Unit 8 Blog

The practices that I have learned in this course have taught me that spiritual wellness, physical wellness and mental wellness are all connected. They go together as a unit. If someone is not physically well then their state of mind and spiritual wellness might also be affected.

The two practices that I believe were most beneficial to me are visualization and meditation. I plan to implement visualization in my personal life because it helps to distract the mind from unnecessary suffering and bring harmony and peace to my inner self. Visualization exercises also help with relaxation, healing and pain management.  I also plan to implement meditation practices into my life because they have positive effects on health such as bringing the body to a state of calm and inner peace. I believe these two techniques will help me to achieve mental fitness. They will also help me to reduce stress levels and lower my blood pressure so that I don’t have to raise my medication dosage. These exercises will help to stimulate the brain and expand my way of thinking to a higher level of focus and a more positive attitude towards life. By practicing these exercises daily I will improve my health psychologically, physically and spiritually.

Dacher, E.S., M.D. (2006) Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA. Basic Health

Unit 7 Blog

I enjoyed the meditation practices for this unit because it was easy to relax with the sound of the waves and soft music. I normally relax by listening to music or walking on the beach. I felt as though I was able to focus on imagining someone else beside me. I was able to imagine my father because he passed away 6 months ago and I miss him very much. When the woman spoke of imagining the wisdom of someone else I remembered how wise my father was and the life lessons he taught me through his experience. The practice took my mind off of all the daily clutter and my thoughts of other things that at times will interfere with my peace of mind. I found myself breathing deeper than normal and it felt very relaxed. I am going to implement these exercises daily in my life to improve my health psychologically, physically and spiritually. This was my favorite exercise and I would recommend it to everyone I know that needs to relax and improve their spirituality.

Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself". I believe the saying means that we as health professionals need to lead by example. If we want our clients to develop integral health I have to know what I am talking about by my experiences in practicing integral health. If I am teaching a client to implement physical exercise and better eating habits into their lifestyle I need to fully understand and be an example of what I am telling my clients to do. We need to “practice what we preach” so to speak.

Unit 6 Blog

I very much enjoyed the Universal Loving Kindness exercise because this is something that I practice on a daily basis I just didn’t have a name for it other than praying. I pray for my children, grandchildren, husband, brothers, sisters and friends daily. I ask the lord to keep them safe and to fill their lives with many blessings such as health, prosperity and joy.

I completed the integral assessment exercise but I couldn’t really focus because I felt my mind wandering off somewhere else. I guess maybe I was too stressed that day and should probably try it again when I’m off from work so that I won’t have my mind cluttered about work and be able to focus on my inner self.

The area that I chose to focus on to grow and develop would be my health.  Over the past few years I have become comfortable with my weight and haven’t focused much on my health. About three months ago I had a good scare at the doctor’s office with my lab results. I have since lost 12 pounds and have been maintaining a log of my blood sugar levels which are consistently at 110 fasting which is a huge improvement from the lab results which showed my levels were over 200. I still have a lot of work to do concerning my health. I am learning to put more focus on my mental and physical health and wellbeing by getting enough sleep, exercise, eating healthy and not stressing over little things.

Unit 5 Blog

I enjoyed the subtle mind exercise more than the loving kindness exercise. I wasn’t able to focus and concentrate with the loving kindness exercise. I couldn’t really understand when the person was talking due to the static and the voice sounded a bit muffled. I relax better with soft music or sounds like with the subtle mind exercise. I was able to focus and I enjoyed the sounds of the ocean it was very relaxing. I could imagine myself standing by the ocean and enjoying the fresh air and watching the waves come on to the sand and return. I would recommend the subtle mind exercise to everyone out there I thought it was a great technique for relaxation. I would recommend the loving kindness also only because maybe it might work for someone else since we all have different ways of relaxing.

What I learned from the readings is the connection of spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is that, they go together as a unit. For example if someone is not physically well then their state of mind and spiritual wellness might also be affected. If all are all connected with each other for example if someone has no spiritual beliefs they might not feel there is purpose in their life. Feelings like these might cause them to feel depressed and disconnected from society causing their mental and physical health to decline. If there is spiritual belief then there is meaning and purpose in one’s life and this will give them the motivation to strive for mental and physical wellness.