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.
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