Unit 9 - Final Project

Final Project: Apply Concepts Learned Regarding Holistic/Integral Health

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?

The idea of being healthy psychologically, spiritually and physically are at the core of health and wellness and practitioners need to follow their teachings, otherwise, they could be considered hypocrites. I believe that professionals should develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because they are responsible to teach those same ideas to their patients. The whole concept brings happiness and wholeness to an individual and if this is not achieved by a practitioner first, how will practitioners be able to help patients achieve wholeness and happiness.

For the most part, traditional medicine dictates that if a person is stressed and/or depressed, the first thing that comes out of a practitioner’s mouth is to prescribe pills. Those who are integrated in health and wellness should set a good example. Otherwise, many people will continue to be attached to pharmaceuticals as answers to their existing health issues.

From the physical perspective, there are a lot of areas that I need to develop to fully achieve these goals. This is a process I need to work on constantly and not forget the importance of these teachings. From the spiritual and psychological perspectives, I have done a lot of progress. However, these are life-long processes that will help me maintain myself grounded and teach others in their health and wellness development.

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

I have assessed my health within each of the domains and ranked myself on a scale of 1-10. At the spiritual level, I score between 8 through 10, depending on the day and how much emphasis I have to put in. I consider spirituality to be like a see saw, which goes up and down depending on how I feel throughout the day. The great thing about spirituality is that I have many tools at my disposal that help me on the days I feel my spiritual score low. Some of these tools are meditation, exercise and friends. I just open myself constantly and these tools help me to recharge myself.

Physically, I will score myself at 6, because I let myself go for many years and it took me this long to realize the importance of maintaining myself physically. I acknowledge that with that score, I have to work real hard and keep working on myself physically. If I procrastinate on working out, I will find myself in the same situation as before, overweight and unhealthy.

Once I get these two domains on check, my psychological level will be a 10. I first need to work on my physical and spiritual domains, otherwise I will easily fall to a 3 in my psychological score and that can be a number that can be disastrous to my whole being.

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

My goal for myself on the spiritual level is to meditate at least 30 minutes a day every morning. This will help me set myself up for what the day has in stored for me. I discovered that forcing to do this every morning allowed me to keep meditating during the whole day. Physically, my goal is to walk for 30 minutes during my two coffee breaks and 40 minutes using the exercise equipment I have at home before going to work. This discipline increases my self-esteem and makes me look forward to the wonderful things waiting for me during the day. With those two things in check, I feel that my psychological self will be in check. Therefore, my goal for the psychological level is to make sure that I keep my other two perspectives healthy, so I can be totally healthy.

 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.

The strategies that I will implement to improve my spiritual domain is to meditate everyday for at least 15 minutes. My preferred meditation method is the practice of love and kindness, since I feel that many are in need of love, especially those going through hard times such as death of a loved one or horrible illnesses. If I am able to do this from the deepest part of my heart, I feel a sense of helping the world and those around me. I may not be able to help physically, but spiritually I am able to do something for them.

My physical strategy is to exercise at least four times a day. Exercising will help increase my self esteem. In addition, I know I am doing something to better my body inside and out. Exercises like walking, jogging or weights are some of the means for me to accomplish this part of my life.

In order to work on my psychological domain, I will need to commit to working on my other two domains. This in turn will help me to increase my self esteem and I will feel better. Therefore, my psychological domain will easily fall into place.

 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?

My progress will consist of doing these things in a strict disciplinary way on a daily basis. If I do not get to do it for whatever reason, I have to make sure to pick up the next day right where I left off. I must learn that I cannot dwell on the past, but keep doing it without letting go, because it is my livelihood that is in jeopardy. It is my own self esteem that I have to work on and tap on when necessary. It is bad to depend on other people who may start with you, but may not finish with you. This is why it is important to learn to tap on your own self esteem to progress in life.

I will need to follow a strict schedule. In addition, I will keep a diary to make sure that I am recording the necessary information, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etc. These methods will continue to motivate me to keep moving forward with my efforts.