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?
As integral practitioners we
need to walk through the path of holistic integral healing in order to teach
and empower others. It is crucial to
flourish psychologically, spiritually and physically. We need to have personal
experience to gain the wisdom perspective and be able to promote integral
healing to other clients or patients. I need to work and improve in all three
areas of integral health. Psychologically is the main dilemma that requires
more attention in my life as I feel to be out of balance in this area. I need to worry less and replace negative
thoughts with positive ones. I need to train my mind to be calm, quiet and
liberated from the constant chatters that is happening all the time.
II.
Assessment
How have you assessed your health in
each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and
psychologically?
Based on a scale of 1 to 10 (1
being the lowest score and 10 being the highest score). Spiritually: I considered being at a 7, which is a medium score. I
used to have time to visit the Buddhist temple almost every weekend and now I
only have the time to go once every two months. I also used to go to meditation
groups that to me was another way to connect psychological and spiritually to
others, and now I only attend when I don’t have seminars from college. One
practice that I am still doing is prayer.
Physically: I rate
myself at an 8, but there is always room for improvement. I continue to do cardiovascular exercise and
eat a low carbohydrate diet, but I have stopped doing weigh training. Since I started college it has been hard to
manage my time and accomplish all my daily routines and obligations. I am lucky
to have a free mini-Gym at my job, but it is very limited Gym equipments. I
try to maximize my time, by utilizing my lunch time to do 30-40 minutes of
cardiovascular exercise, as a consequence I eat my lunch at my desk. I also utilize that time that I am working out
to read my reading assignments from college. As you can see I am always
multi-tasking, but I don’t have the time to do weight training. One of my goals is to incorporate weight
training to my physical training. Also I
need to loose 10 more pounds to be at my target weight.
Psychologically: I consider being at a 5
which, I know to be an extremely low score.
My mind is very hyperactive constantly with internal chatter and filled
with negative clutter of thoughts and emotions. Another
problem is that I over analyze and worry about everything too much adding more
stress to my life. I need to change my negative perceptions of things and
replace them with positive thinking.
III. Goal
development
List at least one goal you have for
yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
My overall goal is
to improve physically, spiritually and psychologically. I need to achieve
balance in all aspect of life and reduce stress, negative thoughts and emotions
and reduce suffering. I will be done with my Bachelor program this year. I am
planning to continue to pursue my Master degree, but I am planning to take at
least 6 months break and only take one class at a time. This action will
increase my time to accomplish my goals.
Physically: My goal is to incorporate weight training into my exercise
program. I am currently paying for a Gym membership, but rarely go so; I am
planning to do weight training at the Gym at least 3 times a week. I am also
going to incorporate dancing, yoga
and spinning class into my workout routine. All of these new routines will increase my
physical health and achieve increase tone, reduce body fat, weight loss and
reduce stress.
Psychologically: My goal is to practice
calm abiding exercises to quiet my mind and reduce or eliminate negative
emotions and clutter. I am also planning to alter my perception of stressors by
replacing negative thoughts with opportunities and positive thoughts and
emotions. I am planning to continue mental training like practicing mindfulness
which means being a silent observer of your thoughts, actions and emotions. The ability to observe yourself without
judging yourself will promote to become a silent witness of your thinking
thoughts and emotions. This practice will bring spontaneous positive change in
my mind.
I need to start
becoming consciousness of my breath, emotions, or sensation of my body or my
thoughts. Mindfulness is the prelude to insight and will give me reassurance that I am not my emotions, thoughts, but I am the observer of my body, thoughts and
emotions . The observer becomes consciousness. Cultivating consciousness will
promote to reach nirvana which means free from suffering and reaching
enlightenment.
Spiritual: My goal is to increase my connection with God, my spiritual
faith and beliefs. I don’t consider myself to have one specific religion, but definitely
I am very spiritual and respect all religions. My philosophy and vision of life
make me lean more toward Buddhism as is perceived as teaching of the Buddha and his followers, which indicate that by destroying
greed, hatred, and delusion, which the causes of all suffering, man are can
attain enlightenment which means free from sufferings.
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.
Physical: I
will continue to eat healthy and eat a low carbohydrate diet. I have done
multiple diets throughout my life however, the one that works for me and that
is easier to do is a low carbohydrate diet. I will continue my exercise regimen
and incorporate weight training, yoga, dancing and spinning classes. Having a
variety in workout regimens reduces boredom and makes it fun to do.
Psychological: The most important
contemplative practice that I can implement to improve this area is meditation,
physical exercise, and calm-abiding and loving-kindness exercises. I am
planning to continue mental training like practicing mindfulness meditation and
become the observer of my body, thoughts and emotions activating consciousness. According to Dacher (2006) having the control
and a witnessing mind “ will liberate ourselves from lifelong slavery to
our mental movements, gain the capacity to choose where our attention goes,
access our clear and still mind, and create the foundation for calm-abiding and
integral health” (p.73). Once I am able to
meet my goals my psychological wellbeing and interpersonal relationships will
begin to flourish.
Spiritual: I will continue to
pray at night and in the morning for at least 5-10 minutes a day. As study shows
prayers heals the body and the soul. I am planning to start going to my
Buddhist temple at least twice a month to practice mindfulness meditation with
the monks. I will go to my meditation groups at least once a week and be
connected with them spiritually through meditation.
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?
I
am planning to create a visual board with picture of all my goals. I will try
to acquire pictures of
myself or cut and paste from magazine doing all of these activities. Hanging
this board in my bedroom and see it every day will remind and motivate me to
accomplish my goals.
Visualization helps to focus and internalize my physical, psychological,
and spiritual goals. By internalizing my goals
it will become my reality. Also I am planning to keep a journal of all of
practices and activities promoting my goals. Every week I will read my journal and
this task will facilitate and track my daily accomplishments. Goals need
to be re-evaluated and adjusted to new needs or wishes periodically. The integral vow means caring for
ourselves and others and abiding by sacred rules. Dacher (2006) emphasizes on
self-development, profound and in-depth knowledge of the integral vision, a
genuine desire for health happiness, and healing, treating others as sacred
beings, uphold the ethical principles of a spiritual life cultivating a healing
presence fostering self healing in others, holding life as precious and unique
and serving others (pp.172-173). The path to integral health starts by making
all the changes that you need and want in your life like fitness, spiritual or
healthy goals. In order to really be able to assist advice or help
our patients, we have to be educated and experienced in integral health and
well-being. As healers we need to constantly incorporate contemplative practice
into our life in order to advise and heal others. Best wishes and good luck in all your endeavors
it has been a pleasure having this class and enjoying all of your wisdom and
dedication. Thank you for reading my blog. Namaste
The following Pictures are from the Buddhist temple that I visit here in Miami, Florida
