Unit 9 Blog Exercise: My Personal Integral Health Plan

Hello Everyone! 

Thanks to you for all your help during the past nine weeks!  Each and every one of you have helped me to be able to prepare my personal Integral Health Plan.  I hope you will enjoy reading through it and welcome any comments and suggestions you have for me!

Introduction:  It is important for professionals in the health and wellness field to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically in their own personal health plan and their practice in order for them to truly understand the benefits themselves.  In this way, they will have embraced integral health and it prepares and assists them to fully work in partnership with their patients and help them to determine the real source of their suffering and needs. 

            My personal integral health plan shows a need to develop in all the areas to achieve the goals I have for myself.  However, I now know that if I can really get a handle on the mind-body-spirit aspect and grow and strengthen the psychological health, it will in turn help me improve the other two.  By working on all three, I will be able to achieve integral health, and my mind is key.  Developing and keeping it open will in turn provide for me a calm and welcoming environment to relieve stress, welcome the spiritual connection, and motivate me to meet my physical needs.

Assessment: To help assess where I currently am in my personal health for each of the domains I reviewed the personal assessment guide and the levels/lines of development model (Dacher, 2006, p. 111 – 114).  Using a scale of one to ten, I think that I would fall at about a four in spiritual (below average) because although I have a basis for my spirituality, I need to reconnect and work on improving my belief system.  Physically, I am probably at about a five (average) because I do recognize and work on making good choices regarding dietary needs and trying to follow an exercise routine.  Psychologically I am probably a little higher at a six (above average) because I have a strong desire to always continue learning, am very open to new ideas, and exploring new possibilities.

Goal Development:  For my spiritual goal I plan on reconnecting with my religious practices and community. I have somewhere along the line fallen out of the habit of weekly attending church and interacting with the community in prayer and fellowship. Fortunately I have a very solid foundation to build and grow on and for now it is just initially finding a new “home” to feel welcome in, find comfort, and to provide direction for future growth.

            I have definitely taken a step backwards in my physical well being.  Having been in the military I was at one time in my life in top physical form relating to my exercise routine and program.  Having to adjust my routine due to not only age, but also the restrictions caused by the tumor removal and bone repair in my leg did contribute to the break in my routine and pattern.  I am now exploring new opportunities for my exercise program and found that swimming, bike riding, elliptical training and walking all fall within my new physical exercise parameter.

            Psychological goals include continuing the meditation practices introduced to me over the past several weeks.  I have found these practices to be very beneficial in reducing my stress levels, relaxing my body and opening my mind to a sense of well being that I have not previously experienced and enjoyed. 

Practices for personal health:  Physically the strategies I have devised are centered on continuing to improve my overall body strength while focusing on exercise and healthy eating styles.  I have set myself up for variety in my exercise program by joining the YMCA to allow me access to their pool, equipment, and classes.  In my home I have set up a treadmill and elliptical machine in my basement for when I don’t want to go out to exercise.  With the warmer weather coming I will also be taking longer walks to exercise my dogs.  To ensure I continue to take care when choosing my dietary needs I have once again joined weight watchers.  This provides me with the opportunity to be with people who share ideas as well as their struggles and there is also a sense of community and support that does not criticize or judge.

            Psychological strategies will definitely include working with the mediation exercises that I have learned over the past several weeks.  Another thought I am exploring is looking into the assistance of a life coach to help me with the exercises to be able to get more value from them.  I am very open to learning new practices to help me with my journey and accepting that not everyone has the same beliefs and/or needs.  I will continue to work to find what is best for me and how I can then in turn help those with what I have learned.

            Spiritually I think the loving kindness exercises and practice will really help me to grow.  This is an area that I am currently struggling to learn and incorporate as a “natural” state or presence in my life.  I tend to be open minded and have loving nature, but there is a basic resistance to strangers that makes me “hold back” and be somewhat reserved.  Although I do have my religious beliefs, I do not practice them as well as I could.  Even though I spend many hours in volunteer activities,  I need to be more directly involved in activities that will benefit the religious community; that will in turn also provide spiritual growth.

Commitment:  Over the next six months I am going to keep a journal.  I will record my activities, chart my progress and write down my thoughts.  I will continually evaluate what is working well, what could be improved upon, and what is not working at all, and make adjustments.  At the end of the six months I am confident I will find myself moving nicely along the path to my integral health.  I want to be working my mind, body, and spirit in unison, and I will be finding myself reaping the benefits of all my hard work and dedication.