Crazy Week!

So had a really crazy busy time at work this past week. However still managed to get three cycling workouts in and two distance run in despite everything. Still doing classes in between my job and workouts. Really getting ready for Christmas break so I can focus more on my training and just unwind a little from school. On a positive note I have lost a total of twelve pounds in the past couple of weeks!

Marathon Training

Well I'm going to start my marathon training up again and hope this time my knee joints will hold up to it. I tried doing this a few months ago and totally screwed up my knees. I found a different training program that I feel will start me out at a much slower training pace. I will continue to do my cycling in the evening however I have to switch my nutrition up to less protein and a lot more carbohydrates. I also will switch all my lifting out for body weight exercises. Wish me luck everyone and please if anyone happens to come across this post leave me some encouraging words for motivation!

Unit 10 Reflections

1. Looking back to how I scored myself in Unit 3 I feel that I have been able to boost my score on some of the wellness areas. Back in week 3 I graded myself a 7-8 on physical wellness, unfortunately I feel that this still isn't any better than what I originally rated myself at. I had the same rating for my psychological wellness, but I feel that now I'm a solid 8 with how well I have been controlling my emotions and not letting stress get to me. Lastly, my spiritual wellness I scored myself really low with a 5 or 6. I now Think that I'm probably closer to a 7 since I have gained so much during this class on understanding my spiritual wellness aspect, but there is still room for improvement.

2. With my goals for physical wellness I can honestly say that I have switched my cardio-respiratory routine to cycling and now only lift weights to better aspects for that sport. I have also started doing a lot more body weight exercises to improve my flexibility and balance. I have continued doing meditation for my psychological wellness and have also included loving-kindness practices as well. Lastly, my goals for spiritual wellness were to learn more about what I believe in. I feel by doing the work in this class and starting practices such as the subtle mind exercises I have gained a lot more experience in my spiritual wellness.

3 and 4. I have implemented all the components I was going to make in each areas of wellness. I feel that they have helped a lot to get me on the right path towards integral health. I believe that if I continue doing these practices and maybe even find others ones to add; I will be able to reach the exact wellness that the book talks about and that I want to obtain!

Unit 9 Project

1.      Introduction:

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop in each of the main areas psychological, spiritual, and physical wellness. This allows them to practice what they preach; I feel it makes the professional more credible to the patients that they are helping. I found a study in the library that looked at how important a holistic approach to wellness in helping college students improve their health. One journal states “results indicate that a holistic model of health is useful for increasing activity and short-term adherence to a lifestyle approach to health” (Joseph Gieck et al, 2007). As you can see one of the best ways to really make a health change more than a fad diet or 8 week workout program is to make it a total lifestyle change; specifically a holistic approach. In my own life I need to continue to develop each aspect of wellness, physical, mental, and spiritual. By doing this I can not only improve my own wellness, but use my own life experiences as teaching points to my future clients.

2.      Assessment:

I found one really cool study that looked at this aspect specifically. They were trying to create a way to test the knowledge and improvement of the participants of the study in each aspect of holistic wellness. The study states “results of the psychometric testing indicate that the “OLP” is a reliable tool in assessing the six dimensions of the total person concept as defined by Canyon Ranch” (Harry McDermott et al, 2000). Professionally I would love to use one of these assessment tools or to be part of a study like this. However, right now I have been assessing how well I have improved in each aspect subjectively. I feel that by looking back to where each aspect was at the beginning of the class compared to now I have grown in each aspect amazingly well. I still feel that my physical aspect was one of the highest components for the simple fact that I have been working out and trying to keep my nutrition on point. However, at the beginning of this class I would say that I was severly lacking in my spiritual and psychological aspects. I can tell now though just with the positive changes that have been made in my life that my psychological and spiritual aspects of wellness has drastically improved. At the beginning of this class I would say that those two components would be around a 5, but now I can honestly say that out of a 10 point scale all aspects are rated right now at about an 8!

3.      Goal Development:

As you know setting goals is one of the most important things that you have to do to make sure you make a real lifestyle change. It also serves as a way to subjectively see how you are progressing in each aspect of your wellness. My physical goal is to continue working out and following an organic nutritious diet in hopes of decreasing my body fat percentage. My spiritual goal is to continue learning as much as possible to connect with the environment and the world around me on a deeper connection. Lastly, my goal for my psychological or mental wellness is to continue meditating, but also to incorporate more loving-kindness exercises.

4.      Practices for personal health:

The two strategies I will continue to incorporate in my physical wellness aspect is to not only continue working out and eating well, but also to make sure I’m eating based off my basal metabolic rate and continue doing the calculations to figure out my body fat percentage. The two exercises that I really want to continue practicing in my psychological wellness is meditation and the loving-kindness exercise that Elliott Dacher proposed. Dacher states “remember this is an inner practice whose primary goal is to create a heartfelt loving-kindness that diminishes your self-centeredness and quiets your mind” (Dacher, 2006). I will continue doing each for a total of 15-30 minutes each day; meditation in the morning and loving-kindness after work before I go to bed. Lastly, my spiritual exercises that I like to continue is the subtle mind exercise and to learn as much as I can through reading and research for my spiritual beliefs. I will do the subtle mind exercise each Sunday and also use that as a day to expand my spiritual wellness.

5.      Commitment

In my physical wellness I will not only do my measurements for my body fat percentages, but also once a month do a fitness test just like I used to do while in the Air Force to see how well I have developed physically. In my spiritual and psychological wellness I will try to gauge how much more positive things have happened in my life and to see if I have noticed a lot less stress in my life like I have already noticed. I will also use personal relationships in my life such as family and friends to use as a gauge to see if they have noticed positive changes I have made in my life. I feel that by doing this combination I can not only see changes and progress subjectively but also objectively through my family and friends!

References

 

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

Harry McDermott, Richard Papenfuss, Phillip Eichling, Dan Baker, Kathleen Johnson, Michael Hewitt. (2000). Optimal Living Profile: An Inventory to Assess Health and Wellness. American Journal of Health Behavior, 403-412.

Joseph Gieck, Sara Olsen. (2007). Holistic Wellness as a Means to Developing a Lifestyle Approach to Health Behavior Among College Students. Journal of American College Health Vol. 56, 29-35.

Two Exercises for Life!

I feel that the two exercises that we did during this term that is most beneficial to me is the subtle mind exercise and the meditation. I find that the subtle mind exercise allows me to try and reach my inner self more easily; it also allows me to set a goal that I can try to obtain. The meditation exercises have been and will continue to be a great stress management tool that I can use. It allows me to either prepare for the day or if I have had a really stressful day or sometimes week it allows me to kind of cleanse myself of the negativity. This allows me to change my mindset to positive thinking at the same time it allows stress not to affect my health or other aspects of my life and job. Each morning I meditate and sometimes I even meditate again at the end of the day. I also started doing the subtle mind exercise every Sunday that way it can allow me to try and dig deeper into myself on what should be a rest day for most people. With all these exercises it allows me to prepare for each day especially through the weekend before the following Monday!

Inner Self

1. This week we did the meeting Aesclepius exercise again. However, this week I did it different and didn't use anyone I specifically knew that way I can try and get a different experience then last time. I feel like doing the exercise this way has started to allow me to look more on my inner self and connect spiritually to the rest of the universe. As you might remember in some of my other posts I have been at a crossroads spiritually on trying to discover what I truly believe in. By continuing to do this exercise I have learned more about myself then I would have ever imagined. I feel such a renewal in myself and my beliefs; plus the path to health and wellness I have been trying to obtain over the past year. I realize now that I still don't know truly spiritually what is out there, but that it is alright. I'm starting to see that spiritually we make things the way we want to interpret them. Some view their spiritual teacher as God, a person they feel is important in their life, or even sometimes just an essence that is out in the universe that surrounds us. By finally realizing this I feel like I have obtained a deeper spiritual level and love for myself than what I thought was initially possible. I have also come to realize that I have been on the right path the whole time I just haven't allowed myself to truly see it.

2. I believe the saying practice what you preach goes along with this same saying. As health and wellness professionals no matter what aspect we are attempting to advocate through in other people's lives we need to instill the same expectations and practices in our own lives. By doing this we can really becoming more than just a mentor to our clients, but actually start to have a relationship with the person on a deeper level. We can share our experiences with our clients and see how they differ from each other and work out problems together. This will help to make sure they stay on the path to integral health, but also that we do as well!

Universal Loving-Kindness and Integral Assessment

1. I started doing the universal loving-kindness exercise and I honestly find it a little tougher to do since there isn't really anyone to specifically focus on. It is also hard to know for sure if it is effective since there isn't a particular person that you are trying to effect. However, that being said my wife leaves tomorrow for work and will be gone for a week. So I figure that I will continue doing this universal exercise, but focus this time specifically on my wife and see if there is any difference.

2 and 3. Secondly I did the integral assessment of the four aspects of wellness. I chose to focus on nutrition specifically since the last few weeks I haven't been focusing as much as I should be on it. I feel like I'm out of sync with my energy levels and it seems to be effecting my workouts more than it was initially. So I chose to really get back on my hardcore nutrition plan. I will start counting my macro nutrients while staying under the specific level I need to be at for my total calories. I hope this will put me back on track and continue to help me while I work on my physical wellness!

Subtle Mind Exercise

1. First off I finished the full week of the loving-kindness exercise. It went great and it really became a lot easier as the week went by. This week we were asked to switch the loving-kindness exercise out for the subtle mind exercise. This exercise was a lot easier for me to do since it was very similar to the meditation technique that I have already routinely incorporated in my day. I also added the second part of mental training during my cycling rides. I still focused on my breathing to become aware of my surroundings like I do during the subtle mind exercise, but connected it with mental training during my rides.

2. The way I have connected the three in my personal life is really how I was able to combine my cycling with mental training and awareness training. Now while I'm cycling I'm not only training my physical fitness, but also mental and spiritual training as well. I have found it to be an even more enjoyable experience. It has not only helped me slow down my heart rate and blood flow during the long rides, but it has also allowed me to really zero into my surroundings; this might sound a little weird however I connect more to my bike and the road. I have also noticed it has also increased the potential stress management I usually gain from my rides and by trying to control my blood flow I have also been able to have less muscle soreness and more endurance while on my rides as well!

Loving Kindness Practice

1. I haven't completed the full week yet, but did start the practice exercise on Wednesday. Since the book wanted us to do it twice a day I kind of made the exercise my own and tweaked it a little. The exercise is first suppose to help you focus on someone you really care about and love then turn that inwards on yourself. This helped to prepare me to not only see the love the other person has for me, but also to really see how much love I have for them. I also know of a personal situation they are going through and started to send that same love back mentally to them and I can honestly say that I have seen a positive change not only in my life, but their life as well. The second session I actually used to for the second part of the exercise. The second part wants us to take anyone that we perceive as an enemy, but actually send positive feelings towards them which will hopefully help the relationship between me and them to change. The reason I switched this to the end of the day is because it allowed me to analyze any problems I had throughout the day and the people associated with those problems. I haven't really noticed any changes in them yet either, because they were patients that I saw initially but haven't made it back to my work yet. I really did find this beneficial and would recommend other people to do this. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the week of practice goes and to really see if the ones I considered my "enemies" actually end up being a great relationship!

2. The idea of a mental workout can be compared to the same thing as a physical workout for your body, but as the name suggests it's for your mind. For example the loving kindness practice would be a mental workout that you can do continually or once in a while. By doing this it will allow me to not only expand my mind on my inner self, but eventually it will also allow me to get to the spiritual aspects of consciousness that Dacher is describing in our book.

Wellness Reflections and The Crime of the Century

1. I would honestly grade my physical wellness as probably a 7-8 on the scale. There is of course plenty of room left for improvements to my health, but for the most part I have really made nutrition and fitness a lifestyle. By doing so I can honestly say that I'm currently in the best shape I have ever been in my life! Spiritual wellness I would unfortunately have to rate pretty low probably around a 5 or a 6. This just recently over the past year as come about where I'm not fully sure what I believe in spiritually. I grew up a son of a preacher and went to church religiously no pun intended. Now that I'm a little older and been on my own for a few years I have realized that I just don't believe with the same conviction I used to. I still believe that there is a higher power and there is of course a purpose for each person's life, but beyond that is a blank page waiting to be written. Lastly, psychological wellness I would also score pretty high around a 7-8 since I have been able to control stress in my life a lot better with my workout routines and meditation.

2. My goal in my physical wellness is to keep on switching from my running habits to more solely focused on cycling and having my lifting routine focus solely on improving different aspects for cycling. My goal is to hopefully enter my first road race in the spring! Spiritually I will continue learning and exploring different aspects of this topic to see what I really connect with. I honestly see myself leaning more towards not so much religion, but just trying to become whole in all aspects of my life and I guess you could use the term transcend. Lastly, for psychological wellness I plan to continue my meditation and see what other types of relaxation techniques I might be able to incorporate.

3. To reach my goal for cycling I really have to just focus on cycling as my cardiovascular exercise and change my lifting routines to only help strengthen me in this area. For spiritual and psychological wellness I just need to really discover what things might get me to where I want to be in these areas. This might consist of learning about different religions to see which one I might see myself really cultivating or finding different relaxation techniques that I can use along with my meditation practices.

4. I really love these relaxation exercises; personally it really makes me relax especially during the weekend when I usually do them. It helps me to just forget any frustrations that I experienced through the week and it allows myself to just re-charge and get ready for the next week. In this weeks exercise it was pretty cool to have the mental imagery and color associations to go along with the recording. It helps to really focus on the exercise and allowed me to block distractions out of my mind.

Journey On Relaxation

Just want to go ahead and welcome any of the students in the class that is reading my reflection this week!

The relaxation exercise came at a perfect time for me. I spent most the day doing reading for class and my discussion post since I wasn't able to do much reading the last couple of days. After I finished with my homework for the day I decided to go on another bike ride. I went on my usual morning ride, but really love to try and get two rides in during the weekend. It especially helps me to just unwind through the weekend and prepare myself mentally for the coming week. However, since I was able to do two rides today after the second one my arms and hands have been pretty sore since I held my arms in a new position on the handlebars. Long story short I finished the ride and went ahead and listened to the relaxation exercise and it was perfect that the main focus was trying to bring blood into my arms and hands. I was able to do this by suggesting to my body mentally for it to start to pool there. By the time I reached the end of the exercise and mentally sent the blood away from my hands and arms the soreness left as well!

First Post!

I have initially created this blog for an assignment in one of my classes this semester. However, I will also continue posting my workouts and nutrition tips even after this term of classes is over!