My Integral Health Plan

My Integral Health Plan

Unit 9 Project

HW420-01

February 7, 2012

Manisha Brahmbhatt

 I.                   Introduction:

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

I feel it is very important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because only then can they provide the true guidance to their patients.  If the practitioners have not gone through the experience of integral health themselves, how could they possibly understand their patients’ needs?  How can they support their patients’ healing without having their own knowledge and experience? It basically boils down to…practice what you preach.  If the practitioner has not walked the path to integral health, he/she will not know how to take the steps to develop integral health for their patients. It is a loss for the health and wellness professionals…and for their patients.

I need to develop in all areas to achieve the goals I have for myself.  If I must prioritize, I would say that physical development is first and foremost for me. I have physical issues due to my health, which I am receiving my course of treatment; and I feel that my physical wellness is imperative to my psychological and spiritual well-being.  “The qualities of human flourishing can be fully and permanently experienced only if we prepare the proper foundation and steadily progress in our development from body to mind to spirit” (Dacher, p. 131).

II.                Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically? 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.

Taking inventory of my wellness in each domain, I would assess my health as follows:

Physical domain I would give myself 6 out of 10, even though I’m dealing with a serious medical condition.  The reason why I’ve given myself a higher score is because my physical ailment has not stopped me from retaining an active life. With a personal trainer (who is aware of my medical issues), I work out at least 4 times a week. This has helped me to increase my energy and deal with my treatments with a stronger determination.  I am all about healthy eating…organic foods and natural remedies (of course, in combination with traditional medicine).  I hope to change this assessment from 6 to 9 by year’s end…God willing.

Psychological domain I give myself 7 out of 10. Though my assessment in this domain has increased somewhat from Unit 3 (I had given myself 6.5 at that time); this area still needs work.  I need to manage stress better and not allow outside factors to affect my inner well-being.  I need to focus on identifying destructive emotions and dysfunctional patterns I follow and replace those with a set of new healthy attitudes and behaviors. During this course, I’ve come to recognize certain dysfunctional patterns I tend to follow and make conscious decisions not to follow them…however, I sometimes still fall into that trap. So, I still have work to do…

In the spiritual domain, I would give myself 6.5 out of 10.  “The spiritual process aims at penetrating the deeper layers of the mind to uncover the natural wisdom, inner peace and loving-kindness that are the pivotal causes of a sustained well-being of body, mind and spirit” (Dacher, p. 61).  I am not there yet. I do not have the inner peace I seek; nor do I have the natural wisdom to understand the deeper nature of my mind. I have started to acknowledge the existence of my mental chatter; and I try to stop, see and understand this chatter and make choices with intention and not with unconscious reactivity. But this is not always the case, as such; I still have a lot of work to do in this domain.

III.             Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

In my physical domain, my goal is to do all I can to heal my body and increase my strength and energy. In my psychological domain, my goal is to have a positive outlook regardless of outer circumstances; not to allow the mental chatter to rule my thoughts and feelings, but instead focus on becoming psychologically literate and healthy.  In my spiritual domain, my goal is to attain an inner peace, finding a sustained balance of the mind, body and spirit; and to gain focus and understanding of my conscious self.

IV.             Practices for personal health:
What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

To foster the growth and attain the goals I’ve set for myself in each domain, I would implement the following strategies:

Physical domain:  I will continue my medical treatments to heal my body’s ailment, but in addition to this I continue my exercise sessions with my personal trainer to increase my energy and strength.  After my workout sessions, I have always felt refreshed and energized. Also, I will continue my healthy eating regime, but also incorporate natural remedies to strengthen my immune system (which has been compromised significantly due to my treatments).  

Psychological domain:  I will use the Subtle Mind and Aesclepius meditative practice exercises to foster growth in my psychological domain.  Subtle Mind exercise consists of three steps, witnessing mind, calm abiding mind and unity consciousness.  Subtle Mind exercise will allow me to acknowledge my thoughts and mental chatter and let them pass without attachment (witnessing mind).  Just witnessing the mental chatter, will allow it to dissolve naturally into the background it came from…revealing a clear and still mind.  After my active mind is gradually tamed and subdued, I will be able to abide in the “stillness rather than in the turmoil of my mind’s movement.” (Calm abiding) Here I can to replace reactivity with intention and gain peace, serenity and loving-kindness which would deepen my relationships and balance my physiology.  Then one day, ultimately be able to reach unity consciousness where I can feel the connectedness to all of life. The subtle mind exercise has been one that has helped me to calm my mind to a degree…and I hope to continue this exercise to achieve a sustained calm abiding mind. 

The Aesclepius meditative practice instructs you to envision someone you found to be very wise and loving…to feel their wisdom in your mind…to feel their love in your heart…to connect to that person.  I found this exercise quite useful because I was able to focus my mind and open my heart…I feel that this exercise will be one that I will implement into my daily meditation practices along with subtle mind because they will allow me to grow spiritually as well as psychologically. I feel that to attain greater health and wellness these contemplative practices are necessary...and only through practice can I achieve my connection with my inner being and oneness with all. 

Spiritual domain:  Meditation practices and volunteering are two practices I will use to foster growth in my spiritual domain.  Meditation allows us to take our focus inward and overcome the barriers that limit our ways of thinking about health, happiness and wholeness.  It allows us to understand ourselves and help us to reach who we truly are…our inner essence.  Volunteering is something I greatly enjoy doing; it allows me to be of service to others and brings a sense of wholeness. Being able to help others brings joy and reinforces my belief that we are all one.  Meditation and volunteering will help me greatly in my spiritual development.

V.                Commitment:
How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

The only way I feel I can assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months is by keeping a journal. The journal would keep track of my contemplative practices…recording how I did in my practices, whether I was able focus and quiet my mind. I would also write down the thoughts and feelings I experienced during the practices, during my days and any issues that come up that cause an imbalance.  This journal will allow me to see how I handle life’s adversaries and assess my progress.  The strategy I will use to assist in maintaining my long term practices for health and wellness will be the blog I created during this class.  It will be a way to connect to people that are looking for the same path to human flourishing…people that I can share my experiences and start a dialogue that will help me in my quest and maybe even be able to help others in theirs.  The combination of the blog and my journal will allow me to gauge my progress and help me to stay on the path to attain health, happiness and wholeness.  I look forward to the journey that lies ahead…we are all a work in progress.

References

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