Final Post

Health and wellness professionals must be well developed psychologically, spiritually, and physically because in order to teach others to become well, they must themselves be well. All three aspects are equally important because they interact with one another in complex and varied ways. For example, some people have trouble exercising to stay fit because psychologically, they are afraid of what others will think of them. On the other hand, some people exercise so frequently and vigorously that they don’t have time to address their psychological and emotional needs – or perhaps they exercise to avoid facing them. Whether a person is religious or not, spirituality is important because it helps to foster a sense of self and community, as well as beliefs. I personally need to develop spiritually more than anything else. In the past I considered myself devoutly Christian, and now I find that it’s a struggle to get myself to church (although I still hold the same beliefs). I also used to worship through song and dance, which I would like to incorporate into my life again.

 I’ll score myself in each realm on a scale of one to 10. Spiritually, I would give myself a five. This is because inwardly, I’m a very spiritual person, pray often, and find myself approaching situations with a spiritual mindset often. However, outwardly, I have a hard time expressing and further challenging my spirituality. Psychologically, I would score my wellness at an eight. I find myself to be very levelheaded and can usually talk myself through situations without becoming too angry, sad, or upset. Though I have my ups and downs (especially now that I’m pregnant), I feel that I’m happy with who I am as a person and where my life is going. Physically, I would give myself an eight as well. This isn’t necessarily because I’m more or less fit than I have been, but because my outlook on physical health and fitness has changed so dramatically (for the better) since I found out I was pregnant. I’m so much more comfortable with my body than I ever have been, which has allowed me to exercise with the focus of how I feel rather than how I look. I’m finding that exercise with this goal is much more rewarding.

My spiritual goal would be to write a worship song. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, but working 40-hour weeks and doing school online (and carrying a child) has exhausted me to the point that I’m asleep nearly every time I’m not working on something! My psychological goal is to journal at least 3 times a week during my pregnancy. I find myself so much more relaxed after journaling – not to mention it tends to weed out many of my negative emotions. And finally, my physical goal is to challenge myself during my second trimester by taking one basic yoga class per week. Of course I won’t be able to do everything, but it will be good for me to be in that relaxing atmosphere and stretch my muscles a bit.

One practice to help foster growth in the spiritual area is to pray. I could achieve this by praying every night before bed with my husband. Another is to find a weekly spiritual community, like church or a small group, to challenge myself spiritually. Psychologically, a great practice would be to play a daily mind game like Sudoku or a crossword puzzle. Another good strategy is to take a different route than you’re used to – it challenges the brain and promotes new connections. As far as physical wellness is concerned, a great practice is to find an exercise you like and do it for five minutes a day – whether it’s running, jumping jacks, or planking. If you enjoy it, it’s not wasted time. Another is to meditate on a health-related mantra, such as “I can achieve anything I put my mind to” or “I am healthy, I am happy, I am me.”

Over the next six months, I will assess myself through journaling. Since one of my goals is to journal three times a week, this will be doubly effective! As time progresses, I can go back and see how far I’ve come and what needs more work. A good long-term strategy would be to make a weekly sheet and check off every time I achieve a small goal. Then, at the end of each month, I can treat myself to something like a new outfit or a massage. This will keep me motivated to continue moving forward!

Unit 8

For me, the most beneficial exercises we've done so far were Meeting Aesclepius and Universal Loving Kindness.

As far as Meeting Aesclepius is concerned, I liked having a person to picture and focus on - it kept my mind from wandering during the silent portions of the exercise.

I also enjoyed imagining myself "becoming" this person - perhaps this is because of my experience as an actress. I've always found it easy to imagine myself as someone else, and this was a nice way to do it.

The Universal Loving Kindness practice was enjoyable because it forced me to focus on others' needs rather than my own. I often find myself going through the day in a very egocentric fashion - this pushed my thoughts from my own "sufferings" to the sufferings of others.

In my own life, I could incorporate these exercises by doing them each once a week. I could also incorporate the Meeting Aesclepius exercise into my life by consciously choosing role models and making decisions with the help of their wisdom. Universal Loving Kindness would be easy to incorporate into my life - I simply need to be more sympathetic and empathetic, and focus less on my own wants and needs.

All of these things will help to foster mental fitness, by shifting my inward focus to an outward one.

Meeting Aesclepius

I really enjoyed this meditation!

It was interesting to imagine someone (in my case, Gandhi), and see myself "becoming" them. At first it made me a little uncomfortable, but I eased into it quickly.

Yet again, I found myself tired (I need to stop doing these meditations at night), but I stayed awake for this one.

I enjoyed imagining my mind, words, and heart becoming like Gandhi's.

I also enjoyed having something physical to picture - this kept my mind from wandering.

Meditation has made my focus deeper. Upon doing the first one, I could barely concentrate all the way through, but now I find it very comfortable to sit for 20 minutes during meditation.

Psychologically, I've found myself much more calm and collected. I've also become more patient and less prone to anger.

"One cannot lead another to where one has not gone himself."

To me, it's simple - you have to walk the walk if you're going to talk the talk.

This is definitely important in this line of work - who wants a health coach who leads an unhealthy life? Who wants an unhealthy, overweight physical trainer?

As a health professional, it's absolutely important to foster not only physical health, but mental and spiritual as well. They play such key roles in physical health, it should be required!

In my own life, I can foster spiritual growth by meditating, praying, and journaling.

Universal Loving Kindness / Integral Assessment

I liked the simplicity of the Universal Loving Kindness practice. I did, however, want to close my eyes, but wasn't able to because I couldn't remember the lines and therefore had to read them from the text.

I think it was a great thing to focus on, though! I personally need to spend a lot more time thinking about the suffering and needs of others rather than just my own.

More than the practice, however, I found the assessment very revealing.

The first question to ask is: What area of my life contains suffering?

Right now, I would have to say biological and interpersonal.

Biological, because I am experiencing some bodily changes and learning to adjust to new exercise and eating habits,

and Interpersonal, because I feel a deep lack of personal connection in my life. This is because I do school online and am a full-time nanny for one girl - I have a lot of alone-time right now. I'm sure I'll appreciate this time someday, but right now I long for close friendships!

The second question is: What area of my life is ready to be developed?

For me, I would say psychospiritual and biological. I often find myself frustrated or sad, and I've found that in doing these relaxation exercises, many of my stress-responses go away. They help me to handle daily activities with more grace and cheer than normal. Biologically, I'm ready and prepared to attack a new exercise plan and give myself leeway if I need it!

The Subtle Mind

This week's practice was even harder than last week's!

As compared to the Loving Kindness exercise, I found this one very uninvolved and difficult to follow. I ended up becoming VERY tired and VERY confused as to what I was doing.

I found it extremely difficult to shift my focus "to varying degrees" toward and away from my "focal point" of breath.

If you tell me to focus on my breath, I can do that.

If you tell me to focus on a spot on the wall, I can do that.

But varying degrees of focus? That's just confusing and seemingly pointless.

I seem to enjoy exercises with more involvement - when there are 8 minutes of radio silence, I will most likely fall asleep, you know?

However, I do think that spiritual wellness is deeply connected with mental and physical wellness.

It's the final frontier, I think.

A person can be deeply mentally and physically strong, but lack any sense of spirituality (I have many friends like this).

However, when you begin searching your personal spirituality, you learn more about yourself than you did on either of the other levels.

You become vulnerable, which is scary but ultimately freeing.

I personally know that when I'm praying, reading the bible, and singing worship songs frequently, I feel much more deeply rooted in my own soul. When I go a week or two without doing any of these things, I feel a disconnect - I can't remember where to turn for comfort.

Spirituality is the ultimate source of comfort and self-assurance, whether you believe a particular religion or simply what you know to be true in your soul.