Back to the Grind

Hey everyone,

    So I took some time off from the blog for a few days so that I could get ready for the next chapter in my educational career. On Wednesday, I am going to begin my journey towards my masters degree in health education. This is just another building block in my career path that I hope will propel my dreams and my adventures. Getting into the field and being able to fight childhood obesity as well as other health related issues are why I have a passion fro this industry. As I continue on my path, I keep looking toward the future and the hope of developing my own wellness programs and facility. It has always been a dream of mine to have a place where families and individuals can come together with a passion for getting happier and healthy. This blog will begin to document my journey through the masters program and summarize some of the key components of my studies and how it relates to the real world from week to week!

Personal Assessment and Experience

    Looking back at my Unit 3 assignment helped me to see how much I have grown over the course of this term. After referring to my unit 3 assignment, I found that I had rated my physical well being an 8, my psychological well-being an 8, and my spiritual well-being a 6. This course has helped me to understand that taking care of the body is only a small part of creating an entire sense of wholeness. There were so many techniques and theories that I had not heard of before and was glad to start implementing them in my life. As of now I would rate my physical well-being still around an 8 or 8.5 because I feel that there is also room for improvement. Being able to take care of yourself physically cannot only help you stay healthy, but it can be a great example to set for friends and family. My psychological well-being has increased slightly to an 8.5 or 9 because I feel that I have more techniques to use when dealing with stress and to quiet the mind. Lastly, my spiritual well-being jumped to around a 7.5 or 8 because of my new found understanding of the power of prayer. I would like to continue to foster this idea and see just how far it takes me. There is no stopping the flow of health, by nurturing it, it can only blossom!



      AS we near the end of this term, I feel that I have grown tremendously over the course of this class. Being able to listen to others in this class was such a comfort and blessing due to the stories and sharing we all accomplished. this class helped me to see things in a new light and has helped me not only in my personal life, but also in my career. Being in the health and wellness industry, we are faced with a variety of issues, and having the right knowledge and tools can greatly improve the quality of care that we extend to our clients. As we all go forth on our adventures and lives in the field, I wish you the very best and hope that we can still all comment and contribute to each others blogs. Having a personal network of professionals can help with the formulation of new ideas and topics for discussion. Good luck everyone and your time here at Kaplan with fly by so enjoy every minute of your educational careers!

The End of the Path leads to a New Beginning: Unit 9 Project

  Hey everyone! For this week, I will be uploading a condensed version of the Unit 9 project due to having 3 other classes, projects, and 20+page papers. I wanted to get this posted before Saturday and will be uploading the final copy before the end of the term. Seems like we just began on our journey for spiritual and psychological wellness, and the path will continue if we continue to seek it. I wish everyone the best of luck at Kaplan and your future endeavors :) Stay in touch!

 

Unit 9 Project

 

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 think it is important for health and wellness professionals to develop the above because it helps us to better serve our clients. Being able to understand and promote more areas of wellness can help to foster more inner health and reach out to our clients who may need it as well. I think the areas that I would like to develop more would be spiritually and psychologically because before taking these courses at Kaplan, I did not know the benefits they have on an overall well-being. Having this in my arsenal can help me deliver a more balanced sense of wellness.

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

I have assessed my health in each domain and found that there are areas that are in need of improvement. Being able to sit back and take a glimpse into my health can health me make the necessary changes to improve my overall well-being. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my physical health as an 8.5, my psychological health at a 7, and my spiritual health at a potential 6.5.

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

When it comes to my goals, there are numerous in each category. For my physical health, I would like to get to the point in which I enjoy running more and potentially would like to participate in more 5k’s for charity. For my psychological health, I would like to continue to learn new ways to deal with stress and learn new breathing and stress relieving techniques. Finally, for my spiritual health, I would like to try and gain more insight and knowledge about various teachings and understand their importance. I try and attend church, but I want to further my investigation in the readings and their meaning.

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.

There are many strategies that I can employ to help to achieve better overall wellness.

 

Physical – running partner, daily workouts, running outside once the weather is nicer. Develop a better attitude towards running and why its important. Also, I can learn new breathing techniques that will improve my runs.

Psychological – mediation, visualizations, imagery, deep breathing exercises, mental focus and clarity exercises, stress management. Allowing myself time during the day to focus on me time and bring myself back to a focus can help to foster psychological awareness.

Spiritual – attend more church, talk with the church elders about their beliefs and feelings, look toward a higher power for guidance, more meaningful prayer, seek out peer groups on the subject.

VI. 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?

I would like to keep track of my progress in the form of a journal. This not only will help me to stay on track, but it will also help to hold me accountable. Writing down the daily activities that I want to focus on when dealing with my health can help me to discover my other aspects of wellness and to help me foster better inner peace. I would also like to get friends and family on board with this idea, so that we can all use each other as a support group and can have better success in reaching our goals.