Unit 9 Final Project

Unit 9 Final Project

            As a health and wellness professional it is very important that the development of the mind, body, and spirit are practiced. Practicing prayer, meditation, forgiveness, loving-kindness, mindfulness, exercise, and good nutrition allows for you to be able to help others to develop their mind, body, and spirit. In order to help others, the development of one’s inner self and consciousness must be discovered. Knowing firsthand what actually happens as we begin to develop and evolve a more expansive life allows us to educate others. (Dacher, 2006) In order to teach someone how to expand their lives and practice mindfulness techniques, first there must be some type of self-development and personal experience. It is important to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically to have a healthy and happy life. Connecting the mind, body, and spirit allows the body to heal itself and to relieve unnecessary stress.

            There is much work to do psychologically, spiritually, and physically to achieve the goals that I have set for myself. Developing a higher level of consciousness, a holistic way of life, spiritual connection, better eating habits, and routine exercise will be a step in the right direction to starting a life of well-being. These goals will help me to have more positive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Lifestyle changes must be made to reach these goals and to allow for a lifetime of happiness, well-being, and wholeness.

            Assessment of health, including spiritual, physical, and psychological well-being is necessary in keeping motivation toward a healthy life. A score of seven is the assessment of my spiritual wellness. Spiritual health is important and can be hard to maintain if the time and effort is not put in. Improving spiritual connection through others, the bible, meditation, and quiet time allows for the development of the inner-self. A score of eight is what I would rate my physical wellness. To stay physically healthy the body must have periods of rest as well as periods of activity. Exercise and good nutrition will help to keep the body physically well. Cutting out sugary foods and drinks, processed foods, and genetically modified products will allow for our bodies to maintain itself. A score of seven is my psychological wellness assessment. Communication with others, thinking positive thoughts, redirecting negative emotions, and coping with stress are a good way to work on psychologically wellness. Stress can really affect the mind, being able to control your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions will help to reduce the effects of stress.

            Setting goals is a great way to keep motivation toward making healthy lifestyle changes. Spiritual, physical, and psychological goals allow for improvement of health, well-being, and wholeness. Acknowledgement of needing to improve these aspects of life is important in growing as a person. Training your mind, body, and spirit will ultimately allow for total body healing and well-being.

            I have set spiritual, physical, and psychological goals for myself. Increased self-confidence, faith in God, and viewing the world with a positive attitude would improve my spiritual well-being. In saying this, it is important to keep these goals in mind and work toward them while practicing positive habits. Exercising more often and eating a nutritious diet would benefit me physically. Being able to make a habit out of exercising regularly and eating healthy meals will improve my health. Making lifestyle changes that will benefit me for the rest of my life and not just the next few years is key. Coping with stress with a positive attitude toward life and others is my psychological goal. Acknowledging emotions, thoughts, and feelings is important in changing them to more positive ones in order to reduce stress. Reducing stress benefits the mind, body, and spirit.

            Different strategies can be used to implement practices and exercises needed to improve spiritual, physical, and psychological well-being. Mediation and yoga are two great examples of strategies to benefit spiritual wellness. Practicing mediation or yoga in the morning before I start my day would allow me to make these exercises a habit. There are many different types of meditation exercises that you can do. Listening to a meditation track or sitting in a quiet room without distractions is a good way to start practicing meditation. Yoga, after a stressful day at work, would help in releasing stress. Using both of these practices regularly will help to reduce stress and increase spiritual well-being.

            Physical practices that I would employ in my life are a healthy diet and routine exercise. A healthy diet is important in making sure that the body is getting the nutrients that it needs in order to function properly. Going to farmers markets, eating small portioned meals, and eating at the same time every day will allow your body to get into a good routine. Routine is good for the body, it reduces stress. Exercise is a great practice to implement in life. Making exercise a daily habit, doing fun activities, and changing up the activities will help to benefit the body, physically.

            Psychological practices such as a witnessing consciousness and the subtle mind exercise are great ways to improve psychological development. The witnessing consciousness allows us choose to replace destructive emotions and attitudes with positive choices by understanding our thoughts and feelings. (Dacher, 2006) This helps to reduce anger, stress, and allows for a positive outlook on life. Practicing a witnessing consciousness as part of a daily routine can keep our emotions and feelings in check. The subtle mind exercise is great in relaxing and calming the mind, body, and spirit. Focusing on breathing in and out allows for all other thoughts to disappear. Practicing this exercise daily or when stressed will help to keep psychological wellness.

            Progress or lack of progress is important to keep track of. If the goals are too hard to reach, it will be hard to stay motivated. Keep motivated by setting obtainable goals. Make lifestyle changes and not just a temporary change. To assess whether or not my spiritual, physical, and psychological health has improved I will rate or score each domain every couple of months. If I feel like I am improving then I will keep doing what I am doing. If I feel that I am not reaching my goals in any of these domains then I will make changes to my goals so that I can make a difference in my mind, body, and spirit wellness.

            To maintain the strategies that I plan to practice, I will need to make sure that they work for me. Centering each practice around my life and my personal desires will be important. Making sure that I make lifestyle changes that are priority for my health and well-being will allow me to see the progress thus far and keep motivated. A daily routine that includes exercise, meditation, yoga, and a healthy diet would be great. This may not always work but as long as I stay on track most of the time I should continue to progress toward a life of health and happiness. Long-term practices allow for the complete development of mind, body, and spirit wellness and a lifetime of happiness, well-being, and wholeness.

Reference 

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach : Basic Health Publications.