It makes me happy to know that none of us get a how-to-guide. We're all just kind of winging it.

Good Day.

In my previous assessment I had rated my spiritual health as a 7 and I believe that I have remain the same in this aspect. My beliefs did not change it was more about the realization of the concept for me. I had rated my physical health as a 6 and have raised it to 7 on my more recent assessment. I had increased my rating due to the incorporation of yoga and dedication to walking. I rated my phsychological health as a 5 in the beginning of the term and had raised it to a 6 because I have a lot to learn about declutter my mind and allowing myself to think clearly. I will continue my practices and will work my way up.

My goals and activities in unit 3 were to de clutter my mind...I am working on that. Working on time management is a constant struggle for me. I know it will make my life much easier and I plan my day out and get home from work some days I am fine others I am just to tired from a long day at work. Another activity was exercising. I did not become a the runner I once was but I did incorporate yoga into my life. I figured I would wait till spring for the running bit.

This course has been a wonderfully eye opening experience. I would recommend this course to anyone who would listen. I had posted on a classmates discussion board post saying I almost feel like it would be impossible to not be altered by this course. My fiance through out the term has become more and more interested in this class. He loved the guided meditations and i caught him reading our Dacher book a few times. We have agreed to raise our future children in an integral health household. I am more than happy that I had the opportunity to take this class and change my life as well as my family's.

~Shay

I am my problem, but I am also my solution.

Good day!

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?

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because experience is the best teacher. If you have experience doing something it is much easier to explain and more helpful for your patient because it is something you have gone through. It also allows the patient to see that you are not just a medical textbook and that you actually truly believe in health and wellness. You will also have the ability to offer knowledge from your real life experience and provide guidance.

I need to develop a lot to achieve the goals I have for myself. However I do understand that it is not something I can change overnight, it takes time and personal growth to get there. I do plan to continue to work towards my goals using the different practices and exercises learned in this class. But mostly I will continue to live in my new found mindset.

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

I have assessed my spiritual health as a 7. I was born and raised catholic I fully believe in God and believe he is a higher power. I also believe there are other powers in this world. I am a firm believer in believing in yourself and what you can do and what energy you can send to the universe and other people. I have always been told that I have a great personality and that I am always happy. I believe that it is because of my aura. By having a good aura you can make others feel good just by being around you. I have assessed physical health as a 7. I am a active person, I am on my feet all day at work and try to walk on weekends with my mother. I also try to eat well. I eat until i am full and what i eat for the most part is homemade food. I would give myself a 6 for my physiological health. I am very confused by my mind and am trying to peel the layers away like an onion. I have started by talking to my fiance about it to kinda bounce ideas off him. He has been extremely helpful in making me feel comfortable talking about this and he has given me a lot of incite that I never knew.


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

My goal for my physical health is to continue eating healthy, increase my activity level by incorporating more yoga into my life. I will have to work on my time management in order to reach these goals.

My goal for my psychological health is to continue to live a happy life by living in a positive mind-frame. I will also continue to work on my practices and exercise to help me understand my mind better.

My goal for my spiritual health is to continue to be grateful of all the people and things I have in my life. I will continue to send out positive energy to the universe and people.

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 help foster growth in the physical domain I will continue to eat healthy. I will increase my activity level by incorporating different forms of exercising. I plan to sign up at a local dance studio which has cardio-kickboxing and yoga classes.

To help foster growth in the psychological domain I will continue to do the exercises I have learned in this class as well as find a CAM practitioner who will be able to help me learn how to use the exercises to learn and understand my mind.

To help foster growth in the spiritually domain I will continue to live my life in a positive manner and surround myself with people of the like mindset. As well as promote positive thinking.


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?

I have scheduled time in my day to reflect on these aspects of my life. My hopes are that it will not be something that I let fall to the waist side and become part of my daily routine. I have been using this system for about half of the term and have followed it and have made notes so I am able to look back and reflect. I have access to the practices and exercises that have been most beneficial to me and have them handy at all times downloaded onto my Iphone. I am optimistic in my progress in the next six months and have made a copy of assessment so I can do it again six months from now.

Embrace Change

Good day,

The two exercises I found to be beneficial are the subtle mind and meditation. The subtle mind practice I learned how to quiet my thoughts. When I did I wasn't really sure what to do from their but I have learned what I could do to help. I have found that doing this in the morning with some quick yoga moves gets me in a good mood. I also enjoyed the waves it automatically brought me to the the beach. I have practiced this exercise and have recently learned how to included the feeling of warmth I was trying to do during my first try at this practice. Meditation is the other practice that I have found beneficial. I enjoy this exercise because it reminds me a lot of a treatment I used to have done called zero balancing. During a session I would lay on a table and relax as the practitioner would very lightly apply pressure on specific acupressure points. While he did this he would release the negative energy and allow positive energy in. I have incorporated both of these practices into my daily routine and am happy to say I have felt the difference in my stress level as well as my awareness.

~Shay 

At first glance it may appear too hard. Look again. Always look again.

Ughhh, I can not visualize at all. I really find it very difficult to create images in my mind. I feel so unimaginative. I found myself worrying about how I could not visualize the whole time. I am not sure what to do to be able to learn how to visualize. I can think about what it is I am trying to see in my head but I never actually see it. Meditation interests me but is not something I can do yet. I will have to continue practicing. I can try and find maybe a beginners visualization practices so I can start of small and work my way up.

“One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself”, To me this means that someone can not do or show someone something unless they have experienced it themselves. By doing something yourself first you truly know what it takes to get it done. This applies to the health and wellness profession because a lot of the things that we are going to encounter are going to be difficult or require a lot of work. I think that by being in the health and wellness profession you should be someone that in motivated to live that healthy lifestyle. It is not something that will happen over night but the person should be striving for a healthier lifestyle psychologically, physically and spiritually. In order to obtain that goal you must integrate practices that you feel work best for you and help you achieve your goal.

~Shay

Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along.

Good day.

Just when I thought I had the hang of this meditation stuff I quickly find that I don't. I just could not seem to grasp this exercise. I don't know if it is because I kept forgetting what I was supposed to be saying or if I couldn't get into it because I missed the ocean sounds. I was able to repeat the mantra with book in hand, which I'm sure was not how it was intended. I was more focused on trying to remember the words versus what those words meant.

As for my self assessment, I feel as though I have a bit to work on. This exercise has also been very hard for me. This was very difficult for many reasons mostly personal (sorry, no offense) I found this assessment to make me realize things that I couldn't focus on before. I do highly recommend this exercise because it is a good way to get a better grip on life. Lets face it life gets crazy and things get over looked and when you take the time to step back and see whats going on and prioritize your life a little bit...it really helps. Thanks to this class I have the knowledge to know that this assessment is something I need and I have the tools to be able to make that happen!

~Shay

The person that you are today is not dictated by yesterday or tomorrow. Be you now.

Good day.

I have found this weeks exercise to been a very helpful one. I managed to learn how to quite my thoughts but when I did, I didn't know what to do. Either way I am very happy that I finally figured out how to quite my mind so no matter what its a success. I did take the sounds of the waves and pretended I was laying on the beach trying to get my body to feel the warmth. It didn't really work, well the warmth part that is. I feel that these exercises give you time to see and understand things going on in your head. In turn that will help you be able to clear your mind and will help you see what it is that you truly believe and feel how you want to feel towards it. I can use this in my life because during my daily work tasks I found my mind drifting from thought to thought. I can exercise my brain by trying to keep a clear mind as best I can. Or I can try and focus my mind on one thought. As I do it more the quicker it will become part of my daily life and soon it will be a thing of the past.

~Shay

Now close your eyes and relax....

Good day.

This week we were asked to listen to an exercise. Unlike last week I was able to relax and allow my mind to drift. However I went to far and fell asleep. Ughhhh, I wish I could find a happy medium. I am really interested in training my mind and have taken steps to do so but I just don't know how to deal with my brain. I would imagine that this is very beneficial to a lot of people and i wish i was one of them. It is very discouraging to not be able to figure out your own brain. I am aware it will take time and i will continue to workout my brain. I know from the research that it shows very positive results both short term and long term. I look forward to reaching my goals of being able to have a nice clear mind. I look forward to being able to think clearly and focus better.

~Shay