Unit 10: Summarizing My Experiences

Hey Wellness Fans!  I can't believe just how fast our time together went!  I had so much fun and learned so much that I am really, really going to miss this class.

1)  In unit 3 I rated my wellness for each of the areas we talked about and gave myself the following scores:

I gave myself a 7 on my physical wellness because I do get cardiovascular exercise every day by doing a mix of power walking and running for about 45 minutes however, I could really improve my strength and flexibility through yoga or some moderate weight training. I gave myself a 6 on my spiritual wellness because I do go to church every Sunday and this does help me to quiet the ubiquitous chatter that goes on in my mind and feel more connected to a Higher Power than myself. Still, I do not take enough time every day for silence or stillness and am confident that I will improve on my score of a 6 with the help of this class! I gave myself a 6 on my psychological wellness because I do believe my life is wonderfully blessed with loving people and that I am worthy of the best life has to offer me. Still, I often keep some emotions inside for fear of upsetting certain people in my life and this is not healthy and something I need to work on.

Although we have spent a great deal of time together studying and practices the wonderful exercises recommended by Dacher (2006), I feel as though I cannot change the original scores I gave myself back in Unit 3 because I have much, much more practicing to do.  I am not disappointed that my scores have not improved, rather I am enjoying how to slowly and intentionally design my own path to integral health.  With all of the deadlines we had to make for this class, I feel like I did not have enough time to really practice the exercises enough to say that I have improved in any area.  That's ok though because I do not see this as a lack of progress.  I see my scores as an opportunity for even more contemplative practice.

2)  Some of the goals I set for myself back in Unit 3 were:

*  Registering for a yoga class this fall (registration deadlines are today so I am going this afternoon to sign up!) to help me improve my strength and flexibility and physical wellness. Specifically, I will register for a yoga class today!

*  Scheduling a time for reflection each morning after my run to help me improve my spiritual wellness (going to start with ten minutes of just meditating or listening to one of the great CD's we have been given in the Stress class and in this class). Specifically, I will set aside 10 minutes every day this week to appreciate the silence or for some relaxation techniques and will re-evaluate this amount of time to see how it is going at the end of one week.

*  Practicing more self control in my responses to my environment and the people I interact with everyday to help me improve my psychological wellness. I have learned I can create the kind of day I wish to have instead of just spending the whole day reacting to whatever potential disaster might be lurking in the shadows for me. I used to journal at night and have forgotten to do it for awhile so I am going to get it out again and write down the affirmations that apply to my growth and anything else that I might have forgotten to get off my chest during the day. So, specifically I will journal at the end of my day before I drift off to sleep, taking care to write down at least three affirmations and/or thoughts.

3)  I am happy to say (well, ecstatic actually!) that I have indeed completed each of these goals!!  I am happily attending a yoga class three times a week and loving every minute of it.  I have followed through on setting aside 10 minutes (almost up to 15 now too) each morning after my run to practice the loving-kindness exercise and I am constantly practicing more self control in my responses to my environment and the people I interact with every day.  I have learned to stop and consider my emotions before I give my opinion, to appreciate the little but very meaningful things that exist in my daily routine, and to be mindful of my state of being.

 

4)  In summary,  I have grown spiritually since taking this course but still have a great deal of practicing to do before I can say that I have drastically improved my psychological well being.  Although I now have the knowledge on how to improve my well being, I now have to cultivate my intentions towards staying on course and faithfully practicing the concepts I have come to value from Dacher's book.  It was difficult to practice the exercises we had the privilege to experience with all of the other coursework we had to complete so now that those deadlines have been met, I look forward to having more time to re-read Dacher's book and to practice the exercises again (and again and again..... lol).  Taking this course has helped me to see how to the integral path to wellness is at the heart of good health, happiness, and wholeness and this will make me an more well rounded wellness practitioner.

I have truly enjoyed all of your blogs, think you are all extremely talented, and wish you all human flourishing and success at its best!