1. I score pretty low physically- a 4- because I have gotten out of routine exercise since becoming pregnant with this baby. I really should have kept up with my exercise, but I’ve had a hard time feeling well enough to keep up with it. I do feel motivated to get my booty back into shape once I’ve recovered from childbirth and I am confident that I can do it. This score was better before this pregnancy, probably around a 6, and has gotten down to a 4. I am active on a daily basis, but I do not engage in routine physical exercise as I should.
I am pretty happy with my spiritual score- a 7- because I have worked on this area for a long time. Of course there is room for improvement; there will always be room for improvement, but I’m happy about my progress thus far. I think this score has been pretty stable in the last few years. This is an area that I do not particularly struggle with. I can only see myself progressing forward from here.
My psychological health score was a 5. I was not aware of just how much development I lacked in this area before this class began and now that I am aware of it, it is obviously apparent and it is painful to know how much of a change I need to make. This aspect of my health probably hasn’t changed very much in the past few years, except that I have increased my stress levels and therefore may have experienced a regression psychologically. I do not handle stress well and it has been a big challenge for me to remain healthy psychologically through all of the changes and business I have taken on through children, work, school, and other family matters.
2. and 3. I have not begun to implement my goals and activities for myself physically. I have, however, become more motivated and have more ideas for reaching my goals. I am more and more optimistic about my future success.
I have begun to implement the activities for myself psychologically. I am much more aware of my thoughts and actions throughout the day. This has helped me to “filter” my behavior and therefore have made better choices and been a better person. I also have been changing the way that I think in that I focus more on the positive and the joy in my life and this has helped me to improve my moods and actions.
I think that my spiritual health is linked to my psychological health because I feel more balanced spiritually since I became more aware of my psychological development. By being aware of my thoughts and actions, it has come naturally to “take advantage of every day as an opportunity to improve the lives of those around me,” as I stated in my wellness plan.
4. My personal experience throughout this course is far above and beyond anything I expected. I was captivated and inspired by the teachings of Dacher and by the philosophies in this class. I started working on my integral health at the age of fifteen, without that label, and had slowly been coming out of that development until this term. I now have renewed faith and aspiration to master my mind and body and to use every day of my life as an opportunity to spread “good” throughout the world, even if on a small scale. The biggest change I have experienced from this course is the awareness of my personal development. I can now clearly see where I need to improve and it is hard to see since there are definitely areas in which I need major improvement upon. This has been particularly helpful in motivating me to change myself and improve every aspect of my health. It has been difficult to gain this awareness because I can see my faults staring me in the face and that is never a nice experience. This is what makes us want to change and so it is necessary. This course has also provided me with tools that I did not have before to improve my integral health and I am very grateful for that as well. I can see where I need to better myself and have more tools readily available to make those changes so that I can go on to lead a more productive and harmonic life.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Unit 9 Final!
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 psychologically, spiritually and physically because in order to fully approach a person’s wellness, you must examine each aspect of health. By neglecting one or more facet, the health professional is unable to treat the patient as a complex and dynamic individual. Each person must be seen as a unique person, not a set of symptoms or be defined by a disease. It is important for health and wellness professionals to look in-depth at each and every individual, without bias or judgment.
I need further development in every aspect of my health; physical, psychologically and spiritual. I have general goals in mind for each of these areas, but even those goals need to be developed more thoroughly. The aspect that I need most improvement upon is psychological. I need to further develop my mindfulness and mental abilities, especially with regards to my emotions. I get stressed out easily and become grumpy and angry. If I make the effort to control my thoughts, I can reason with my emotions and block the instant reactions from becoming actions and therefore am able to make better decisions as opposed to hasty ones.
II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
Physically I have assessed my health, but this has been done in much more detail in other classes. I know that I do lack physical fitness in each area: strength, endurance and flexibility. If I were to score myself in this area on a one-to-ten scale, at this point I would give myself a 4. There is much to be desired in this department and I have made it a goal to get back into shape after this baby is born, once the strain on my body has been relieved.
Spiritually, I have assessed my health using the assessment tools given to me in this course. I now understand more thoroughly that, although I feel that I have established a good connection to my own Heaven personally, I do need to work on my daily behavior as it reflects that relationship. In other words, I need my actions to be intently “good” as opposed to reactive or neutral (or even worse, bad!). I would score myself as a 7 in this area because I have worked on strengthening this relationship a lot more in the past 10 years.
I have used the personal assessment tools from Dacher’s book to assess my psychological wellness (Dacher, 2006). I had done a bit of this assessment in therapy sessions as a teenager, but I am better able to perceive my psychological health now that I am older. Going through the exercises and practices throughout this course, I have come to a greater understanding of myself and have learned about my psychological wellness, or lack thereof at times. I would score myself as a 5 psychologically. I absolutely need improvement in this area.
III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Physically, my goals are to become regularly active. I have a treadmill at home and am going to begin taking advantage of its availability and will make it a part of my daily routine. I will also work to improve my flexibility and strength through yoga and belly dance (one of my favorite exercise videos!).
Psychologically, my goal is to practice regular mindfulness meditation so that I can master my thoughts and become as impeccable as I can be in my actions and behaviors. This is especially important because I have children that model my behavior!
Spiritually, I aspire to have a much deeper relationship to my higher power and wish to bring the “fruits” of that relationship into my life through my work and my actions, be they small or large-scale. I will work to take advantage of every day as an opportunity to help improve the lives of those around me and help to make a difference in the world.
IV 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.
As stated earlier, I will use regular walking and jogging- eventually leading up to running- and the use of exercise videos to improve my physical health. I can also improve my nutritional health by being more diligent with my grocery-shopping choices, which will also help to improve the health of my family.
Strategies for improving my psychological health include the practice of meditation, but more importantly, the mastery of thought on a daily basis. Another great way to keep my life in perspective on a regular basis is to practice the creative visualization of happiness so that I can reconnect with my inner self and see that, whatever may be going on in my life that causes stress or negative reactions, I can reconnect to times of happiness and joy and overcome these obstacles (Dacher, 2006).
The best strategy I can implement in my life to flourish spiritually is the practice of prayer. When I need to reconnect with The Divine, I can just take a quiet moment to collect my thoughts and pray. Another strategy that I could use as an alternative to prayer is the exercise from Dacher’s book that taught mentor connection. The practice of this connection will help me to become a better person through the influence and energetic connection to this chosen person.
V 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?
To assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months, I can create a reoccurring schedule in which I re-read sections of Dacher’s book every month or so (more often if needed) in order to remind myself of my goals and of where I strive to be. I can also look back on this very assignment since it details my assessments of my health as well as the goals I have set for the development in each of these areas. I will write a commitment statement to myself so that I can be fully dedicated in writing and put it up where I will see it every day and remember what I have set out to do. A constant reminder of who I want to become and how I will get myself there will help me to not lose focus as well as keep it in my conscious mind every day so that I do not forget the importance of reaching my full potential.
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 psychologically, spiritually and physically because in order to fully approach a person’s wellness, you must examine each aspect of health. By neglecting one or more facet, the health professional is unable to treat the patient as a complex and dynamic individual. Each person must be seen as a unique person, not a set of symptoms or be defined by a disease. It is important for health and wellness professionals to look in-depth at each and every individual, without bias or judgment.
I need further development in every aspect of my health; physical, psychologically and spiritual. I have general goals in mind for each of these areas, but even those goals need to be developed more thoroughly. The aspect that I need most improvement upon is psychological. I need to further develop my mindfulness and mental abilities, especially with regards to my emotions. I get stressed out easily and become grumpy and angry. If I make the effort to control my thoughts, I can reason with my emotions and block the instant reactions from becoming actions and therefore am able to make better decisions as opposed to hasty ones.
II Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
Physically I have assessed my health, but this has been done in much more detail in other classes. I know that I do lack physical fitness in each area: strength, endurance and flexibility. If I were to score myself in this area on a one-to-ten scale, at this point I would give myself a 4. There is much to be desired in this department and I have made it a goal to get back into shape after this baby is born, once the strain on my body has been relieved.
Spiritually, I have assessed my health using the assessment tools given to me in this course. I now understand more thoroughly that, although I feel that I have established a good connection to my own Heaven personally, I do need to work on my daily behavior as it reflects that relationship. In other words, I need my actions to be intently “good” as opposed to reactive or neutral (or even worse, bad!). I would score myself as a 7 in this area because I have worked on strengthening this relationship a lot more in the past 10 years.
I have used the personal assessment tools from Dacher’s book to assess my psychological wellness (Dacher, 2006). I had done a bit of this assessment in therapy sessions as a teenager, but I am better able to perceive my psychological health now that I am older. Going through the exercises and practices throughout this course, I have come to a greater understanding of myself and have learned about my psychological wellness, or lack thereof at times. I would score myself as a 5 psychologically. I absolutely need improvement in this area.
III Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Physically, my goals are to become regularly active. I have a treadmill at home and am going to begin taking advantage of its availability and will make it a part of my daily routine. I will also work to improve my flexibility and strength through yoga and belly dance (one of my favorite exercise videos!).
Psychologically, my goal is to practice regular mindfulness meditation so that I can master my thoughts and become as impeccable as I can be in my actions and behaviors. This is especially important because I have children that model my behavior!
Spiritually, I aspire to have a much deeper relationship to my higher power and wish to bring the “fruits” of that relationship into my life through my work and my actions, be they small or large-scale. I will work to take advantage of every day as an opportunity to help improve the lives of those around me and help to make a difference in the world.
IV 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.
As stated earlier, I will use regular walking and jogging- eventually leading up to running- and the use of exercise videos to improve my physical health. I can also improve my nutritional health by being more diligent with my grocery-shopping choices, which will also help to improve the health of my family.
Strategies for improving my psychological health include the practice of meditation, but more importantly, the mastery of thought on a daily basis. Another great way to keep my life in perspective on a regular basis is to practice the creative visualization of happiness so that I can reconnect with my inner self and see that, whatever may be going on in my life that causes stress or negative reactions, I can reconnect to times of happiness and joy and overcome these obstacles (Dacher, 2006).
The best strategy I can implement in my life to flourish spiritually is the practice of prayer. When I need to reconnect with The Divine, I can just take a quiet moment to collect my thoughts and pray. Another strategy that I could use as an alternative to prayer is the exercise from Dacher’s book that taught mentor connection. The practice of this connection will help me to become a better person through the influence and energetic connection to this chosen person.
V 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?
To assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months, I can create a reoccurring schedule in which I re-read sections of Dacher’s book every month or so (more often if needed) in order to remind myself of my goals and of where I strive to be. I can also look back on this very assignment since it details my assessments of my health as well as the goals I have set for the development in each of these areas. I will write a commitment statement to myself so that I can be fully dedicated in writing and put it up where I will see it every day and remember what I have set out to do. A constant reminder of who I want to become and how I will get myself there will help me to not lose focus as well as keep it in my conscious mind every day so that I do not forget the importance of reaching my full potential.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Unit 8
Thinking about the exercises that we have done thus far, I think the two that stuck out to me the most are the Subtle Mind and Meeting Aesclepius exercises. To me, they were the most effective and held the most potential for creating inner change in myself. In order to actually affect change, I have to inject these practices into my routine. If I can make it habit to do these exercises, I will be able to continually develop my mental fitness without struggling to remember to do them. Just like physical exercise must become a part of my daily routine, so do these practices. An example of my mental fitness routine could be:
*Wake up at a set time in the morning (preferably before my children are up)
*Take 30 minutes to meditate, focusing on the Subtle Mind exercise
*Go on with the rest of the day, remembering to keep my mental activity under control and therefore controlling my actions using principles of Loving-Kindness.
*45 minutes before bedtime, take 30 minutes to meditate on my chosen mentor.
*Wake up at a set time in the morning (preferably before my children are up)
*Take 30 minutes to meditate, focusing on the Subtle Mind exercise
*Go on with the rest of the day, remembering to keep my mental activity under control and therefore controlling my actions using principles of Loving-Kindness.
*45 minutes before bedtime, take 30 minutes to meditate on my chosen mentor.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Unit 7: Meeting Aesclepius
This week’s exercise, Meeting Aesclepius, was a moderately enjoyable experience for me. This exercise is very similar to one that I was assigned in Tai Chi years ago, called Avatar training. We were to find a person who was already deceased, who embodied the type of great person who we would like to emulate. There are a few differences between the two trainings, but they are based on the same concept. One thing that I did not like about the exercise was the instruction to “become” the chosen idol. In my opinion, we should not try to “become” any person, no matter how great he or she may be, because we each are individuals with our own experiences and with wisdom unique to our own lives. To attempt to become another person, we may be inclined to deny our own experiences and lessons learned (or those yet to be learned). Another flaw that I see in this instruction is the fact that the person we choose to envision is human and therefore fallible. Even if the person chosen has already deceased, there is no doubt that bad decisions were made and in connecting to that person with the intent to completely transform yourself into that person, you take on the mistakes that were made as well as any other negative characteristics of that individual. I would prefer to only attempt to emulate the positive aspects of the person chosen and incorporate them into your lifestyle and perspective.
“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (Schlitz, Amorok & Micozzi, 2005). This is a very strong and true statement that makes me think about health professionals who very obviously do not take care of their own health, but who preach to others about ways in which to lead a healthy lifestyle. How often do you see an obese physician or a group of nurses outside of a hospital smoking? Too often, in my opinion. My first Kaplan professor was a great example of leading by example. She taught nutrition (among other subjects) and was the portrait of great health. She was vegan and a marathon runner. Attending her classes was truly an inspiration to me because I felt that she was credible and that a healthy lifestyle was actually attainable because she was proof!
I do not believe in individuals (professional or otherwise) preaching about things that they do not practice themselves. Hypocrites are so annoying to me.
Reference
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. S. (2005). Consciousness & healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. St. Louis, Missouri.
“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (Schlitz, Amorok & Micozzi, 2005). This is a very strong and true statement that makes me think about health professionals who very obviously do not take care of their own health, but who preach to others about ways in which to lead a healthy lifestyle. How often do you see an obese physician or a group of nurses outside of a hospital smoking? Too often, in my opinion. My first Kaplan professor was a great example of leading by example. She taught nutrition (among other subjects) and was the portrait of great health. She was vegan and a marathon runner. Attending her classes was truly an inspiration to me because I felt that she was credible and that a healthy lifestyle was actually attainable because she was proof!
I do not believe in individuals (professional or otherwise) preaching about things that they do not practice themselves. Hypocrites are so annoying to me.
Reference
Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., & Micozzi, M. S. (2005). Consciousness & healing: Integral Approaches to Mind-Body Medicine. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. St. Louis, Missouri.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Unit 6
In practicing the universal loving-kindness meditation, I found myself coming out of it in a pleasant state-of-mind. Extending loving-kindness to all others made me feel very humbled as one small piece in this huge world yet empowered to make a positive impact. The simplicity and briefness of this meditation is my favorite part.
The integral assessment was one that I know I need much further work on. To delve deeply into myself and discover the aspects of my health that need work, I’ll need to spend a lot more time meditating. Right away, I felt that my psychospiritual health needs quite a bit of work and so this is where I am going to begin. I think the two exercises that would help me improve the development of my psychospiritual health would be the Subtle Mind exercise and the universal Loving-Kindness exercise.
The integral assessment was one that I know I need much further work on. To delve deeply into myself and discover the aspects of my health that need work, I’ll need to spend a lot more time meditating. Right away, I felt that my psychospiritual health needs quite a bit of work and so this is where I am going to begin. I think the two exercises that would help me improve the development of my psychospiritual health would be the Subtle Mind exercise and the universal Loving-Kindness exercise.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Unit 5: The Subtle Mind
This week's exercise was much more pleasant than the Loving-Kindness exercise (for me, anyway). I found the meditation to be very similar to one that we practice in Tai Chi so it was easy for me since I was familiar with it. I think my favorite part of the meditation is actually observing thoughts; acknowledging them before letting them fade away. To me this is signifies an important practice in life: although there may be things in life that we are unhappy with or are not necessarily productive, it is important to acknowledge their existence and give them the respect that they deserve before pushing them aside or allowing them to pass so that we can gain as much wisdom from them as possible. There is opportunity for positive change and growth in everything in life and this exercise could definitely help implement that practice.
When comparing this exercise to the Loving-Kindness exercise, I think that the Subtle Mind is more simple and easy to grasp. They both had good parts: the practice of spreading compassion and kindness to others is a great one and in the Subtle Mind exercise, quieting the mind, observing the thoughts, and releasing them is necessary for the mastery of the mind.
The connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is a natural process when dealing with mental training and other aspects of integral health improvement. Since the three aspects of health are always connected, developing one always improves the others.
I try to develop this connection in my personal life by living by the value of compassion. I do as much as I can every day to help others in need and to show kindness. I try to stand up for those who need advocacy and not tolerate abuse by others. In living by these standards, I have begun to develop my spiritual, mental, and therefore physical wellness.
When comparing this exercise to the Loving-Kindness exercise, I think that the Subtle Mind is more simple and easy to grasp. They both had good parts: the practice of spreading compassion and kindness to others is a great one and in the Subtle Mind exercise, quieting the mind, observing the thoughts, and releasing them is necessary for the mastery of the mind.
The connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is a natural process when dealing with mental training and other aspects of integral health improvement. Since the three aspects of health are always connected, developing one always improves the others.
I try to develop this connection in my personal life by living by the value of compassion. I do as much as I can every day to help others in need and to show kindness. I try to stand up for those who need advocacy and not tolerate abuse by others. In living by these standards, I have begun to develop my spiritual, mental, and therefore physical wellness.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Loving-Kindness Exercise; Unit 4
Going through the Loving-Kindness exercise, I found myself quite uncomfortable with the requests that were made. I do not believe that “taking in” other people’s pain and suffering is safe or a good idea and so I refused to even attempt this. I instantly felt discomfort within me when the guide said to do this and I trusted myself and did not proceed with this portion. I feel that, in doing this, I would be endangering my own health (not to mention the health of the baby within me). I do not see anything wrong with “breathing out loving-kindness” to others and feel that it would be a great thing to practice but this is the only aspect of the exercise that I feel comfortable participating in. I would never recommend anyone to take in others’ pain and suffering, but I would absolutely recommend opening one’s heart to extend compassion to others.
Mental workout refers to the deliberate exercising of a specific mental focus in order to progressively develop an expanded consciousness as well as its healing capacities (Dacher, 200). Dacher has two exercises of contemplative practice that he teaches in his book: Loving-kindness (the exercise that we were assigned for this blog entry) and the subtle mind which are both on his CD. Dacher states that the aim of the two exercises is to “help us to tame and train the mind, open the heart, expand consciousness, and progress us toward psychospiritual flourishing” (Dacher, 2006). I can implement mental workouts in order to foster my psychological health in various ways. I could exercise control when faced with a challenge that invokes in me a negative reflexive feeling, I could take time to assess a situation before jumping to conclusions which may be unproductive or negative, and I could commit to a constant state of awareness of my inner thoughts and feelings so as to direct them to be more positive. These are just a few examples as there are an infinite possibilities of things that I could do to train mentally, improve my integral health, and have a positive impact on my environment.
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, California. Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Mental workout refers to the deliberate exercising of a specific mental focus in order to progressively develop an expanded consciousness as well as its healing capacities (Dacher, 200). Dacher has two exercises of contemplative practice that he teaches in his book: Loving-kindness (the exercise that we were assigned for this blog entry) and the subtle mind which are both on his CD. Dacher states that the aim of the two exercises is to “help us to tame and train the mind, open the heart, expand consciousness, and progress us toward psychospiritual flourishing” (Dacher, 2006). I can implement mental workouts in order to foster my psychological health in various ways. I could exercise control when faced with a challenge that invokes in me a negative reflexive feeling, I could take time to assess a situation before jumping to conclusions which may be unproductive or negative, and I could commit to a constant state of awareness of my inner thoughts and feelings so as to direct them to be more positive. These are just a few examples as there are an infinite possibilities of things that I could do to train mentally, improve my integral health, and have a positive impact on my environment.
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, California. Basic Health Publications, Inc.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Unit 3
1. Rating my personal well-being
a. I would rate my physical wellbeing right now as a number 6. It is normally higher, but this pregnancy is my third and is taking a toll on my body. I eat moderately well, definitely don’t exercise enough, and don’t handle stress well at times.
b. Regarding my spiritual wellness, I would rate that as an 8 because I feel content spiritually. The development I have experienced spiritually has been substantial in the past few years and, although there is always room for improvement, I am quite happy with where I stand right now.
c. Psychologically, I feel there is definitely room for improvement; I rate myself a 5. I do face challenges psychologically in the ways that I am sensitive to depression and stress-related ailments.
2. Goals
a. I have learned a lot about physical fitness while attending Kaplan in the last year. I am much more aware of the areas in which I need improvement, such as aerobic and anaerobic exercise, stretching, strength training, and relaxation (which are all physical areas!). I am better at relaxation than I am at aerobic exercise and I do need to become more active. My goal for myself physically is to walk more during this pregnancy and slowly get back into a routine after the baby is born to improve my physical wellbeing. The primary part of my goal is for it to be consistent.
b. Since I am content with my spiritual wellbeing in general, I would like to maintain my spiritual health and work toward improving it in whatever ways I can.
c. Psychologically, my goals are to handle stress better; to maintain control of my emotions and not allow myself to become overwhelmed by life and consequently suffer minor mental ailments.
3. Activities
a. Something as simple as 10-15 minutes walking at a brisk pace on my treadmill while distracting myself with music or television would be a great start toward being more active.
b. Praying is one way that I could maintain my spiritual health and seek a closer to connection to my God.
c. Stress-relief exercises like meditation or Tai Chi are ways that I could improve my psychological health because they would help me to refocus myself mentally and bring perspective to my circumstance.
The Crime of the Century
During the exercise, I relaxed all of my tense muscles and my whole body felt warm and tingly. It was interesting applying specific colors to the chakras and I believe this could be very beneficial if you used that concept to harness the power of colors (with intent), so I’ll have to look up the meaning of the colors before doing this again so that I know what each color represents. The best thing about this meditation was the combination of colors and shapes with each area. I think that being specific like that helps to boost the power of the meditation because each one of those specifics already has so much intent put into it that that power is harnessed in the meditation.
a. I would rate my physical wellbeing right now as a number 6. It is normally higher, but this pregnancy is my third and is taking a toll on my body. I eat moderately well, definitely don’t exercise enough, and don’t handle stress well at times.
b. Regarding my spiritual wellness, I would rate that as an 8 because I feel content spiritually. The development I have experienced spiritually has been substantial in the past few years and, although there is always room for improvement, I am quite happy with where I stand right now.
c. Psychologically, I feel there is definitely room for improvement; I rate myself a 5. I do face challenges psychologically in the ways that I am sensitive to depression and stress-related ailments.
2. Goals
a. I have learned a lot about physical fitness while attending Kaplan in the last year. I am much more aware of the areas in which I need improvement, such as aerobic and anaerobic exercise, stretching, strength training, and relaxation (which are all physical areas!). I am better at relaxation than I am at aerobic exercise and I do need to become more active. My goal for myself physically is to walk more during this pregnancy and slowly get back into a routine after the baby is born to improve my physical wellbeing. The primary part of my goal is for it to be consistent.
b. Since I am content with my spiritual wellbeing in general, I would like to maintain my spiritual health and work toward improving it in whatever ways I can.
c. Psychologically, my goals are to handle stress better; to maintain control of my emotions and not allow myself to become overwhelmed by life and consequently suffer minor mental ailments.
3. Activities
a. Something as simple as 10-15 minutes walking at a brisk pace on my treadmill while distracting myself with music or television would be a great start toward being more active.
b. Praying is one way that I could maintain my spiritual health and seek a closer to connection to my God.
c. Stress-relief exercises like meditation or Tai Chi are ways that I could improve my psychological health because they would help me to refocus myself mentally and bring perspective to my circumstance.
The Crime of the Century
During the exercise, I relaxed all of my tense muscles and my whole body felt warm and tingly. It was interesting applying specific colors to the chakras and I believe this could be very beneficial if you used that concept to harness the power of colors (with intent), so I’ll have to look up the meaning of the colors before doing this again so that I know what each color represents. The best thing about this meditation was the combination of colors and shapes with each area. I think that being specific like that helps to boost the power of the meditation because each one of those specifics already has so much intent put into it that that power is harnessed in the meditation.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Reflection: Unit 2
Journey On was a very pleasant experience. I have practiced guided meditation before and I think that it made it very easy for me to follow along. When the guide asked that we focus on our arms and hands, the feeling of warmth and heaviness was instantaneous. Going through the meditation, I felt my tense muscles relax, especially the ones in my shoulders. Once it was over, I continued to feel relaxed and energized for quite a while.
What I learned from this exercise was the physiological reaction of our energetic intentions. I have done this same meditation (not verbatum) before, but instead of focusing on the "blood flow" of an area, it was the relaxation of the muscles that we envisioned and experienced. I was very interested in this difference, because, in the end, they go together. You focus your energy on a part of your body and the physiological reaction is the change in blood flow."
What I learned from this exercise was the physiological reaction of our energetic intentions. I have done this same meditation (not verbatum) before, but instead of focusing on the "blood flow" of an area, it was the relaxation of the muscles that we envisioned and experienced. I was very interested in this difference, because, in the end, they go together. You focus your energy on a part of your body and the physiological reaction is the change in blood flow."
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
And a pic...
This is me and my daughter when she was about 8 or 9 months old (I think), hanging out in the hot tub!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
A New Blog for a New Class
This blog is dedicated to my Kaplan U class: Creating Wellness- Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing.
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