Unit 9 Health Assessment

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?

            It is important because of the simple fact “practice what you preach.” If a health professional isn’t fully developed psychologically, spiritually, and physically, he/she would not be able to teach it to the clients and others around them. Being a health professional comes along with not only being physically sound, but also mentally and spiritually. There are probably not a lot of people that will go to a health trainer or professional that is out of shape and be motivated by that. Being spiritually and mentally sound means that the professional has an understanding of their inner selves.  In order to fully connect with a person or action, the professional must be aware of how that person is feeling or what they are thinking. By being developed with these different aspects, a health professional will have the ability to inspire and engage everyone they come into contact with.

            Personally, I think I need to develop my spiritual side. Throughout all of the exercises we have done in this class, I have had such a difficult time connect with the meditation practices. Hopefully in time I will be able to set aside a specific time in each day to meditate and fully connect with my spiritual self. I want to become a fitness trainer after I graduate from Kaplan, and with that profession, I will have to be able to connect with myself on a spiritual level. I will run into all different types of clients and people that I will have to work with and be able to inspire and connect with them on a more emotional level. Until I can completely get in touch with my spiritual side myself, I don’t know how I will be able to do so with another person.

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

            As of today, I have assessed myself physically at an 8. I say this because I love to exercise and it is a huge part of my life. It is important to me to stay in shape and be healthy. The reason I would say 8 instead of 9 or 10 is because I don’t believe that anyone is in perfect physical shape. Someone always has a weakness in something. Even though I eat clean and stick to a healthy diet, I believe I will score myself higher over time. My weakness is that I still want to lose a little weight and tone my body in a few areas. I believe that even when I do reach my goals, I will still not reach the peak of physical perfection.

Spiritually, I rate myself at about a 6. I have so much trouble finding time to sit and relax each day and falling into a state of complete relaxation. I have found the meditation practices challenging, and it’s tough for me to stay fully connected throughout the entire length of time. I have taken into consideration that maybe I need to set aside a certain amount of time each day to specifically dedicate to meditation. I have a daughter that will turn 3 in August, and she makes it that much harder to find any time to sit and focus on myself and my feelings. In time, I want to boost my score from a 6 to an 8. A fitness professional needs to be able to connect spiritually with themselves and others to reach a level of complete understanding. Over time, I will definitely give much more of an effort to appreciate meditation and all of the good that is has the ability to give.

Psychologically, I rate myself at 8 out of 10. I feel that I am in touch with myself mentally and I have a good understanding of how my mind and body work. I believe that through exercise and spending time with my daughter Mila, I am able to feel at complete ease with myself and be a happier individual. Without physical activity every day, I think that I would be a big crazy mess. Exercise is my release, it makes me feel awesome, and I feel that it lets others around me know that I take care of myself. It is also a great feeling for me to show Mila how great it is to stay in shape and lead a healthy life. I want her to learn that I changed my unhealthy habits after she was born to be able to be around as long as I could for her and keep up with her throughout her life! As long as I continue to incorporate physical activity and bonding time with my daughter into my life each and every day I will keep my sanity!

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

            My goal in the physical area would be to reach the highest level possible for myself. I want to lose about 10 pounds and tone my body more in my stomach and arms. Spiritually, I want to be able to incorporate meditation into my life at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. It is important to me to become more spiritually sound to be able to connect with people on a deeper level. In my future profession, it is mandatory that I advance spiritually, and I plan on taking that part of my life a lot more seriously. As far as my mental health is concerned, I want to be able to incorporate the loving-kindness exercise more. I want to let go of any negative feelings I have for anyone in my life. I have no time to feel negatively, the only thing I am doing is taking away positive and happy moments from myself and others around me. My goal will be to take 5 minutes each time I get mad or upset, I will step away from the situation before I say something I will soon regret out of anger. By taking that small bit of time to focus and relax, I will be able to better communicate my feelings and avoid a lot more nagging and meaningless arguments.

Practices for person 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.

            To grow physically, I will incorporate more running into my exercise regimens. Although I work out for about an hour each day, I wish I ran every day too. I will run one mile after each work out, every day to eventually add more distance. I will also start yoga back up for 2 days a week to make sure I completely relax my muscles and stretch them to advance my current physical level.

            Psychologically, I will try to use meditation practices at least one day a week starting at 15 minutes. I do not want to completely over load my day with worrying about when I am going to have time to meditate. I think that one day a week for a little chunk of time will be more than enough to feel at ease and regain my mental strength. Spiritually, I will attend church with my mom and daughter Sunday mornings. Right now, my mom goes to church by herself, she is always hounding me on getting Mila involved in church so she can understand who God is and why he is so important. I feel that by incorporating these things into my life, I will be able to fully connect with myself and really appreciate everything that I have in this life.

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 will track my progress in the next six months by writing everything down, and checking it off as I go. Right now, I do this with my work out schedule, I have it written down for a month at a time and after I complete a work out, I get to check it off my calendar. I have always told my friends to do that because when you finally get to mark that day off, it is such a great and accomplished feeling. By writing down my new commitments, (meditating, running, and going to church) I am positive I will stick to a program that works for me.

            The strategies I will use to maintain my practices are ones that I have obtained during my time in this class. I have learned a great deal about my inner self while studying the Integral Health text book. I had never imagined that there was so much more to life than just the physical or obvious means of healing and health. With the knowledge I have gained, I know that over time I will continue to be a better person by using the loving-kindness and calm-abiding practices. By taking time to step back and assess a situation, I know that I can resort back to this book and full understand what my next move should be mentally. Health, happiness, and wholeness are now the three principles that I will continue to live by for the rest of my life. 

Beth Bjorkgren