Integral health review

Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas . How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?
Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.
Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.
Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

Based on my past personal assessments, I don’t believe my scores have changed much due to me consistently working towards them. Psychologically, I have maintained my goal and success of striving to engage in more relaxing activities throughout the summer and I have also strived to practice mental healing through meditation and relaxation techniques. Spiritually, I have begun attending church on Sunday’s however, due to my schedule changing and me working 3 out of 4 Sunday’s a month it is going to be hard to maintain my goal, but I will continue to work on this. Physically I have maintained my gym membership and workout more often on my cardio and have implemented days with a physical trainer each week. I don’t believe change will happen overnight but I am on the road to making adequate changes.

Through the course, I began with intentions of this course to be utilized on my job and with clients, but I have gradually changed and begun reflecting on myself and areas I need to change first. The most rewarding was being able to focus and promote relaxation through meditating and doing the other exercises, but in turn this was also the most difficult because I had to learn to relax. This will improve my ability to assist others because now I know where and how I want my life to be and I have set goals to reach. As I continue to implement and reach these goals I will be able to share these strategies and changes with others and educate them on the many benefits it brings.

Personal Aspects of Integral Health

Introduction:

Integral health is the process of health development through personal spiritual, mental, and physical approaches. According to Dacher (2004), “Integral health can only be achieved through the development of our inner life and our inner healing capacities” (p. 9). It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because healing of oneself take son the combination work and development in all these areas. Psychological development improves how one sees themselves and has a love for themselves which can then be shared with others. Spiritual development shows a sense of caring and sharing of feelings and includes ideas that help with healing such as prayer and meditation. Physical development combines exercise and regimens that promote healthy lifestyles. The combination of all these impacts health in ways that reach the inner and outer body and allow the mind to react based on healthier living choices and focus on happiness, success, and future developments.

The areas that I believe I need to work towards to achieve the goals I have set for myself include more time to focus on my future goals. This incorporates time to relax and think only on what I need in life and try to block out those things that aren’t necessary such in a way to develop myself more spiritually and psychologically.

Assessment:

My idea of optimal well- being would be to be at a point in my life where my physical health, mental state of mind (emotional, intellectual, psychosocial), and my spiritual state are in line to where I feel I don’t have any need to make major changes. Although minor changes can be made in consideration to what is going on at a particular time in life, I feel comfortable that all these aspects of my life are very well where I want them to be and I am living the best life possible in reference to each.

At the point in my life, I feel that I am very much at ease with my physical well- being and would rate it a 7. After having my youngest son almost 10 years ago, I gained a lot of weight and got to the point where I was not satisfied with myself and saw a need to be healthier. I began by cleaning up my diet and started with fitness videos and lost almost 30 pounds, which was 10 pounds lighter than my weight before I was pregnant. After starting this fitness regimen, I joined a gym and started working out 5 times a week. Since then, I may stray a little on a well- balanced diet, but I tend to eat healthier than the average person, and I have continued to maintain at least 3 to 4 gym days. The one thing I can say I don't do is regular health check -ups and although I feel that I am very healthy, I am 36 years old and as  nurse, I have seen very healthy people out of nowhere end up sick.

Currently I rate my spiritual well- being at a 5. I don't see myself as being a very spiritual type person although I grew up with a family that centers healing and devotion on prayer and uplifting God. I do see that prayer and believing in the impossible can change things through dedication and heart felt prayer. I feel the need to become closer with believing in the powers of the spiritual healing and well- being and I need to actively take part in spiritual services.

Psychologically, I rate myself as a 5. I am currently in need of about 10 stress balls at once. I feel myself stressing over the smallest situations that I encounter and I need to find a means of relaxing and letting my mind ease itself. It is easy to stress the need for techniques to help relax and calm the mind so that barriers that cloud logical thinking can be removed, but it is hard to actually implement them when I feel that nothing is going my way. Psychologically I see the need to stop and refocus attention on myself and let myself know that I am doing a great job in school, work, and with family. The stressors I encounter will be overcome and for now, letting them go and relaxing will not change any major circumstances.

                                                                                                                                          

Goal development:

My goal physically now is to begin a regular physician visit at least yearly or twice yearly to maintain an appropriate health status from a physician physical and point of view. My spiritual goal is to become more humble in myself and my belief that change can occur through spiritual healing and prayer. I am currently looking for a church to worship at least once a week to gain a closer connection with others that have the same faith as I, and I want my children to understand the power of and connection of spiritual healing and faith. My goal psychologically this year is to take time for myself and family and relax and have fun with my life. I also plan on communicating needs during stressful periods to seek resolutions and help from others when appropriate. I currently feel I am struggling to get through these last 2 semesters in school, but coincidentally with the spiritual goal I have combined with physical time to relieve stress , I plan on overcoming all challenges. It takes mind control sometimes to let go of negativity and I have to learn that if I don't stop mentally abusing myself and begin uplifting myself,  I can't expect it from others either.

Practices for personal health:

In implementing strategies to foster growth in physical, psychological, and spiritual domains, it will take more than just saying I want to make changes, but I have to commit myself to change to increase my overall health and promote a better lifestyle for myself. Physically, I want to implement a different workout program that increases my endurance. I want to actually start running more because I have cut back on cardio in my exercise routine which is better for my heart. I also plan on making myself more aware from a medical standpoint on what I need to change physically by having regular physicals and also following up with medical questions when I have concerns rather than from a nursing standpoint trying to treat and diagnose myself. It is so important to take care of the body physically to lead a more productive and longer life.  Psychologically, I want to be able to have a better connection with my own true feelings and able to communicate better with others both family and friends. I plan on keeping a journal so that I can express myself on paper and then maybe I can re direct my thoughts into words and express myself more openly with others. I also want to possibly get some counseling because I still feel that I have anger towards someone in my life that truly hurt me and I am unable to let these feelings go. I believe that some effective communication about what I am feeling will help me get passed these emotions I have and move on with my life rather than feeling that I am at a standstill. Spiritually, I want to have a better connection with myself and with God. I have been out of going to church and participating in regular prayer sessions and I believe as a Christian, it has affected my living. I feel that I am not as open to believing in the healing of God and somewhere lost my hope in the spiritual being that can provide healing for me. I plan on getting back into church on a regular basis and begin prayer every day and night to gain my connection again with a higher being so that I can gain my hopes and beliefs again in him as well as myself.  My last strategy spiritually is to practice meditating so that stress can be put to the back of my mind and I can focus more on what I need to do in life. There are many distractors that occur too often and meditating will help me re focus my mind on the more important areas in my life and help me relax.

Commitment:

In the months to come it will be important for me to maintain a track record of my progressive development psychologically, spiritually, and physically. My plan to track my progress is to keep a journal. My goals physically would be to maintain my check- up appointments, and keep a log of them as well as keep a written log of my cardio time in the gym. I can do the same spiritually by writing down my dates of attending church services and prayer as well as when I meditate. Psychologically, it will be easy to maintain constant inserts on my feelings with sessions of any counseling. I believe journaling is the best and easiest way to see that I am following my plan and staying on track to maintaining a lifestyle that promotes Integral health. The main strategy I plan to implement is constant practice and focus on my goals. I believe the ability to reach a set goal once a focus has been made is to remain consistent and take it one step at a time. My strategy is to begin with my physical goals and once I have begun to maintain a regular regimen then begin my focus on psychological and spiritual. The focus is to do one at a time as opposed to beginning all of them at once and not reaching any.

The ability to reach integral health is to be focused in reaching attainable goals while at the same time implementing the opposed strategies. The main way to reach such a success and have an all-around healthy outlook for myself is to practice in each of the domains while achieving growth one step at a time. It is up to myself however to want to achieve integral health. As Dacher (2004), expresses when we start a new program, we identify the changes we wish to make, we set goals, affirm our intention, and commit ourselves to this change. This is how I must look at achieving Integral health.

References

Dacher, E.S. (2004). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic

            Health

Optimal well-being

Throughout the course, I have done all the exercises, have read through postings, and have gotten a multitude of comments from the class. All of the exercises were a part of training the mind to be at one with the rest of the body. I have to say that initially, I realized that my mind was in so many places that none of the exercises benefited me. The first one that came close to drawing me in was the love and kindness where we had to think of someone that was very important to us. I had my mind on my boyfriend because he brought me through a very tough time in my life which I felt like was the end of my world, but his loving spirit allowed me to see that just as I have problems, so does everyone else and mine is no smaller or bigger than theirs in their eyes During the exercise I was then able to visualize good in many others and realize that disliking others truly made me feel worse. The idea of extending my love and kindness to all those around has proven me to be a better person. The other exercise I felt was very beneficial in my life was meditation. The meditation helped me to relax and be able to take my mind off my problems and focus on just myself and what is of importance as opposed to stressors. I have found that the more I have tried to implement this into my schedule weekly, the better it has become for me and not only my mental state, but I just feel more relaxed which has helped my physical ability to workout even better.In my personal life, these exercises can be implemented on a regular schedule to decrease stress, and to make me more open, loving, and accepting for individuals around me. The best way to do this is by reminding myself of the benefits these have on my mental and physical life and how it can continue to improve.

Meditating this week was a very reviving experience. I found that I was able to meditate far easier than the previous assignments that I tried to do. I was on vacation when completing the assignment so maybe I was just in a more relaxing mood and carefree. I think meditating is a great way to clear the mind and just focus on one thing that can simply control the thoughts that you have. Meditation has played a big part in my life this semester because it helped me gain a sense of focusing on what is important in my life and control some negative feelings and thoughts. I can continue to apply these practices by at least weekly finding sometime for me to meditate and be relaxed and in a quiet environment. This helps relax and remove stressors that I may encounter.

The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" gives meaning to the fact that if you don't decide to take charge for your life and lifestyle, you can't expect to tell others to and they follow through. When you are able to define your life and want to change so that you view yourself as happier and healthier because you have taken control over your mind and body interaction, then we can pass our views and ideas to others and share our gain. Only then will they want to taste your happiness and serenity with their own life. As a nurse, I have to educate my clients so that they can hold themselves accountable for their own health. It is my obligations to live in the same light that I desire them to, so I have to take care of myself and follow the same guidelines I give them which is putting my health and well being first.

integral health

I was on vacation this week, so i tried to focus on the exercise, but found it hard because anxiety was kicking in to leave the room and play with my friends. i got  little out of the activity versus the live-kindness because i found it hard to maintain a focus with the changes in this one. The integral health allowed me to really focus on myself and what my actions and plans are in life along with changes i need to make. it was beneficial even with my mind challenges

I chose to wok on my psycho spiritual self because i feel that i need to improve my spiritual relationship in terms of church activities and becoming more involved. I grew up in a very spiritual family and I continue to practice my beliefs but from a distance. I would rather have a more close and personal relationship with a holy spirit and others that can be positive in my life.

subtle mind vs loving-kindness

I feel that in both exercises utilizing relaxation and mind were difficult for me. I find a quiet spot and there is no noise except the dialogue, but it is hard for me to concentrate and focus only on the activity. It appears that when everything gets calm and I get relaxed, the more clear I make my mind, the more I begin to think about the tasks I need to complete for the week. From my school work to my job to things for the kids. I am able to relax with the music iin the background, but after about 5 minutes in, I lose focus on what I am supposed to be doing. I know after reading in each unit that practicing is the only way I will be able to begin to release other thoughts and focus on the importance of the activity, but I guess I will have to improve the time I submit to doing this.

The connection between spiritual, mental, and physical awareness is that the mind and body are connected as one. After reading how the activities of martial arts relates to the mind so well, I realized that maybe I need to take a martial arts class. I have never engaged in these activities before and I enjoy exercise, so I believe that partaking in such an activity will cause me to be more in tune to the way my mind works with physical activities. The mind and physical activity cause a relaxation when one is able to focus and relax, causing a calming effect over oneself and relax the body.

My idea of optimal well being would be to be at a point in my life where my physical health, mental state of mind (emotional, intellectual, psychosocial), and my spiritual state are in line to where I feel I don;t have any need to make major changes. Although minor changes can be made in consideration to what is going on at a particular time in life, i feel comfortable that all these aspects of my life are very well where i want them to be and I am living the best life possible in reference to each.

At the point in my life, I feel that i am very much at ease with my physical well being and would rate it a 7. After having my youngest son almost 10 years ago, I gained a lot of weight and got to the point where I was not satisfied with myself and saw a need to be healthier. I began by cleaning up my diet and started with fitness videos and lost almost 30 lbs, which was 10 lbs lighter than my weight before i was pregnant. after starting this fitness regimen, i joined a gym and started working out 5 times a week. Since then, I may stray a little on a well balanced diet, but I tend to eat healthier than the average person, and I have continued to maintain at least 3 to 4 gym days. The one thing I can say i don't do is regular health check ups and although I feel that i am very healthy, I am 36 years old and as  nurse, i have seen very healthy people out of no where end up sick. My goal physically now is to begin a regular physician visit at least yearly or twice yearly to maintain an appropriate health status from a physician physical and point of view.

Currently I rate my spiritual well being at a 5. I don't see myslef as being a very spiritual type person although I grew up with a family that centers healing and devotion on prayer and uplifting God. I do see that prayer and believing in the impossible can change things through dedication and heart felt prayer. I feel the need to become closer with believing in the powers of the spiritual healing and well being and I need to actively take part in spiritual services. My spiritual goal is to become more humble in myself and my belief that change can occur through spiritual healing and prayer. I am currently looking for a church to worship at least once a week to gain a closer connection with others that have the same faith as I, and i want my children to understand the power of and connection of spiritual healing and faith.

Psychologically, I rate myself as a 5. I am currently in need of about 10 stress balls at once. I feel myself stressing over the smallest situations that I encounter and I need to find a means of relaxing and letting my mind ease itself. It is easy to stress the need for techniques to help relax and calm the mind so that barriers that cloud logical thinking can be removed, but it is hard to actually implement them when I feel that nothing is going my way. Psychologically I see the need to stop and refocus attention on myself and let myself know that I am doing a great job in school, work, and with family. the stressors I encounter will be overcome and for now, letting them go and relaxing will not change any major circumstances. My goal this year is to take time for myself and family and relax and have fun with my life. I also plan on communicating needs during stressful periods to seek resolutions and help from others when appropriate. I currently feel i am struggling to get through these last 2 semesters in school, but coincidentally with the spiritual goal I have combined with physical time to relieve stress , I plan on overcoming all challenges. It takes mind control sometimes to let go of negativity and I have to learn that if I don't stop mentally abusing myself and begin uplifting myself,  I can't expect it from others either.

The relaxation activity I would have to say did not strike my interest this time around. I felt that switching from all those colors began to make me more tense than relaxed because when my mind beam at ease with one thing, it was time to switch to something else. I really didn't get anything out of this exercise and it definitely didn't help me relax. Not to mention my mind was on finishing my assignments for my two classes along with what i needed to complete for work this week. Been a long week foe me but next week is vacation, so maybe I will try the activity again when Im feeling a little more relaxed.

Introduction/ Refelction

Hello. My name is Jami. I believe I mentioned my background of nursing in my original presentation to the class. I am new to this blog thing and have only done it in one other class, and was confused from beginning to end in that class as well (so was my instructor). This is going to be a learning experience for me, but I will see where it goes.

Reflecting on the relaxation exercise was very different for me because I normally do not know how to relax. well, let me say that my idea of relaxing is sleeping, otherwise, I am busy doing something if I am awake. being able to lay back, kick off my shoes and clear my mind was a new experience that I would like to continue to try on a regular basis. relaxing helped me to forget many of the stresses that I deal with on a regular basis and focus on just me and tune into those carefree things that distract me from worries. I learned that being relaxed really took my mind to a different place and allowed me to see that those troubles that I feel bother me, really aren't as bad as they truly seem. I really enjoyed the exercise and will try to do it again on my own.