New Beginning

Now that this class has ended, I find myself wanting to learn more. I finally started doing some yoga. I bought a dvd to try it out before I took an actually class. I liked it and I am continuing to do it. I find it a lot more difficult than what I had expected, but after the first few minutes, I seem to be able to do more already. I am surprised how much the breathing really helps. I also started reading a book called "The Longevity Factor" by Joseph Maroon. I use to work for Dr. Maroon. He is awesome and so is his philosophy about health. He is a neurosurgeon in Pittsburgh and he is a promoter of integral health. When I got to the part in the book about his treatment ideas, I was so excited to learn that he believed in the same things that we were studying. I am not sure that his ideas will lead me to a longer life, but I trust him to not steer me in the wrong direction. You should see what he looks like. I think he is in his early seventies and he competes in triathlons. His web page is http://www.josephmaroon.com/. Look for the picture of him in his swimming trunks. I wish all seventy year old men would look so good!

Unit 10

Hello Everyone.

Back in Unit 3, I rated my physical health as a five. This was because I felt that I was not getting enough physical exercise. I blamed it on my studying and traveling. I also stated that I was going to start my exercise program after I was finished with school in May. I would now rate my physical health as a seven. I have started to exercise on a more regular basis. I am not perfect, but I do try to get at least 3 – 4 workouts in a week. I am striving for 7 weekly sessions. I know this sounds impossible, but I am beginning to feel so much better after I exercise. I started exercising again because both of my classes this semester were encouraging me to do so. I get so much relief from my daily stress and I have more energy. I really am enjoying it and I have found that I DO have time for exercise. This is now one thing that I do not want to put off doing.

I rated my spiritual health as a six in Unit 3. I feel this is probably a 7 or 8 now. I have a better awareness of my spirituality and I am trying to pray more. My prayers are also becoming more meaningful to me. I am not longer just going through the motions of praying. I also am trying to think and act in a more spiritual way. I can see that I am improving in this area. I still have a ways to go, but I really can see the difference. I haven’t been able to volunteer like I want, but I did register to be on the “mission” list at work. My company helps out in areas of need and has asked for a list of people who would be willing to do volunteer work in various countries. I signed up even though it is not directly related to my church; it will give the ability to help others.

I rated my psychological well being as a seven. This has probably improved to an 8 or even a 9. I feel really good psychologically. I have been able to reduce my stress and I feel more at peace. Things are not bothering me as much as they once did. I feel more able to let things bounce off of me rather than getting upset about them. I still have my moments, but when I look back at how I was in Unit 3, I am so much better!

When I look back at the goals that I set in Unit 3, I am accomplishing many of them. I might not have done it in the exact way I had planned to, but they are getting done. One goal was to exercise on a regular basis. I am almost there. I am exercising regularly, but I just want to increase it. I also am taking my religion with me on the road. I was in Europe one weekend and instead of sleeping in and not going to church; I got up and took a cab to Notre Dame. Even if I didn’t understand what the priest was saying (the mass was in French), I was able to go through the mass. I also bought a rosary so, I can pray whenever I feel like it. I use to pray the rosary when I first became Catholic. I feel that I was more spiritual then. Hopefully by praying with the rosary, it will bring me more back to that feeling. I also feel that I have accomplished my goal of acknowledging my feelings to my family in a more constructive way. I am actually having more meaningful conversations with my husband, daughter, and son. I feel that we have even become closer during this semester. Its not like we were that far away to begin with, but it just seems we are even closer now.

Take Care and Good Luck!

Carol 

Final Project - Unit 9

Final Project – Unit 9

Carol Campbell

Kaplan University

HW420 - 02

Professor John Aguilar

March 5, 2011

Final Project – Unit 9

I.                       Introduction

As health and wellness professionals, the common goal for healing “is to develop the expansive and perfected health of one’s body, mind, and spirit attained through both outer and inner development” (Dacher, 2006, p. 12). It is this goal that drives one to seek the instruments of integral health. Integral health allows one to develop their bodies and minds to obtain the highest level of inward and outward health and happiness. It is this interconnection of mind, body, and spirit that forms the foundation of the health and wellness practice.

As a health and wellness practitioner, one must strive to develop these areas in their patients and themselves. Without the development of each of these aspects of health, one cannot fully and effectively treat their patients. It would be like doing the job of healing partially and therefore, never reaching their ultimate goal of integral health. In order to treat their patients effectively, one must develop each of their own aspects of health. They must be the leader in the quest for integral health and as a leader; they must be an example to their patients. As a health and wellness professional, one must be willing to develop their own areas of integral health. They must be willing to examine and assess all areas of their lives. This not only will provide the professional with a blueprint for what they must do to succeed in life, but also what their patients must achieve. It is this development that bonds the health and wellness professional with their patient. It is this bond that helps to create the bumpy path to human flourishing. With this thought in mind, I must look at the aspects of my own life to achieve my goal of not only my professional development, but also my personal development, as well.

When I look at myself, I look at my current lifestyle and identify these areas where I need to develop in order to flourish and therefore, provide a good example to my patients. When I look at the spiritual aspect of my life, I see some areas of further needed development. I have always thought that my spiritual life was somewhat developed until I really examined it. I feel that I am too passive in my spirituality. By this, I mean that I participate in my spirituality, but I don’t actually feel the oneness with my spirituality. I need to dive deeper into my spirituality. I need to become a more active participant. I need to feel my spirituality flowing through me.

Another area of my life that I need to develop further is my physiological aspect. Although I am a healthy individual with no current health issues, I know there are things that I need to address to physically become a healthier individual. I realize I need to develop my body by being physically active on a regular basis. I tend to overlook this aspect because I am always short on time. I often do not think that I have time for exercise. What I should be thinking is whether I have time not to be active. It should be one of my top priorities in forming my mind-body development of integral health.

The last area of my life that I need to develop is my psychological aspect. This area for me is primarily concerned with reducing the stress in my life. I have lived for  years with chronic stress. I have never thought or even realized that I was experiencing a significant amount of chronic stress. It is my goal to reduce the amount of daily stress I encounter and develop my inner self. It is my goal to develop a calm-abiding mind and eventually to reach the unity consciousness within me (Dacher, 2006).

II.                    Assessment

To assess my spiritual wellness, I used a spirituality assessment questionnaire developed by the Illinois State University to help their students assess their own spiritual wellness. The assessment consisted of ten questions about the individual’s attitude towards their own spirituality and that of others (“Spiritual Wellness”, 2007). I scored in the low range of excellent for my spirituality. Although this was a positive score and demonstrated that my spirituality is well developed, there are still areas where this could be improved. The questionnaire states that one should re-evaluate those areas where one scored a one or zero (“Spiritual Wellness”, 2007). In my assessment, there were three questions that I responded to with either a one or zero. These questions addressed my comfort and ease with my spirituality, the importance of prayer, meditation, and personal reflection, and whether I constantly strive to spiritually grow (“Spiritual Wellness”, 2007). These questions represent areas of my spirituality where I feel I need to further develop. It is not that these areas are non-existent within my life, but it is rather they are not fully developed. I want to improve the importance of prayer, meditation, and reflection in my daily life. Currently, I do not do this on a regular basis. I also need to continue to grow my spirituality. At the present time, I feel stagnated in my spirituality and this is also the reason I feel uncomfortable with my spirituality. I want to find knew ways for me to feel fulfillment in this area.

To assess the physical aspect of my life, I reviewed some course material from a previous class. This assessment was done with the use of the Fit to be Well Lab Manual. This manual allowed me to complete various self-tests to assess a variety of areas of my physical wellness. The first assessment of my physical wellness involved the use of a PAR – Q Form 3.1 evaluation questionnaire. This evaluation is composed of seven questions to evaluate whether one needs to consult a physician prior to starting a fitness program (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). For this assessment, I answered negative to all of the seven questions. This indicated that it would not be necessary for me to consult with my physician prior to completing the other assessments (Thygerson & Larson, 2006).

            Once I completed the PAR-Q questionnaire, I began to assess my fitness level. For this assessment, I completed the following activities to evaluate my fitness status. These assessments were to evaluate my cardiorespiratory fitness, my muscular endurance, and my muscular strength. To assess my cardiorespiratory fitness, I completed the one mile walk test. This test requires one to walk as fast as possible for one mile on measured track (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). I was able to complete this assessment in 14 minutes and 32 seconds. Comparing this result for women within my age group, I was in the high end of the good range category (Thygerson & Larson, 2006).

            To assess my muscular endurance, I performed the Push-Up and Curl-Up tests. For this assessment, I had to do as many push-ups as I could to assess the muscular endurance of my upper body (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). I was able to complete 36 push-ups. This placed me into the excellent category for my age group (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). To assess the muscle endurance of my abdominal muscles, I completed the Curl-Up test. For this test I tried to do as many partial curl-ups as possible (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). For this assessment, I was able to complete 18 curl-ups. This result placed me in the low end of the good category for my age group (Thygerson & Larson, 2006).

            To assess my muscular strength, I performed the muscle strength test by lifting a weight and increasing the weight until I was no longer able to lift it (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). This was done for my upper body with the use of a bench press and my lower body with the use of a leg press. For the upper body assessment, I had a score of 0.5 which placed me in the low end of the good range for my age group (Thygerson & Larson, 2006). For the lower body assessment, I had a score of 1.7 which placed me in the high end of the fair range for my age group (Thygerson & Larson, 2006).

            To assess my psychological wellness, I completed the psychological wellness self assessment questionnaire from the Eastern Carolina University’s Department of Health Science. This questionnaire asked a variety of questions to evaluate one’s physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual aspects, and interpersonal relationships ("Self Care", 1996). One was asked to rate each area in level of development. For most areas in this questionnaire, I scored in the frequent or sometimes range. In some areas, I did score in the rare range. This would be areas where I need to further develop ("Self Care", 1996). These were related to taking time for my self and activities that were not work related, spending time with individuals whose company I enjoy, and spending time connecting with my spiritual community ("Self Care", 1996).

III.                  Goal Development

My goal to achieve for the development of the spiritual aspect of my life is for me to become more connected with my spirituality by becoming more involved with my personal spirituality and also my religious community. I need to develop these areas to improve my inner connection with my spirituality. I also need to develop a consistent self-reflection of my spirituality to obtain this goal. I would like to develop a daily routine of meditation/self-reflection and to learn more about my faith.

My goal to achieve for the development in the area of my physical well-being is to lose weight and increase my muscular strength and endurance. Over the last few years, my physical fitness has decrease and I have gained approximately 30 pounds due to a change in my job duties and two fractures in my foot. Due to the fractures, I was unable to continue to run. This fact caused me to stop my physical exercise routine until my foot healed. I then developed a second fracture which basically thwarted my physical activity program for over a year. Due to the lack of physical activity, I began to gain weight. I also switched to a more demanding job which required me to travel extensively. This forced me to eat out for multiple days at a time. The high caloric, high fat meals coupled with the lack of exercise caused me to gain over 30 pounds. I have lost 15 pounds of this weight by watching what I am eating, but I now need to develop an exercise program that will not only help me to lose weight, but will also help me to be able to maintain my muscle strength and endurance.

My final goal for my health and well-being is to develop the psychological aspect of my life. This goal is for me to be able to reduce the amount of stress in my life. My stress level tends to simmer at a medium level at all times. Although I tend not to get overly stressed, I do have constant stress within my life. I need to evaluate my stressful situations and also identify ways to reduce my stress levels. Even with a minimal amount of chronic stress in my life, my psychological and my physiological well-being are in danger of developing illnesses (Seaward, 2009). This goal should include a daily routine to relieve stress and stop-gap measures to deal with highly stressful incidents that may occur throughout my daily life.

IV.                 Practices for Personal Health

To foster the growth of my goals to obtain “wholeness” within my body, I must develop a strategic plan of attack. This plan of attack would start with a plan to develop my spiritual growth. To develop my spiritual growth, I would begin by starting with devoting a specific time of each day to my devotions. This time could be spent praying, reading scriptures, meditating, and/or self-reflection. I plan to set aside a half hour each evening to develop my inner spirituality. I feel the evening would be the best time of the day for me to be able to be consistent with this practice. It would also be a good time of the day for me to not feel rushed to complete this practice. The second practice I would start to achieve my spiritual goal is to start to participate in religious functions within my community. I will start out be attending my weekly bible study at my church. This would not only allow me to participate in a community-type activity, but it would help me to learn more about my own religion and be able to share this information with others.

To develop the growth of my physical goals, I would start by visiting a fitness professional who could help me determine what exercises I will need to perform to increase my muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness. Once this is appropriately addressed, I would set aside one hour in the morning on most days of the week to incorporate cardio exercise into my day. I would start out by doing aerobic dancing. I will then increase to running when my foot permits me to do so. I will also incorporate the strength training exercises that were identified by my fitness evaluation. I would start by trying to perform strength training six days a week. I would rotate days between my upper and lower muscle groups to allow my muscles time to recuperate. I would do this in the evenings as this would allow me to have more time.

The last area of growth for me to develop is my psychological area. For this development, I have chosen two practices to help me reduce my levels of stress. The first practice is for me to have a designated time for meditation and relaxation exercises. I like using diaphragmatic breathing exercises to relax before I go to bed. I do this in bed before I go to sleep. I plan to make it a point to do this every night. I also need to address those times during the day when I feel extremely stressed. To deal with these issues, I will develop a plan of action. It will start with assessing my anger/stress before I react. I tend to over-react at times due to the sometimes explosive nature of my temper. To control this, I will start by counting to ten and then evaluate the situation. I will think about what I am going to say and how I am going to react to the situation before doing so. If I feel the stress escalating within me, I will begin to do a relaxation technique to lower my stress level. I will also begin to practice yoga to help relieve the effects of my stressful days. I will start by taking a few classes on yoga because I am inexperienced in this area. I will then progress to doing it on my own or with the help of a DVD on a regular basis.

V.                    Commitment

To assess my progress and maintain my commitment, I will use a variety of methods to achieve this over the next six months. The first method would be to schedule my daily practices into my regular schedule. I will do this by actually making an appointment in my calendar on my smartphone. This has a ringer to remind me of my appointments. Although I share my calendar with my boss, I am sure he will be impressed that I am committed to my wellness program. My company encourages their employees to participate in such programs and this would not be a problem for him. I would then keep a record/journal to monitor my progress. Even though I am doing these activities on a regular basis, I must develop or grow throughout this process. This record keeping strategy will enable me to keep on track and also progress to the next level of development. I will also schedule monthly appointments with my fitness professional to evaluate my physical improvements. I will also re-evaluate my spirituality and my psychological improvements by using the questionnaires I have mentioned. By doing these various methods, I will be able to keep on track and reach my goals of integral health.

To maintain this progress and lifestyle of integral health practice for the long-term, I will strive to develop habits associated with these. Once one has established a habit, it is often hard to break the pattern. When my meditation, exercise, religious activities, and etc. become a part of my life, they will also become a habit. In this case, they will become healthy habits. Maintaining this lifestyle will require dedication and determination. It is not something that one can only do when they feel like it. It must become second nature to them. I will also incorporate my friends and family for support. They will help to provide a constant reminder of why I need to continue to follow this path. When I feel discouraged, I will look to them for the strength to continue. I will also place reminders in my office to remind me of why I need to continue. If I find myself fading back to my old habits, I will seek some motivational advice from other professionals such as, my clergy, fitness professional, and even my friend who is a psychologist. With this arsenal of weapons to back me in my integral health pursuit, I will have the needed ammunition to continue this for a lifetime!

References

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

Publications: Laguna Beach, California.

Seaward, B.L. (2009). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (6^th

ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers

“Self care assessment worksheet”. (1996). The Eastern Carolina University  Web site. Retrieved

on March 5, 2011, from http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/rehb/upload/Wellness_Assessment.pdf

“Spiritual wellness assessment”. (2007). Illinois State University Student Health Services Web

site. Retrieved on March 4, 2011, from: http://shs.illinoisstate.edu/hpo/wellness/spiritual.shtml

 Thygerson, A. and Larson, K. (2006). Fit to be well: Lab manual. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Unit 8

Good Evening Everyone,

During this course, we have focused on a variety of mental exercises. I have tried them all and I found that the two exercises that worked the best for me were the Subtle-Mind exercise and the Rainbow Meditation exercise. I tend to use the Subtle-Mind exercise more often than the Rainbow Meditation exercise. I use the Subtle-Mind exercise every morning before I start to get ready for work. I also use it during the day when I feel stressed or when I need to relax at the end of the day. I like it because it helps me to focus. I am often distracted. Any small amount of clutter in my brain while invite me to wander with it on some days. The Subtle-Mind exercise helps me to recognize it for what it is and let it go. It also helps me to focus on my inner self. Ever since I have been using it, I feel so much better and I am more productive. I think this is why I tend to use it so often.

I also like the Rainbow Meditation exercise. I think I like it so much because it was an exercise that I did not have difficulty doing it. I was easily able to visualize the different colors coming from my various body parts. During my first attempt, I experienced the feeling of a release of some sort coming from each specific body part and going with the color towards the ceiling. It was as if something was leaving my body. I assumed this was like a negative energy or tension leaving my body. After that experience, I felt so much better. I was also amazed by the experience. This led me to continue to do it on a daily basis. I usually do this a night before I go to sleep. I feel that it helps me to relieve the tension that builds up in my body throughout the day.

I plan on using both of these exercises after this class is over. I saved a copy of them on my external hard drive, computer, Ipod, and e-reader to be sure that I have them wherever I go in the world. Hopefully, I will get to the point where I will only need to do the Subtle-Mind exercise in the morning and the Rainbow Meditation at night. If I get to this point, I know that I am on my way to wellness!

Carol

Unit 7 Asclepius Healing

While listening to this track, I found the first part of the track to be annoying. The man’s voice was not appealing to me. When the woman began to speak, I was relieved that the exercise was going to be with her voice. The exercise was meant to develop our inner consciousness. We were asked to focus on a wise individual. I used my father for this individual. We have always had a close relationship, but this exercise left me with a deeper feeling for him. I have often admired him for his ability to control a situation with calmness and not explosiveness. I tend to be explosive in my reactions. This is an area that I am working on improving. By doing this exercise, I was able to start to develop a better think before I speak approach to situations. It reminded me to remember my father’s way of handling a situation. In the practice, we were told to let the wise person’s speech become our own and this is what I did. It made me realize how important our words and actions can be.

I liked how the waves in the background gave me a soothing sense of being. It was very relaxing and calming. I did this in the morning and it gave me a relaxed feeling for the rest of the day. During the exercise, I was actually able to visualize the waves and the white light. This is sometimes a problem for me because my mind tends to wander. I was able to focus on the exercise for the entire time.

When I started this course, I was under a ton of stress. I had just gotten through the death of my father-in-law and the Christmas holidays. The day after class began, I was leaving for work. This meant that I would be on the road, almost continuously, for six weeks. When I looked at the amount of work that there was to do for my courses this semester, stress started to build even more. I thought I was going to explode from all of the stress that I was encountering. I would wake up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. I felt like I couldn’t take the time to really enjoy something because I should be studying. Once I started getting in to my courses, I found the mindfulness practices and meditation to be quite helpful. I began to do them because of the requirements for class, but later I started to realize the benefits that I was receiving from them. Psychologically, my stress has been reduced and I feel more at ease. I am no longer preoccupied by my studies. I face them with the calmness that I should have had in the past. I now am finding more time to devote to myself. I have been doing meditation on a regular basis. Now, it is not a requirement for class, but a requirement for my self. I plan on continuing this on a regular basis from now on. I even downloaded some of the mp3s onto my Ipod so that I can listen to them whenever I need to de-stress. I also have noticed that I have become more connected in my prayers. Although I regularly pray, I think I was just going through the motions. I now feel the difference when I pray and I have noticed that they have become longer and more meaningful. Lastly, I have been able to develop time for exercise. This has been something that I have been missing in my life. Before college, I exercised on a regular basis. One could say that I needed my exercise fix every day. When I started college, I felt that I had to give this up because of my time constraints. Boy, was I wrong! This was one area that I needed to keep in my life, but I didn’t realize it. Through the use of these exercises, I have decreased my feelings of time urgency. I feel that I have become more productive with the time that I do have and therefore, I am able to concentrate more on myself.

The statement, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” refers to the fact that you must practice what you preach. If you do not believe and partake in these practices of integral health, you can not communicate the need for your clients to do so.  As a practitioner of integral health, you do have an obligation to your patients to develop your own areas of psychological, physical, and spiritual health. It sets an example for them and it also shows them how important they are to one’s life.

I plan on developing my psychological and spiritual aspects by implementing a variety of methods into my current lifestyle. The first method is to exercise on a regular basis no matter how hectic my life becomes. This allows me to clear my mind and body. I am starting to think of sweating as a way to cleanse my body of impurities. It also cleanses my mind. I will also incorporate meditation into my daily life. This will help to develop my spirituality. Although I have not started to do yoga, I plan to incorporate this into my life as a way of continuing the connection between my mind and body. These are only a few baby steps, but considering where I was at in the beginning of this course, it is a great accomplishment for me. I now do not think of it as being required, but rather a necessity in my life.

Take care,

Carol

Unit 6 Loving Kindness and Integral Assessment Exercise

For this unit, we were to complete the universal loving kindness meditation exercise and the integral assessment exercise. The universal loving kindness meditation exercise was something similar to one that I have completed or tried to complete in the past. Previously, I was unable to get the right feeling for the exercise. In this attempt, I was able to do the exercise with no problem.  The only difficulty I had with this exercise was remembering what I was to say. Once I got over this difficulty, I had no problems with this exercise. I think the difference between the two attempts was with the wording and not the actual exercises. In the beginning of this exercise, my mind was wandering all over the place. It wasn’t until I started repeating the phrases that I was able to focus on the task at hand. When I began to focus on other individuals, I began to feel a warmness come over my body. It made me feel caring thoughts about people in places that I didn’t even know. I had a helping and compassionate feeling come over me and this lasted for the rest of the day.

With the second exercise – the integral assessment – I identified several areas that I needed to work on. One area that I needed to focus on was my interpersonal area. The conflict I have in this area revolves around some of my co-workers. My conflict in this area has to deal with trying to help people that don’t want my help. For me, I am looking at the future, but they are looking at the present. Through the assessment, I learned that I no longer have anger towards these individuals, but rather a sense of sorrow.  With a sense of sorrow, I think I can be able to help these individuals more with out the aspect of anger towards them.

Another area that I identified through my assessment was my psychospiritual area. In this area, I have realized that I have never developed an oneness with myself. My mind and body have always been two separate sectors. Although I go through the motions of being a very spiritual person, I haven’t felt it within my body as I once did. Without feeling this, my spirituality means nothing to me when in fact it really does.

I think by concentrating on developing these two areas of my life, I will begin to develop wholeness within my mind and body. Although these areas are different, they actually are inter-related. If I develop psychospiritual flourishing, my interpersonal relationships will flourish. If my interpersonal relationships are mended, I will be able to develop my psychospiritual area, as well. To start to repair these areas, I will begin to work on my mind-body-spirit connections with various exercises that I have learned in class. I plan to use yoga and meditation to develop these areas. The reason I chose these two was because they were very portable exercises for me. I can do them in my hotel room at any hour of the day or night. I can also meditate in various areas (like airports) by blocking out the chatter. By the use of yoga and meditation, I can start to develop my psychospiritual area of my life. For me, this seems the most critical area at this time. Once I begin to develop this area, the interpersonal area of my life should start to resolve.

This has been an eye opening unit for me. I normally just read the exercises and do them, but with this one, I really got to assess the problem areas in my life. I would suggest to anyone to try these if they have never done them. I would also suggest that if you have done them in the past that you should take some time and do them again.

Unit 5 Project

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AdDe1L7eRRL0ZGY3OXpiempfMGZrNnRrc2R2&hl=en


This was a little hard for me to do because I am in Switzerland and the blog site is in German. Thanks for the pictures professor!