Unit 10

Hi Professor and Class,

In reassessing my psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being I have in fact improved my scores in all areas. I have improved my physical assessment score as I am now making it priority to get more sleep which has great physical benefits. I am regularly meditating which has drastically improved my score for my spirituality assessment which went from a 5.5 to 7.5. As for my psychological assessment I feel that with the benefit of the other two areas this area has improved as well from a 7.5 to an 8. I certainly still have work ahead of me but I am back on the right path. My scores have improved as a direct result of this class and motivating me to get back to doing what I need to for myself.

                I have made progress toward each of my goals in that I am still diligently working on improving my personal growth and continuing to meditate, exercising and mentally challenging myself with school work daily. A big improvement for me is again making sleep a priority which benefits many other aspects of my life as well. Yes I am still working on implementing these goals to seamlessly flow together to help me to achieve my goals. I think that this is a work in progress and that ups and down are to be expected along the journey. The important thing is to perceiver.

                Overall my personal experience throughout this class has been amazing. It has at times been challenging with some of the various techniques. The subtle mind practice is something that I will carry with me and use forever. I believe that I have improved my wellbeing as a result of taking this class and implementing the many useful techniques that I have learned. It has also prompted me to get back into my own meditation practice that I had set by the wayside while life was in a flurry. I have been awakened to the fact that such an important tool should not be left to the side but utilized as I will continue to do from now on. My personal benefits will cascade like a waterfall benefiting all of those around be. I will practice loving kindness and compassion daily with all those in my life and this will provide great benefit to myself as well as all those around me.

               

Thanks,

Michelle

Unit 9

Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Michelle Snyder

Kaplan University

HW-420

Professor Johnson

December 14, 2010

I Introduction:

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

            The phrase "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” is very powerful to me. I think it is very important for a health and wellness professional to understand and practice. I think it is very difficult to teach someone something that you have not experienced yourself first hand. I do feel that I have an obligation to my clients to continue to foster my development in mind-body – spiritual growth through exercises and life experiences. I can implement psychological and spiritual growth by continuing to meditate daily and by also practicing patients and awareness of other suffering and give loving kindness and compassion in return.

II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

Physical well-being – 7

            Exercise is a part of my regular daily routine. I find it an important part of my day both mentally and physically. Lack of sleep is extremely detrimental to the overall goals of my physique. Lack of sleep increases cortisol and decreases muscle repair and recovery which is essential to muscle growth.

Spiritual well-being - 5.5

             I find that as of recently this is the area that I lack spending time on. I have some of knowledge and experience with meditation and as of recently I find that I am frequently sacrificing my daily meditation time. This is something I am and have been aware of but need to take action to change.

Psychological well-being – 7.5

            I feel that I am mentally well balanced with the exception of needing more regular sleep on most nights due to diaper changes and milk refills.  I need to reset my circadian rhythm to sleep and rise earlier. This would help to improve all aspects of my day.

III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

My physical training is at a great spot right now as well as my diet. Improving my sleep will help to improve my physical health. Spiritually I need to meditate regularly each day. This will help to improve my mindfulness and spirituality. Psychologically I need to find balance in time management throughout the day’s activities while at the same time allocating adequate time for sleep as well. Time management is the key element that I need to implement to improve structure in my day. This balance would improve not only sleep but time for meditation as well. It seems as though two key elements would help me to reach my goals and improve my day.

IV Practices for personal health:

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

The two practices that I find to be most beneficial of the ones that we reviewed are the loving kindness and the subtle mind practices. Each of these practices has brought a great sense of awareness to my daily interactions with others from family members to professional clients. These activities have had and as I continue to improve my practice these benefits will continue to enhance in by life and my interactions with others. I think implementing practices of loving kindness and subtle mind on a daily basis are exercises of “mental fitness” as each day provides its own unique challenges (Dacher, 2006). Physically I can continue to weight train and be active outdoors with activities such as hiking and snowshoeing. Spiritually I will continue to meditate and practice both loving kindness and subtle mind exercises as well. Psychologically exercises for me would also include meditation as I think this practice incorporates all aspects of the body. I would also utilize yoga as another psychological exercise that would foster get focus while becoming very in tune with one’s own body. All of these practices I already incorporate into my daily practices. I utilize a these practices on a daily basis varying what I do each day but always balancing the mind-body and spirit.

V Commitment:

How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

Journaling and answering questions over a given time period and seeing how my outlook changes in response to the same questions would be a way to measure progress or lack thereof in the next six months. Tracking my own progress by looking back at my weekly journals I would make note of my mood, various reactions to situations and stress level. I think time management again becomes a major component in my daily success in accomplishing tasks. I have a lot to balance and often find I steal time from the much needed sleep that I already don’t get. Only two terms of school left and this will change greatly too. As much as I enjoy the journey right now and the education I am getting, I am ready to be done. Two terms left! So until then meditation will help me maintain my balance. I feel I have a pretty good balance for what I have going with life but honestly once school is done I will be able to take a long deep breath.

References:

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

                        Basic Health Publications

Unit 8

Unit 8

The two practices that I find to be most beneficial of the ones that we reviewed are the loving kindness and the subtle mind practices. Each of these practices has brought a great sense of awareness to my daily interactions with others from family members to professional clients. These activities have had and as I continue to improve my practice these benefits will continue to enhance in by life and my interactions with others. I think implementing practices of loving kindness and subtle mind on a daily basis are exercises of “mental fitness” as each day provides its own unique challenges.

Michelle

Unit 7

Unit 7

The practice of fixing my attention on an image or individual was challenging for me. I have experienced guided meditations with a white light before but not quite to this extent. It was more as a sense of connection to the universe and grounding to the earth. This was definitely more complicated and almost distracting from the relaxation. I understand the purpose but this technique is not for me. I will stick with what works for me. The phrase "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” is very powerful to me. I think it is very important for a health and wellness professional to understand and practice. I think it is very difficult to teach someone something that you have not experienced yourself first hand. I do feel that I have an obligation to my clients to continue to foster my development in mind-body – spiritual growth through exercises and life experiences. I can implement psychological and spiritual growth by continuing to meditate daily and by also practicing patients and awareness of other suffering and give loving kindness and compassion in return.

Michelle

This is a view from Jones Mt. about 1.2 mile hike right out my back yard.

Unit 6

UNIT 6

This was an interesting practice this week. I certainly understand the mindfulness intent behind it but I find it challenging. I have found after completing this assessment that I have a few things to work on for sure. I have chosen to work on my emotional intelligence as will translate into positive improvements with all of the relationships in my life such as with my husband, children and coworkers. Emotional growth will also continue my development of personal growth. I am continuing to be diligent about implementing my daily meditation practice which has tremendous benefit in my life and relations with others. I have found benefits already in the short time I have been practicing thus far. Improvement with my time management to allocate time for meditating is often my struggle. These are the two things that I will work to improve hand in hand. And reap the benefits throughout the rest of my life.

Michelle

Unit 5 Powerpoint

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0By-Jocp5nGJNNGIwZDhlNzMtOWVhMS00NGMxLWFlZWUtN2FlODEyZGQ3YmYy&hl=en

Unit 5

1. Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

The subtle mind practice turns to a more inward focus and uses the breath as a tool of observation. The Loving Kindness practice expanded the field of compassion to one’s self and all those around. I much prefer this type of practice as it coincides with my current practice of Vipassana meditation which is what I use. I enjoy this practice as it is getting me slowly back into my daily practice. I enjoy the subtle mind practice more as it brings me closer to meditation.

2. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

I think there is a great connection between physical and mental wellness to one’s spiritual wellness. I believe that all three of these types of wellness are interconnected. In my personal life I find that when aspects of one of these areas of my life are balanced it overflows and positively affects another aspect. Conversely if I am out of balance in one of these areas of wellness then the imbalance has a tendency to snowball keeping or throwing other things out of balance as well. I find the interconnectedness of physical, mental and spiritual wellness to be personal challenging balance that I am working diligently to gain and more importantly maintain control of. Balance is a fundamental aspect of wellness in all areas.

Metta,

Michelle