Unit 10 - The End of This Part of the Journey

My scores from unit three in physical, spirtual and psychological aspects was about a 4 on a scale of 1-10.  I was and still am on a journey to improve myself so that I can improve the lives of my clients, but know that I have a long way to go.  Unit three only gives me a score of 4.  At the end of unit ten, I have improved greatly in all three of these areas,but know that I have further to go.  My score at this point in time would be a 6.  I can't, in all fairness, give myself more than this.  How could I? 

My goals in the physical aspect of my health include eating better (still not where I need to be) and definitely getting to the gym more because right now I am at a stand-still.  I have made little to no progress in this area, despite good intentions.

Spiritually, I have made good progress, but my goal is to reach even higher planes of awareness.  I will not be Dalai Lama by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to be able to feel the energy in everything around me.  Maybe I will even be able to see auras in people.  This, I know, will take time, patience, and practice.

Psychologically, again, I have made progress, but know that I have further to go.  Loving-kindness is definitely working, but there are days (like today), where I need more effort than others.  My goal is to have this practice come naturally, without any effort.  Wouldn't the world be a better place is we could all do this?

In summary, while I have been able to make progress, I am no where near where I need to be.  I want to be a "whole" person.  Where one of these aspects ends, another needs to begin.  They all need to work together in me so that I can be that one person that people know they can come to in order to get the right guidance for their own journeys in holistic and integal health.  By reaching my goals, it will greater improve my ability to be this guide for people.  I look forward to my future journey and am glad that you were all a part of my learning.

Blessings!

ta – Unit 9 – Final Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

Practices and Commitments for

My Own Personal Health

KAnnunziata – Unit 9 – Final Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.    Introduction:  It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically so that we can set an example for our clients.  I can say that first impressions do matter; and if I were the one going to seek treatment to help me to heal integrally, I would want my practitioner to practice what he/she preaches.  The areas that I need to personally develop are in all phases.  I am nowhere near the person I need to be on a holistic level, but am well on my way in a journey to get there.  I still need to meditation and practice yoga each day in order to maintain focus and calm.  I need to start eating healthier as I have strayed away from this lifestyle.  Hopefully with the week or so break in between terms, I will be able to get more on track.  As far as going to the gym, I really need to get back into the groove, so to speak.  Time has become very crunched lately and has been a great excuse not to go.  The time has come to get back into the swing of things.

2.    Assessment: My health in each domain isn’t as great as I’d like it to be.  Although practicing loving-kindness has helped immensely, it isn’t enough some days without putting added effort into it.  It seems the closer it is to Thanksgiving and Christmas, the testier the public tends to be.  I just don’t get it.  I thought it was the season to be thankful and love others; instead it has become the season to be grumpier and meaner.  I find myself praying more throughout the day for added patience, which He gives me without fail.  Some days it just takes longer for me to accept that gift.  Physically, besides my psoriatic arthritis, I am doing well.  The gym was helping me to be more flexible (some days when I’m not experiencing a flare).  Psychologically, I need to be more committed to practicing meditation as I know that it would help me immensely.  Relaxing through meditation would greatly improve my pain and help me to get through the day even easier and more cheerfully.

3.    Goal Development: My goal for physical health is to be more committed to the gym, and more committed to healthier eating habits.  These improvements will help my health, my immune system, and my pain regulation.  Psychologically, I need to practice a more positive attitude and look for the positive more in people – especially during this holiday season.  With so much going on in society right now (i.e. unemployment, rising prices, rising military threats in the Middle East), we need to be more patient with each other, and kinder, as we don’t know what our fellow man is actually going through.  Spiritually, meditation is needed more in my life for calming, but so is my link with God.  He is so good to me (although I don’t live in a mansion).  He lets me put my feet on the floor each day; he lets me enjoy my family; he lets me go to work each day.

4.    Practices for personal health: My strategy for growth in my physical health is to eat better foods (less carbs, more whole foods).  I need to eat more fruits and vegetables and less items that come in a box.  Psychologically my strategy for growth would be to be more positive and to be more open-minded when it comes to other attitudes from other people.  Being positive myself will create more positive health in my life overall, and will greatly improve relationships with others in my family and work environment.  Spiritual growth will be found through meditation and yoga.  Guided meditation definitely helps me spiritually as it enables me to grow inside of myself, if that makes any sense.

5.    Commitment:  Over the next six months, I intend to make myself a chart to remind me to eat better, go to the gym at least three times a week, practice meditation and yoga alternately every other day.  Strategies will include segments of the day (i.e. morning, afternoon, evening) as opposed to times of the day, as my work schedule is never the same.  Long-term practices?  Once I get into a solid routine with the help of my charts, I won’t need to be reminded to do these things each day.  It will just flow over the course of time for the rest of my life.  As I learn something new, I will incorporate it into my day to ensure that while I am living a holistic life, I can learn and in turn, teach my clients.

 

I send each of you blessings and wish only the best for all of you in your future health careers.

Wow - Unit 8

Can you believe it?

Let's see - the two forms of relaxation that I most liked - hmmm- I would have to say Loving-Kindness and Visualization.  They provided, to me, the easiest ways to calm down and to have positiveness in my life.  These are the two that I would most likely recommend to my clients/patients. 

I would implement them in my personal life by waking up, thanking God for allowing me this privilege, and then providing kindness to everyone I meet during the day, even if it's only a smile or a kind word.  I need to love myself and share this love with others.  There are times when it is so much easier to be sarcastic, but I need to let them know that I can handle whatever they want to dish out - and handle it with kindness rather than further attitude.

I would foster visions of my 'happy place" that I used during the visualization exercise whenever I felt I had to deal with something unpleasant.  I will deal with people with kindness, even if they are rude and beligerent and then use that visualization process to bring myself back to calm. 

I wish I knew of these practices years ago, as it makes life so much easier and less stressful when using these approaches.  Life is good - sometimes it just takes a little reminder and a step back.

Unit 7

Wow!  I honestly can't believe this term is almost over!

The meditation for this unit was good for me, with the exception of the speaker's voice.  I would listen to her and relax - and relaxed even more when she wasn't speaking.  I listened to the flow of the water and the sound of the flute and then BAM! - her voice broke through the relaxing sounds, I thought, very loudly.  I think she could have started talking more gently through the water.  Maybe it's just me.

The more I listen to the guided meditations, the easier it seems, I relax.  Maybe I'm getting used to them, and it is easier to succomb to the quiet and to the thought that the speaker wants us to relate to.  By further listening to these meditations, and with an honest effort of incorporating them into my daily routine, I can see that stress will be easier to handle.  I just need to make a solid commitment - even if it's only for ten minutes a day until the sessions can get longer.

The saying that "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" means that we, as professionals, cannot ask our patients to experience something that we ourselves have not experienced.  How can we ask our patients to try meditation if we have not practiced it ourselves, or have not seen the benefits first hand?  How can I tell them that yoga is not only good for stress, but also increases flexibility if I have not tried this myself and seen the positive results?  We must "practice what we preach".

I do have an obligation to my patients to be putting my own health on the straight and narrow involving mind, body, and spirit before I could ever even try to make it an obligation for them.  I need to have my own positiveness so that I can overwhelm them with that very same feeling. 

I need to implement these patterns into my own life by making sure that I awaken with a positive attitude, eat the right foods, get physical exercise each day, and make sure that I am meditating to alleviate stress and put my "whole" self in the right path for optimal health.

Unit 6

I had a REALLY bad day at work today, so when I opened up the book, I had to remind myself to keep my patience.  I saw that we had to close our eyes and then repeat the phrases, asked myself how I was supposed to know the phrases when I had my eyes closed, and then brought myself to a calmer reality and decided to begin again.

Once I put my bad day behind me, it was easier to practice the exercise.  It definitely helped to repeat these phrases over and over; it helped me to want to help people.  I wanted everyone that I came in contact with to be happy in their thoughts and to feel accomplishment when they overcame the struggles in their lives.

What I learned about myself was that it takes me awhile to wind down when I get home from work.  Besides relaxing for a few minutes because I am exhausted, I realize that it really does take my mind awhile to wind down, also.  I was never really aware of this because I never put a conscious efford into it.

The area that I need to focus on for my own growth and development is my spiritual self.  Being spiritual means more than just an hour at church.  It means knowing yourself, and being happy with yourself.  It means to be positive and less negative both with inner and outer balance.  It means being able to clear your mind and focus only on what is good is life. 

In order to obtain this, I think I need to further study other spiritual beliefs, such as Buddhism, and other Asian cultures.  Practicing Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and meditation on a more frequent basis will help me to obtain this knowledge and further my spiritual growth.  I believe in Yin/Yang and need to further incorporate this into my life - balance and positive energy!

Unit 5

The differences between the subtle mind and the loving-kindness meditations was with what we needed to focus on in one.  The subtle mind helped us to focus on relaxing ourselves a little at a time until we felt nothing but calm, in every inch of every part of our being, both our inner and outer selves. 

The loving-kindness guide helped us to focus on feeling and showing loving kindness toward others. 

The subtle mind exercise that we used this week reminded me of Qi Gong, using breath in everything.  It shows how these eastern practices are all intertwined with overall health and how each aspect overflows into the other.  Couldn't you just visualize yourself on a mountain in Tibet?  It is an awesome feeling and mental experience.

I find that outside of the practice session, I am beginning to use my breath during the day to calm myself when getting even slightly edgy.  It has been helpful both in and out of practice sessions.

By relaxing our thoughts, emotions, and bodies, we find it easier to take smaller things in stride in our daily lives.  I know that I do.  By maintaining positive attitudes, by being in a more calm state of mind, stressors become less, and our ways of handling them become greater.  By being more spiritually healthy, by having more positive thoughts, our physical "selves" become healthier, drastically lowering our risks of disease.  I would much rather becoming healthy this way than with the aid of chemicals.

I can't wait to grow further in my spiritual journey.

Unit 4 post:

The best part of this blog exercise was the loving-kindness segment.  I found it extremely useful in feeling love and nurturing.  I envisioned myself holding my boys when they were infants, wanting to love them and shield them from all of the bad in the world. 

It was extremely beneficial as it opened up my mind to my emotions and totally loving someone.  When it got to the part where we have to love ourselves before being able to love another, it made some sense, but how much easier is it for us, really, to love others before ourselves?

I would recommend this mp3 exercise to others, as I feel it helps to bring us to open-mindedness easier when we have a guide - especially one that relaxes us in our journey to self-enlightenment.

The mental workout part of the exercise was just that - a mental workout.  It is at this point, especially in the beginning, where I had to muster up patience to sit and actually relax for that long.  With this being only one of my days off, I had sooooo much to do, and so little time to do it in, that I found it especially frustrating to sit and concentrate on relaxing.  Imagine that - sitting and having to concentrate on relaxing.  Who does that? 

It actually was a mental workout.  First having the waves and the flute made it easier to focus, but then when they took it out of the equation, I wanted it back.  I would definitely implement these in my daily life, but sadly, I still need to find the patience within myself to sit and pay attention to nothing.

Unit 3 blog

I didn't like A Crime of the Century nearly as much as our exercise in Unit 2.  The music was very calming, but then to have to almost calm down and then have to visualize bright, vibrant colors, it really took away from the relaxing moment.  In my mind, I visualize calm colors with relaxing; this was opposite of what I would expect, and really did nothing for me.  Were I given a choice to use this in my practice in the future, I would opt out and use something else for relaxation with my clients.

Unit 2 post

Since I messed up my original blog so badly, I had to start a new one.  Here's hoping this one makes it!

The Journey On exercise was awesome.  I can understand why we would need to listen to this while at home in a quiet corner with no one around.  Given enough time, I'm sure I could've fallen asleep.  The voice being so monotone and quiet made it easy to relax.  I could picture being in a meditative state with my yoga music in the background.  I will return to this exercise on more than one occasion I'm sure, as it really made it easy to calm down after a stressful day.