Unit 9 Project

Introduction

The mind, body, and spirit is an interconnected woven system that needs to be developed to its’ full potential to ensure the best health possible.  Health and wellness professionals need to lead by example to ensure the best relationship with their clients. It’s all about practicing what you preach. By doing this the health and wellness professional is taken more seriously by the client and the client will be more willing to make a change. The health and wellness professional also needs to have strong psychological, spiritual and physical wellness to be an effective teacher and counselor. All three of these areas are also something I need to develop more effectively. I need to learn how to de-stress my mind, get in better physical shape and learn more about my spirituality. By achieving these goals I am making not only my life better but also my families. Assessment

To assess how I am doing in each domain, I have to reflect on what I have learned about myself throughout this journey. I decided to use the scale of one to ten to assess how I am doing in each domain.  This scale is graded as one being the worst and ten being the best.

Physical wellness I would rate myself a 7. I have just recently started going to the gym regularly and have changed my diet to a much healthier one. The reason I rated myself a 7 and not a 10 is because I still have a lot of work ahead of me and have not yet met my fitness goal. I also continue to have some back problems that have been a chronic condition for me, but with exercise I have started to notice a decrease in this problem.

Psychological wellness I would rate myself a 6. If I were writing this paper a year ago I would have scored myself a 2-4 because that time in my life was very difficult and the only way I knew how to deal with stressful situations was to shut down. Over time and with some counseling I have learned how to deal with stressful situations in a much more positive way. I feel as though I am a much happier and calmer person now. I have also learned to be realistic with my goals so that I am not setting myself up for failure or disappointment.

Spiritual wellness is one area that I feel needs much more work, so I would rate myself a 4. The low score does not mean I don’t believe in a God or heaven because I do. The low score is because we have been working on going to church more regularly but have not yet done it. Also I do not talk to God on a regular basis and sometimes I feel awkward when I do. I don’t know why this is but I have been trying to work on this by making a point to thank him every day for all the blessings I have.

Goal development

Physical wellness: I am going to continue to exercise on a regular basis. I will do at least two days of cardio and strength training but would like to increase to three days. I will also do at least 30 min of cardio five days a week. I will also continue to track my calories, fats, proteins and carbs on my Lose It app.

Psychological wellness: I will continue to practice deep breathing techniques when I feel stressed or upset. I will also continue to practice yoga every evening. I will also attempt to learn more about meditation and how I can incorporate it into my daily practices.

Spiritual wellness: I will start going to church on a more regular basis. I will also begin to pray at least once a week with the hope of increasing this to a daily practice. By doing this I hope to become more comfortable with my spirituality. If I continue to have problems I will consult with a preacher to help me with my spiritual needs

Practices for personal health

Physical:  I will continue to go to the gym five times a week. I will do strength training every other day rotating exercises so I do not do the same exercise every day. For my cardio I like to walk but since the weather is not very nice for walking at this time I have been using my treadmill at home or the elliptical at the gym. I have also been tracking my calorie, protein, fat and carb intake on my Lose It app. Since making these changes can be difficult for me, I also have a trainer who monitors my intake as well as my weight and measurements. This helps me to stay on track and keep my goal insight.

Psychological: I will use yoga every night to help calm the end of my day. I will also start to learn and practice meditation to help relieve stress. I will continue to use deep breathing as a way of calming my mind since it has been a huge help in allowing me to think before acting.

Spiritual: I will start to implement praying into my daily practice along with going to church on a more regular basis. I will also seek help from other sources such as readings to help me become closer to my spirituality.

Commitment

I will continue to track my progress by tracking my intake and having my trainer monitor my weight and measurements which keeps me accountable for my progress. I will also track my progress by how many times a week I pray and go to church. By doing this I will see how close I am to reaching my goal. One of the biggest goals will be my comfort with prayer, I will be able to track this by how comfortable or uncomfortable I will become after praying weekly. By setting goals and having exercises to reach these goals I will be able to focus on progression of my physical, psychological and spiritual wellness.