My Integral Plan

My Plan for Total Health

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?

      It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop themselves psychologically, spiritually, and physically so that they can gain better insight into themselves. Developing one’s self will allow the health professional to realize the profound health, happiness and wholeness that come with integral health and will come to know that this potential exists within all of us.  Therefor when the health and wellness professional is practicing with a patient they will be better able to help their clients achieve integral health.  Dacher, (2006) puts it best, “Healing ourselves is healing others. An integral life begets an integral world.”

      My goals are many and so I will need to continue to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically.  As I move forward on my path towards human flourishing I need to know that integral health is a lifelong journey.  Each area of development helps to build upon the other and will help me evolve to my fullest potential.  Recognizing my strengths and weaknesses in each area will help me to better formulate an appropriate integral practice.  Incorporating a contemplative practice into my life will be paramount as I begin this journey.

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

      I have assessed myself in each of these areas by focusing my full attention in each domain by following the six principles of integral assessment.  According to Dacher (2006), the six principles include the following:  the goal of integral health is to alleviate needless suffering and promote human flourishing; recognize the distinction between short-term relief of needless suffering and permanent relief;  recognize the distinction between  immediate pleasure and long-term flourishing, knowing

psychospiritual development is essential; knowing that an integral assessment relies on deep listening and guidance; and the integral assessment addresses each aspect of our current situation.  After much contemplation I came to the following conclusions.

      This is how I would score myself in each of the three areas of development:

Physical: 7   I have begun to really cut down on the processed foods that I eat and have started to drink green smoothies and increase my fruit and veggie intake.  My downfall...I am addicted to SUGAR...one battle at a time, though.  I also started a workout diary to find that I only average about 9 workout days monthly.  So, I still need work, but I am headed in the right direction. 

Psychological:  8   I usually have a very even tempered personality.  I can handle whatever comes up fairly well without flying off the handle.   There are certain situations where anger gets the best of me and that is usually after I make a bad choice (so I am really angry at myself). 

Spiritual: 4   I have never been religious or given a lot of thought to the higher power.  I do however; believe that there is something greater than us out there.  I just have never focused any energy in this direction. My goal is to become more connected with the world.  In order to become more connected I could volunteer my time with the elderly in a nursing home. 

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

Physical Goal:  My current goal is to increase my number of work out days to at least 15 days per month and increase from there.  Creating a workout calendar and scheduling my workout times each week would be beneficial in reaching this goal.  My secondary goal is to reduce my sugar intake.  In order to achieve this goal I will buy fewer products containing refined sugars and continue with my fruit and veggie smoothies. 

Psychological Goal: My goal is to learn how to make better choices so there will be no reason to become angry.  In order to reach this goal I need to listen to my heart more often.  I can usually tell that I am about to make a bad choice right before I go through with it.  Meditation to clear my mind of all the clutter could help me to reach this goal.

Spiritual Goal: My goal is to become more connected with the world.  In order to become more connected I will volunteer my time with the elderly in a nursing home. Another goal that I have is to become more forgiving.  I plan on achieving this goal by addressing situations where I have been harmed or have caused harm instead of avoiding things like these.  Forgiveness will help me find greater inner peace and will allow me to have a deeper connection with this world.   

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.

Physical: For my physical exercise or practice, I am going to implement a mind/body exercise where I will use my mind to enhance the results of my workout (Dacher, 2006).  I have always been interested in Yoga, but I have never tried it.  In conjunction with my regular fitness routine I will try yoga.  Implementing Yoga will allow me to develop my mind and body at the same time and will put me more in touch with the mind body fusion (Dacher, 2006).

Psychological:  For my psychological exercise or practice I plan on further developing my Emotional Intelligence.  Emotional Intelligence can enhance factors such as self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy.   The skills that Goleman (2005) advocates in his book titled Emotional Intelligence such as effective conflict resolution, impulse control, and social skills all affect my health and wellness.  Focusing on developing these skills will improve the health of my mind as well as advance my overall wellness.

Spiritual: For my spiritual exercise or practice I am going to implement prayer.  While I have never been a very religious person I saw the profound effect that saying the Rosary had on my Aunt Mary.  She was the most loving, kind, peaceful person that I have ever known and she said her Rosary three times daily.  She would be in an almost meditative state when doing so.  I feel this would help me to know myself and God better and would provide me a source of connection to a woman that meant so much to me.  The Rosary will help with progressive development of an expanded consciousness and its healing capacities (Dacher, 2006). 

V.                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?

      To assess what I have or have not accomplished in six months I will need a tracking system.  I already log the frequency, distance, and duration of my workouts.  I can further compliment this with a food log as well as a daily journal entry where I can express my daily thoughts and feelings. 

      The strategies that I will employ will be the setting of short and long term goals while knowing that these can be changed or modified based on progress or lack of it.  I can recruit a workout partner.  This will make me have more incentive to stick with my goal of increasing my number of workout days.  A workout partner will also be someone that I can encourage and teach all that I have learned about integral health which will promote a more positive state of mind for me in knowing that I am helping someone other than myself.  I will base and assess my approaches on the five essential characteristics of Aesclepian Healing, which are holistic, evolutionary, intentional, person-centered, and dynamic (Dacher, 2006).

      The path to integral health will be a lifelong journey and I will not master this art quickly. “As Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine says: ‘The art is long and life is short’, so I had better get started (Dacher, 2006). The first step is always the hardest, but taking that step is what makes all the difference.

References

 

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Goleman, D. (2006) Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than iq.  New York, NY: Bantam Dell.