Steps for Maintaining Health and Wellness

Introduction

Health and wellness professionals should strive to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically.  Working in the field of health and wellness, it is our job to help others develop these areas.  But how can we help others if we ourselves are not developed in those areas?  Dacher explains, “To become agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own life” (Dacher, 2006, p167).  When these areas are more developed in our own life, we are then in a better position to help others. I need to develop psychologically so that I can address issues with clarity and wisdom.  I need to develop spiritually so that I have a genuine compassion for others. And I need to develop physically so that I am capable of the physical requirements of the job and can be an example of preventative and integral health.  Health is a lifelong process so there is always room for development.  I would like to develop more physically in order to feel like I am ready to start helping others.  If one area is lacking it may show up in another area. Since working on the mental and spiritual aspects in this class, my physical development has started improving, which goes along with the concept of the mind-body connection.

Assessment

We did an integral assessment during this term.  This is one way that I can assess my health to find out if any area is out of balance.  If you work on developing the mind, you can be more in-tune to notice when something is not right.  If a person struggles to sleep at night because their mind refuses to calm, this may be an indicator that they need to work on psychological development.  Having regular checkups with a physician can be a way of assessing physical health.  This is something I need to do soon.  I would score my physical health at a 6.  As far as my spiritual and psychological health, the mental exercises have helped a lot over this term with assessing where I am.  I still need work but overall, I would give both areas a 7.

Goal development

It is important to have realistic and achievable goals. My physical goal is to walk five days a week for at least 30 minutes each time.  I love weight training. I hate cardio.  But I know that cardio is necessary.  I don’t like to walk outside alone, so I plan on walking on the treadmill or following along with a video.  My psychological goal is to attend yoga class once a week.  It is very difficult for me to find quiet time at home.  My gym offers childcare so that make it easier for me to attend classes.  The yoga class does visualization exercises at the end of every session, so this will be a great opportunity for my mind, body, and spirit.  My spiritual goal is to spend more time outdoors.  Hiking is very recharging to me but it may not be doable until the weather gets warmer.  Until them I will make a goal to spend time in prayer every night.  I think spending just five or ten minutes in prayer for others will be a peaceful way to calm my mind before sleep.

Practices for personal health

There are various strategies one can take to foster personal growth.  In the physical domain, I plan to get regular exercise, which includes cardio, strength, and flexibility.  I stated earlier that I have a goal to walk five days a week.  In addition to that, I would like to include 2-3 days of strength training, and at least 1 day of flexibility.  This could be my yoga class or a stretching class.  I also plan to schedule an appointment with a physician to have a full checkup done.  This will help me determine where I’m lacking physically or if there are any medical issues that I need to deal with.  Psychologically, I plan to practice yoga once a week and try to do the subtle mind exercise at least twice a week.  In order to find time to practice meditation, I will need to find a quiet time in a peaceful setting.  This will probably have to happen on the weekends when the kids are visiting grandma.  In addition to yoga and meditation, I have also started deep breathing when I drive my kids to school.  Getting three kids up early and out of the house is not easy. It’s very stressful.  I just take deep breaths and by the time I make it to the first school, I have calmed down.  Spiritually, my first strategy is to make time for prayer.  Regardless of religion, prayer has shown to be beneficial.  I want to make time for this at night after I get into bed. My second spiritual strategy is to implement the universal loving kindness exercise every morning.  It is only a 10 minute exercise, so I should be able to fit it in even before I get out of bed. This will help me open my mind and heart.

Commitment

Health and wellness takes a lifelong commitment.  To insure that I am making progress, I need to do regular assessments. For this I could do the integral assessment.  One strategy I have for maintenance is to write things down.  I am a very organized person that likes to plan things so it works for me to schedule activities on my calendar.  It also helps to write my goals down and hang them up on the refrigerator.  Periodically, I could re-assess these goals and my progress and make any necessary changes. Overall, I plan to make sure that I am following the integral map which is based on the five guiding principles of an integral approach: holistic, evolutionary, intentional, person-centered, and dynamic (Dacher, 2006).  I want to remember that my health covers the entire person. I am capable of evolving my potential. Mentally, I am in charge of my decisions and actions. I am unique and have my own set of needs. And I can flourish no matter what the circumstances.

References

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