Unit 10. This is the end, beautiful friend, the end

Hello friends,
I have truly enjoyed this class, so much so that I want to keep going. I'm kind of sad to see it end. I also believe that with every ending there is a beginning. I will keep a positive outlook on what is to come. I have been reflecting on the last ten weeks and have never once dreaded any part of this class or its readings or activities (unlike biostatistics).
In unit 3, I rated myself with a 7 for physical wellbeing, a 9 for spiritual, and an 8 for psychological wellbieng. I think this fluctuates so much, the joys of being human. I am an emotional creature. I run off emotions. I even amplify mine off others emotions. Today, I would rate myself as a 5 for physical wellbieng. Finals week put me into a tailspin of convenience foods and eating out more often than I should have. I am unsatisfied with that. I am working on it, I went to the grocery store and hardly bought any processed foods, Yay! Psychological wellbieng today is at a 9, today was a good day, I visited with my grandmother we went out and did some errands and just enjoyed each others company. Spiritually is still up there as well, I am grieving 4 deaths so maybe feeling questionable. I would rate it anywhere from a 5-9, depending on my mentality at the moment. I have a strong spiritual side so this will pass once I go through the process.
My goals are to get back on track with healthy eating, keeping up with my meditations and get through this grief. Good grief.
I hope to cross paths with you again my friends, best wishes to you all.
Jenifer

Since I stole my title from The Doors, I suppose I should cite it?
Morrison, J. (1967) The End. The Doors. Electra Records

Unit 9, final project

I.                   Introduction

It is vital for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically. When taking on a position of education or training, it is important to have a good base of knowledge to teach and practice. Psychologically a professional should be well balanced. At times when one may not be balanced it is an important skill to be able to compartmentalize personal and professional aspects of life. Spiritually one would serve best if confident in their own spirituality but be open to the choice of others. Physically one should be able to handle any physical labor (as in manual therapy or physical training). One should be healthy in the inside as well as the outside. Health and wellness professionals should be able to empathize at times with clients or patients to provide a new level of service. Keep in mind that the professional doesn’t have to experience an event or situation firsthand to fully understand how to help a person reach a goal. My personal area in need of development is physical. I have a hard time sticking to a routine as in exercise or meditation. I understand the benefits but time crunches happen and this is the first activity that gets cut.

II.                Assessment

I am moderately confident in my personal health in each domain. Considering myself as 100% I would say that my spiritual domain makes up 45 %, my physical domain is 40% and my psychological domain is the remaining 15%. My psychological domain is so low currently because of grief. Within the last eight months, my family has suffered the loss of two uncles to poor health, one young cousin was murdered by a family friend, and my grandfather passed away last week due to complications from a Myocardial Infarct.

III.             Goal development

Physical Goals are currently my focus. I feel the need to consume my time with positive activities and people.

1.      I will commit to physical exercise 4 times a week

2.      I am restarting my weight watchers program and will track all food intake.

Psychological goals are a desperate need.

1.      I will attend family grief counseling sessions

Spiritual goals are important to me

1.      Continue with daily meditations and visualizations

2.      Manage focus to increase time and quality of meditations

IV.             Practices for personal health

The strategies I can implement to foster growth in each domain will go hand in hand. These domains feed off each other, when one suffers the others have to work harder to create wholeness. I have current issues but I still consider myself whole. I am not fully balanced but I am compensating.

To fulfill my physical goals, I will commit to 2 days of yoga class, and 2 cardio sessions at the gym. I have committed to paying for weight watchers online and I will not waste money or time. I have to use the program. To attempt that psychological goal I will stay in contact with my family and involve myself in the grief sessions. The spiritual goals will be manageable by completing a daily meditation like the chakra openers and breathing exercises like the subtle mind as well as visualizations like meeting Aesclephius.

V.                Commitment

I want to be the best person and professional I possibly can be. This is my commitment to me and to my family and my patients. The strategies I will use are the weight watchers tools (Weight Watchers, 2011); I am also committed to paying for a gym membership, so I have more options for physical fitness activities. I will monitor my food intake and modify behaviors as needed. My psychological wellbeing is in dire need to improve. This I believe will fall into place as I go through counseling and follow the other goals. They all are connected to each other and are key factors in creating a health and wellness program.

Reference:

Weight Watchers (2011) Your Plan. Retrieved from www.weightwatchers.com

Unit 8 Reflection

Hello Friends,
In reflection of all the exercises we have done this term, I am pleased to say I will use many of them throughout my life.
Loving Kindness
I had a personal block in this one in which I discovered a few things about myself and my relationship with others. I am not as open and trusting as I originally thought. I have been burned a few times and have built a few walls to protect myself. I consider myself a healer and feel I am good at what I do and the services I provide, but, I have limits. I can follow loving kindness with a few modifications I feel comfortable with.
Subtle Mind
I liked this exercise but I may not always choose this one regularly because it takes a great deal of attention to complete. Often I just don't have it to give. This seems contradictory, because the point of the exercise is to strengthen your awareness and focus on your breath and body. I want to succeed in my personal growth and sometimes the best fit is shorter and simpler for me
Visualization
I like the visualization exercises, especially the ones that involve chakra opening and fine tuning your senses. I will use these often
Meditation
I love the idea of creating a walking meditation pathway. this is going to be my next backyard improvement when the weather cools a little bit. I find short time slots to be still and meditate often throughout my week.
I am open to mostly all these exercises and will try to push myself to use them routinely. My mental fitness goals are ever changing. Things seem to always be ever changing and I just have to roll with it. I find that when I am rolling like a lugnut, is when I have to really dig deep and do something different to snap out of it.