Unit 10

1. Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas . How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

In Unit 3 I ranked psychological as a 7 and I would rate myself now as an 8. I think it has changed just because of the knowledge that I have gained from this class. Physical was a 6 and is still a 6. I am still pregnant and if anything it would probably go down before it comes back up. For Spiritual well being I ranked myself a 6 and maybe it has gone up to a 7 now because of the knowledge I have gained in the course.

1. Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

I do not thing that progress has been made much on my goals except that I am one semester closer to graduating, thank goodness. Otherwise, I am still working on my goals and I think they well be an ongoing progress.

1. Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

I am still participating in the activities for each of the areas as earlier stated. I just need to be more proficient in them.

1. Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

My personal experience in this course has helped my well being I do not know if it has improved but it is a working progress. It has been rewarding and difficult but as they always say  nothing comes easy. I think this experience will help me assist others because it is an experience and others always like to learn from people that have been there before.

Audrey Bullock

Unit 9 Final Project

I. 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 is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically so that they are efficient and knowledgeable in their practices. One cannot teach a professional what he does not know. I need to work on all aspects to be the professional I feel that I should be to adequately lead anyone else.

II. Assessment

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

            I have assessed my health in each domain by participating and evaluating myself in compared to others in this class. I score my spiritual wellness as a six on a scale of 1-10. I chose a six because I fell that I have fallen in my spirituality, in that, I do not practice or participate like I should or have previously. I would score my physical wellness as a seven on a scale of 1-10. I am in the best physical shape of my life; however, I am not where I would like to be and; therefore, it is always a working progress. I would score my psychological wellness as a six on a scale of 1-10. I feel this is too a working progress and is impossible to be a perfect ten; however, it will be much better after I get my degree.

III. Goal Development

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

            My goal in the physical area is to get my body back after pregnancy. My goal in the psychological area is to graduate next year. My goal in the spiritual area is to regain my religious relationship and get more involved in church and community.

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.

            Strategies for growth in my physical wellness would be to make sure to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity daily and eat healthy meals. Strategies to foster growth psychologically would be to stay on top of homework, lessons, and reading. Spiritual strategies include prayer every day, attending church once a week, and reading my bible frequently.

V. 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 plan to assess my progress in the next six months by doing some self reflection and evaluation. I plan to make a commitment to myself and when I have shown progress reward myself.

Reference

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications.

Unit 8

1. Review the exercises and practice sessions you have completed in this course. Choose two practices that you have determined to be most beneficial. How can you implement these practices in your personal life to foster "mental fitness"? Provide specific examples.

I like the Subtle Mind and Visualization exercises the best. I think that I have gotten more out of them than the other ones, in that, I was able to stay more focused and achieve some results by participating in them. When a stressful situation comes up I like to take a few minutes to do some deep breathing exercises to regroup and it seems to be easier to come to a solution. In addition, I have one of those relazing visualization screen saver scenes on my computer at work and when things get stressful I just sit there and imagine myself in that place. I keep telling myself when I graduate I am going to find a hammack on the ocean somewhere and stay there for like three weeks.

Unit 7

1. Complete the "Meeting Asciepius" exercise on track #4 of the Dacher CD. Describe your meditative practice(s) for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

I just have a hard time practicing mediation. I never thought that it would be as hard as it is. My experience with this meditation exercise was much like the same as the others, in that, I did the exercise but feel like I did before, not gaining anything from doing it. I think that I am getting closer though to being able to acheive something than I have before. The only thing I know to do is to continue practicing these exercises. By doing these practices on a regular basis can help me to get where I would like to be in that relationship with my inner self.

2. Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" (p. 477). How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psycholocially, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in you personal life?

I believe the saying means that one cannot proper teach or practice something that he himself does not practice or believe in. It is much like someone teaching a smoking cessation class and they continue to chain smoke themselves. I think I do have an obligation to my clients. I do not feel that I can teach something that I do not believe in myself. I think that just by having a strong spiritual background (i.e. religious beliefs) in my personal life is enough. I strongly believe in the saying "practice what you preach".

Unit 6

3. What did you discover about yourself? I need work in more areas of my life than what I realized. I thought I had a pretty good indication of my self but I guess not.

What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? I have chosen body as an area of growth and development. I chose this so that maybe I will be more conscious with the holidays coming and because I am pregnant I want to focus on getting the right nutrients and being healthy overall.

What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area? I try to walk every other night and watch what I eat. I try to cut as much sodium, fat, and sugar out of my diet as possible.

Audrey Bullock

Unit 5

Question 1.

Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations, etc.

The Loving Kindess exercise focuses on opening the heart to others and finding that love in yourself. The Subtle mind exercise focuses on looking from the outside in. I did not really experience any difference in the two exercise. I do like to listen to them but cannot seems to get anything out of them. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

2. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

I think the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is by the mind, body and spirit and finding wholeness withing one self. The connection is manifested in my personal life by prayer. I pray on a daily basis and find the inner connection I need to feel whole.

Unit 4 Question 2

What is the concept of "Mental Workout"? What does research indicate are the proven benefits of a Mental Workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

I would define a mental workout  as something that is challenging and requires a lot of thought process. A good mental workout will keep our minds sharp and the elderly going and mentally healthy as well as the general population. An individual can do mind puzzles suck as: crossword puzzles, sudoku, and numberology.

Audrey Bullock

Unit 4 Question 1

Describe your experience (Did you find it beneficial? Why or Why not?) Would you recommend this to others? Why?

I found the experience neutral. I think that it would be more beneficial for someone that is having a hard time loving themselves. In this instance I would recommend doing the exercise to others. It helps someone find love in themselves that  cannot seem to find self worth but has love for others.

Audrey Bullock

Unit 3 Question 4

Describe your experience (Was it beneficial? Frustrating? etc).

My experience while listening to The Crime of the Century was very relaxing. I was expecting some mystery because of the name. It was so relaxing I fell asleep at the end. It was beneficial to help me relax and enjoy some breathing time. I think it really helped that I just finished a workout so it helped me to focus on cooling my body down and slowing the breathing.

Unit 3 Question 3

What activities or exercise can you  implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal.

Physical- walk 30 minutes to 60 minutes each day.
Spiritual- teach a Sunday school class.
Psychological-stay focused in my classes.

Unit 3 Question 2

Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).
Physical- wourking out and eating health through pregnancy.
Spiritual-volunteer teaching a class or helping at the church.
Psychological-graduate!

Unit 3 Question 1

Based on your reflections and on a scale of 1 to 10, where do you rate your A-physical well-being, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?
A-physical well-being-6. I am pregnant so I am obviously  not at my ideal body image.
B-spiritual well-being-6. I am going to church but would like to be more involved in serving the church and the community.
C-psychological well-being-7. I am in the process of accomplishing a long term goal.

Journey on Relaxation Exercise

My experience with the exercise was obviously relaxing. The commentator has a very deep and soothing voice. (Good telephone voice as some people may say.) I followed his suggestions and felt the harmth and heaviness in my hands as he guided us to send our blood flow from our intestines to the hands. I have to say I almost want to download it to my ipod so that I can listen to it at night when going to sleep. My mom is into these kinds of relaxation techniques and therefore she has given me some of her CD's to listen too so I have to say this is not the first time I have been able to enjoy a relaxation technique.

Audrey Bullock

Welcome!

My name is Audrey Bullock. I am currently a student at Kaplan University with three more terms after this one. I live with my husband and our four year old son and our dog in Arkansas. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Australia on a study abroad trip for one week. Even though it was not much of a vacation it was by far the best place I have ever been. It is very nice to meet all my classmates and I am very excited to spend the next ten weeks getting to know each and everyone of you through our interesting blog fests. :)