Unit 9 Project

I. Introduction

It is very important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. If a professional that is here to offer us help and guidance is not well-rounded and experienced themselves, why would I want to listen to them or take their advice? “Practice what you preach” is always something I pay attention to, especially when it comes to something or someone who is going to be helping me with life changes.

II. Assessment

In assessing myself in each domain, I was able to pinpoint which areas I need to focus on and work at in order to prosper as best I can. Psychologically, I feel as though I am rather strong. I have great ways of detaining stressful situations and I do not crack under pressure, I usually strive under pressure. Of course I have my moments where I need to just step back from a situation and take a deep breath, but don’t we all? I am confident in my psychological wellness. Spiritually, I feel like I am also very strong. I am able to maintain peace within myself. I have a positive attitude and energy that allows me to strengthen my faith in hard times rather than surrendering to the bad times and letting them eat me alive. Being 24 weeks pregnant at the moment, my physical assessment is not accurate like it would be once I have the baby and can get back into my normal workout routine. I still go for walks and use the treadmill everyday, but I am unable to do harder, more demanding cardio and weight lifting until our little girl gets here in November. But I’m okay with that! For my current state, I would say my physical level is fairly good; however, I have started to take it a little easier because my feet have started to smell rather quickly these days.

III. Goal Development

Physically, my goal is to get back into the same shape I was before I got pregnant. I want to get back to doing an hour of cardio each day, weight lifting, and staying active. This is the goal I am most excited about and the one I look forward to the most come December when I can actually start to achieve it. Psychologically, I would hope to be able to stay stronger, mentally, under pressure, rather than surrendering to life’s annoying stressors. I am pretty good at this, but sometimes life just throws those curve balls that you don’t see coming and you get taken by surprise and it is very easy to get overwhelmed. This is when I want to strengthen myself mentally and not let those things bring me down or ruin my day. Spiritually, my goal is to maintain where I am right now. I want to be able to keep my faith strong and allow myself to have somewhere to turn when times get tough. My spirituality and faith in God provides that for me.

IV. Practices for Personal Health

Physically, exercise of any kind is an excellent way to implement growth in that domain. Running, speed walking, cardio training, lifting weights, are all excellent ways to relieve stress and strengthen your physical wellness. Spiritual wellness can be strengthened and can be allowed to prosper by meditation and visualization. Both of these exercises can be used to prosper spiritually. Meditation allows a person to calm their minds and spirit of stress, anxiety, and fear. It allows peace of mind. Psychological wellness can be achieved by keeping a journal, seeking counseling, and using exercises like controlled breathing and focusing.

V. Commitment

Assessing progress for the physical aspect will be easiest: weight loss and inch loss. I will measure my starting body weight and do my measurements and then set a reasonable, healthy goal. Then each week, I will weigh and measure myself. Spiritually, I want to assess myself by simply maintaining my spiritual health. My husband is in the process of getting out of the Army and once we move back home, I want to get back into church and have a healthy spiritual relationship with God, my husband, my friends, and my family. Staying focused with those relationships and regularly going to church will help me keep my head on straight and know whether or not my assessment(s) need adjusting. Psychologically, an assessment could be done successfully by consulting some sort of counselor or therapist who can see the progress that is being made. Also, I think it would be good to be involved with your own progress by making a big chart of certain exercises like the controlled breathing, for example, and putting a check mark on that day’s date when you successfully use one of those methods during the day. Then shoot for 3 check marks per week, then 4, and so on until you get a check mark for each day of the week.

My 2 Favorites

As I have stated time and time again, loving kindness was my alltime favorite. I think this is a very crucial exercise that more people should practice. People wouldn't be so grumpy if they had ways to control and maintain their sanity and not let stress and a million things on their "to-do" lists get in the way. I think that meditation would be a very good way to release stressors and learn how to relax a little more. It isn't something that I have "mastered" quite like the controlled breathing, but it is something I want to focus in on and see if it works for me. I want to get into yoga and things of that nature that really will help with life's stressors.

Meditation

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself."

I think this is a very important message to keep in mind. Not only can it be used in the aspect of health and wellness, but I really believe it can be used in any aspect of our lives. For health and wellness, or any form of doctor or practice, would you trust someone who preaches to you one thing but has never done it himself? Or would you be more apt to trust someone who has practiced the exercises personally so they can tell you how to do it, what to expect, when to expect it, etc. The same goes for any profession. I am getting my degree in Nutrition Science. No disrespect to any person, but if I had to go to a nutritionist or a dietician and I walked into my consultation and my nutritionist was obese and unhealthy, I wouldn't really trust anything that she was telling me if she didn't practice healthy, balanced eating herself. It is important to be able to relate to your client or customer, and I think the first step in doing so is to make sure that you practice what you preach.

"May all individuals gain freedom from suffering."

The idea of practicing this loving-kindness exercise is appealing and I wish more people would open their minds to it.

May all individuals gain freedom from suffering.

May all individuals find sustained health, happiness, and wholeness.

May I assist all individuals in gaining freedom from suffering.

May I assist all individuals in finding health, happiness, and wholeness.

Who doesn't wish and want these things for their own lives? Why should we be selfish and wish these things for ourselves without wishing them unto others, too? I think that the importance of this exercise is to share it. I really feel that if everyone practiced something like this, the world would be in a better place. People wouldn't be so miserable all the time. The little stressors in life wouldn't have the power to overcome an entire day or week and get people so down in the dumps. I went through a very rough part of life a few years ago when my first husband and I divorced. Instead of finding pity in my situation and trying to have all of my friends and family feel sorry for me, I turned it into a positive. I realized that we were not meant to be together and that I would find true happiness somewhere else. A few months after my divorce, I met the man who is now my everything. We married and it's now almost two years later and we have a precious little daughter on the way. I wouldn't change it for anything in this whole world. After my divorce, I got a tattoo of the Sacred Heart with the quote "I will console them in all their troubles" (which is one of Jesus' promises of the sacred heart). I got it, not only for my healing process, but to remind anyone who looks at it or asks me about it that they are not alone. I feel like this loving-kindess exercise sort of has that same idea.

I think if we all practice these exercises and wish these things for not only ourselves, but for each other, we'll have mass amounts of good karma floating through the air. :)

Loving-Kindness vs. Subtle Mind

For me personally, I think subtle mind would be easier. The loving-kindess exercise seems like it would take a long time to be able to understand its full benefits, let alone going through each step. I know it is important to love yourself just as much as you love others, but I feel like I do love myself without having to go through so many steps to prove it to myself. With the subtle mind exercise, breathing and focusing is right up my alley. I need that in my life. I'm pregnant, and trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, let alone all of the thousands of things buzzing through my mind, is enough to keep my up half the night. Focusing in on one thing and controlling my breathing allows me to relax myself and my mind and get a restful night's sleep. I could be a subtle mind advocate!

Living Happy

I have always had the mindset that making the best of bad situations is the only way to handle bad situations. If you have a negative attitude toward life and the stressors that come with it, you will never be happy. I know a lot of people who complain about certain things rather than changing what they don't like... and they live in a miserable life. I think it is important to have a good psychological mindset and to stay positive no matter what happens. This has gotten me through a lot in my life. Mental workouts will allow a person to have more control over themselves and will help in situations that can cause stress and negative outcomes. It goes hand in hand with being psychologically healthy. If you are not, every other aspect of your life will be "off", too.