not know it, but I believe it helps me when I interact with them again too. I seem to feel more compassionate after completing the exercise.

This week we were to complete an integral assessment on the areas we need development. For me, my weakness is my psycho-spiritual development. Most of the time I operate on surviving and many times I am reactive to the chaos in my life. I am not always able to look at things as a service to others or with loving kindness. My daily activities are more like chores that need to be done or just what I need to do because it's expected of me. When things are not going well, I am reactive and most of the time I am unable to react positively. I guess it becomes nature when things are not going well.

To address this area of weakness, I must incorporate the loving kindness exercise in my routine daily and/or the subtle mind exercise. These tend to have calming effects on me and help me to release stress and be more compassionate. By incorporating these into a daily routine I will feel more well. If I feel more well and less stressed then I know my health, in the biological sense, will benefit as well.

To address this same area of weakness, I need to look at my responsibilities as a service to others or how it helps others. I need to remind myself that it is not just work or a chore and that what I need to do is really benefiting and helping others. I need to share more loving kindness and compassion with others, not just because it will help me feel better, but it will make a difference for others as well.

Another area of weakness is my biological health. I know that I do not get out and exercise enough. So, another area of my development is to incorporate an exercise routine here in the near future. One, that I am hoping my husband will join in on as well.

Overall, completing this assessment helped me identify areas of opportunity to make my mind, body, and soul a top priority which supports my overall health and well being. It will be good to be healthier and less stress free. Maybe others will benefit from the positive changes in my life.

Subtle Mind Exercise

This week we covered the Subtle Mind exercise. For me it was overly calming and to a point it had me so relaxed I could have just fallen asleep. The only reason I didn't was because the voice came back and started talking again.

Focusing on my breath to keep my mind calm is a good stress reliever. I was able to do this easily, but this tends to work for me if I focus. After getting calm, I am able to lessen my grip on following the breath like the exercise suggests. I do however, from time to time, notice my mind moving to other thoughts. I see my front yard being cleaned up (just did this yesterday) and other things passing through my mind. All I need to do is focus again on the breathing and my focal point. Once relaxed again - I let go of my focus on the breathing. I am hearing just the waves and music in the back ground. Sometimes they too make you think of things, but overall it has it's own calming affect on me.

After focusing on nothing for a while other than my focal point and with my mind no longer wandering, I close my eyes briefly and just enjoy the silence and still mind. Then I find myself ready to sleep and the voice brings me back to the exercise. When the exercise is complete, I feel relaxed and stress free!

Comparing this exercise to the loving kindness exercise, I felt much more relaxed, but not as happy as I was by sharing my love for myself and others. I guess the feeling of sharing love even when others do not really know it was a relaxing and rewarding experience. I believe they are both great exercises to do from time to time.

The experience of these exercises has helped me spiritually, mentally, and physically. I feel better when I can relieve stress. Before it was hoping to release them by sharing my experiences in conversation or getting a massage. Although they are good from time to time, I feel better when I can relieve the stresses from the day or chaos on my own with the exercises. I feel more at peace with with my inner self if that makes sense. I do not feel like I am going to have a mental breakdown nearly as much and I feel like I can tackle other things more easily because I am not as emotionally drained. So in essence, when I feel great spiritually and mentally, it's helping me physically too!

I wonder if my classmates found this exercise a little less challenging. For me, it was much easier than focusing on someone needing my love and support in the loving kindness exercise. I did do okay with it because I had things on my mind that I could apply to the exercise, but if I hadn't had those things on my mind, I might have felt it was more difficult to complete. The subtle mind exercise - was really just about breathing and letting things go that came to mind - to be at peace and I found I could do just that.

Concept of Mental Workout

The concept of mental workout basically means that we are using techniques to remove stress, to be more relaxed and at ease, and to be more at peace with ourselves. The techniques are varied, but all so far seem to have been with a similar focus and result. They require some effort and an open mind. They require commitment and consistency. 

According to Dacher (2006), research shows that having a practice of mental workout that we are able to be of better mind, body, and spirit and where we have flourished our development to be calm, eased, and at peace. 

We can set aside time each day to focus on using the techniques introduced over the course in order to keep working out our minds. We can keep on top of them by committing to our selves and our wellness by not giving up on the exercises when they are difficult. 

Reference:

Dacher, E.S.(2006). Integral health: the path to human flourishing (eBook). Basic Health Publications