Unit 9:

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically so that way they can teach others and help others to develop their wellness in these areas. If we want to work with others and help them to develop we should be developed in those areas as well. We should not be hypocritical. I like the saying “practice what you preach”. If we are to expect others to follow our treatment plans and to develop in these areas then we need to make sure our treatment plans work and that we are able to help others develop. I personally need to work on all of these areas. I need to work on the psychological and physical more than the spiritual. I have not taken care of myself physically in a long time. I stress a lot and it causes me to have physical problems. I need to learn how to control my stress and mind and how to get back in shape. As far as my spiritual, I think I am doing well. I have strong beliefs and I have a good connection to what I believe.

            I have assessed my health in each one of these domains by giving a number value to each. I look at the way that I am and the way I could be and I can rate my health. Rating myself from 1-10, 1 being not so good and 10 being great, I give my spiritual aspect a 7, my physical a 4 and my psychological a 3. However I am slowly but surely working on all of these areas by doing the exercises we have learned in class. Right now because of some things going on in my life my ratings are a bit lower than they would normally be.

            One goal that I have for my spiritual is to pray more and read the bible more often with my son. I would also like to find a church when we move that I am comfortable going to. My physical aspect of my life could be improved upon. I would like to continue going for daily walks with my son and during my lunch breaks going to the gym. When we relocate after I come up with some sort of schedule I would like to continue by working out at home because I do not know when I’ll have the chance to go to the gym. I think if I can dedicate an hour a day to each one of these domains I can get to a rating of 9 in no time. As far as my psychological that will take much more work. I have noticed that no matter how helpful these meditations and exercises are for me at that moment it is so much harder to stay that way for the whole day. I find myself regressing to the former mentality before the exercise. I think I need to really focus and dedicate time to these calming exercises. I need to start off with 5-10 minutes a day and then increase the amount of time. I really need to stay focused.           

            I plan on using yoga for all of these domains. Yoga is a great physical workout, helps you to calm the mind and relax, and I find it to be spiritually connecting. I will also practice the visualization. I think that this practice is good for my psychological because it allows me to really focus on my achievements and put some things into perspective. I also like the loving-kindness exercise. I think that learning to create those feelings and hold on to them can really help me.

            In order for me to stay committed I need to have a journal and some sort of reward system for myself. I will write down in my journal much like the blog. I will write down how many minutes a day I have done each exercise for each domain. I can write down if I didn’t do something and how I will become more effective. I think I will also write down my feelings at the beginning of the exercises and at the end of them so I can look back and see that there was a difference.