Unit 10!

This is my post from Unit 3:
A-physical wellbeing-I would rate that as 7 because I exercise as often as I can. I go through phases where I will work out two times a day and then a week where I don't work out at all.
B-spiritual wellbeing-I would rate this as a 8. I am very much focused on god and try to live my life around that, but because I work so much I don't get to attend church as often as I would like but I do however talk to god every night and during the day if things are a little rough for me.
C-psychological wellbeing- I would rate this as a 5 because of what happened to me as a child and past events as an adult I tend to hold on to things and not let them go like I should.

Oh my how things have changed:
I think I rate my physical well being as a 9 because I have enrolled myself in a boot camp class that I attend every morning at 5am. I am not only exercising regularly but am eating so much healthier and cleaner. I feel so much better and can tell the difference in my appearance and skin as well. I am by no means perfect and definitely will keep improving!
I rate my spiritual well being as 8. I didn't change this because although I am very spiritual I am not able to quite yet fix the situation to where I can attend church a little more often. I am taking the steps in doing this and like I said before getting my family involved in this as well. I am very excited to see how much I improve and making it a priority to do this.
I rate my psychological wellbeing as 8. This area is the biggest improvement for me. I have learned to forgive, let go and let god. I didn't realize how much this was holding me down and I now cry with tears of joy that I was able to get through such a dark phase in my life. I have talked to family members and let them know how I felt and explained the heart ache that I had been going through from the age of 12. I feel at ease and feel like a huge burden was lifted off my chest. I am a much happier person. This is definitely an area that I will continue to work on and I continue to do it daily.

I am very impressed with myself that I have made as much progress as I did. It took me so many years and am very happy that  I am a little close to becoming the person I knew I would be. I have actually starting doing pilates more often and I believe that this has helped me relax more. I have gone and looked up some music from sites that are recommended for relaxation and play that will I do my exercises.

This course has been very rewarding for me and life changing. It has gotten me through a phase in my life that I was in for more than I needed to be. I try not to stress over things that I know that I cannot control and just hope for the best because I know I did my part. You really can't help anyone if you can't help yourself. I tried to do that and was not working too well for me. Taking care of yourself is just as important as helping others.
Good Luck everyone and God Bless,
Luna

Unit 9

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 professional to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because ultimately they set an example as health care professionals. When these areas are developed by the health and wellness professional they are better able to relate with their client/patient. I don’t think that you can suggest things to others without having tried it for yourself and seeing the effectiveness of it. With that being said while helping others out they are able to fine tune themselves out because developing these takes time and practice and will obviously not happen overnight.

II Assessment:

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

When I assessed my health in each domain I know that I have some work to do and am not where I should be or want to be for my standards. I am stronger in some aspects than I am in others but I should be able to balance them all out equally because one affects the other which is what I have observed from my own experience.

Spiritually I think I am doing well. I am very spiritual because my dad taught me how to be as a teenager. My dad is a Native American Aztec and was a medicine man. He would hold sweats every weekend. Sweats are simply burning big rocks in a fire while a group of people were inside a teepee. This takes hours and lasted late into the night sometimes morning depending if they needed to pray extra for someone. The rocks are put in the center of them and they put water on them causing them to steam as they prayed. However, on the other spectrum I would really like to attend church more often. I was raised catholic and attended church every Sunday. I don’t attend because I work two jobs but I really should not use that as an excuse because services are given during the week as well. I think I have gotten closer to god as I have gotten older because of the situations I have been dealt with. It seems as though sometimes the only thing I have is my faith in god when things aren’t looking well and still somehow I manage to get through it.

Physically I think I am doing well but need improvement. I exercise six to seven days a week and sometimes two times a day depending on my work day. It took me a while to figure out that running has been the best stress medicine for me. I just can’t get enough of it and now feel like an adrenaline junkie. I do lift weights as well three to four days of the week. My diet has improved so much especially after taking a nutrition class. I was able to drop thirty pounds and learn that I can still eat and not starve myself to lose weight.

Psychologically I think this is the one that I have the hardest time with. I say this because I sometimes I can be my own worst enemy. My mind gets carried away with things and if I think of them as being negative it brings me down physically and spiritually. I say this because a few months ago I was doing very well in all these three aspects and then I slowly stopped exercising and eating foods that I knew would only make me feel worse. This in return brought my spirit down tremendously. I wasn’t feeling quite like myself and took me about two months to realize it. I did some research and based the signs and symptoms on what I read and was able to determine that depression had gotten the best of me. I couldn’t figure out why I felt like this or how to get myself out of it. This is why I say these all go hand in hand and must be balanced. With me, when I was affected psychologically it turned around and went downhill affecting me physically and my spirituality.

III Goal development:

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

Physically I have set goals for myself. I am training myself to run half a marathon in mid April and in the fall attempt to run a whole one. I am doing this for myself because to me it will be a sense of accomplishment.

Psychologically I have started taking herbal supplements and I have noticed quite the difference in the month I have taken it. I am removing myself from negative people and things that cause that. Misery tends to love company. I can’t let myself be brought down like that anymore because it takes a toll on me as a whole. I also don’t want those people or things to interfere with the positive attitude I have.

Spiritually I plan on enrolling my son in classes with the church so that I have no choice but to be involved with him and we can do this as a family and help bring us closer together and make us stronger as one.

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.

Physically I would like to have my husband get involved in exercising with me so we can support systems for each other and keep one another focused and on track.

Psychologically I plan on tackling the problem when it bothers me or I feel that it needs to be addressed. I have had a tendency to hold things in and not talk to anyone about it and eventually end up blowing up at people that have not done anything to me or said something to me that sparked me off.

Spiritually I would like to see my son make his first confirmation in the Catholic Church. I would also like to involve myself in more church activities. I have started reading a bible verse daily or will look one up according to what I am feeling and it has seem to make me feel good inside.

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?

As I sit here writing this paper I have jotted down in a book that I lay next to my bed all the goals that I have stated in this paper. I am writing down all my thoughts and feelings. In the next six months I will come back to that page and check my progress. I will write down my thoughts and feelings and then compare the two. I will go through my list of goals and mark off each one that I have accomplished. I think this approach is better for me because I tend to remember more when I see it in black and white. That way I have no excuse and can only blame myself and no one else.

Unit 8

The two practices that I think are the most beneficial is the loving-kindness and meditation exercises.
The loving-kindness exercise has helped me filter individuals in my life. I am still a loving and caring person but I choose who and what I want to help so that I do not get taken advantage of. I have always said people mistake my kindness for weakness. I have gone through life letting my past control my present and future and am mentally a lot stronger now.

The meditation exercise has helped me overall as a person. It has helped my mind, body, and soul. Even though I don't meditate everyday I can surely tell a difference when I do. I a lot more calm. I don't seem to lose my temper as much as I used which was one of my down falls as a person. Every little thing would get to me and now it just kind of rolls down my back and I deal with situations as they come. I think I have a little more confidence in my self because I know if I can train my mind to do this. I am capable of so much more if I just apply myself.

Unit 7

The person I visualized as a very wise and loving man is my adopted dad. He helped me get through many rough times in my life especially my child hood. He toke me in and loved me as one of his own children. He made me into the independent and strong woman I am today and I give him all that credit. I was abused by my biological dad and at one point hated all men, then went through the stage of being angry at all men, and accepted and overcame what happened to me and moved on with my life in hopes that I would not let this turn me into a terrible person. I have him to thank for the person that I have become. We have such a great relationship and I always go to him when I need help. It was not hard for me to have him in my mind because I think of him often and miss him dearly because he is over seas now and I don't get to talk to him or see him as often as I would like. My dad has such a big heart and he is the one who taught me how to be more spiritual through his heritage of Native American Indian. I felt nothing but love and warmth flow into my heart when I think of him. He is my role model and hope to be as great of a role model the way he has been to me. I think I can probably push replay on this track specifically because it lets you focus on one particular person. All the negative thoughts vanish so to speak and it made me feel as though he was right here next to me. It made me feel closer to him in the spiritual aspect because I know where are physically apart. This is a good exercise to do when you feel drifted away from someone you love and adore.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself."
To me this saying basically says that you cannot tell someone to do something when you know nothing about the situation or what the outcome will be. In order for a health professional to apply this I think they must practice what they preach. How else would they be able to effectively encourage you to do something when they do not know if it is going to work or not or do not believe in what they are recommending. Going through this class has made more aware of the importance of psychological and spiritual growth. The mind is a wonderful thing. When you have a little more control of it you are somewhat stabilizing yourself as a whole person. I have gotten better at being able to turn my mind off when going to bed. I would be so busy and when trying to go to bed my mind would race with thought after thought of things I should have done, forgot to do, or wish I hadn't done. I have learned to cut the television off and close my eyes and relax and let all that leave my mind so that I can rest comfortably.

Unit 6

The universal loving-kindness exercise was not so effective for me as the others have been. I think I feel like this right now because I am fighting a battle with in myself. I have always tried to help and be concerned for everyone else that I have completely neglected myself. I have seen myself change the past years that I did not realize till now. I think right now I need to be able to help myself before I can help someone else out, which is very hard for me to do. I have put a lot of my emotional struggles aside and usually try to cover that up by helping others with their struggles. I have been doing this for so long that it has finally caught up with to the point that it has physically and emotionally affected me. I want nothing more than to stop everyone from suffering but at some point I have to want that for myself as well. I'm ready to move forward and not let my burdens keep me down or let me live the life that I should be. I have so much pain and hurt in my heart from years of sexual and physical abuse from my father and verbal abuse from my family as a child and it seems like it has lingered and still weighs me down. I can't change the way they feel about me but I can change the way I feel about myself. I have gone through struggle after struggle and find ways to occupy myself rather than dealing with the issue when it appears. I think that for me right now, I am going to swallow my pride and ask for help and seek medical treatment. I have always been the strong person and it's very hard for me to ask for help when I need it. I would like nothing more than to find health, happiness, and wholeness. With that being said, it was extremely hard for me to write this blog but I feel like I am taking a step and feel a little bit better.

Unit 5

The loving kindness exercise is a lot different than the subtle mind exercise. In the loving kindness exercise you do not focus on yourself but rather focus on others. This is very easy for me because I see myself as a compassionate person. I will help others even when I know I really shouldn't. I am a true believer of the quote "do unto others as you would have others do unto you". For me being a mom is the best thing that has happened to me. I may forget or not do things for myself so that my son can have. It's something that has always come naturally to me. I have always been a care taker from the time I became a big sister, helping my mom with all my younger siblings. For instance, my sister is not a mom. She focuses on herself a little more than most people do but as for me I focus on my child. I try to teach him to be a good person and do what is right in hope that he will grow up to be a positive role model for his children one day and teach them the same things.
The subtle mind exercise was somewhat harder for me to really get a grasp on. I think this is something I will have to work on because my mind was jumping from one thing to another and any movement or noise I heard would distract me. This exercise is designed to "cultivate wisdom by taming and training our mind, accessing its deeper levels, and exploring the essential nature of mind and experience (Dacher (2006) pp.65." When this exercise is achieved, you go into a different level of consciousness and the end result is calm-abiding.

Spiritual wellness is connected to both mental and physical wellness. I think they all coincide with each other and when one is off, it causes the others to be off as well. They work as one to make a person whole. I personally believe that you don't have to be religious to be spiritual. I don't go to church as often as I would like but I do know who and what I believe in. As I get older I seem to be more spiritual. I try to keep a positive attitude especially when faced with difficult circumstances and also work on my physical wellness as well such as eating and exercising. Ultimately, I think spirituality is the last thing that is focused on.

Unit 4

For some reason this time I was overwhelmed with so much emotion. The person I chose to bring to mind in the first part of the exercise is my son Gabriel. I just think of how much I love him and when I look at him he gives me a feeling I have for no other person in this world and warms my heart up. I feel as though as long as I have him I know I will be alright.

The person that I visualized who is suffering right now is my mother. At this point I was in tears because my mom has so many health problems and it's one after the other with her. When I went to visit her in Texas for Thanksgiving I could tell that she was so glad that we were there. Even though I have two other sisters that live near her, one within walking distance and the other 15-20min away. It makes very upset that they do that. I'm always thinking of ways on how I can help her or what I can do to ease her troubles.

For the strangers, I thought of my two workers, even though we are friends. One is grieving the loss of her 11 year old son that was killed in a horse riding accident and the other who's husband left her after only being married for a couple of months.

I was always taught never to hate anyone and that it is such a harsh word, I can say that there are probably two people that I have ever hated in my life because they caused so much tragedy in my life. As time has gone on I have learned how to forgive them however, because of the person I am I will never forget.

I think that doing this exercise was quite beneficial for me because it made sit down and think and let out every emotion that I have and after wards felt at ease and weight lifted off of me. I would definitely recommend this to others because if your anything like me who likes to hold in emotions and somewhat would rather just not think about the situation, this is a great exercise to do!