Unit 10-Final Post

1. Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas . How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

Unit 3 I scored a 6 in physical, an 8 in spiritual, and a 6 in psychological well beings. Today I would rate myself the same because I don't think it is feasible to change a score in such a short amount of time. I can say, however, that I am on a much smoother road to transition as I have a better understanding of the whys and how's of change. 

2.  Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in   each area. Have you made progress toward the goals?  Explain.

 This is my entry from week 3: I have been working out and I plan to begin training for the mini marathon during the Derby festivities next April. I read my bible and pray often but have yet to find a church home. I was raised Catholic but no longer believe or practice their methods. I feel strongly that once I can get all my affairs in order I can then attend yoga classes more regularly.

I am still training for the mini marathon, I practice yoga in my home still as I have not had time to find a yoga center yet, plus my research in instruction is leading me in another direction altogether so I am excited about that. I still read my Bible but again have not yet found a church home yet. I am not trying to rush any of my progress. Everyone has a different pace and levels of acceptance so I am going down my own path.

3.    Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

As I explained in the previous statement I am still looking for a yoga center and church to attend regularly. AS for my psychological well-being I fully intend to continue the subtle mind and loving-kindness exercises along with some visualization and meditation.

4.     Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

I have personally loved this course. It is the reason I want to have a degree in health and wellness in addition to certification to teach yoga. I now have a better understanding of how the mind, body, and spirit are connected. I think that with my improved well-being I will be a much better teacher and definitely more open to individual needs as opposed to "class" needs.

I think the most rewarding thing I am taking away from this class is the true meaning of happiness and how to achieve it. I am really looking forward to practicing and learning more about how we are each interconnected with ourselves.

The most difficult was the practices, only because by following directions from the mp3's provided and falling into that deep place in our minds it was a distraction to hear her voice come back in and lead to the next step. When I try these I think I may have to have a tiny bell sound to let clients know I am about to provide more instruction. This will be a more serene transition and hopefully be more effective.

I am really looking forward to teaching clients yoga and incorporating the elements and practices of this class. I have never been this excited about life and I think as long as we do what we love there is nothing that can stop us from being successful, not just at work but in life. I hope I am as effective as I intend to be.

Blessings & namaste

Final Project

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?

A professional must develop psychologically in order to grow and understand not only how the mind works but how to heal it. The best way is to begin with ourselves. We cannot possibly begin to understand or help others until we begin the healing ourselves. As they say, practice makes perfect.

As for the spiritual aspect it is part of the integral healing process. It is an important part of our being whether we pray to God, visualize a place, or meditate or all of them to being in touch with ourselves outside of our physical and mental beings. It is a development that is instrumental in wholeness. It is important for a professional to consider the individual and their beliefs and take them into consideration when recommending a spiritual healing practice.

When it comes to the physical aspect of wholeness it is important for a professional to practice some sort of regular exercise, healthy eating habits, and other physical activities in order to represent a picture of health to a client. It is living by example which is more encouraging to a client seeking to live a healthier life.

I am working on becoming more physically fit to live the example I plan to teach. I don’t think anyone is ever completely spiritually or psychologically healthy all the time. I believe it is a way of life and everyday becomes better than the last and one step closer to the goal, wholeness and happiness.

II.                Assessment:

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

Spiritually I have a good relationship with my creator, God. It grows everyday and my understanding becomes clearer everyday. I would rate myself a 6 in this area because I feel I still have so much to learn. I was raised in the Catholic Church but have since been exposed to more beliefs and have yet to pick a group to worship with. It is hard for me because I feel like I am more of a free spirit and don’t want to conform to one specific way, making everything else wrong (which seems to be what most churches I have been to preach). I hope to be free-spirited and all loving and not just tolerant. I think we as people should embrace each other despite view of spirituality.

Physically I am not anywhere near where I used to be. I have suffered some personal setbacks but I am now running and practicing yoga to get back into shape. On the grade scale I have to say I am at a 6. I am training to run the mini marathon as part of the Derby festivities so I have a goal. But even when I reach my goal I will continue to strive for better. Maybe take on a new form of yoga.

Psychologically I should probably be medicated. Since I don’t believe in treating the symptoms but solving the problem it is an uphill workout. In the end I know I will be better for it and stronger than most. It is a personal choice to go about things this way and in no way does that reflect on how I would treat a client. In this area I would give myself a 5, simply because I have some grief issues I never resolved. It has been 12 years since my younger brother committed suicide. We were extremely close and when he died I pretty much lost my mind and haven’t quite found it.

III.             Goal development:

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

In the physical realm my goal is to teach yoga at least 5 days per week, 3 or 4 times a day. For my own personal physical growth I plan to continue to run and practice yoga 6 days a week. When the weather is nice I plan on hiking or walking through the park, which is roughly 2 miles.

Psychologically I will maintain my subtle mind, loving-kindness and visualization exercises. I plan to do at least one of them per day.  I have seen such great improvement in the loving-kindness practice that I am a little biased so I will probably do that one a little more than the others.

Spiritually I plan on finding a place of worship that share my views of love and acceptance. I have come across a few people in my life that disagree with meditation but I do not plan on stopping because of that. Although religion is an important part of my life I am an open-arms person and I do not believe spirituality begins and ends with religion or worship. It is part of it for some folks but not everyone. If I plan on being integrally healthy and teaching wholeness to others than I have to have an open mind to all aspects of spirituality as it pertains to the individual.

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.

In the physical aspect I plan to implement a workout time in order to achieve my goal of running and practicing yoga at least 6 days a week, when I am not instructing. Until I start teaching I plan to run at least 30 minutes and practice yoga routines, which vary between 30 to 90 minutes. When the weather permits me to walk and hike outside I will do just that.

In the world of psychology I hope to find a support group for survivors of suicide, an organization that helps people who have been affected by suicide cope with the loss. Aside from that I plan to use the practices provided by Dacher, loving-kindness, subtle mind, and visualization. I also plan on visiting some websites or classes to learn more on coping with some other areas I may be struggling with but not realize.

Spiritually I have so much to learn so I will continue to follow my reading plans for the Good Book. Aside from that I hope to learn more about meditation and how to effectively do it better. Hopefully through more yoga classes I can connect better in my spiritual mind and learn how to become more enlightened.

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 the maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

My plan is to have my certification to teach yoga. That being said I do not think it will be hard to maintain myself physically since I will have to do that in order to instruct. I do plan to have a calendar and maybe a blog where I have to share with others my goals, as far as how much exercise I have done and what I’ve eaten. That way I can be held more accountable for my plan and have my feet held to the fire as opposed to doing it on my own, when no one is looking.

 Planning to teach yoga means I have to be in a good place mentally. Since I am already being held accountable for my physical aspects I may as well open the door to my inner struggles, as far as where my mind is or what may be going on with me personally. I know I am not the only person with struggles so maybe by sharing my story with others I can hear their stories or advice and we can possibly heal each other psychologically.

Spirituality is such a personal journey. I plan to keep writing about my experiences in meditation or passages that I have read and studied.  I plan to continue to practice loving-kindness and making it a part of a particular class that I will instruct. I like to be held accountable as it seems to be a great motivator to keep on track.

 In the end I hope to develop a plan that is beneficial to the person as a whole. I will be counted on to provide ways to self improve and I hope to be an inspiration and good teacher in that aspect. Happiness is a gift and I plan on achieving it everyday of my life and spread it to the people around me. I plan to implement the aspects of integral health into my everyday life and the lives of others. Maybe I could write a book about my journey-that would be a sure fire way to note my commitments and progress, and lacks thereof as I am sure I will have a few.

A Review in Loving-Kindness & Subtle Mind

 I have found that by practicing loving-kindness I can send out positive thoughts for someone I know and even those I don't. I am unsure at this point if it is working for the folks I don't know, naturally I guess I wouldn't. I have been witness to it working for at least 1 person I tried it on as they have been more open and receptive to me and how I am evolving. I would like to be able to practice this at least 3 times a week for the rest of my life and I hope that I do as I feel invigorated and like I am changing the world a little bit at a time. As it stands now I am able to do so but hopefully circumstances will change for the better and I may not have the same amount of time to dedicate to this practice.
 I also found benefit in the subtle mind practice, although I will require more practice to really get it. I hope to one day achieve total enlightenment, I started looking for it when I began practicing yoga. I do think this is a good path to achieve it even if I never do I believe in it and know it is there. My mind may never agree or quiet/still long enough for it to happen but the journey itself is something to cherish. As aforementioned I hope to have enough time and space to dedicate to this practice.
 Once I am certified to teach yoga I hope to have a few classes dedicated to practicing loving-kindness and the subtle mind. I am far from an expert but I hope to be able to assist others who may seek a personal time-out to just be still and be. I still have another year at Kaplan before I get my BS in Health & Wellness but I hopefully will continue to learn a lot more about meditation, without infringing on christian beliefs, and how to be more at ease with myself and encourage others to do the same.
 Everyday is a gift and I think all of us have something to share with the world, at least the part that is listening. I believe more and more people are coming together in love and kindness and acceptance and moving away from tolerance. I think a key point in being at peace with yourself is being at peace with the people around you. If we are able to look inside and instead of feeling like controlling our emotions it will just happen, like hearing wind chimes or a light breeze and we will be overcome with happiness, pure happiness, and we will then be able to extend ourselves in a way we will want to be everyday.
 I am now coming down from the mountaintop and I wish you all, even those that don't read this, peace, love, light, and blessings...Namaste

Meeting Aesclepius

 I found that this weeks meditative practice was more interesting yet harder to hold onto. At first I visualized the Dalai Lama, then Johnny Depp, for whatever reason. Since I know not either of these people I combined the two to create my own person wiser than myself to help me on this journey. I believe that by doing the mindfulness practices it is becoming more obvious to people that know me and what I've been through, more so to people that want what I have, inner peace. Although I am not completely at peace or satisfied with my level of peacefulness I believe that by continuing this practice will help me get where I want to be so I may better guide or help other achieve the same. It is important for me to be more peaceful as it pertains to my yoga practice because that is a huge part of the effectiveness of practicing yoga.
 As for the phrase "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" I believe this to mean that if you've never experienced something or done something that someone else has then you will never really and truly understand their feelings or the place in which they are in their lives. It reminds me of the saying you can't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. It is part of our individuality. All we can do as health and wellness professionals is help someone along in their journey. I have seen pictures of Paris, the Louvre, the architecture but until I was there I never understood how truly breathtaking and overwhelming it all was and still is. I was raised catholic, from baptism to confirmation. I no longer am a practicing catholic but it wasn't until I was in Notre Dame, the cathedral, under the sound of the ringing bells that I was awestruck. Once I walked inside and touched the statues and saw the patchwork of the rebuilding after WWII that history sort of smacked me in the face. France is so much older than the U.S. so to stand in history, which is what it felt like, was absolutely incredible. So to describe my experience to someone close to me is so much more heartfelt, sincere, and more real is a closer feeling than reading about it in a book or looking at mass produced photos but nothing can compare to standing in the city of lights' streets, walking through the halls of a castle that once housed royalty or just breathing the air off the Seine.
 In the beginning of class we were asked if we thought it was important to be in practice of something we intended to teach. We are once again asked if we have an obligation to our clients to be developing our health psychologically, physically and spiritually and the answer, once again, is yes. If we are not whole and healthy we cannot expect to be taken seriously or be as effective as someone who does practice "what they preach". I believe that our private life practices can be integrated into our professional lives even if we do not provide health & wellness services. By doing so meditation, yoga and mindfulness practice will be a part of my personal practice so I may be more effective and helpful in my profession.
 This exercise will become part of my practice as I felt more open, receptive, and kind hearted which will make me more effective in any endeavor. It helped me become full of the wisdom and love of the person I admire. I once saw a speech given by the Dalai Lama and something about him emanates love, light, and life. I want to be a part of that and hopefully I can help other people feel that emanate from me.

Universal Loving-kindness & Integral Assessment

In practicing the universal loving-kindness exercise I found myself focusing on a particular movement I recently began following on Twitter and researching. It is called the A21 campaign and it is a movement to abolish human trafficking. The first line of the mantra May all individuals gain freedom from suffering triggered A21 in my mind and that is where my focus remained. It is hard to believe that there are still people, mainly women, that are kidnapped and sold for who knows what to this day. I extended all my energy to his campaign and hoped and wished everyone involved on all fronts freedom from suffering.

Moving on to the assessment process I still felt compelled to become more involved in the A21 campaign which then shifted my thoughts to Habitat for Humanity. I do not do enough in my community so my focus was on community and social activism. I have always donated money to causes and bought Christmas gifts for a local orphanage but my circumstances have changed as well as my relationship with my boyfriend (now ex) of 6 1/2 years. I have noticed, since coming back to school, that I have always focused on other people & tried to make them happy. My focus has been adjusted & my needs have turned to the reflection in the mirror.

For the last 6 months I have been asking "What is wrong with me?". I am learning and discovering that I am not whole. I have never been whole, especially in the last 12 years. So now I am able to begin to recognize the person I see is the person I want to be. The only way for me to get there is to focus on my desires to become a better person and the only road there in through integration.

My plan is to continue to practice yoga, branch out into the community, become a part of something I can be proud of. I don't want to be famous but I want to make the world a better place for my boys and hopefully teach them, through my life practices, to continue to make the world better.

Powerpoint Presentation Unit 5

Hw420 01-jennifercarmicha5-unit5 project from yogagrl52

Inspiration #1

When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness. - Joseph Campbell

The Subtle Mind

In this weeks exercise of the subtle mind I found it more relaxing than the loving kindness exercise. I found it to be more focused on my thoughts and myself. My mind was let go to explore the thoughts that raced then quieted with the ebb and flow of the ocean waves. I did at some point feel like I was grasping at my thoughts just to have something to hold onto, like letting go of the side of a boat in the deep end of the ocean. It felt safer to hang onto them. In the loving kindness exercise I was forcing thought of someone in my mind and breathed in their troubles then breathed out peace to them. This exercise was a focus on myself with a free fall of thoughts.
It was frustrating at times because I wasn't sure how to let go of the chatter in my mind because I was trying to listen to the instructor. When I found myself in free space her voice startled me as we moved onto the next step.

I began this exercise with a migraine that I had been struggling with since yesterday. While in this exercise I felt like it was nonexistent. It also gave me a feeling of being high, like my head was floating. To me this was a sense of complete relaxation without being asleep. This exercise is an example of inner peace, spiritual wellness, and with the example of the sedation of my migraine is an example of physical well being. The sensation that my head was floating and free of my body is an example of mental wellness. My whole being was in a state of complete consciousness but unaware of outside factors. I believe that by practicing this exercise at least three times a week will give the student a more clear vision of themselves and the world around them as well as where they want to be spiritually, mentally and physically.

Pyschospiritual Flourishing

In my experience with this week’s exercise was a bit difficult at times. I found it overall beneficial to me. I hope it was beneficial to the person whose dark cloud I took into my heart. I have actually prayed for this person before, even interceded in prayer and I believe it worked. It was a short term fix in the past and he is not very open to the ideas of prayer, let alone an exercise like this one. This, however, will never deter me from praying for him or meditating over him. The part I found most difficult was taking in other people's dark clouds or troubles that I didn't know. I guess that is an area I am going to have to learn to open myself up more on.

I would recommend this exercise to anyone who would take it seriously. So many people, I think, get tickled from the idea of meditating and concentrating. Part of me wonders if it is because they will feel foolish or afraid of what they will see or find.

I have not, since I started yoga, had a hard time feeling positive energy for people that don’t like me or are against me. I used to feel fear or angst or yearn for approval but these days I find myself more at peace. I am not where I want to be just yet but I am on a road that has no end in sight I plan on taking it for however long it is and wherever it may take me. Exercises like this make it a little easier.

A mental workout is just like a physical workout. It is a regimen of mental exercises that allows us to go beyond a regular state of consciousness and realize just what we are capable of in our life. In practicing loving-kindness we are able to go beyond our needs and the focus on ourselves and have concern for the welfare of others. This is a method of paying it forward. In any relationship you get what you give. A second regimen is diminishing our busy thoughts, feelings and mental images. Eventually, with practice, we will be able to quiet our minds and achieve calmness. Research has revealed that we can transform the mind by reducing emotions that cause anger, hatred, confusion, worry, doubt and fear and infuse positive emotions such as peace, openness, happiness and loving-kindness through mental training (Dacher, 2006, p. 63).

We can implement mental workouts to foster our psychological health by making time for ourselves to reflect and meditate. We should all take at least a few minutes a day to be still and quiet our minds, an exercise that will only facilitate a healthy mind.

Crime of the Century
 I will begin this week with a personal rating of my own well-being. When it comes to my physical well-being I will have to say with all honesty I am nowhere near where I would like to be. In this past year I have suffered many changes that have caused me to not only gain weight but to suffer in my psychological well-being as well. However by these radical changes that have caused me to slip a bit my spiritual well-being has increased more than it ever has. So on a scale of 1-10 I rate my physical well-being a 6, spiritual well-being an 8 (because I still feel I have a lot to learn), and a 6 for my psychological well-being. I have always been one to believe that everything happens for a reason so I am in the mindset right now that all of these changes have occurred to make me a better and stronger person.
 I have been working out and I plan to begin training for the mini marathon during the Derby festivities next April. I read my bible and pray often but have yet to find a church home. I was raised Catholic but no longer believe or practice their methods. I feel strongly that once I can get all my affairs in order I can then attend yoga classes more regularly.
 Upon completing the Crime of the Century relaxation exercise I found it to be very relaxing. I am very familiar with the chakras, or energy points that run up the spine and through the body, so it was not difficult for me to see the colors or focus on the regions he spoke of. I do plan on listening to it again maybe even twice a week to refocus and get centered and grounded.
 I trust that once I begin training for the mini marathon, attending yoga classes more regularly and stay focused on where I want to be in my life then my physical, spiritual, and psychological well being will be in a much healthier state.

Welcome to my blog!

I am looking forward to sharing some of my experiences with you in this class. First I am a yoga enthusiast. I do not get to practice as much as I would like. My 2 sons, ages 7 and 13, keep me occupied as well as school. I am studying Health & Wellness to supplement my yoga certification courses. I felt it was important to not just understand the principles of yoga but to understand health & wellness as a whole. I have already learned so much about other aspects of maintaining a well balanced lifestyle since enrolling at Kaplan.
I have used yoga to heal my mind, body and soul. I will not try to convince you that yoga is the best choice for you but I will try to open your eyes and mind to my method of healing and maintaining wellness and a balanced life. It is not the easiest thing in the world but I have learned if it comes easy it's not worth much.
I love music and I listen to it often to reflect and look ahead. It makes me happy and sometimes motivates me to begin my stretches and poses.
Again, I welcome you to my blog and hope you can learn from me as much as I hope to learn from you.

Blessings & namaste