Unit 10 Final Post!

In unit three I ranked my physical, psychological, and spiritual well being on a scale from 1-10. I ranked my physical well being at a nine out of ten, and I think that is just about right. I am definitely healthy, but I just have my own goals in this category that I would like to reach. I would rank it at a nine out of ten if I had to try again. I have been practicing the mindfulness exercises throughout this course and I feel like I have figured out a few important questions  I had in my mind. I would rank myself at a 7-10, which is one point higher than when I previously ranked my spiritual well-being in unit three. I feel like my psychological aspect developed to an 8.5-10. I felt like my psychological well-being benefited from the development in my spirituality. I also think that my physical well-being benefited from my spiritual growth. I feel like I can love and feel emotion more, deal with stress better, and I can understand people better. Some of these benefits have tremendous physical and psychological benefits. My goals were very tough in my physical aspect. I have not put them to the full test, I have only been working towards my goals and when I feel I am ready, then I will try to shatter my goals. I have reached and gone beyond my spiritual goals in this time period. I now have new spiritual goals. My psychological goals have changed also, as I have reached my past goals. They now include witnessing events without immediate reaction. This is also very tough, but goals should be.  I have implemented my practices and Dachers' others. I wanted to do as much as I could for results as fast as I could get them. Dacher gave me everything I needed and more for further development. Between mindfulness exercises, physical exercise, and continual trial and error, I had plenty of practices and exercises to implement further health. Overall, I have learned priceless information in this class, and I realize that. I have studied it, practiced it, and experienced it. I will also use it to help others reach further levels of health. This was an experience that I will remember and cherish forever. 

Unit 9 Final Project

Keagan Nelson

 HW420-01

Kaplan University

Unit 9 Final Project

1)      Introduction: There are many reasons why health and wellness professionals have to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically. The biggest reason is because health and wellness professionals have to help people develop in any aspect needed, and if they have not developed themselves yet, they will not be able to show others how to develop either. It is a process that takes consistent practice, focus, and determination or a drive to improve. Dacher said, “To become agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own life.” (Pg. 167) If a health and wellness professional has successfully developed an aspect of their life, chances are the client will put more trust into them and their successful methods. Being through a certain learning process gives you experience that you can pass on to clients. You can give the clients support, advice, tips, and encouragement. These things will help them get through their practices and it will also keep them on track. I think that I need to develop my spiritual side to reach my goals. However, as an athlete I have to stay on top of my game physically, psychologically, and spiritually. If I could develop my spiritual self, I could be much happier and healthier, and these two things would help me do anything I want to do.  

2)      Assessment: Previously, I have assessed my health in each of the three domains by what I thought they were and/or meant. I have come to realize a much different term for each of the domains after this course. Physically, I feel healthy and well-conditioned. I can do about anything at a decent level. For example, I can run a pretty fast mile, I can lift a medium amount of weight for my size and weight, and I am also able to react to things pretty fast. These are the three most important skills to have in my sport. I am healthy in the sense that I do not smoke or drink alcohol either. Spiritually, I feel like I lack the most. I have thought more than ever about my spirituality after entering this course though. I never have felt like I stressed my religion or beliefs, I just let them develop over time, trying not to let any specific voice influence me in any bias type of way. I feel like I have figured out a lot about my beliefs over the past 4-6 weeks. Psychologically, I am well equipped. I use practices that we have learned without any one explaining them to me. For example, we have just learned a visualization exercise. I have been using this in my bicycle motocross races for years now. I enjoy it very much, it almost gives me an idea of what I want to do through my race before it even happens. I am not suffering from any mental disorders or diseases such as depression or anxiety, and I feel like I can control my mood by using witnessing mind well, despite practicing it for only a short amount of time. I use many types of practices or methods to control my mind while I am on my bike, working, and studying. I would score my wellness in each category by how much I know about each, how much I have learned and progressed in each, and by how developed in each I believe I am.

3)      Goal Development: I have many goals, and always have. I always set somewhat small and reasonable goals, and try to reach them as fast as possible while learning as much as possible. My physical goals consist of strength training and powerlifting. As a professional athlete, I will be racing other athletes, some of whom are faster, some of whom are stronger. The majority of them are stronger though, so that is my goal as of now, to continue to lift weights, gain muscle, and get stronger. Spiritually, I would like to figure out all of my beliefs and find out, without a doubt, that I believe in all of them. I want to be sure about my choices. I have been making a lot of steady progress in this aspect of my life recently. I would really like to see that continue. I want to have more experience in this domain, mainly through exploration while maintaining an open mind. My psychological goals include continuing my witnessing mind and subtle mind practices, and gaining more control over my mind, mood, emotions, thoughts, etc. This all gets harder when I am busy, so if I could develop enough to control my mind during hectic times, that would be really great. I know that this will take some time though, and I am prepared to work hard for the serious benefits of these integral practices.

4)      Practices for Personal Health: There are many practices to develop each of the three domains we have been speaking about. For physical gain or development, there are exercises that works out your body, such as running, swimming, cycling, etc. This is one way I will develop myself physically. The other way will be by using the loving-kindness and subtle mind exercises. These will help me physically by reducing the stress on my mind body and heart. Stress has numerous physical symptoms, so decreasing stress will help reduce those symptoms. These exercises will help me psychologically, by increasing the control over my mind, I will be able to choose where my attention is pointed. This is a very special skill that takes practice but is very useful when learned. It can help me in school, work, and at my races. The second way I will develop psychologically is by using visualization to reach my goals. Whether in racing, school, or work. I can visualize what I need to get done and think of possible outcomes and solutions to problems I may run into. I have been using visualization at my races with much success. I really enjoy the practice and its benefits. To develop spiritually, I will continue to meditate. During meditation, I start to find things that matter to me, I find my beliefs and my voice (or opinion) on certain topics. I think I need to put more time into it as well. The more meditation I do, the more I will learn. About the practice, and about myself. The second practice I will do for the development of my spirituality is yoga. The man who has sponsored me in my bicycle racing since I was a child is a yoga instructor. He gives me poses for common bicycle related injuries, warm ups, cool downs, and strengthening poses. I really enjoy yoga because of its physical benefits, and its spiritual and psychological benefits. It is a great time for me where I can relax and think about the things I want, the things that matter to me, and the things I want to avoid doing. I have just started yoga about five weeks ago, and I try to get in about 2 or three days in a week. Each session I do is about 20 or 25 minutes. I have always stretched before physical activity, but yoga is just so much more. I really enjoy it and look forward to continuing my progress with it.

5)      Commitment: Recording my progress or lack of progress will be an important part of this practice. I do not want to progress over time and not realize how much I have learned through the process. I think that I will try to record my progress physically, in some sort of a journal. Psychologically, I will look for improvements in the control I have over my mind, feelings, actions, and emotions. I would like to fully replace my reaction with intention, as Dacher mentioned. I tend to be good at this but sometimes something that ticks me off can make me react without intention. I planned on recording my spiritual progress in my mind, but, after further consideration, I decided to make a list of my beliefs that I need to figure out and write them in as I learn them. The best thing I can do to stay on top of my daily practices, is taking them day-by-day. I tend to look at things in a long-term sense. In this case, that could make me tired of daily practice and could let me slack off. Having someone to talk to about the practices helps also because they remind you of what you want out of practice, and it keeps you motivated to reach your goals. My girlfriend is great at keeping me motivated to reach further than all of my goals, having someone like that is great to have. 

References

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

Unit 8 Blog-2 Most Beneficial...

There are many practices that develop mental fitness. The two that work best for me are visualization and meditation. I like visualization because it helps me with keeping track of schoolwork. Additionally, I practice it before my races and it helps me out very much. I imagine myself getting to the front of the other 7 riders, and then from there the next goal is the holeshot, (the first to the first turn). It helps me go through the endless possibilities of a BMX race. Meditation helps me stay calm before the race, which is necessary to get the holeshot. Calm and confident are the two most important aspects of the fine details of the start of a BMX race. Meditation also helps me in school or at work. Specifically, when I feel frustrated or overwhelmed. Meditation also has its health benefits, such as strengthening our heart. I have used visualization for quite some time, but meditation, loving-kindness, and subtle mind are all new to me.

Unit 7 Blog

The "meeting Aesclepius" exercise was very fun! I enjoyed it although in the beginning I had trouble imagining the honored figure or person. I was listening to the waves and flute while trying to imagine my mother. It was extremely hard to do both at the same time. But, eventually I drained out the sounds and really got to focus and relax. I can easily tell the difference in my attitude and reactions to things or people in result of practicing the meditation exercises. This is healthier for myself and others. I am not as irritable, and I can witness more with intention, instead of reaction. I have learned that intention does not mean to be constantly happy or excited. Intention simply means your intent on doing something. Reaction is automatic, or, without contemplation. This means that intention can be an angry, annoyed, or sad, reaction, you just think it through first. This was a big lesson for me. If I had not learned this lesson and told my girlfriend, "instead of reacting, think about your actions before you do them" and saw me react instead of think, she would not believe that it helps, works, or even doubt that I can act with intention. This would be more exaggerated with a client in the health and professional world because they do not know you and need to trust you. If you can not take your own advice, how will you help change someone's life with that advice. They also might think you do not know what you are talking about. This is very necessary as a professional in the field. Meditation and mindfulness practices can improve the person physically, spiritually, and psychologically.  There are many types of meditation, one should try them out and find which one suits them best.

Unit 6 Exercise and Assessment

     The unit 6 exercise and integral assessment was very beneficial to me, in my opinion. I got a chance to relax and then think about myself and the aspects of my life, including the under and overdeveloped. The practice was a bit difficult, I would much rather listen to a podcast, but I did get a relaxed sense after the first few minutes, and after five minutes I began to think of how I am going to develop the underdeveloped aspects of my life, and, more importantly, what they are.

     I know the psycho-spiritual aspect of my life is underdeveloped. I do not know much about my own beliefs nor do I explore them very often. I tend to think about my mental aspect, and all of the pain in my life that has me beaten down. I have grown stronger from it, but I have also waited to do something about it for too long. I want to develop my beliefs and almost "find myself". Only then, can I become happier and healthier than ever. I put a lot of pressure into my racing, which does not really help. I think that I need to practice meditation throughout my day, along with giving myself some time for hobbies and relaxing. I find my hobby to help my emotional state tremendously. Hopefully, I can continue that and continue to learn and grow toward true integral health. I want to continue to help people in need, and care for the ones I love. That is also a great sense of love and caring that makes me feel better immediately.

Unit 5 Subtle Mind Exercise

     This exercise was much easier to follow for me, personally. I think it was easier to follow because I was in a quieter, more calm environment and because there were more direct directions. The analogy of "tying your mind to a stake in the ground" was one that I could easily relate to. The waves, again, relaxed me very much and it was soothing to hear. This activity taught me how to use my breath as a tool, a tool that allows me to let my mind "breath" or take a break in between thoughts.

     The connection with spiritual health and mental and physical wellness is something that I was missing for a long time. I did not believe in some core principles of Christianity, but I did believe in some. I had to look deep inside my mind to begin to look at all of my true personal beliefs. Once someone has healthy spiritual beliefs, they can reduce their stress levels and start to let go of all of the questions, thoughts, or feelings, that previously arose. They can be confident about themselves and their beliefs which is critical in optimal wellness.

Mental Practice: Unit 4

Keagan Nelson

1) I found this experience to be very difficult to follow. I was so relaxed by the crashing waves that I barely heard the speaker, almost as if I blocked her out. Maybe if I listened to it regularly I could get used to it and start to focus more. I would recommend this to anyone with a larger attention span, assuming that the person wants to perform this exercise. I think someone who does not want to do this exercise will fail terribly and possibly not even learn a thing.

2) Any mental exercise can increase the activity happening in the brain. With an increase of activity, the mind can start to perform at a higher level of awareness and consciousness. With this comes serious benefits, including but not limited to, improved emotional health, psychological health, spiritual health, and biological health. Meditation and stress reduction/ management practices can greatly improve psychological health. These practices can reduce worrying, stress, sadness, and improve happiness, wholeness, connectedness, and generally biological health.