Integral health assessment

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because it helps them to better understand themselves first and then be of better assistance when working with their clients. They can pinpoint problems that a client may have and address any arising situations. They need to be role models, determined, energetic, show empathy and credibility so that clients can feel comfortable with them by their actions and what they preach.  The areas that I need to develop to achieve these goals for myself are in all three areas (psychologically, spiritually, and physically) along with health, happiness, and wholeness. In addition, love, forgiveness, and gratefulness are critical components to wellness because they are all ways to make me feel better and I am able to clear my negative thoughts. These concepts can be integrated in my life by making sure I take the time to love those around me, forgive those who I may have hurt, and be very grateful for all that I am blessed with. All these areas will help in my journey along the path of integral health and well-being. My goals are in work in progress.  I need to grow in every level, spiritually by a closer walk with God, physically by practicing healthy behaviors like eating nutritiously and exercising four or five times a week.  I also need to grow psychologically by sharpening my mind and staying focused in my goals.

II. Assessment – How have I assessed my health in each domain? How do I score my wellness spiritually, physically and mentally? I first make a mental list of which area needs attention. Depending what is going on at certain points of my life, I select an area that needs some adjusting in the specific lines of development. Using a scale of 1 – 10 with one equaling the lowest and 10 the highest score available,I rate my spiritual level a seven. I am a spiritually based person so this area was neither new to me or hard to grasp.  My spirituality  has increased significantly since taking this course. I used to only think of myself and my family. Now I am including those around me and far from me throughout the world in regards to my spirituality.  I pray when I drive, before I go to bed as well as when I am at work.

Physically I scored  and eight. I live a fairly healthy lifestyle. I am aware of what I am eating and I engage in healthy physical activities on a daily basis. My body is in good health, rarely getting sick and maintaining good physical strength.
Psychologically I scored a seven in this too. I have learned how to increase my psychological score and continue to practice and improve. I used to think differently before I this class, I didn't think mind/body was connected and closely related.  I now have a different perspective and have a completely different outlook on how I should think.  I handle stressful situations better and have gained better control of understanding how I am feeling.  I have seen a lot of improvement in being whole in the last few months in regards to my professional and personal life.

III. Goal Development – List at least one goal I have for myself in each area 

Spiritually - Recently, I bought a 365 days devotional planner and I plan to journal and put this in practice every day.  I plan to study the bible every morning and evening, learn scriptures and verses and encourage my kids in learning to pray daily as it is important in our family.  Physically - I will strength 2 times a week, go on longer hikes as the trails in Colorado are very majestic and it is great to have the calm abiding moment when I am on top of the hill.  I like to incorporate Pilates with stretch exercises daily and strength exercises every other day.  I will add running five days a week for 30-45 minutes, incorporating warm-up before and cool-down afterwards with Pilates, or strength exercises every other day.

 Mentally: I plan to set time everyday for myself at least 15 or 30 minutes a day whether it's relaxing or meditating so as to release any stressful events. I would like to set aside some time and be able to read more books and engage in social network activities.  

IV. Practices for Personal Health – What strategies can I 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.

Practices implemented for spiritual activity include: pray with and for others, study the bible, share my faith, and learn lessons from nature and life experiences. I pray for all close and far family members for their good health and ask that they be blessed every day.  I pray for others in my daily devotional prayer time as intercessory prayer for needs and spiritual enlightenment. I pray for God's intervention and wisdom.  These life experiences help me to trust more and more in a closer walk with Christ. With that being said, I feel humble, and I am able to help others with their needs.   I already go to church every Sunday and I plan to volunteer with church activities and other events in my church.

For physical health practices I will walk or run 30-40 minutes daily outside in the fresh air and sunshine and if weather permits, the elliptical will work. Before this class I used to take long hikes with my family now I will include walking with friends and join a running club which will help me to network with other people. Besides Pilates and strength training, I have been in favor of martial arts for a long time so I will implement Karate in as part of my physical training.

For my mental practice, I would like to implement prayer meditation by memorizing scripture and Bible verses and listen to Journey On and practice Subtle Mind exercises to free the mind and create peace.  I would also like to visualize during stressful events to get my mind off the negative thoughts causing distress. Since it's been snowing where I live, I have been not taking my dog for longs walks like I used to in the summer.  I would like to spend more time taking my German short-haired pointer for long walks.  Pets have unconditional love and this can help with my mental health as far as tension and improve mood.  They make great companions and it can be a great social networking.  Last summer when I used to take my dog to the dog park, I socialized with many dog owners while walking my dog.  Pets are natural icebreakers and other pet owners love to talk about their animals.   I have always had the love to share.  I love to teach whether to my kids, friends or family.  Teaching others about what I have learned will assure long-term success and improvement. I find that when I share what I have learned with others, I not only retain what I have learned, but it motivates me to continue learning and spreading the news.

V. Commitment - How will I assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can I use to assist in maintaining my long-term practices for health and wellness? Time management was and still is a biggest challenge for me. When I am complete this semester, I have ample time to put these goals into practice! I will find the time of day that best fits applying these practices, so that I can continue to make the goals successful. Having a healthy sleep schedule will lead me to a healthier lifestyle and reduce stress.  I have kept a journal in the past and will continue to do so.  

I can assess my progress through my writings and make short and long term goals.  I typically write about how I feel, what I am thinking and what I am learning at that very moment. I can look back through my work and see how much I have progressed or regressed. The strategies I can use to assist in maintaining my long-term practices for health and wellness is that I could make a to do list or have a month to month calendar of the days I plan on doing these activities and at the end of every two weeks or after one month, I can re-evaluate my goals and see what I still need to work on or if I have accomplished my goals and make changes accordingly.

            Without any doubt, fear or negative emotions,  I know I will make progress towards achieving integral health fulfilling joy, health and wholeness to the commitment of these practices mentioned above.

Good luck to all of you and I wish everyone best wishes in their future endeavor