Unit 10

Hello all,
After reviewing my unit 3 assessments on my psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being, i had rated myself accordingly:
Physical: 8
Spiritual: 6
Psychological: 9

My physical and spiritual scores are the same as they were back in unit 3; sadly to say I would have to admit my psychological well-being has dropped to probably about a 7 or a 8 because of the stress these past few weeks. I think in order to get my psychological well-being back on track, I need to implicate meditation exercises into my weekly routine, or even yoga because I am attracted to anything that helps with my physical well-being as well. Also,  I think keeping a journal would help because I can write out all of my frustrations, that way that are not kept bottled up inside of me. I had set a goal of running a marathon in my final project and I really want to start training for that. I exercise on a daily basis, but I need to start implementing more cardio into my workouts.

This course really has taught me a lot about integral health and the importance of incorporating these techniques into my life. I have seen how important it is to find that inner peace because as a health and wellness professional we need to be ready for any situation that comes our way,  whether it be in our own life, or the lives of our future clients. The most difficult aspect about this course was concentrating during the subtle mind exercises and so forth. I have a hard time drowning out distractions because I am such a go-go-go type of individual. I have learned the best time to do these exercises are at night, right before bed time. Experiencing this course will help me to assist others because it has made me more aware of the importance of taking others feelings into consideration. Typically, I am not one to have much sympathy towards others because I was raised to be a strong individual no matter what the case, but sometimes opening up is the better option. This has been a hard task for me to overcome, but I need to be able to sympathize with others in order to be a successful wellness coach.

Given this will be my last post on the blog, I sincerely wish all of you the best in your futures and will maybe see some of you down the road in future courses!!
-Joncie Winter   

Unit 9 Final Project

Final Project

Joncie Winter

Kaplan University

HW420: Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

August 28, 2012

Introduction

            It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because in order to integrate these concepts into the lives of others, we must have been become aware of our personal inner growth through flourishing psychologically, spiritually and physically. In order to connect the world through wellness, we must develop awareness for others through our personal experiences, whether they are physical, spiritual or psychological. As a health and wellness professional, it is our responsibility to help clients improve their well-being by working one-on-one with them. Promoting a healthy mind, body and spirit is one way to bring health and wellness professionals and the community together (Health and Wellness Professional Network, 2012).

              The greatest area that I need to conquer in order to become psychologically, spiritually and physically flourished is making that mind/body connection; physically and spiritually speaking, I am set. Although I believe there is always room for improvement in any area of ones’ life, the mind/body connection is an aspect I have struggled with but have become more aware of the past few months. The mind does not pose any limitations when developing the qualities of the mind, however, there is a biological limit to physical fitness; our minds are capable of limitless development. This is the exact area where I need flourish in order to obtain my goal of being psychologically flourished (Dacher, 2006).

Assessment

            Assessing my psychological, spiritual and physical health is important in order to become aware of any improvements or changes that I need to change or implement into my life. Psychologically speaking, I have assessed this domain of my life by becoming aware of how important it is to train the mind. Knowledge is key here because in previous months the phrase, “train the mind” was nonexistent in my vocabulary. Simply becoming aware of this powerful tool forced me to really sit back and make a consciousness “list” of what psychological areas needed improvement. For example, I have developed a better sense of loving-kindness towards others because I am beginning to train my mind to be more open to their adversities; with this said, I score my psychological wellness as a five, going on six out of ten.

            Spirituality has been a main focus ever since I can remember.  Again, specifically these past few months I have grown and reached a new level of spiritual health because certain events forced me to assess this domain of my life. Realizing the power of God has been my comfort place and the entity I turn to; for example, prayer. I score my spiritual wellness as a seven out of ten.

            Assessing my physical health is something I do on a daily basis. Physically speaking I am in the best shape of my life because of a major lifestyle change I implemented a few years back. I would say that was the time I assessed my physical health the most. I remember looking in the mirror and not being satisfied with what was looking back at me. Ever since, exercise and proper diet are two areas of my life that I keep on the top of my priority list; I score this domain as a nine out of ten.

Goal Development

I believe creating goals is a great way to keep us accountable for our behaviors. My physical goal is to train to run a marathon; increased aerobic endurance. I set this goal because my fiancé is a runner and would like to participate in a marathon together. My spiritual goal is to pray more often than I do now. Prayer is great tool I use to strengthen my faith and stay spiritually stable. Psychologically speaking, my goal is to better train my mind in order to experience a better inner peace so that in time I can foster a greater outer peace.  

Practices for personal health

            In order to foster growth physically, psychologically and spiritually, partaking in certain strategies and exercises is important. Exercising my physical health can be done at the gym. One exercise that will keep me accountable and foster growth for my physical health is running. Another exercise that will aid in my physical health is signing up for that marathon I previously mentioned. Taking this action will force me to start the initial marathon training.

            Attending church more often will foster my spiritual growth. Also, reading the Bible is a good strategy to foster spiritual growth because it opens door to a new and peaceful experience. One exercise I need to incorporate more into my life in order to implement growth psychologically is, meditation. Meditation is easy to learn and practice and can bring inner peace. Meditation is also beneficial for stress reduction because it brings about a sense of calmness, which balances our emotional and overall health and well-being. Another exercise that would benefit me psychologically is practicing the exercise of the subtle mind because it will lead me towards psychospiritual flourishing. I will implement this exercise by taking a few moments before bed time and focusing my attention on any negative thoughts, feelings, and sensations and then slowly releasing them with every deep breath, creating stillness and a peaceful mind (Dacher, 2006; Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012).

Commitment

            Assessing our physical, spiritual and psychological progress, whether lack or gain, is crucial for maintain long-term practices for health and wellness. I will assess my physical health in six months based off the goal I set of running a marathon. The assessment technique I will use is simple, did I finish the marathon or not? Spiritually speaking, I will keep a mental note of my church attendance and assess my progress in six months. I have a wonderful fiancé and social network that will keep accountable for attending church because that is one domain in their life they see as a priority. Assessing my psychological wellness will be the most difficult, but keeping a journal or a diary is the best way to accurately assess this area of my life. This way I have “record” of my thoughts and feelings and I can go back and look six months down the road to see if I have flourished or not. Using these strategies will help me maintain my long-term practices for health and wellness because it is something I will be doing physically that will benefit me consciously, thus creating better psychological, spiritual and physical health  and wellness.

               

References:

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Pub.

Health and Wellness Professional Network. (2012). Retrieved on August 28, 2012

            From: http://www.hwpn.org.

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2010, August). Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress.

            Retrieved on August 28, 2012 from: http://www.mayoclinic.com.

Unit 8

Hello Everybody,
I found the meditation and visualization exercises the most beneficial because both of the exercises really put my mind into relaxation mode. The meditation exercise was the more difficult out of the two because I can sometimes have a hard time relaxing and concentrating on a specific area of my life. I especially enjoyed the visualization exercise because it made me thankful for the positive people in my life. Being able to visualize those types of people really created a sense of inner peace and thankfulness. These two exercises help with my personal mental fitness because it forces me to outweigh the bad and replace these negative thoughts with positive thoughts. For example, I have started looking at negative situations from a different, more positive perspective. If I am feeling overwhelmed, I am learning to stop, take a second and view the "problem" or situation from a more positive outlook or perspective (glass half full perspective). Being able to function this way has allowed a better self control of my thoughts and feels, which in turn, reduces the stress levels in my life!
-Joncie Winter 

Unit 7

Hello All,
The beginning of this exercise was easy for me because I automatically thought of and visualized my father because he is someone I have great respect for and honor towards. I felt a calmness and peacefulness come about when I was visualizing him and having him as my focal point. I have a great relationship and connection with my dad so this made me feel at ease and not uncomfortable. This exercise made me feel very fortune to have such a great role model in my life, which is beneficial for my psychologically. Being able to recognize the positive people in my life helps me to foster a greater spiritual and psychological wellness.

I think the phrase, "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" is very beneficial to health and wellness professionals because sometimes the best advice comes from a person who has been through the exact situation as the one who is currently going through it. For example, my goal is to become a wellness coach post graduation. I foresee having many clients who will want to achieve weight loss. Before starting school, I lost about 25 pounds. I think this will benefit me a lot when trying to help my clients achieve weight loss because I have been down that road before and know the struggles firsthand.
-Joncie Winter

Unit 6: Integral Assesment

Hello All,
After assessing areas of my life, I came to realize I need to develop a better attitude about some personal relationships in my life, particularly with my brother. My brother is my best friend and he is currently in training in the Army and will become a Green Beret in May of next year. At first, I was upset he decided to join the army because our relationship would not be as close as it has always been. I feared for him and became very overwhelmed with emotion. After completing this exercise, I came to the understanding that no matter where we are psychically in the world, we will always share that "brother-sister" bond, even if he is across seas. This is an area in my life that needs growth and healing because sometimes I do not know how to deal with the stress of him being away, or even the thought he may not ever come home. In order to foster a better awareness of this, I have turned to prayer as an exercise. Prayer keeps me stable and optimistic that he will indeed be alright given whatever situation he may be in. I am blessed to have family and friends who share these same emotions, so keeping positive thoughts in our heads is a big focus for my family.
-Joncie W.   

Unit 5 Power Point- new link

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8EA0Q7Tp-7ARmd2VjgtNGxlTkU/edit

Here is my Unit 5 power point, I do not think the first one worked!

Sorry- Joncie Winter

Unit 5 Power Point

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8EA0Q7Tp-7ARmd2VjgtNGxlTkU/edit  

this is my Unit 5 Power Point. Hope it works.
-Joncie Winter

Unit 5: The Subtle Mind

Hello Professor and Class,

I found the Subtle Mind exercise more relaxing and easier to follow than the loving-kindness exercise because it incorporates focusing on my breathing more; I focus on my breathing on a daily basis because I work out daily. Although I found the Subtle Mind exercise easier to follow and less frustrating, I am not a very patient person so I have difficulty following these exercises to their full extent; it is easy to lose my focus. I like how the Subtle Mind exercise takes into account wondering minds, this helps me to stay on track shift my attention to where it should be.

I think spiritual wellness has an impact on mental wellness because for me, it is a chance to talk to a higher being and not be judged for it. I pray on a regular basis and it calms me down. For example, if I am having a stressful day, I know I can pray and let out all my frustrations then and there. therefore, benefiting my mental state.
-Joncie Winter

Unit 4-Loving-Kindness

Hello All,
I found the loving-kindness exercise beneficial because it allowed me to shift my feelings and the images in my head to a place that was more comfortable. I had a hard time visualizing a loved one who was suffering because I feel like I need to be there with them in person to help them; I did not feel of any assistance to them just by merely having them in my thoughts. I know later on in the exercise it allows us the opportunity to think of ways help relieve that persons suffering, but if it was up to me, I would jump straight to that step.

I think conducting a mental work out is very beneficial because it gives us the opportunity to transform our emotions such as, anger, hatred, fear, worry, and confusion into positive emotions such as, patience, loving-kindness, openness, acceptance, and happiness. I think giving ourselves a mental work out is beneficial to wholeness and well-being (Dacher, 2006).

I still think it is amazing how the mind and body work together, before starting school I did not know much about mind-body connection, but mind over matter is definitely starting to make sense more and more these days!! i would recommend this loving-kindness exercise to people who are stressed out because it gives them a chance to calm the mind and flush out any unwanted negative thoughts and focus their attention on positive emotions.
-Joncie Winter

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications.

Crime of the Century-Unit 3

Hello All,
After reflecting on my physical, spiritual, and psychological well being, I would rate my physical well being as an 8, my spiritual well being as a 6, and my psychological well being as a 9. Physically speaking I am in good shape, I work out 4-6 times a week and eat healthy. I rated my physical well being as an 8 because I want to quit to smoking. Having this horrible habit prevents me from exercising to my fullest potential. As for my spiritual well-being, I always think there is room for improvement when it comes to believing in a higher power. Psychologically speaking I feel confident. Obviously my physically well-being goal is to quit smoking. I would definitely set a goal for attending church more as a spiritual goal. I think starting a journal would benefit me psychologically. Implementing church more into my life would also help me psychologically. I have already started moving towards my goal of quitting smoking. I made a deal with my mom that if she lost 15 pounds I would quit smoking. We keep each other accountable this way.
I thought the Crime of the Century exercise was relaxing at the beginning but I started to get distracted trying to focus on all seven of the focus points and trying to remember which colors went with what body regions. I think this exercise would have been more relaxing if we focused on one or two body regions and associated them with colors, rather than having seven to focus on. All in all, I enjoyed this exercise, but it was not as relaxing as the first one we did.
-Joncie W.   

Journey On exercise

Hello Professor and Class,
I found this Journey On exercise to be very relaxing. I especially liked how this exercise used the core as a starting point to direct the flow of blood to wherever we want to relieve tension, whether that be the hands, feet, or shoulders. I have done relaxation techniques likes these before and one thing I have learned is you have to be open to them in order to reap any benefits from them. I was skeptical at first, but relaxation techniques can be very helpful during stressful times, or whenever one may need a personal "time out."
-Joncie Winter 

Welcome Statement

Hello Professor and Class,
Welcome to my blog, "creating wellness". I am new to this so this will be learning experience for me. I look forward to working with all of you this term!
-Joncie Winter