Even though
conventional medicine stresses the importance of physical health, integral
health is concerned with the balance between the body, as well as the mind and
the spirit. Integral health is described as balance within all four aspects of
the human experience: biological, interpersonal, psychospiritual, and worldly.
It is critical that a healthcare professional, especially a health and wellness
professional, flourishes within all aspects of existence, as each is vitally
important to the being and their holistic health. If one aspect suffers, every
aspect suffers. Each aspect is interconnected; therefore if we do not
experience balance within every aspect, it would be impossible to teach a
holistic and integral path to health and wellness to another person (Dacher,
2006). The area I am concerned with most is my psychospiritual aspect of being.
Managing school along with work is often times challenging, especially when
some personal time is in extreme need. Setting aside personal time may be
difficult at times, but this is crucial in developing health within my mind and
body, along with my spirit. School and work equal to an average of 75 hours per
week; not finding time to relax from the stresses of both jobs is something
that cannot be considered in the least.
I’ve assessed my spiritual health,
my mental health, and my physical health by observing the thoughts, feelings,
and eventual stillness of my mind during contemplative exercises, as well my
nutritional and exercise needs. In regards to my physical health, I’ve
determined that my diet is bit malnourished, which could most definitely affect
all three aspects: physically, I could suffer from conditions associated with
nutrient deficiencies; psychologically, I’d suffer from cognitive disorders
such as memory loss; and spiritually, I’d be liable to suffer from an inability
to encourage contemplative practices. Be that as it may, I do strive to include
nutrient-dense food choices into my diet, so I don’t believe it to be a
hazardous threat to my health, though I should still aim to incorporate more
calories on a daily basis. As far as my psychological health is concerned, at
the moment I do feel some anxiety over finals and my current situation with
work and over-scheduling; however, I feel as though I’ve managed this stress
well: I’ve rested when I needed to and have communicated my feelings
appropriately to the people in question. I believe this has helped me to
maintain a relative balance within my own mental aspect. When concerning my
spiritual health, I’ve neglected to practice in seasonal rites of devotion,
procurement, banishment, protection, and celebration that I find to be so
soothing, grounding, and inspirational. This is the aspect I find that needs
the most restorative balance, the most attention in order to promote
flourishing within myself.
One goal I believe will promote
health within my physical domain would be to acknowledge the fact that
biological life is intertwined with the mental experience, to understand and
look upon our bodies as wholly unified beings rather than the different
physiological systems of the human body, and develop the ability to explore
much higher levels of our biological self, which gradually progresses towards
psychospiritual flourishing. A goal that will promote health within my
psychological domain would be to encourage the use of contemplative practices
that help with determining and eliminating negative and potentially damaging
behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, and developing, establishing, and
maintaining positive and productive thought patterns. A goal that will help me
to encourage health within my spiritual domain is further developing my
practice with contemplative techniques. By doing so, I can develop a still,
calm, and ever-observant mind which can help me to sense what it is that I need
within certain aspects of my experience and how I should go about promoting
health and balance.
Exercises or practices that would
help to foster growth within the physical aspects of my experience are
approaches such as yoga and qigong. Yoga can help to promote strength,
flexibility, and relaxation, mental benefits such as clarity and focus, as well
as reduce stress and promote a calm mind through meditative and contemplative
practices (Seibert, 2012). Qigong incorporates gentle and rhythmic movements
that promotes relaxation, reduces stress, builds stamina, and enhances the
immune system, as well as encourages the integration of and balance between the
mind, body, and soul (The National Qigong Association, 2014). Exercises that
will help with fostering greater development within my psychological health are
contemplative exercises and visualization techniques. Contemplative practices
often help practitioners to focus on certain aspects of their body, such as
breathing, heart rate, or sensations in extremities, while visualization
techniques can help with imagining people, places, or objects in great detail,
as if from memory. Practices that could help to encourage health and
development within my spiritual domain would be exercises like the subtle mind
practice, as well as participating in my own spiritual practices. Sustaining a
subtle mind can help to reveal our inner self, our true needs, and what should
be done to promote balance to our conscious mind. Participating in my own
belief structure can help to promote a sense oneness with nature, the universe,
and all the beings that inhabit our existence. I plan to implement each
exercise by managing my time, incorporating these exercises into my daily routine,
and changing them as often as needed. I tend to rise early in the morning and
find that incorporating these practices into my morning routine would be the
best way to successfully integrate them into my daily life. Also, during the
afternoons I often rest for about an hour; instead of lying down to recharge, I
can practice meditative exercises to increase energy for the remainder of the
day, or participate in my personal spiritual beliefs, which often has the same
affect.
In order to assess my progress, I
plan to keep a journal that includes information about daily meditative
practices, which techniques were used, the duration and quantity of exercises,
and if there were days were there was no practice, the reason for not doing so.
Also, I believe that mental attitudes, thoughts, and observations should be
recorded in order to determine whether there is a correlation between my mental
wellness and the desire to participate in contemplative exercises. In order to
maintain these practices for health and wellness I aim the stay devoted and
determined to the reason for developing my contemplative techniques, as well as
persevere when the progress seems gradual and unchanging.
References
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA:
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
The
National Qigong Association. (2014). What
is Qigong? Retrieved from http://nqa.org/resources/what-is-qigong/
on May 25, 2014.
Seibert,
A. (2012). The health benefits of yoga.
Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga/
on May 26, 2014.
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