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.