Unit 10 Conclusion

Hey everyone, in unit 3 I had rated myself a 5 physically, a 5 spiritually, and psychologically a 7. I definitely think the scores have changed as much has happened since the beginning of this term. Physically I would say I am an 8, because I have been taking very good care of myself by the things I eat, making sure to get enough rest, and I’ve even been making sure to work out, I think my body is functioning very well. Spiritually I am now an 8 as well; I don’t think I would ever rate myself higher because I always think there is room for improvement spiritually. I have been true to myself and the ones around me and I have also been keeping close to God. Psychologically I am probably an 8, it seems like I have a good grip on my stress levels and that’s saying a lot since I just moved during finals week. The goals I had set for myself are definitely in progress as well. I’m making sure to take care of myself physically, I still practice the subtle mind exercise, and I have been continually honest about myself, so I feel like I am on the right track. I think that overall this class was beneficial in understanding how the mind, body, and spirit are all connected and I think that since I have grasped this concept I will be aware of my actions and how it will affect these aspects of my life.

Unit 9 Project

Introduction:

                It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because that is what they are going to ask of their patients. If the physician is tense, unsympathetic, and brining in McDonalds to the Clinic for lunch, they are not setting a good example for the client. How are the patients to believe that the practices will work if they have not been practiced by the professional? As a future nutritionist, I will need to keep working on the development of my mind, body, and spirit so that I will be able to have the loving-kindness and understanding necessary to be successful in my profession.

Assessment:

                I have been able to assess my progress in spiritual, physical, and psychological growth by reflecting on how I feel on a day to day basis. Spiritually, I reflect on how I have reacted with the ones around me. Have I been loving, witnessing, and true to myself? If I answer yes to these questions by reflecting on how I was that day in my environment than I know spiritually I am progressing. Physically, I assess myself on how I have treated myself in the past week(s). For me it is important to eat a balanced diet that has variety, and it is also important to get enough rest and to be active on a daily basis. If I have been successful in these thing than I know physically I am doing well. Psychological assessment is the most difficult for me. I can assess my psychological well-being by noting my progress in meditation practice. As I become more able to hold my focus on one thing for longer periods of time I know that I am becoming progressively closer to having a contemplative mind that has a higher level of consciousness.

Goal development:

                My goal for my physical health would be to be more loving towards myself. Sometimes I will put my body through the ringer by skipping meals or eating/drinking things that my body is actually intolerant to, overworking, or not sleeping enough. It is simple things as well, such as taking care to wash my face before bed or making sure to put lotion on my hands. It may seem like small tasks by I often neglect them and pay for it later. So my goal is to take time to take care of my body in detail. My psychological goal would definitively be to make sure I continue a meditation practice. I find them beneficial for me and want to continue to practice them regularly for the rest of the year. Spiritually, my goal is to continue to be true to myself. It is a practice that will be most difficult but I have to learn to love and be true to myself so that I can love the ones around me.

Practices for personal health:

                To reach my physical goals I will need to foster time management, by going to bed at a decent hour and allowing myself eight hours of sleep, AND getting up in time with an actual morning routine. I will also need to practice some self-control and/ or self-discipline in order to follow through with actually taking care of my body in detail. It would help me if I got rid of all the sugary junk food out of my pantry and told my friends about my goal so they could help me stay on track. In order to achieve my spiritual goal of loving and staying true to myself, the loving-kindness meditation would be a beneficial exercise. Another way for me to achieve this goal is to have a witnessing mind when talking to others. That way I will be able to respond in a way that is true to who I am and not just a reaction that they were expecting. To achieve my psychological goal I will continue to practice the subtle mind meditation and again foster time management. 

Commitment:

                To assess my progress for my goals I could keep a daily journal that I could take notes in at the beginning and end of the day. It would almost act as a kind of time card for punching in and out. Telling the one’s closest to me will also help me commit to the progression of my goals because they will remind me of them when I begin to get off track. 

Unit 8 Implementing Contemplative Practice

Hey everyone, I know we are wrapping up this term, which went by so fast! Two practices I would like to continue even after the term is over would be the subtle mind exercise; focusing on my breath, and just simply meditating on being healthy, happy, and whole. The subtle mind exercise will really help me with being mentally fit because it helps me stay in control of my focus. This, of course, would be greatly beneficial for my life on a regular basis. I’ve been practicing the subtle mind exercise at work on my break and after closing hours. I could do another meditation either before bed or when I get up in the morning because both of these times I have to myself.

Unit 7 Post

Hello everyone, I have actually been using the subtle mind practice during work. When I get home I’m less likely to want to practice anything so work is actually a better place for me to practice. For the last three hours of my shift I’m no longer working with customers because the store is closed and all we do is face the store. When I’m facing the shelves I do the practice, towards the end of this last work week I noticed that I could maintain focus on my breathing much longer without distraction. It’s so interesting and surprising noticing my mind change, because I think there was a part of me that still believed it couldn’t change. I think that finding time each day to implement these practices is essential to achieving greater health and wellness.

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself". This means that one must lead by example. For someone going into any kind of health practice it is important for the practitioner to believe in the practice, and it can be beneficial for the patient to recognize how the practice has helped the practitioner. If I were to go to a stressed out frazzled yoga instructor I would assume the practice did not relieve stress, for example. Practicing the exercises that one teaches is necessary for the patient to believe that they too can achieve health and wellness.  

Unit 6 Assesment and Exercise

 

Hello everyone, after completing the loving-kindness exercise, I felt happy, almost like I had done a good thing, even though I wasn’t actually helping anyone achieve health, happiness, and wholeness. It seemed kind of cheesy to me after I thought about it, and I felt kind of silly, but even then I was in a better mood than before. I think it was just a really positive exercise and therefore made my attitude positive. Really, I feel like when you do anything that is selfless or for the sake of someone else’s welfare, you’re most likely going to feel good afterwards. When I did the self-assessment I wasn’t sure what aspect of my life needed more healing than the others. I wasn’t sure which aspect was the source of my suffering or difficulty. I had to think about this for a while, I decided that I’m not really suffering anymore and I am more in a healing stage, and have been for over a month now. Also, I have been working on all the aspects of my life because I felt like they all needed some work. The second part of the assessment was to decide what the development or healing would entail or look like. I’ve been doing lots of things to heal, mostly biological healing. My diet has changed considerably and I can tell I have improved, I went back to the gym and that made me feel so much better as well. I’ve also been very true to who I am in a positive way, which I believe has more to do with the interpersonal/worldly/psychospiritual aspects of my life. Pretending to be something that I am not is an awful idea and I think it can really cut a person down. An exercise that I have done this past month was not one that had been given during the course. When I have been in social situations and someone says something to me, I take my time to answer; first of all I think this in itself is true to who I am because I know I am not quick witted and I know I am eager to please others, so taking time to reflect on what someone has said and how it makes me feel is important part of responding properly. Second of all it gives me time to remember to be true to who I am and actually say how I really feel instead of how I think the other person wants me to feel. For instance the other day at work a guy started talking about our boss behind his back and began to say negative things about him. I reflected on how it made me feel internally and I could feel myself slipping into a verbal head lock. I very nicely said to the guy that I thought our boss was a very caring boss who actually takes into consideration the troubles of his employees and that I was thankful I had a boss like that rather than one who doesn’t care about anything but money, and I even gave examples of how our boss had cared for his employees. Afterwards I felt like I had finally done the right thing, said the right thing, and had been honest about how I felt for once. It broke down a kind of wall for me and I felt like I could more easily do it again.

 

The Subtle Mind Exercise

I enjoyed the subtle mind exercise over the loving-kindness exercise, mostly because it was much more simple to me. It wasn't easy for me and it seemed as though I was continuously having to turn my attention back to by breathing, but I still enjoyed it more because I felt like I was truly exercising my mind. There was mental discomfort as if I was working it out I just kept placing my mind back to breathe. I would like to continue this exercise every day, in the hopes that it will become easier for me to do. I would love to achieve a subtle mind, and I think it would help me get to sleep much faster which is a problem I seem to have, my mind wonders and it usually takes me an hour to fall asleep if not longer, and all I do is toss and turn. I think that spiritual health involves a subtle mind as well. Even when I pray I get distracted, which seems outrageous to me and yet it still does happen. Spiritual wellness is definitely linked to physical and mental wellness. When my interpersonal life is disrupted by an outer experience, my mental state is disrupted too because the disruption becomes my minds focal point and then the stress of the inability to move to a different focal point can have physical impact on my body.

Unit 4 Exercise Review

My experience to the loving-kindness exercise was very pleasant. I was not able to stay focused on what the women wanted me to do the entire time, but I think the background noise of waves kept me in a state of calm even when my mind wondered. For me the hardest part about these exercises is staying focused, my mind so easily wonders. When she asked me in the beginning to pick a person whom I loved and held with tenderness and I thought to myself, “no one”, and I think that made me a little panicky at first. I think touch, as a way to express love, is not prevalent in my family what so ever. No one hugs in my family or anything like that and I think that threw me off. After I got through the first couple minutes I was able to relax my mind and follow the rest of the exercise. I would recommend this to certain people. I’m not sure it is for everyone, but there are specific people in my life that I’m sure would appreciate this exercise. Exercises like this I think could be considered mentally working out your mind/brain. Doing these kinds of exercises can give me the ability to control my thoughts and emotions, and develop a level of awareness that can help me help others in their time of need. My mind seems to always be on the run, and these workouts could help me control my thoughts; allowing me to be still and then organized.