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Unit 9: Integral Health Plan

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?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop themselves psychologically, spiritually and physically, so that they can lead by example. “Our vision of integral health transcends the limitations of all our current approaches to health and healing.” (Dacher, 2006) The vision sought is one that is much more than diet and exercise. “Its goal is far-reaching: a flourishing of body, mind, and spirit that when fully realized will lead to an expansive and sustained health, happiness, and wholeness for ourselves and for humankind.” (Dacher, 2006) When looking for a professional to treat health and wellness issues it is important to look for a professional that is psychologically, spiritually, and physically fit because they are going to be able to provide advice, support, and trusted information in these areas because it has been gained from experience.

I am embarking on a new journey to heal the damages I have inflicted upon myself by not taking care of my overall health (psychological, physical or spiritual health). Changes will be implemented within each aspect.

II.                Assessment:

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically? Describe what scale used to score myself in these areas.

Taking a careful look at our current circumstances, identifying the aspects of our life that require attention, determining the specific changes we wish to address, and establishing a program, of integral practice needed to promotes these changes. (Dacher, 2006) Upon reflection, I would consider my current physical well-being to be 5 out of 10. I recently had a baby, and I am still carrying around my baby weight. I work 40-hours a week in an office, where the duration of my time is spent sitting in front of a computer. Nutritionally, I tend to eat a lot of easy-to-fix meals that are not always the most nutritious. Between my kids, work, and school I tend not to have much time for exercise either aside from on the weekends when the kids and I will go for walks or bike rides. I feel if I continue on this path my health will slowly start catching up to me.

Spiritually, I would consider myself 7 out of 10. I do possess some spirituality in my life. I am a catholic and I do believe in a higher power (God). I am compassionate about the welfare of others. I donate to charity (Ronald McDonald House) in what little ways I can regularly. I do not attend church regularly, nor do I pray as much I should.  However, I am aware of my faults and am looking to correct them.

Psychologically, I would consider myself 5 out of 10. I am a down-to-earth, calm-natured and compassionate person. I tend to get along well with others and enjoy making people smile with my sense of humor. For the most part, I am a relatively happy and positive person. At times, I am rather hard on myself (self-doubt), which brings me down.

After taking inventory of the aspects in my life that need changing. I am now ready to define my goals for improvement. “We use this opportunity to envision our most far-reaching possibilities and assess the obstacles to attaining them.” (Dachr,2006)

III.             Goal development:

Be very specific so you can measure. List at least one goal for yourself in each area: physical, psychological (mental health) and spiritual.

Now that I have taken inventory of the aspects within my life that need change, I am ready to define my goals for physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being.

My physical fitness goal is to start by adding 10-15 minutes of exercise into my daily life. I plan on doing this by doing exercises throughout the day. Nutritionally, I would like to add more fruits and vegetables into my diet by snacking on these throughout the day, instead of snacks with refined sugars and saturated fats. I would also like to utilize my skills in the kitchen by cooking one meal from scratch weekly. I would also like to incorporate getting back into yoga classes and learn qui gong.

My spirituality goal is to incorporate more spirituality into my life by reading my daily devotions, continuing to us the relaxation techniques (loving-kindness practices) learned in class, and lastly, attending church at least once a month.

My psychological goal is to do something once a week that makes me feel good about myself by incorporating things that I enjoy doing into my life (taking bath, reading a good book, getting a massage, etc). Lastly, I need to stop my negative mental chatter and change it into positive thoughts.

 IV.             Practice for personal health:

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains: Physical, Psychological and spiritual. Provides at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

Physically, I would like to start by implementing 10 -15 minutes of exercise into my daily life. I plan on doing this by incorporating exercises throughout my day. The types of exercises I will include are:

Sitting exercises:

·         Tummy tightening- while sitting up straight, suck in my tummy tightening ab muscles for 25 seconds and releasing.

·         Gluetus maximus- while sitting squeeze the gluteus maximus muscles and hold for 25 seconds and release.

·         Arm toners- prop elbow to comfortable height. Using a water bottle or one pound weights curl each arm 20 times.

Other things that I will incorporate into my daily life to promote physical fitness include:

·         Parking in the back of the lot

·         Taking the stairs as much as possible

·         Walking instead of driving whenever possible

·         Working out in shower doing squats

·         Working out during commercial breaks

I would like to start incorporating a more regular yoga practice once weekly and gradually adding more practice per week as I increase in my strength. Lastly, I would like to learn qui gong by buying a DVD beginners guide. Eventually, as my time eases up I would like to take classes in both yoga and qui gong.

Nutritionally, my goal is to implement more fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet. Instead of snacking on snack foods filled with refined sugars and saturated fats. I would also like to cook one meal a healthy mean once a week from scratch.

Spiritually, I would like to incorporate reading my daily devotions every day. As a way to reflect on how different aspects of my life relates to other aspects. Continuing to us the relaxation techniques (loving-kindness practices) learned in class as a way to reduce stress and anxiety and improve mental fitness:

·         Find a comfortable private place

·         Close your eyes and relax

·         Concentrate on  inhaling and exhaling deeply

·         Image a loved one

·         Experience loving-kindness towards yourself and the loved one

·         Turn the love outward to strangers

·         Experience loving-kindness towards yourself and the stranger

·         Picture someone who is ill and suffering

·         Breathe in their suffering

·         Breath out releasing the suffering

·         Experience happiness, peace, and love

·         Practice this exercise for 15-minutes a day

Lastly, I would like to eventually incorporate going to church more regularly, at least once a month to begin with. As I believe that attending more regularly is an opportunity to receive godly advice within difficult areas in my life. 

Psychologically, my goal is to incorporate doing something that makes me feel good about myself once a week. Doing things to improve my mood on a regular basis and making them part of your lifestyle will more than likely improve my quality of life.  I have listed some feel good ideas below:

·         Read a book

·         Take a bubble bath

·         Get massage

·         Learn something new

·         Volunteer

·         Take mini-vacation

·         Go whole day only eating healthy stuff

Lastly, I need to stop my negative mental chatter and change it into positive thoughts. I plan on journaling to help get rid of the anger.

V.                Commitment:

How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you sue to assist in maintain your long-term practices for health and wellness?

Upon completion of this project and the end of this class nearing, I will use this as a commitment to myself to improve my physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being with the techniques and information learned from this class. I plan on reassessing my progress with each goal ever 3-4 months. I believe that ultimately as I grow and evolve so will my goals.

The most rewarding part of this course has been learning new tools and techniques to stay balanced in all areas of my health. This course has undoubtedly helped me in my ability to improve my overall health and will professionally when assisting others in finding theirs.

Resources:

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, Inc.