Final

Hello class!
Here is my final assessment.  Hope you all take care!

1. Introduction:
1. 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?
1. I believe that it is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychological, spiritual and physical aspects of health to incorporate into their lives and their patient’s lives.  Being a healthcare professional, it is important to understand all aspects of health professions in order to have a better understanding of your surroundings and what your patients would be interested in or are practicing.  The areas I need to develop are honestly all of them.  I believe no one is perfect and you must work at what you preach, so I believe there is never an end for developing and becoming better at what you choose to do.  I believe the area that needs the most improvement would be spiritually.  Inner peace is what I strive for and with the recent events that have taken place in our country has tested myself and others that surround me.
2. Assessment:
1. How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
1. I know that each domain has a different score and on a scale from one to ten I can explain that.  Physically I would say I am around a seven, spiritually I am down at around a four or five, and psychologically I am about a seven.  Like I mentioned before, nobody is perfect and I’d be surprised to see if anyone scored a domain at a ten or the highest.  A friend and I were conversing about the topic of spirituality and how it can drastically affect your mood and wellbeing.  The mind is a powerful tool that we have and can alter it any way we can if we really try.  The reasons why I believe we can do this are simple.  If you practice on a daily basis meditating or completing exercises that implement mental imagery or helping you find happiness, you will all around become a happier person.  It is training your mind to become a more calm, loving and happy human being.  It cannot hurt your mind and it is not dangerous, it is simply finding that something in the parallel universe that you connect with and having those feelings of contentment.  So I believe if I practice having those feelings using each domain, it will make me feel like a better person in the long run.
3. Goal development:
1. List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
1. Goal #1 Physical
1. I believe that this is each and every woman’s physical goal, and that is to lose a couple pounds.  To be honest, I am content and I believe that I am healthy and a hamburger will not make me overweight.  But in order to achieve this goal of feeling better about myself, it goes into my next psychological goal.
2. Goal #2 Psychological
1. Mentally I have to be prepared to eat a variety of healthy foods and avoid unhealthy food choices such as fast food or desserts.  But in order to be psychologically successful, you need to add in spirituality to keep motivation and to find something to believe in; which takes me to my next goal.
3. Goal #3 Spiritual
1. Become spirituality connected and open.  I’d like to practice more exercises that allow me to really sit and think about my surroundings and to reach out mentally to those that need thoughts and prayers.  I live such a fast pace lifestyle that I feel as though I never have time to sit down and really concentrate on what life has to offer me.  I feel the sense of irritability typically and I’d like to not feel that way by finding more relaxing, yet interesting exercises to keep me focused and intrigued. 
4. Practices for personal health:
1. 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.
1. Subtle Mind
1. I chose this one because it was actually my favorite of all of the exercises we did throughout the course.  Focusing on something physical rather than a thought helped me stay focused and clear-minded.  It allowed me to slow down my heart rate and eliminate stress and just relax without thinking of constant thoughts and ideas.  Physical tasks are easier to accomplish rather than picturing someone or thinking of an activity that I like doing.  Typically when I am told to picture someone my mind bounces around to so many people that it is difficult to concentrate on just one; which leads me to my next practice.
2. Loving Kindness
1. I did this exercise twice throughout the course and completed it a third time a few days ago.  With each time it gets better and better.  I am unsure if it is because I know what to do or if it is because I am beginning to concentrate more accurately.  There are a lot of people and animals out there that I love and my mind usually takes me to a few faces at a time.  But with the third time around, I was able to concentrate on the one person that I love dearly and only concentrate on their face and all the intricate details of their face and body.  It was astonishing that I was ten times better and made me believe that practicing really does work!
5. Commitment:
1. 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?
1. With this course came many conversations with my husband about if these practices really help a person become a better human being and actually healthier.  I am much more convinced today than I was six weeks ago and I’d like to thank the abundance of knowledge from the class and the crazy amounts of information out there via the internet and on our tablet.  The next six months will be interesting.  There are always new adventures that come about and a new job for my husband and a possible addition to our family could and might happen within the six months.  I believe keeping my blog will help me maintain these practices and possibly other blogs if anyone else continues to utilize them.  My next two courses are not related to integral health necessarily, so it is my job to make sure I am keeping updated with integrating these practices into my daily life.  I’d like to say that my mother-in-law is a big help and inspiration for helping me find inner peace and practicing meditation, as she does it every day and a few times a day.  She will be my go-to resource at first. 

What I Have Learned

Hello Darlings,
This term has been a bit crazy, I have to admit. With adjusting to my husband coming home, starting a new job, and embracing the holidays it has been a bit overwhelming. This course couldn't have came at a more perfect time to help with all of the stress and anxiety that has been placed on my table. The exercises that we were to perform at home have been beneficial, although a lot of them wear my out due to my exhaustion from waking up at 4:30am to go to work and the added stress of the holidays. My husband and I have had plans every weekend since July! Although I am very grateful for the many friends and trips we have taken to see them, I'd honestly love a weekend where we just sat on the couch and watched movies all day long.
The two exercises that were the most beenficial were the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle Mind. It warms my heart when thinking of someone that I love and with most exercises my mind always focuses on love. Even when my mind wanders, it is typcially about love. What can I say? I love, love.
Just recently I have had some minor health problems due to anxiety and stress. I experienced my first-what seemed to be similar to a panic attack-when I was 18 years old on the day of graduation. I was sweaty-palmed and light-headed for no reason! I was excited, but nervousness took over and I suddenly became anxious. This has occurred many times since then and I refuse to medicate myself for these symptoms. I believe turning to meditation or breathing techniques can help me and so far they have. My husband has been a huge support too and is always there when I experience these mini-anxiety attacks. They are nothing serious like what I have heard or read, but they are to the point where I become light-headed and sometimes pass out. The husband will talk to me and give me images to think of or distracts me with a story or joke, which always seems to help. I'm so happy to have him.
So with all of that, I have work to do and I am so thankful for these courses that teach me ways to deal with certain emotions such as stress.

Take care ya'll!

Aesclepius

Hello Darlings,
This is your domesticated author of this blog doing what domesticated wives do and that is be a maid, a cook, a landscaper, a chauffeur, and a student!
These last two weeks have been tough for me and I need some motivation or some change to pick me back up and get me back into my routine.  With so much going on through the holidays, I am looking forward for this term to be over so I can "completely" relax.
My mother-in-law is in town and we sat down and did the exercise of Meeting Aesclepius together.  She is very skilled in all types of meditating exercises and is exquisitely in touch with her spirituality.  She is my guidance in helping me find creative and simple ways to become psychologically healthy.
We first started out sitting criss-cross-applesauce with our hands resting on our inner knees.  She told me to place my fingers on my inner knees.  She informed me that meditating with legs stretched out and fingers intertwined doesn't allow the energy to flow, which I found interesting.  Sometimes I just lay on the couch when I do exercises!  She also enlightened me with some very helpful information about closing your eyes.  Most all exercises tell you to close your eyes and begin mental imagery, but my mother-in-law said to leave them slightly opened to allow a little bit of light through and the reasoning for that is to make sure you do not fall asleep, which I have done almost every week!
The exercise was similar to most, asking us to do mental imagery of positivity, love, light, etc.  Then there was ocean noises.  I told my mother-in-law that I am not very fond of ocean noises and she said I should be.  Why should I like ocean noises?  Well think of the tide of an ocean coming onto the beach; the water pushes new sand out and then washes away the old sand so it compares to cleansing the body with the tide washing away the dirt.  Because I enjoy nature sounds and forest sounds, she said to picture the sunshine through the trees and that being your cleanser; the sun.  I can work with that.
The mind is a powerful thing and we can think of a lot of ways to clear our minds and wash away the dirt and no matter what it is, if in the end we feel happy and content then whatever we are picturing is working.

Take care everyone and only two more weeks, yahoo!