Unit 9 ~ Final Project

Integral Health Plan

As a Health and Wellness professional I need to be able to “practice what I preach”. It is essential that in my field I am a living testimony to all the aspects of integral health that I may be trying to teach clients and patients to incorporate into their lives. It would be very hypocritical for me to encourage a patient or client to strive for complete integral health when I am not developed psychologically, spiritually, and physically. I am a “work in progress” in which I still have needed growth in all three of these areas. Dacher (2006) posed the question in Chapter 2: Consciousness and Health: “If negative emotions can be so destructive to our health, can healthy mental states and even “supernormal” mental states affect our health in an increasingly positive direction?” My answer is “yes”. The negative consequences of stress manifest in illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cause weigh gain, and heart disease. Conversely, training the mind to generate positive thoughts and emotions will have the opposite affect ~ lowering blood pressure, diminishing stress levels, lower heart rates, and not producing high stress levels. Being able to train one’s mind provides a vision of success and happiness. This area of psychological development is my greatest area of opportunity. Positively conditioning my mind will ultimately contribute to the condition of my body. Spiritually I have grown a great deal and am able to define what is meaningful in my life. I have a deeper appreciation for the more important aspects (family, friends, and a developing relationship with God). This will take continued daily practice of meditation and this is my time to commune with God ~ to be able to sit still and listen for His guidance. Physical development is an ongoing aspect as well. However I do know that when other areas of my integral health are falling into place it is inevitable that my physical health will follow suit.

As I have previously stated, my overall integral health is a work in progress. I am thoroughly enjoying this journey to get there. I recently had a conversation with my mom who provided me with her definition of “wisdom”. We were discussing a quote by Maya Angelou, “When people show you who they are believe them” and I told her that I have come to a point in my life that I don’t look for something different in people over and over. That takes up too much positive energy that I could be using for something else. She said to me, “Well....when folks figure it out, that's what I call wisdom.... some folks never get it, some folks catch on right away, most folks are some place in the middle.... but once you got it, you got it for good... and, like I said, that's part of wisdom.” That resonated with me and I reflected on that and how what we have learned in this course applies to her statement. When I look at the six principles of Integral Assessment I recognize what is needed to follow these guidelines. For example, principle one states that we must acknowledge what the sources are of our distress (Dacher, 2006). I know immediately that one major source of distress is my job. It is not what I want to do however I do believe that it is in my plan to get to where I want to be. My career goal is to be in the Health and Wellness profession and even though my current job description does not fit into that profession at all I have found an avenue within my company that does fit my goals. I am using this current source of distress to open up doors to my desired goal. I love principle two in that it re-iterates the need for overall holistic healing and therapy instead of a quick fix that only addressed the topical need and not the root cause of the illness or disease. Same as with principle three ~ again focusing on the difference between immediate responses versus a long lasting response. In my physical development this principle has reminded me to take my time. I believe my integral assessment has me on a good track that is well paced. I do believe in taking my time and being able to sit peacefully and soak it all in as I continue to go through these lessons. Goals that I have in each area are physical ~ to continue to stay the course. I have a current fitness regime that is working. One of the biggest obstacles that I have overcome within this aspect is to not get discouraged. When I get off track not to beat myself up about it and just get right back on track. Psychologically I will continue to train my mind specifically using techniques such as visualization. I have found this to be effective when working out and when I need to be able to refocus. Spiritually I am continuing to stay in prayer and constant commune with God. What I have found is that as each of these areas continues to grow and develop they automatically sync or intertwine with each other.

Meditation has been the best tool to use for fostering growth in all these areas. I use meditation to start my day mentally. Twenty minutes in the morning of deep breathing and setting the tone for my day. I practice it during the day when I may need to calm my surroundings and I use it at the end of my day during a workout to push through. Visualization goes hand in hand with meditation and I will continue to practice this technique as well. My commitment to developing my integral health is lifelong. One way that I have been able to gauge success is by others people around me. I often have people ask me how it is I can remain calm when everything around me is in some form of chaos. When I am asked this I know that what I am doing is working and that it is reflecting outwardly as well. In addition, physically I will know by how well I am resting, if my energy levels are good or not, if my mental focus is clear and clutter free.