Unit 9 project

                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?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because we should be a product of our own success. I don’t think that it would make sense for someone to not “ practice what they preach” Not only should we practice what we preach but we can help our clients with the obstacles that they meet since we may have faced them ourselves. I think that I would benefit from all forms of wellness. If you believe that you don’t need to improve than you are lying to yourself.

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

If I had to score my spiritual wellness, I would give myself a “D”. Spiritual wellness is the part of wellness that I need the most assistance. During this class I have struggled with the exercise that we had to complete. The University of California Riverside states that “Spiritual Wellness is a personal matter involving values and beliefs that provide a purpose in our lives. While different individuals may have different views of what spiritualism is, it is generally considered to be the search for meaning and purpose in human existence, leading one to strive for a state of harmony with oneself and others while working to balance inner needs with the rest of the world”. I know my reason for my existence however I don’t participate in exercise such as yoga or meditation. I know that I is would benefit from them exercises but I find it hard to meditate.

My psychological health is better than my spiritual health. I would score myself as a “ B” I have recently changed my job so that I would not work at night. Working at night took a toll on my physical and mental well being. I am happier since then, but I still have stressors. I am always worried about money.  I am happy being home with my wife and I would say that I am usually happy but sometimes I am overwhelmed when it involves finances.

Just like many other people I would always like to loose and couple of pounds, however I think that my physical health is the part of wellness that I have the most success.  I started to exercise again and I am trying to eat healthier. Although I am not losing weight I feel good in my clothes.

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

A goal that I would set in my spiritual wellness would be to start yoga. I don’t think that I am ready to start meditating but I think some form of spiritual wellness would be beneficial. I used to do the P90X program and in the program they had yoga. It would be a good way for me to start since I would still consider it exercise.

Psychological wellness would not only benefit me but the people around me. If I am a happy than the people around me are more likely to be happy. I think I would benefit from being more organized with the things that are going on. I think a schedule would help me with my busy life. My psychological wellness would benefit if I made more money but  at this time that is not possible, although continuing to go to school will allow me to get a better job faster than not going to school.

Physically there are many things that I can do. I can continue to exercise and eat healthy. I think that eating would be more beneficial than exercise. I want to learn how to eat “clean”. If I learn how to eat healthy I can always benefit from exercise whereas if I exercise and don’t understand how nutrition than I would be as successful.

            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.

Although I don’t think that I will be that successful I can use meditation to help me with spiritual wellness. I do think that I will be successful with yoga exercises. I can continue to practice exercises such as love kindness. There are many forms of yoga, but I think that I would benefit from P90X. I have done some of the exercises with P90X so I will be inclined to do something that I have done before.

As discussed above I think that continuing to going to school will be the bench mark for me to be successful. If I continue to go to school than I can get a job that would allow me to be less stressed and enjoy “life” more.

I can exercise and get healthy to improve my physical wellness. Healthy eating is the first step in improving your physical health. Nutrition will allow  me to be strict with my calorie intake and will allow me to lose weight.

              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?

Each element of wellness deserves a different way to assess wellness. Spiritual wellness can be assessed my how you feel. Questions that you may ask yourself are how am I feeling, do I what is my purpose of life.

Psychological assessments would start by me continuing to go to school as well as my mood. Am I happy? Do I feel less stressed?

Many people think that physical wellness assessments have to be used as weighing yourself on the scale. I like to use the mirror to see my results. I also like to use my jeans see if the feel different.

Unit 7

I think that meditation has allowed me to become more aware of myself. When I am practicing these exercise I feel less stressed. However I have not had the best of times with the exercises but it is slowly coming along. I think that if I continue to practice such exercises that my spiritual wellness will improve. 

The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" can apply to the health and wellness industry. When I first read this I think about a personal trainer, it would benefit both the trainer and the client if the individual had some first hand experience. There is nothing more that bothers me than an overweight personal trainer who is trying to help someone with weight loss tips. Don't get me wrong being educated is the most important thing, but how to you expect someone to have faith in you when you dont practice what you preach. 
As health and wellness professionals when are absolutely obligated to be developing our health psychologically,physically and spiritually. First, if we expect to be compensated for our time we better put out a good product. Second if we are not getting better than we are getting worse. We are a walking billboard for ourselves. We need to show our clients that are not perfect and that progression is key to integral wellness. 
Physically I understand what I have to do to become better, but it is harder for me psychological and spiritually. I think that the best way for me to go psychologically and spiritually is to continue to learn, read and ask questions. With anything that we want to accomplish we don't have to do it ourselves. If we have someone else to help/educate us, we can start to understand different perspectives.

Unit 6

Well... I started with the exercise being a little angry, and this did not help. Honestly, I don’t feel like assisting all individuals with what they need. I feel like I have enough to worry about than to worry about someone else’s problem. I am not in the giving mood. I have discovered that I am not good at these exercises and that I don’t have much patience.

I feel that I have a weakness in the Worldly flourishing. Dacher states that Social activism can be further divided into such specific concerns as environmental issues, educational initiatives social justice and so on. I am not involved nor worry about any of these topics. Like other members of class I could also see my need to grow in Biological Flourishing but I am lacking much more in worldly.

I could involve myself in extracurricular activities that involve these topics but I would be more likely to work on my biological flourishing (i.e. exercising)

Unit 5

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

I have had nothing but problems with these exercises but this week was better. I started listening to the audio with notice cancelling headphone (which I feel helped.) Also I was able to focus more/longer. I thought that the breaks between the women speaking were a little longer than I would have liked. I started to lose concentration waiting for her to talk.  

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

Spiritual health can be helpful with mental health. It allows us to “connect” with something bigger than ourselves. It gives us a sense of peace of mind when we have spiritual wellness. Mental health is related to physical health, when we exercise we have to concentrate on the exercise. “Physical activity may play an important role in the management of mild-to-moderate mental health diseases, especially depression and anxiety. Although people with depression tend to be less physically active than non-depressed individuals, increased aerobic exercise or strength training has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms significantly”( Paluska)

Paluska,, Dr Scott A.. "Physical Activity and Mental Health - Springer." Physical Activity and Mental Health - Springer. N.p., 1 Mar. 2000. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200029030-00003#>.