Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Unit 9



Health Plan

            I think Elliot Dacher states it best when he says that when professionals implement integral health in their lives, they will come to know the suffering and ascent to human flourishing are not just ideas (2006, p.167).  The more we as professional develop our psychological, spiritual and physical lives the more in tune we will be with both our physical being and more importantly our inner selves.  When it comes to me I need to work all of these areas more to become that well rounded professional.  However I feel that the most benefical to my success right now is going to be more work on my physical wellness as I work to get back into shape, so that I can successfully lead those who look towards me for guidance and support in their own life.
            When it comes to breaking down my own health in each of these three areas there are several things I feel I need to look at in order gain a greater understanding of where I am in each category.  On a scale of 1-10 for each area I would rate myself spiritually at a 7, physically a 5 and psychological I would score myself a 6. 
            As we can see each of the three areas listed there is plenty of room for improvement in my life.  For my physical wellbeing some of the goals I have for myself are to get back into the gym and out running on a regular basis.  This alone though will not fully get me to where I feel I need to be.  I also need to work on what I am eating and cut out on the fast foods and work to cook more whole and healthy food at home. When it comes to my spirituality I feel for me this is one of my stronger areas.  This has been something I have been working on for well over a year now going back to anger management classes where we would focus on learning meditation techniques and ways to bring myself back to inner peace.  What I would really like to focus on the most though is bringing more meditation time into my days.  Finally my psychological well-being is another area for great improvement.  Some goals I have for myself is to work on taking things as they come and not allowing myself to get agitated with others and when I feel myself doing so just walk away so things do not escalate and my anger tendency show.
            Now that I know what my weakness are and how I feel I stack up in each area one important thing for everyone to have to help them achieve success is goals.  When it comes to my physical well-being my goals are to start out small by working to exercise three days a week for at least an hour at a time. After about a month or so of this slowing increase the amount of workouts to five days a week then move my workouts up to an hour and half to two hours at a time.  Next would be to start bringing my own lunches to work to help me from going through a drive thru for my meals.  For my psychological/spiritual well-being my goals are to start out each day with at least 10 minutes of meditation time to get myself ready for the busy day ahead. Next would be each day take even if for five minutes time for myself to decompress and get myself back into family mode.
            Now that I have goals put down on paper, I need to be able to track these goals to see how I am applying and improving upon them.  One thing that I have done for this to purchase a exercise journal that has areas for keep track of the exercises I do and the days I have exercised and allows for food entries.  Another thing I have done to help with this is signed up on different sites that help with food planning and tracking.  For my psychological and spiritual goals the biggest thing I feel I can is to like my physical well-being is to keep a journal of the times that I am to meditate and have “me” time.  Also doing this will allow for me to keep track of times of day that work best for accomplishing these goals.
References
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Unit 7 Meeting Aesclepius

Yet another interesting exercise this week.  I really enjoyed being able to thing and place myself in location of interest and calmness. I was able to fully think of the beach but probably not like a lot of people would think of right off the bat.  I thought of it at night.  This is a place I would go to and just sit and think while listening to the waves roll up on shore.  I can't think of a better place to fully relax and meditate.

"One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself"This is a very interesting quote and one I truly believe for the most part. To me it means that one can not fully offer valid advice and insight to another if they have not experienced it for themselves.  I do though feel that one can though offer techniques and advice but they need to let the other fully know they have not experienced it but through others experiences have learned what has worked for others.

John

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Unit 6

According to Dacher this assessment is going to help expand our selves and work to to get rid of the hatred and anger.  I know as I continued along this assessments I could feel some of the anger I had dissipating. I have a feeling this is something similar to meditation that could take some time to get it all down to where each and every time you go through this you fully feel all the anger and hatred go.
One area I found that I need to work on is taking time to do things for myself. While yes I do find myself getting to do things that I want to, that seems to be so far and few between. Seems that even when I do have time to do things for myself I find myself doing things with my family instead because the kids want to go and do something.  I need to take that time for myself.

John 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

SUBTLE MIND PRACTICE

This week I found the practice a lot more beneficial than last weeks loving kindness. I found myself more relaxed and centered.  Being able to focus on my own my calmness and breathing was much more enjoyable than trying to think about others suffering.  Through this practice I was able to connect more with my spiritual side and work that wellness into re-centering myself bring a greater sense of peace.  This is something I think I will be able to bring into my life a lot more especially at work. While I may not be able to spend 20-30 minutes at a time focusing on this but even if a minute or two at a time during stressful times can help to bring one back into the game.

John

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Loving Kindness Exercise

I don't know if it was me but this was one exercise that I could not finish.  Not only did it lead to more stress being added to my day, but also thinking about others I care for suffering is not one thing that sits well with me for any reason. Been through enough of that in my everyday life already.  I can though see how this would work for others and would potentially be something I would try for others.

Mental workout is simple working out the mind.  Through this type of workout we are better able to control our thoughts and actions. We can incorporate this into our life by thinking positively and learning to like ourselves which in turn will lead to us being better adapt to show that same kindness and love towards others.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Personal Reflections

When it comes to how I view myself in 3 different areas on a scale of 1-10 vary based on the individual areas.  The three areas area physical well-being, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being.  When it comes to my physical well-being I would rate myself a 5 out of 10.  I know that I need to improve my overall health and this is something that I am currently working on doing.  Some goals I have set for myself here is to improve my overall fitness level and weight. When it comes to getting to this improvement some things I am doing is to make sure I am getting out and exercise multiple times a week and improving upon the foods I eat and making sure I am incorporating more fruits and vegetables in my diet.

For my spiritual well-being I would rate myself in the 7 out of 10 range.  While yes I do not attend a church or particularly believe there is a higher being out there I do not believe this type of belief is what leads to ones spirituality. One big goal for myself here is bring myself even more centered and a greater inner peace.  How I plan to work this is through more me time away from the job and family daily to focus on myself and relaxation.

Finally I would rate my psychological at a 6 out of 10.  While I do like myself a lot more now I am still finding myself and learning how to like me for me.  My biggest goal here is to like my last statement is to like me for me. One way I plan to improve upon this is by improving my overall appearance and fitness levels.  I know where I have been in the past with all this and seeing how I am now through rough times over the past several years has really played a huge impact on how I view myself now. I WILL GET BACK to where I was and how I use to feel.

The Crime of the Century relaxation technique for me I found to be more frustrating than anything. I couldn't even finish it.  I don't know if it was just where I was in my state of mind today or just the shear annoyance I found the in voice relaying the message drove me up the wall.

John

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Relaxation Technique

http://www.kushs.net/kaplan/HW420/JourneyOn.mp3

The link above I found to be a very productive way to bring even if for a short time a more relaxed state of mind.  Initially though I struggled a little with the voice of the presenter, but as I slowly let myself relax and focus more on the background music I found myself not so much listening to the voice as I was just the words he was relaying.  Being able to find time daily to just let yourself relax and find that "me" time is very important for bring yourself to a great sense of wellness.  Give it a try and you'll be hooked for sure.

John

Welcome

Hello all, I am John Newby and working this blog spot for my Health and Wellness degree through Kaplan University. A little about me, I am 33 yrs old and love to play all kinds of sports. I currently I am playing a lot of softball and starting to get back into the gym again on a regular basis.  I am really starting to lead a health centered life, as this is what I am passionate about and want to bring the things I learn through my degree to help those who are serving our country in a way I wasn't offered. Now this is something for another time. I hope you enjoy the things I have to share.

John