Final Project

Jenna Golik

Assessment

Kaplan University

            It is important for a health and wellness professional to develop in all areas psychologically, spiritually, and physically. This is because it not only sets good examples for clients for the health  and wellness professional, but it helps them build a deeper understanding for individuals and what they are facing and a better knowledge on how to help them. Developing psychologically as a health and wellness professional helps by being able to manage their personal stress, along with training the mind to stay focused so they are hearing everything a client has to stay. It also helps the professional by being able to be accepting of others and having the ability to truly feel for their client.  Developing spiritually is also equally as important because it helps the professional have the ability to be open and understand that everyone has a different belief system or method of faith. It can be important as well because you have cultivated a deeper connection with yourself and your surroundings. Physically developing yourself is being able to have a client physically see that you practice what you preach. They are able to see the physical benefits of what is possible for them even. It also helps the professional, because being physically fit along with the developing the rest of these areas can help them take on the challenges of their daily obligations and do them with ease.

            I have assessed my health in each domain on a conventional measuring system of one to ten; with ten being the highest and one being the lowest. The spiritual aspect of my life is a ten, because I was brought up in the belief that there is a higher power and in times of trouble they are there to guide you. I have always maintained this spiritual belief, because I truly believe in it but it has always brought me comfort when I needed it. Physically my wellness would be a seven out of ten, and that is because I need to manage better eating habits to maintain my physical health. I do not eat poor food choices, but I need to make sure that I am eating three meals a day. I also need to increase my exercise and fitness routine as well. I do some exercise that I can do within comfort without causing aggravation to my rheumatic condition. I need to make it a point to do these exercises at least 3 times a week if not more. I will start with three times a week and gradually work my up to more. Psychologically I score a eight out of ten because I feel at times I do not manage my stress well, and I need to learn to be a better listener. This is not because I am talking over others but my mind drifts from its attention to other things it does not need to.

            I have many goals for myself in each area, but I feel that if I start out small and incorporate these well into my daily routine then I can focus on meeting other goals. Physically I would like to be able to do an exercise routine more frequently or do a variety of different kinds of exercises. For the time being I need to focus on getting my rheumatic condition well managed so I can exercise with less pain. I feel by listening to my doctor, and starting off small this goal is very obtainable. I will start by just walking for at least thirty minutes a day.  Psychologically I feel I need to work on stress management, and keeping doing my practices on quieting the mind. I feel if I keep doing my quiet mind practices every day this could help be a huge stress reduction as well. As far as spiritually my goal for that is to make more time for my spiritual practices. I often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day that I neglect that aspect of my life seeing it as unimportant, but it is. I need to take the time every day to incorporate my spiritual practices.

            There are practices that I can do for my personal health. The practices I would incorporate for my physical health would be Qigong and Yoga. I can implement these into my exercise routine. I can mix up the days between Qigong and Yoga to start to broaden my exercise routine. I typically do them in the evening after everything is done so I can keep my mind focused on that and enjoy that time. Spiritually I can have moments of prayer incorporated into my day, and make the time to frequent church more often. Psychologically I can incorporate more meditation into my daily routines as well as keep on practicing my “mental work out”.

            I will assess my progress or lack of progress by making myself a chart on the goals I want to meet. I will take it week by week and see what I implemented and what I may have procrastinated on. After I do this then I need to figure out a better way that I will incorporate the strategies I need to meet my goals. The strategies that I can implement in maintaining my long-term practices for health and wellness are staying focused, and bringing my attention back to the present when I realize that I am drifting away from my practices. I also can have better time management and a better approach on planning my day. I feel if I take the time to plan the day then I can maintain my practices for the long term. I also can remind myself of why I am doing this when I may struggle. I feel constant reminding is helpful so you realize the purpose of your goals.

Unit 8

I chose the exercise loving-kindness. I chose this specific one because I feel it has been the most beneficial to me. I also feel that by learning how to love yourself to extending your love outwards onto to everyone and everything is very important. I feel if more people would learn this they could better accept others for who they are.


I found that by concentration on breathing in the positivity for yourself and breathing it out onto everyone else really helped me center my mind. I found that by doing this in the evening quietly helped me train my mind to focus on more positive thoughts and not the negative ones that can take over my train of thought sometimes. I found that what helped to further develop this was practicing some guided qigong. I like to use qigong frequently because it is something that I can easily do and I find does not distract my mind from focusing on the exercise.

Unit 7

After listening to "Meeting Aesclepius" I realize that it is important to incorporate some sort of mindfulness or meditation into my every day life. As I read through the book I highly enjoyed Dacher's description of people going to the temple of Aesclepius and how they obtained health and wellness. I realize that adding meditation into my life every day has reaped positive benefits. I find that when used periodically through out the day even if its for 10 or 15 minutes or for 30 minutes it helps me regain focus of my mind, and helps me wind down from my day. Recently when I had to put a long time pet of mine to sleep it helped me remain positive and not become absorbed with grief. I had moments of sadness, but it helped me see the whole picture and how it was the best decision I could have done. It also helped me realize that with life comes death and death is not always a negative aspect. Death can be a healing in a sense.

The saying about the inability to lead when you have not been there itself is a simple one for me simply because it reminds me of saying "you can not judge without walking a mile in their shoes." It can be very hard to be understanding of someone who is struggling with an issue they want to change when you yourself have not struggled with that issue. It also reminds me that things are easier said than done. I feel this is important for a health and wellness professional because they need to be sensitive of others who come to you and may be apprehensive about your ability to help them. I also feel that it is important to be a good example to your clients and be able to practice what you preach. I feel that applying these to my life will help me remain optimistic and calm when dealing with issues that I myself may not be familiar with.

Integral assessment

This week I put into practice loving-kindess and integral assessment into my personal life. I found the exercise part easy to read and contemplating on how to put it into play into my persona life. I however did struggle during the day as to keeping my mind focused on what changes I wanted to make and how I was going to do this. The assessment part I felt like I was on the right track but definitely needed to do some re-reading to make sure I was not forgetting any crucial parts.

I chose to focus my growth and development on being able to be mindful to others and being open to their views and needs. I wanted to be able to help people meet the needs that they do not directly come out and say they are longing for. I chose to be loving towards others and help them in any way I know how. The activities I feel that are able to help me obtain my goal of being open and mindful of others were just meditation through the day when I felt that I was becoming stressed or worked up. The other exercises I included was to end my day with Qigong. I felt that by doing this in the evening it would not only be relaxing and help me wind down from my day, but it would also help me reflect on my day and see where I lost sight. I also felt by doing this in the evening it could me clear my mind not only for sleep but to see how to assess the situations of the day to handle them better in the future.

The Subtle Mind

The loving-kindness exercise I feel helps you love yourself and send the love and kindness out to others including people who you may not have nice feelings for to begin with. The subtle mind exercise helps you obtain the stillness your mind needs to flourish. Again I just do not like the audio for these exercises they irritate me. I rather read the exercises in the book and put them into practice myself. I do not like the flow or the voice of the exercises. I end up becoming frustrated, irritated, and more mentally stimulated in a negative way. On the other hand spiritual wellness helps shape my mental and physical wellness. Having the faith I do in the beliefs I have help me cultivate a mind that is optimistic and strong. This cascades over into my physical wellness by being able to give me the endurance I need for the physical fitness I pursue. It also helps me by bringing positive energy to my body to help me feel my best, and be able to do the daily activities I need to.
        
 The connection is manifested into my personal life, by reminding me the importance of the connection of the mind, body and soul. I make it a point to work on each so that my body is better connected and each is thriving. I also feel that it helps remind me that none of these can be neglected because they will affect each other.