Unit 9 - Final Project

1. Introduction:

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, physically and spiritually? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, physically and spirituality to have credibility with our clients.  It is important to model the actions that we want to have mirrored from our clients increasing their ability to expand their level of well-being in all aspects of their lives.  Our actions can speak louder than words spilling over to affect those around us including clients or individuals we work with.  The ability to be at a higher level of flourishing is important in our profession for our clients to glean from us this process of the interconnectedness of the mind, body and spirit.  Walking the talk so to speak or modeling this transformation to a higher capacity is important to display with our ability to support their transformation. 

           I will need to work in all areas of the mind, body and spirit to round out my goals that I have for myself.  It is a constant process of improvement one practice at a time.  Since life is ever evolving so is our work with living and experiencing a higher flourishing of health.   

2. Assessment:

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

I have assessed my health in each domain on a scale of one to five.  One equals needs improvement and the five equals sustaining the practice.  I score my spiritual wellness as a three, moderately satisfied but would like to improve and reconnect with the religion that I experienced as I grew up.  I don’t think I can ever go back to being a go to church every Sunday kind of person, but I would like to share services with those that I love and cherish.  I am comfortable with my personal relationship with god, but would like to expand the relationship that I have on the social aspect.  I score my physical wellness as a three.  There is always room for improvement.  Even though I work out regularly I look forward to when school work does not dictate my decisions as to when I can exercise and what type of activity I will be able to complete on a time limit.  I give a score of 4 to my psychological wellness.  Over the last several months I have worked hard to improve my psychological health and well-being.  I completed a stress assessment class based on the teachings of Brian Luke Seaward, I have established a practice of using imagery to get me through tough situations and utilizing meditation throughout my week.  These activities include visualizing color meditation, results oriented outcomes, loving kindness processes, calm abiding and experiencing visions of Meeting Aesclepius.  By mindfully practicing all of these activities I will be working on the improvement of the mind, body and spiritual connection.   

3. Goal Development: 

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Psychological (mental health), Physical, and Spiritual.

I will improve my psychological health by completing my degree and reducing my stress.  I will improve my physical health by reducing my weight and getting better quality sleep.  I will improve my spiritual health by reconnecting with the faith that I was raised in having not participated in since my senior year in high school. 

4. Practices for personal health:

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Psychological, Physical, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

I will work on my psychological aspect by improving my ability to meditate, practice imagery, yoga and Qigong.  I plan to work on my physical aspects by continuing my exercise program with walking, aerobics, stretching, strength training and relaxation.  It is my intention to experience growth in the spiritual aspect of my life by reconnecting with the faith of my childhood and experience with my daughter and family members by attending services more frequently. 

To implement a program to improve my growth in my psychological domain I will set aside 30 minutes each day to complete an activity of which will be either meditation, imagery, yoga or learn the finer elements of Qigong.  The time will be dependent on my work schedule.  If I work early in the day then I will do it as soon as I get home from work and if I have to work late in the day I will complete these activities as soon as I get up in the morning.  I have selected two DVD’s from the library to help me learn a good foundation of Qigong.  To implement a more regular exercise schedule I will increase my walking and aerobic time to one hour 4 times a week, with stretch and strength training for 30 minutes 3 times a week.  To improve my ability to relax, I am going to get back into my routine of having a massage twice a month.  This will typically be scheduled on afternoons when I don’t have to get up early the next morning to allow me to lolly gag in bed.  All of this will help me to achieve better quality sleep.  My plan to get more in touch with my spiritual domain is to attend a local RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process and start to attend services on a regular basis.  Classes begin in September and typically culminate at the following Easter vigil.  Even though I was baptized and confirmed as a youth, I would like to revisit what I was taught and experience what my daughter just learned through her RCIA process.  I never made her go to church or required her to be enveloped into my childhood faith as my parents did with me.  I did expose her to many faith options while she was growing up, this year she did settle and will be confirmed and baptized this Easter in the faith of my youth.  Her experience with the RCIA process has intrigued me enough to explore what she learned.  I will start to integrate attending church services back into my thought patterns and life.      

5. 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 will assess my progress every couple of weeks in each of the areas over the next several months.  I plan to be honest with my growth or evolvement of what practices I have cultivated in the areas of psychological, physical and spiritual health.  I am committed to making improvements in my integral health.  To track my progress with physical growth I have two apps on my smart phone that I will log my workouts.   Using Log My Run or Walk I get a weekly email with a recap of my progress of physical activity I completed during the week.  I also put a happy face icon on my electronic calendar for each activity that I complete.  I use a different picture for each activity.  I am going to add an icon for when I complete one of my psychological activities of meditation, imagery, yoga or Qigong.  I also use the Sparkpeople app and I am able to track the food I consume.  Even though I don’t really worry about my nutritional intake, I like to be able to see calories consumed and compare them to calories expended.  Another tool that I will be implementing is a simple way to journal called GLAD.   At the end of every day, I will write one thing that I am grateful for, one thing that I learned, one thing that I achieved and one thing that delighted me each day.  Once I commit to an activity like the RCIA process, I see it to the end.  I will be able to start it just after I graduate which will give me an intellectually stimulating activity that I require.  Until then attending a church service each month will be a big step for me.  This too will be logged on my calendar.  I am dedicated to being what people first observe about me.  I believe that all these activities will bridge the connection to my mind, body and spirit.  I will continue to investigate options to improve positive growth to bridge my mind, body and spirit.