My Integral Health Plan

Introduction:

            It is very important that health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because all health and wellness professionals should practice what they are trying to teach. In order to provide the best possible care for their patients’ health and wellness professionals should strive for the same goals that they would have their patients set. Plus the benefits of developing their psychological, spiritual, and physical health go far beyond personal fulfillment, it also gives the professional knowledge of how to achieve their health and wellness goals in each area; this is knowledge that can then be passed on to their patients.

                        Personally, I must make improvements in all areas of my life, psychological, spiritual, and physical. Even though I feel that I need to make improvements in all these areas I do feel that my spiritual and physical healths are in need of the most work. I hope to improve all three areas of my health by setting small goals in each area.

Assessment:

            I assessed my psychological, spiritual, and physical health by first asking myself how I felt personally about my health in each area. I needed to be honest with myself during this stage since so much of it is also based on emotion. I asked myself what I want my health to be in each area. I use journal entries to help me discover how I felt about my life in each area. To finish my assessment I used the four-quadrant integral model to help me see which of the four aspects of human flourishing I need help with the most. This model also helped me break each quadrant down into specific parts that allowed me to see what I need to work on within the quadrant. The four –quadrant integral model is divided into psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly sections. Each section is then broken down into smaller parts. Using this model was very helpful in helping me assess my health and wellness in all areas.

            When scoring my health and wellness in spiritual, physical, and psychological health I was slightly surprised. I was not so surprised that I feel that I need a lot of work in the physical area. I have health issues that I have been struggling with for a long time. Plus I am very out of shape and pregnant at this point in time, so weight loss is not really possible for three more months. The surprise for me was that I feel that I am lacking more in my spiritual health than in my psychological health. I have struggled with depression for most of my life, but at this point in my life feel that I am doing alright. I was very surprised that I have been neglecting my spiritual health almost completely. I had not realized that I was forgetting this very important part of my life until I actually took the time to think about it.

Goal Development:

            I have decided that the best way for me to achieve better health in each area is to set small manageable goals for myself in psychological, spiritual, and physical health. My goal to help me improve my psychological health is to start meditating at least once a day for at least 20 minutes. This gives me a chance to get away from the chaos of my life and to quiet my mind for a few minutes a day. The goal I have set for myself in the spiritual area of my life is to keep a daily journal so that I can start to rediscover who I am. In the area of physical health I am going to focus on hydration and nutrition until I have the baby. My goal in the area of physical health is to make sure I drink at least 6 glasses of water a day and to eat more whole foods and eat a lot less sugar and processed foods.

Practices for personal health:

            There are many practices that can be implemented to help foster growth in physical, psychological, and spiritual health and wellness; I plan on trying many of them as I improve my health in all three areas. In the area of physical health walking is an excellent activity that can also be useful in helping to clear the mind. As soon as I am able to I plan on starting a daily walking program.  Another strategy that can be used to help improve my physical health is to make sure I am getting enough rest, especially since I will be staying up most nights with a newborn very soon. I plan on scheduling in daily down time for me and the younger children so that I can actually get a moment to rest.

Practices that I plan on using to improve my psychological health are meditation and mental imagery. Both of these practices will help me clear my mind and help me feel more centered. I plan on using meditation on a daily basis and would like to try many different types of meditation to see which one helps me the most. Mental imagery I feel is going to be a wonderful practice for me to use while I try to improve my health. I think that I will try to use mental imagery a couple times a week while I focus on improving my health.

To improve my spiritual health I plan on trying practices such as journaling and volunteer work. By keeping a daily journal will be able to reconnect with myself. The volunteer work will help me improve my spiritual health by reconnecting with others. Both of these practices, I feel, will be very helpful in improving my spiritual health.

Commitment

            Over the next six months I will continue to assess my progress by being honest with myself and by asking myself if I have noticed any improvement or decline in any of the three areas. I will also use the four-quadrant integral model every couple months to help me make regular assessments.

            Strategies that I can use to help me maintain my long-term practices for health and wellness are to keep my goals manageable, make sure I use a variety of practices so that I do not get bored, keep learning about integral health and the practices that are sued to improve health in all areas, and to keep an open mind.

References:

Dacher, Elliot S. M.D. 2006. Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Inc.

The benefits I discoverd from the meditation exercises.

After reviewing the three exercises, Loving Kindness, Subtle Mind, and the Visualization meditations I decided that the two exercises that I found to be the most beneficial were the Subtle mind and the visualization exercise. I struggle with the Loving Kindness exercise but so not plan on giving up on it, I feel that it can be very beneficial  once I learn how to use it well.  The Subtle Mind exercise is probably the easiest for me to sue and  find it very relaxing. I struggle with a mind that is often times way to full of stuff and the Subtle Mind exercise is helping me learn how to let some of this mind clutter go. The Visualization exercise I found to be fun and slightly difficult at times, but I found the visualization to be calming as well as inspiring. Because the Visualization exercise helps me feel more inspired I like to do this mediation before attempting homework or anything that needs a little creativity and thought.

Hello, Aesclepius!

This weeks mediation exercise was "Meeting Aesclepius". I chose a peaceful time in the house to try this exercise. When I was directed to choose or create an inspiring individual I stumbled. I could not think of anyone that I wanted to use. Finally, I chose Mary the mother of Christ, or the fictional image I consider to be Mary. Having been a student in a Catholic school throughout much of my youth, Mary was a large part of my life. As a young girl I found it easier to pray to Mary since she was female as well. As I changed my direction in religion and decided on a spiritual path rather than strictly religious Mary still continued to be a part of my life as a mother figure that could understand my own issues with motherhood, as a wife, and as a woman. I will probably continue to use her as my guide in this exercise. I am hoping that as I continue these exercises I will once again improve my spiritual well being.

The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” means that if an individual should not teach or advise about things that they have not experienced themselves.I believe I do have an obligation to live what I may try to teach others later.