Even with no changes I still feel that there was improvement - but maybe changes will come after the holiday season.

In the unit 3 blog I made the following assessments of my wellbeing – physical - 5, mental – 7 and spiritual – 5.  While there are certain times of the year that are better for certain areas of my life the short period of my life that has been this class has helped bring up the changes, but the stresses of this time of year are bringing it down to make there no real change.  After the holiday season when the idea is not so pressed to make everyone happy this will have a dramatic increase in my wellbeing, I can change the focus from meeting society’s view of what I should be doing to the things that make me feel fulfilled and bring more positive to my life. 

The goals are going to remain the same with the emphasis being on the physical first; since, there are so many built in areas that are affected by the improvement in the physical area of life I can help with the mental side and the spiritual as well.  Giving myself more time to be unplugged or in a mind calming state each and every time I allow myself to engage in physical activates. 

At this state I have not implemented the changes since the kids are out of school and home with me all day long.  We are however going to explore the area we live in on our bikes and hikes to help with getting them out and moving like they do during the school day.  This will also give me a time to spend out of the house and the things that I am constantly being reminded I need to do – laundry, cleaning, improvements, Christmas cards, wrapping gifts and figuring out what to do for others. 

This course has allowed me to explore the connection of the mind, body and spirit with a better understanding of what will benefit me the most.  And, while I was not helped by all the practices we engaged in there were people who explained what helped them during the class, which I can understand better and use to help my clients, family, friends and patients in the future. 

Coming to the end of a evolution in the class and personal life.

I. Introduction:

For those people working the health and wellness professionals the need and ability to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically is important because, if we are not going to know the roadblocks that our client are not going to come up against then we cannot help them.  By developing our own mental, physical and spiritual links then we can help clients/patients overcome and explore new and different ways to create a better way of living leading to a more balanced lifestyle that can become a habit.

My life is ever changing just like others in the military life, so there are going to times when I need to stop all exercises and practices due to moving or military deployments.  This happened when I moved from Miami to Colorado Springs last spring, my exercise routine went out the door and I was pushed into a new area that was not as close to the gym as I was before.  Since that time I have included more walking than before, the next step is getting back to a gym in the area for strength training.  The classes I am taking are helping with the psychological training and personal growth, there are also the time I get to spend looking out at the scenery here – mountain, open plains and the amazing sky.  Each afternoon that I walk to get my kids from school there are these amazing clouds and I feel as if I could just reach up and feel their coolness and peace floating up above. 

II. Assessment:

There are so many ways to think the best is there but in truth there are so many things that can change on a daily basis.  My wellness spiritually needs improvement, but being a mother of two young kids as well as a military spouse there are things that are not allowing me to improve – time is a huge one.  My wellness physically is in need of improvement also, by adding more strength training and intense cardio to the daily routine I can pull it up to a better level.  Finally my wellness psychologically is good there are things that test me each and every day, but overall my ability to reduce or deflect stress is great.  Using techniques that can flush out the negative thoughts, feelings and emotions in everyday life and in the long run increasing the positive lifestyle I want to live.

III. Goal development:

I would love to have specific goals for each but in truth the goals I really want to accomplish are creating a healthier habit lifestyle.  Moving the desires of working out, meditation and increasing the knowledge of different beliefs from the things I would like to do to a habit I feel like are not a chore on a daily basis.

IV. Practices for personal health:

Taking little steps and knowing that there are areas that I am going to fall down on is a must.  To be able to accomplish the things I want – strength training for exercise, meditation for mental and learning more about religions for the spiritual side.  For the physical domain I need to have a person that relies on me for their motivation for exercise; as well as a place that I can deem as only for exercise.  Trying to do it here in the house I find that other things that I think are more important become my focus and I end up not sweating to the oldies.  For the psychological domain I need to continue learning exploring the path that of health and wellness, these classes not only teach me how to develop to be a more open and balanced person; but I get to teach and explain to others that there are ways to help improve their daily lives.  One thing that is not to well known is that when a healthcare professional helps others it can in turn help the provider as well looking at fixes for possible problems in their personal lives as well.  Lastly the spiritual domain is the most personal since there are so many way to connect spiritually for people.  The concept of organized religion is the most common; yet connection to nature for others is a great way to discover or expand their link to the spiritual side.  I the past I have seen and been part of the ways in which organized religion has included nature in their practices – water, open air  meetings and the sounds of the trees and wind have played the most common ones I can remember. 

            I want to be able to spend more time outside exercising which would allow me to cover all the domains at one time.  Giving me the ability to have the quiet time needed for mediation, exercise to improve my health and strength and the time for connecting to nature.  Walking my kids to school is the best way so far I have found to do this; but, in this area there other things that are easily assessable – biking, hiking, running or rock climbing can also accomplish the same things as walking the kids to school. 

V. Commitment:

Assessing my progress or lack of progress in the next six months will be easy since there are indicators that I can use as makers – toner body, weight-loss, clearer mind, calmer moments with the kids and learning and teaching my children more about the spiritual world.  If I can use my children to help me move the change to my lifestyle from a new thing to a habit I will be able to make it long term since they are not the ones to think that life get in to the way as an adult would. 

 

Some of the mindfulness practices have helped me understand the life I have is amazing and wonderful.

Of all the mindfulness exercise we have practiced in this class the visualization and subtle mind have been the ones I have benefited from the most.  With the subtle mind exercise I have gained the ability to clear my mind and create a more quiet moment;  which has allowed me the ability to listen to my body and help me understand why I am having certain problem in the physical areas of my life.  The visualization has helped me remember and align my day with the things I need to get done - by using visualization in the morning I can map out my day by visualizing myself performing certain actives while not forcing them to be in a certain order or time. 

With the daily use of these practices I can help to create links between my mind, body and spiritual side that can help when I need to find better ways to help cope or find a solution to problems that are presented in my life.  These practices are also the ones that allow me time to relax and enjoy the amazing life I do have.