Below you will find my unit 9 plan.  It has been a pleasure sharing this experience with all of you.  It has been a great, informative class.

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?

I feel that it is always important for a professional to believe in what they are trying to teach or promote to others.  By regularly practicing the exercises and living the integral vow, we can portray the full benefits that come with integral health which would encourage others to want to follow our teachings. 

There are a couple areas that I need to develop to achieve the goals I have for myself.   I would like to work towards achieving flourishing health for myself.  Currently I struggle with my physical health.  I have very severe out-of-control asthma which limits me when it comes to my physical activity.  I feel it is difficult to maintain an overall balance of your mind, body and spirit when part of the balance is weak.  This, I feel, is what I will have to work harder on to develop.  Calming my mind is another area I will need to continue to practice with.  However, this course has given me the tools I need to work towards that goal.   

Assessment:

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

            I have assessed my health in each domain by taking a step back and evaluating it.  Using the practices that we have learned throughout this course has helped show me what I am stronger with and where I struggle.  I feel that integral health is a work-in-progress.  It is something to strive for and it might take me some time.  However, using what we have learned has opened the door for me to achieve my goal

Spiritually, I am an active member of our church which I attend weekly.  I practice my faith on a daily basis and do try to portray myself as a spiritually secure person.  I am true and comfortable with my spirituality.  I feel that I am an 8 with my spirituality.    

            Physical health is probably the most difficult for me.  I struggle with my lungs and am constantly challenged with my breathing so my score for my physical health would not be very high, maybe a 5.  Because of my breathing I am very limited on my physical activity.  I probably do more than I should because I tend to push myself.  I was taking pulmonary therapy which allowed me to participate in supervised physical activity. 

            Psychological wellness is another thing I will need to work on.  This course has made me aware of the psychological “congestion” in my life.  I need to focus on what behaviors are detrimental to my psychological health and replace them with healthier behaviors.  I would score this maybe 6 or 7.

Goal development:

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

Physical

            The goal I have set for myself when it comes to my physical wellness is pretty basic.  I struggle with my lungs, as I have very severe, out-of-control asthma.  I have a lot of difficulty with my breathing and am on many various medications.  I get very frustrated because this prevents me from doing many things that I would like to do.  My goal is basically to continue to remain independent and active, to the best of my ability.  I would like to begin a program incorporating yoga and tai chi into my daily life.  Now this is taking into account that there are days that my breathing is bad and I am unable to do much.  I am hoping that the combination of the stretching and exercise from the two along with the breathing techniques that are learned to accompany them will prove to be beneficial for me.

Psychological

            My goal would be to continue to work at identifying destructive emotions and dysfunctional patterns in my behavior.  Dacher discusses this when he states, “Intention substitutes for unconscious reactivity (2006, p 61)”.  I would like to get to the point where I can intentionally make the conscious choice about my feelings and my emotions, along with reacting to situations more effectively.  I am working on eliminating feelings of anger, self-satisfying behaviors, fear, and self-doubt.

Spiritual

            I have found that the spiritual health that is discussed in this course seems to be very similar to the teachings from our religion.  Loving-kindness to others, whether it is for our loved ones, people we do not know, to even our enemies is a strong foundation of religion and spirituality in my view point.  My goal to improve my spirituality is to continue to practice the loving-kindness exercise and become more a more loving individual to all. 

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.

            By shifting my focus to my inner development as well as the outer aspects of my life I can achieve integral health.  My everyday life and the choices that I make will either support my quest towards my goal or impede it.  I would like to nurture behaviors that will foster integral health and abandon behaviors that cause barriers for me in reaching my overall goal of health, happiness, and wholeness. 

            I have been researching the benefits of yoga as well as tai chi.  Both of these can allow me to be more physically active along with work on my breathing technique.  The slow, graceful movements of tai chi along with the light physical exercise and stretching help to connect the mind, body, and spirit.  The various methods used will allow me to find a style that can benefit me without agitating my breathing.  By harmonizing my movements with my breathing I will be able to attain an inner calm.  This inner calm will help me with my physical, psychological, and spiritual health.

            For my psychological health and growth, I will continue to evaluate my life and eliminate unnecessary stressors which can cause obstacles in my effort in the development of inner peace and contentment.  This will help me to more effectively manage my stress better.   I will also continue to practice the visualization from our book Meeting Asclepius.  I found this very easy to follow and it was one of my most favorite exercises.  I felt that I benefited from this quickly and it helped me to achieve the frame of mind that I am striving for.

As for my spiritual growth, I am planning on continuing to practice the loving-kindness exercise.  I feel this will help me to develop my spiritual growth along with continuing to attend my church regularly.  I am working towards reading my bible more and learning more about my religion.  This will help me to achieve a more loving behavior I feel.  I need to continue to believe in something bigger than just myself.  Focus on the whole and not just my small circle of self and family.  By realizing the blessings that I have in my life instead of focusing on the negatives and what I do not have will help me to achieve a more positive outlook which invitingly has a positive effect on my overall health.

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?

The way I will assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months is to keep a personal log or journal.  I will write in this each night on what I have done to reach my goal of integral health that day.  I will also log any difficulties that I am experiencing.  Likewise, I feel this will assist me to maintain my long-term practices for health and wellness.  By setting long-term and short-term goals and keeping the journal, this will help me to see how I am progressing or declining.

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