Unit 10 Reflection

After refreshing my memory about what goals I set for myself, I realize that I did read the book on fasting, and I completed a 40 day fast that I had set as a goal ( I gave up coffee and soda for 40 days). However, the 6-day/week training schedule didn't hapen, and I am actually ok with this. I had a realization that I want to shift my focus to growing my business, sothat kind of training schedule was not feasible. I do still workout 3 days per week, but that is to maintain what I have been able to accomplish with my change of diet and the events I have done. I still do at least one race per month to keep myself motivated to workout those 3 days per week.
Psychologically, I feel better about the new focus. I had been feeling that something wasn't quite right and the 6 day per week training schedule seemd more difficult than it had before. I figured out that it was because God was shifting my focus for a reason. I feel great about my life and the 3 areas - mind, body, spirit - are still maintaining  around 8-9. I love my life and I love who I do my life with.
This course helped me quiet my mind and realize that one chapter had ended, and another had begun.
I am REALLY glad I took this course!

Final Project

1.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?

It’s important because we can’t take someone where we have never been, and if our integral health journey comes to an end, then the road ends for our clients, as well. If I am not practicing balance in my psychological, spiritual, and physical world, then how can I ask or expect my clients to do the same. It’s the old “practice what you preach” cliché, but there is so much truth to it. I wouldn’t feel credible if I asked my clients to do something I am not doing myself. It also makes us research and find out what is out there for us to recommend to our clients. If we are searching for resources and trying those resources, then we can offer some direction for them. Just knowing what has worked for us, is a good place to start with recommendations. Reading books, checking out websites, and asking other professionals is a good way to find out what is new and what works for others.

To achieve the goals I have for myself, I just need to keep doing what I am doing, and not “fall off the wagon” and get distracted by other areas of my life. It is really easy to get busy with the other things that develop me psychologically and physically, and it seems that the spiritual side is something I have to do intentionally. By this, I mean I have to constantly remind myself that it is just as important, to maintain balance in my life. It helps me with stress management and when I have gotten lax about it, in the past, I notice pretty quickly. My profession is all about helping people define and achieve goals, so it has to be the center of my focus, too, for my own life. Who wants a life coach that can’t accomplish her own goals? No one I know. I remind myself that I am a “walking billboard” for my business, and I have a responsibility to my business to keep it “fresh” and current.

II.Assessment:

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

I assess myself with other people in my life, which I trust to tell me the truth about it. I have a fitness coach/trainer who put me on an eating plan in January 2012, and a 6-day/week workout, which helped me drop a good bit of weight. I have a pastor who I meet with regularly to bounce things off of, and I also teach a women’s group that helps women who struggle in different areas of life. I help them push through those areas, and we look at every part of their world – physical, spiritual, psychological – to figure out what may be causing them to “stall” in the same places over and over.  Psychological goes along with the physical and spiritual for me. If I am in a good place physically and spiritually, then I am more balanced psychologically. I can handle more, emotionally. My mental capacity is stretched when I am preparing for a race, and some of the races (especially triathlons, because I am not a strong swimmer) also cause me to heavily depend on prayer and trusting God will not let me drown in a lake, while I swim ¼ - ½ mile; it makes you rely strongly on your faith, when you are about to step into a murky body of water with 500 other people about to kick, hit, and swim over the top of you.

I score myself on a scale from 1 – 10, with 1 being the worst it could ever possibly be, and 10 being the best it could ever possibly be. In the spiritual category, I would give myself an 8; physical – 8; psychological – 8. That may sound pretty unlikely to you, but I know where I have come from, and those three numbers would have been below 5 a couple of years ago. There is room for improvement, as there should be, and this is why I must keep developing myself physically, spiritually, and psychologically.

III.Goal development:

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

A physical goal I have for myself is to do a half Ironman when I am 50 years old. I am 48 now, and it is totally do-able. A half Ironman is 1.2 mile swim, a 62 mile bike ride, and a half marathon. It won’t be easy, but if it were, then I probably wouldn’t want to do it. J

A psychological goal for myself is to get more comfortable with who I am. I have moments where I feel inferior, around certain types of people. It usually happens in business meetings, when I notice everyone around me drives a better car, lives in a nicer house, and wears nicer clothes than me. I let my mind wander too much, and I have to become quicker at pulling it back, when that happens.

A Spiritual goal for me is to default to faith, quicker, than I usually do. I have a tendency to try and work out solutions on my own, first, before going to God and praying about it. My worry and anxiety isn’t going to make it better, anyway, and I just want to get better at seeking peace, first, instead of panicking and trying to work it out on my own.

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.

Physical: Of course, I will continue to train in the lap pool, biking longer distances (30 miles is my maximum, now), and running half marathons (I have done 4 already, but will keep doing those distance runs). I have also found, since beginning to train for such diverse events that my mind can make it or break it for me. Even when my physical body starts to shut down, or cramp, or fatigue, if I can keep my mind focused and in a positive place, I will finish in the vertical position. Once, while doing a half marathon, during the last 3 miles, my legs began to cramp so badly. I was losing electrolytes, of course, and not replacing them efficiently. I pushed myself, with sheer mind power, visualizing the finish line and how close it was getting, and kept jogging (not fast, but had to keep moving because my muscles would have locked up) until I crossed the finish line…with tears in my eyes. Not tears of joy, as much as I was in severe pain. I did it, though. I focus on the finish line, and trust in my training, and my equipment, and the fact that God will get me through to the end, if I just keep doing what I can. He always takes up the slack. J

Psychological: The subtle mind exercise is one that I found to be very beneficial for myself. Concentrating on my breathing and letting the thoughts come and go and not grasping onto them. I feel a disconnection from my body, and it actually causes my mind to relax and just be.  I also do what I call positive self-talk. I will write on 3x5 index cards some things I need to say over and over to myself. It’s sort of pep-talk and cheer-leading session directed at me. I have trouble with negative thoughts, and this helps me replace them with a positive thought. Those reassuring words of encouragement and support flash into my memory, and I move away from the negative “dark cloud”, under the “sunny blue sky”.

Spiritual: I work on this area every morning, after breakfast. I use a devotional book that has a scripture for that day, and then a few paragraphs of commentary about how to apply this to my life, or it could be something to encourage me for later. I read it over a few times, and make notes, if anything jumps out at me. I meditate on the words and pray and ask God if there is any special significance for it for me that day. If there is, I write it down and meditate some more and pray and journal what I want to say. Sometimes, I look up the scripture in my Bible and read the ones before and after it, to get more meaing in context. Also, I usually read a chapter a day in another book, that I have chosen that causes growth and development in different areas of my life. For example, about 3 years ago I was having some problems with being unable to forgive some people that offended me. I was recommended a book, by a friend, and I read the book; one chapter a day, meditating on the words and thinking about what it meant for my life. I was eventually able to forgive this group of people and move on with my life. Ever since, I practice forgiving quickly, because I’m only one that it makes “sick”. I remind myself, “That holding unforgiveness for someone is like drinking poison and expecting that person to die.” It’s not worth it, and it doesn’t work.

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?

I have always used journaling and having a mentor, to assess myself, down the road. I have a trainer for my physical fitness, a pastor for my spiritual fitness, and in my psychological world I have a business coach mentoring me, because starting a new business can really play havoc with your psychological “space”. To maintain these long-term practices, I will keep these people in my life, because I know that I function better with a coach/mentor. I know this about myself, and I use this to my advantage.

My 2 Faves

For myself, I have found the subtle mind and the meditation exercises to be the most beneficial for me. I get so relaxed in the subtle mind that I really feel a disconnection from my physical body. I am not talking about an out of body experience, but my limbs no longer feel connected to my body. It is very relaxing and I feel energized afterwards.  On the other hand there is meditation. I meditate on positive things such as scriptures that encourage or comfort me, and sometimes I get a personal revelation from thinking about what it says and then just listening ….and relaxing. I “hear” answers to what I am meditating on, at times. I get clarity and feel encouraged when I am done.

For example, I am doing a 30 mile bike ride in the morning. I have never ridden that far all at once, but I have been meditating on what I have accomplished and strategy for recovery when I get tired, and thinking about the hills and the flat places. I am preparing myself, mentally, for what I am doing, physically, in 12 hours. I do a lot of reminding myself of the great physical feats I have done and remind myself that if I could do that, I can do this…no problem J

Meeting Aesclepius

Wow...I was so relaxed at times that I almost dozed off. Envisioning the wise person, was amazing. I realized that I have always felt that I lacked wisdom in certain areas. I have a tendency (not so much anymore) to leap before I look. Which isn't always a bad thing, but it has gotten me into trouble. I have carried around inferiority because of this, and when I have acted on something too quickly, I would get defensive and lash out. I realized today, how far I have actually come in that "fault". I don't react in that way, anymore. I am more humble and willing to laugh at myself when I make a mistake. The person I chose was my husband, who is very wise and very even tempered. He has never purposely made me feel "stupid" or "un-wise", but I had felt that way when I would make a bad decision and feel attacked...and he wouldn't have to say a word to provoke those feelings. It was self-accusing statements I would say to myself. This exercise made me realize that I had actually become wiser, more patient, and more likely to look BEFORE I leap, now.
In describing he saying, "One cannot lead where one has not gone himself", I believe that the health and wellness professional should be someone who has walked through the places they are asking me to walk. It's a like most rehab centers' counselors are recovered addicts/alcoholics. I believe that empathy is greater,when you have been there and done that, and gives you a credibility that reading it out of a book or brochure cannot give. I think they should also be practicing what they preach, too. If they are expecting me to make healthy choices, they should have that in their own lives, as well.
I absolutely feel that I have an obligation to my clients to be developing my health psychologically, physically, and spiritually. I can only take them where I have been, and if my journey ends, then so does theirs. I implement psychological and spiritual growth by praying, reading my Bible, going to church regularly, meeting with my pastors/leaders to see if there are areas they see that I need to work on. I take care of myself physically, and give myself time to do the things I enjoy, that feed my mind and keep me smiling inside and out. Those things are as simple as having coffee with a friend, running/walking with a friend, or just spending time with friends/family.
That's just what I think :)