Unit 9: Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Personal Application of the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

     It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically so that they will be balanced and better equipped to help and treat their patients. If a health and wellness professional cannot balance themselves then their patients would not be expected to have any confidence that they can do it for them. The areas that I need to develop to achieve the goals I have for myself are all three really. I am working on developing physically so I can be in the outward shape that I believe my clients would want to see and so that I will be healthier. Spiritually I need to work on acceptance of what is brought in to my life. Psychologically I am working on having a more watchful mind so that I do not get caught up in pointless thoughts and dragged down by stress.

     In assessing my wellness score on a scale of 1-10, I have come to the following: Physical well-being I would give myself a 6.5 because I am active on a regular basis and conventionally healthy. I am working on getting more fitness activity in my life and am getting closer to being in a better, healthier shape. I do eat a decent amount of whole foods but I also eat too much processed food. This is another thing I am working on. Spiritual well-being I would score a 7 because I believe in a higher power although I am unsure of who or what that is. I am generally at peace with my surroundings but find myself questioning my life a lot. I am working on acceptance of what is rather than wondering so much about what could be. Psychological well-being would get a 7 because I am sane by all accounts, but I doubt myself and my choices a lot and this leads to undue stress and at times depression. (Dacher, 2006)

     Goals I have for myself psychologically are to think less, spend less time worrying about everything and to take the time regularly to sit and meditate. Some goals I have for my spiritual wellness are to open myself up to what surrounds me more and just let it all in, accepting everything for what it is and what it could bring. Physically, my goals are to continue with my fitness and eating healthier. Eventually I would like to be mostly vegetarian.

     A strategy that I can implement to foster growth in physical wellness is Tai chi which helps with physical wellness because it is slow and intentional movements that focus on both inner and outer strength and peace. It puts your mind at peace as it strengthens your body. By doing Tai Chi a couple times a week I would gain strength in my body and lessen the chance for illness. Yoga is good for psychological wellness because it uses movement and breathing to still your mind as it strengthens your body. This releases stress and tension and it lets you let go of daily problems. Yoga can be done on my days off from regular physical fitness. Meditation would be good for spiritual wellness because it makes you focus silently on your own thoughts and feelings and how they affect the world around us. This eases us, relaxes us and de-stresses us. Meditation is something that I will work myself up to. I may start with only 10-15 minutes a day then work up to around 30 minutes. I think doing this in the evenings would be a good idea to help relax myself and even promote a more restful sleep. (Dacher, 2006)

     To assess my progress over the next six months I will keep a chart of what I am supposed to do and check it off as I go. This way I will know what I did and what I skipped. It will also help me to remember what all should be done and hopefully get me in a good routine. Strategies for maintaining my long-term practices for health and wellness would be to follow my charts, keep a journal and find others to hold me accountable. This way I will continue with that I plan on doing and not let my attention stray from my goals.

Reference

Dacher, E., (2006) Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing.

         Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health Publications, Inc. (pgs. 81-83, 111-114)

Unit 8: Optimal Well-Being

Unit 8: Optimal Well-Being

            The two practices that I have learned through this course that I think are most beneficial are Loving-Kindness and a Watchful Mind. I think these two are the most beneficial because they help to release stress and put the mind and body at ease. Implementing these practices into my personal life to foster mental fitness would be a matter of making time for my-self a few times a week and focusing on relaxing my mind. I can implement a watchful mind on a daily basis by letting my thoughts come and go and not lingering on any of them. Bringing Loving-Kindness into my life would be more of sending out good vibes and well wishes to everyone I come across. A good example would be if I hear of someone having troubles I can sit for a few moments and send out healthy and helpful thoughts to that person. I think both practices will help with my mental fitness and overall integral health and wellness.

Tamara

Unit 7: Meeting Aesclepius

     The meditative practice this week of Meeting Aesclepius was about picturing someone who is wise and caring and absorbing that wisdom and love into yourself. This was easy for me to choose a guide. My grandmother was an amazingly loving person who helped anyone who needed it. I was able to visualize her and her aspects and feel the light from her come into me. The experience was calming and strengthening at the same time. I felt relaxed, sure of myself and strong within my heart and mind.  Meditation such as this, has fostered an increase in my psychological and spiritual wellness by allowing me to put my mind at ease and focus on sharing love and caring from within. I can continue to apply these practices in my personal life by taking the few minutes each day to sit and contemplate.

     The quote, “One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means that in order to show someone how to do something you must do it yourself first and have the personal experience to draw from. This applies to the health and wellness profession in that a practitioner must have fostered their own balance through the practices they teach before they attempt to teach it to others. If you do not know how to do a pushup properly then you cannot instruct someone else on how to do it. As a health professional I feel I do have an obligation to my clients to develop my health in all areas. I have to first be balanced and aware before I can help them become balanced and aware. To implement psychological and spiritual growth in my life I need to keep an open mind, practice mediation and allow myself to relax more often, not just physically but mentally.

Tamara

Unit 6

     In doing the universal loving-kindness exercise I found that although it was difficult for me to sit silently for a period of 10 minutes with only a few thoughts repeating in my mind, I did find the process of sending good wishes out to everyone to be calming and almost fulfilling. I felt better about myself as if I had actually helped someone.

     Through my self-assessment process I have to the area of psychospiritual wellness to be my focus of growth and development. In particular I have chosen the emotional line to work on because I feel this is where I contract most of my unhappiness and stress from.

      Some specific exercises to foster greater wellness in this area would be meditating and even yoga. Both activities would allow me to clear my mind and realize what I need to accept, change and discard.

Tamara

Unit 5: A Subtle Mind

   For this practice I had to sit quietly and focus on my breaths. I chose to focus on the rise and fall of my chest with each breath. This practice was different from the Loving Kindness exercise because it was about paying attention to yourself and your own silence and peace. Loving Kindness was about loving yourself and giving that love out to others. In the beginning, this exercise was easy but as I sat in silence longer I began to grow restless. I was able to witness my mind fairly well which surprised me because I am always thinking about something and analyzing those thoughts, but the silence for so long was a bit much for me.
   Spiritual wellness is connected to mental and physical wellness because all things are connected. In order for you to be mentally and physically healthy you must have a clear and healthy spiritual connection. For me that means noticing nature and life around me and acknowledging the gratitude I have for whomever has given it to us. I do not go to church or believe in one specific God but I do believe in a higher power and know that we are all bound together at some point or another.

~Tamara

Unit4: Loving-Kindness

   This week I practiced a meditation technique for loving-kindness. This allows you to be aware of your love for yourself so that you may extend that love outward to others. I sat quietly, breathing deeply and focusing on those that I love. I absorbed that love into myself and allowed my whole being to be at ease. I then absorbed the pain of a loved one and extended out love, joy and health to him. I found this exercise to be a little difficult, not because I do not love myself or have love to give but because focusing on one feeling was hard to do. I did find it beneficial though as it relaxed me and did allow me a time to focus on what is inside of me rather than what is around me.
   The concept of a mental workout is like that of the above exercise. Like our bodies, our minds must be exercised too. If you do do take the time to place your mind first and control what it is doing, it will become limp and out of shape. You want your mental state of mind to be taut and focused just like your external muscles.

~Tamara

Unit 3: The Mind-Body Connection

  Well-being is to be considered on many levels in order to render a correct outlook of ones health. For me personally, I would rate my well-being on a scale of 1-10 as follows:

A-Physical well-being 6 because I am active on a regular basis and conventionally healthy, but I need more fitness activity in my life and I need to get my body in better shape. I do eat a decent amount of whole foods but I also eat too much processed food.

B- Spiritual well-being 7 because I believe in a higher power although I am unsure of who or what that is. I am generally at peace with my surroundings but find myself questioning my life a lot.

C- Psychological well-being 7 because I am sane by all accounts, but I doubt myself and my choices a lot and this leads to undue stress and at times depression.

  My general goal for each of these areas would be to raise them in the near future. There are activities that I can implement in my life to assist in moving toward a higher part of the scale for each level of well-being.  These would be planning healthier meals and fitting in more physical activities, taking time out to free my mind of my physical surroundings and finding a way to accept my life for what it is, and analyzing the choices I have made so far to see why I have done so and what I can do in the future to accept those choices and relieve my stress.

Relaxation Exercise: The Crime of the Century
  
  This exercise required me to relax and picture 7 parts of my body projecting the 7 colors of the rainbow. This exercise was relaxing but frustrating at the same time. Picturing the projection of colors from my body and paying attention to my breathing was relaxing to my body but the whole exercise was so slow that I found it frustrating to my mind.