Unit 10 Final Blog

All of my ratings have stayed the same. I am making progress by staying consistent and not falling behind in the my goals. I have been exercising daily along with eating a healthy diet. Meditating has made a big difference. I am alot calmer and relaxed throughout most of my day. Yes, I have made progress in each of my goals. I put forth a lot of hard work and effort this semester to make good grades in my courses. Having a relaxed mind, being consistently active, and maintaining a healthy diet has made a big impact in my life.

Final Project: The Plan

I.                   Introduction:

Dacher stated “To become the agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own life (Dacher, 2006)”. I believe as wellness professionals if we grow and develop into a person that is comfortable with their psychological wellbeing, spirituality, and their physical appearance; clients will want to possess these same traits. As wellness professionals, it’s important that we are continuously working on ourselves and always being aware of the areas we need to develop better in to achieve our goals. As a mother and wife I am constantly giving and caring for my children and husband. I would like to focus on being more giving to myself. Loving and caring for myself first will allow me to grow as a person and in return be a better mother and wife.

II.                Assessment:

My assessment of my spiritual health is a 5 on a scale of 1 through 10. Every day I am continuously working on my spirituality and the process has been very beneficial. My spirituality has been an area where I have always wanted to be more in touch with, mainly because it makes me a better person. Physically I am almost feeling as good I was during my high school years as an athletic track sprinter. As I age older, I am experiencing that exercising is becoming a lot more challenging. After having each one of my four children, it has always been a goal of mine to retreat back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Eating a healthy diet, pilates, and doing body weight exercises along with free weights have allowed me to accomplish this goal. I rate myself at an 8 on a scale of 1 through 10. Surprisingly, as busy as I am I can say that my psychological health is an area that fairly rates to be good. Fortunately, I have never experienced any anxiety or depression episodes. However, I do know that life will continue to be busy and unexpected situations will arise. Knowing this, I will take one day at a time, not allow myself to become overwhelmed, and continue my daily meditation routines. I rate myself an 8 on a scale of 1 through 10.

III.             Goal Development

Living a healthy and having an active lifestyle has always been a big part of my life. Exercising not only keeps me fit, but it is a huge stress reliever. As a goal, I would like to start back running weekly sprint workouts. Before I started having children, running track was a sport that I truly enjoyed. I believe this goal is attainable and will be part of my regular exercise routine. As a busy mom I try to have a handle on everything and try to keep everything in perspective. At times, when there are things that don’t go as planned, frustration and anxiety can set in. As a goal, I will work on staying calm and learn to not to sweat the small things. For my spiritual goal, I would like to become closer to God by reading my Bible consistently. As I grow older, and being a mother I am realizing how important it is for me to know my God as well as for my children to know him.

IV.             Practices for Personal Health

Physically, I will start back on a consistent running routine and continue to eat healthy. Psychologically, I will implement journal writing about what happened throughout my day. Journaling will allow me to see my feelings on my paper and in return I will be able to learn about myself and areas to work on to become a better person. Meditating in the morning before I start my day and during my day will allow me to be calmer throughout my day.

V.                Commitment

Tracking my progress by writing down my goals and reflecting on the steps of my progress will keep me on track. I will also keep a goal board visible in my room. This board will have each goal pinned on to remind me what I am working towards.

 

Integral Assessment and Subtle Mind Exercise

The Integral Assessment and the Subtle Mind exercises were the most beneficial to me. Through the Integral Assessment, I realized that I need to focus more on myself. Taking time out to relax, have me time, or just meditating alone in room are some of the things that this assessment proved that I need to set in place for myself. The Subtle Mind exercise was very calming and relaxing and I was able to not be distracted easily. This exercise helps me train my mind to being calmer and still. Taking time out in the morning to gather my thoughts and relax instead of rushing to do a million different things is one of the goals both of these exercises have encouraged me to accomplish. Regardless of how many tasks are on my to do list, meditating in the middle of the day and relaxing has really helped me. I am more energetic and less stressed of getting things accomplished.

Meeting Aesclepius

This exercise was very relaxing and calming. Although I could not connect with the wise inner being, the exercise allowed me to find inner peace. Meditating has allowed me to remove my busy state of mind into a calmer state. After a session of meditation I feel rejuvenated and refreshed to carry on and complete my day. I would like to continue to meditate while practicing yoga. I enjoy exercising and I believe by combining the two will allow me to foster health and wellness.

The statement, "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself", is a very substantial statement when referring to someone as a health and wellness professional. The ability to see the divine in everyone and treat each individual as though he or she were Christ or the Buddha himself can transform the suffering of illness into the grace of healing (Micozzi, 2005). As a future health coach, I believe I do have an obligation to my clients to develop psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Its very important to have experience what you are teaching or trying to help someone through. After experiencing this, it becomes even more natural to help your clients. I can implement psychological and spiritual growth in my life by always having an open mind to better myself. For example, before taking this course I never thought of myself to use meditation as a way to calm myself. As I have learned more about it and began practicing it, I have learned being open to new ways of bettering myself has become beneficial.

Exercise and Assessment

The Loving Kindness exercise intent was to open your heart towards others feelings and sufferings. The exercise wanted you to have a connection and pray for others sufferings and heartaches to disappear. The Integral Assessment focused more on yourself. It made me think of the parts of my life that needed healing and development. I enjoyed both the exercise and the assessment. I would like to try and focus on spending more alone time with myself. I'm always busy and doing things for my family, I rarely take time out for myself. Just relaxing or meditating will help me be in a more calmer state.

Unit 5 Subtle Mind/Loving Kindness

The subtle mind exercise was very calming and relaxing and I was able to keep my focus on my focal point. If I was distracted or my mind started to wander, I brought myself to focus back to my focal point. This did take some practice but I continued to re-focus. I feel by practicing this exercise daily, it will help me in my mental fitness, and will also start training my mind to be still and calm.

On the other hand, the Loving-Kindness exercise is still difficult for me to practice. Imagining or thinking about a loved one that is ill or hurting does not bring comfort to me. I try to imagine myself taking away their pain and discomfort but in a sense it still doesn't bring me peace and a still mind. While trying to practice this exercise my thoughts and feelings would not shift into something positive.

The connection during the Subtle Mind Exercise was very beneficial mentally and physically. I was able to release some anxiety and stress. My body was able to become less tense and more at ease. This connection with this exercise has allowed me to become more patient and less snappy at stressful situations. I am doing alot more thinking and calming of my mind before I react. I have experienced positive benefits from this exercise.

Loving Kindness

The Loving Kindness exercise was very beneficial. I did find that the sound of the ocean waves were very inviting and relaxing. When the narrator spoke, her words were somewhat distracting because I was trying to concentrate on the task, and then I was given another task to take on. I wouldn't recommend this exercise to others because I wouldn't like anyone to have to think about their loved one suffering. To me, that is not a relaxing thought, it would stir too many emotions and make me become anxious or stressed.

To gain maximum benefit from contemplative practice, it is important to clearly understand the practices and methods that you will be using (Dacher, 2006). The most meaningful aim of contemplative practice is not rest and relaxation but rather the progressive development of an expanded consciousness and its healing capacities (Dacher, 2006). I would implement mental workouts during my early morning hours. During this time of the day I am the only one up throughout the house and I will be able to focus and contemplate on healing my mind.

Relaxation Exercise

Part 4

This relaxation exercise was not as soothing and relaxing. There was more thinking and more imagining than I prefer when trying to find a calm relaxing state to settle into. I do think this exercise was beneficial because I had to learn and train my body to stay calm and listen carefully to the directions what were being given.

Holistic Personal Inventory

Part 1

Physical Wellbeing - I rate myself at a 8 in this category. I do exercise on a daily basis, and I have a healthy diet. With my busy and hectic schedule ahead of me everyday, I believe that I could could incorporate more stretching exercises. I have certain personal fitness goals that I would like to achieve.

Spiritual Wellbeing- I rate myself at a 5 in this category. This is a need that I am very aware of that needs a lot of an improvement in my life. I think with everything that I have going on throughout my day, implementing a more calmer and relaxing part of my day is challenging. Meditating to have a clearer thinking pattern is one of the goals I am working on. I know this will help me become a lot more less stressful, and enjoy the happy moments of my day more often.

Psychological Wellbeing- I rate myself at a 7 in this category. Finding time with myself is quite a challenge in my life. As a wife and mother of 4 I am always busy! I do know the importance of taking care of myself physically, spiritually, and psychologically. It will allow me to have a stronger marriage, and become an even greater mother to my children. This is another goal I am always working on. Lastly, it will build better relationships with everyone around me.

Part 2

Physical Wellbeing Goal- Incorporate stretching and pilates before I go to bed and right after I wake up in the morning.

Spiritual Wellbeing Goal- Meditate, pray, and read my Bible more often before I start my day.

Psychological Wellbeing Goal- Schedule more time for myself, accept myself with all my flaws.

Part 3

Just as I schedule everything from errands to due dates for my family and I, I need to schedule and write down reminders of my personal goals to better myself.

Reflective Statement

The Journey On Relaxation Exercise was just what I needed! I think I got a little too relaxed, because I did doze off toward the end! It felt sort of strange someone telling me to just lay back and relax. I don't get told that too often, especially running around with my 4 children all day! I believe this exercise taught me how to allow my body to let go and relax. This is a good mid-day exercise to get your blood flowing and to settle your mind so you can the rest of the day to calmly accomplish tasks in an orderly way. At least, that's how I felt after the exercise. I will be coming back to this exercise quite often!

Welcome Statement!

Hello fellow bloggers!

      I'm so excited about this course and the starting of this blog. This blog Skip-Jump-Fit, will be a blog of information about the importance of kids being healthy and how exercise can be really fun! As a mother of 4 children I enjoy cooking healthy tasty food for my family. Just as any other children, my children can be picky eaters at times. I find it fun and challenging to create snacks and meals that are full of vitamins and nutrients and scrumptious at the same time!
     My family and are also very active enjoy exercising. We really enjoy playing sports and just running around outdoors! If the weather doesn't permit us to run around outside, we have plenty of room on the inside to play games, even a little throwing football passes from time to time!
     I look forward to sharing some photos of my tasty nutritious meals and snacks the I feed my 4 hungry children! I will also be sharing videos of different exercises and games that keep my children active indoors and outdoors!