Unit 9 Blog revised

Introduction
As the health industry changes so does our approach to treating patients. Health and wellness professionals have the ability to understand the deeper and more profound aspects to healing, rather than simply viewing the signs and symptoms of injury of disease. Alternative medicine approaches focus on the inner health rather than the outer health and the mind rather than the body. Its purpose is to promote human flourishing and alleviate unnecessary suffering for the patient.
Health and wellness professionals must obtain and develop the interdisciplinary studies of integral health in all three categories spiritually, mentally, and physically in order for them to spread these techniques to others. A health and wellness professional must be well grounded and able to connect with others to help them find their inner self and promote healing on the inside first to help alleviate the problems on the outside. One must look inward first than outward to fully grasp the concepts of wholeness and happiness in their life.
I must obtain a spiritual well-being because it seems as though it is the hardest to achieve. I must practice and incorporate the concepts of meditation and relaxation techniques into my daily routine. I must look and seek a higher power that will drive me mentally and physically. If I am able to apply these relaxation techniques and fulfill my spiritual aspect of healing the other aspects of holistic health will soon fall in line.

Assessment
When assessing my own development in the concepts of spiritual, physical, and psychological wellness I scaled to the best of my knowledge. When assessing my physical well-being I must say I am the most developed in this state. I take care of my body, and give it proper nutrients and a wide variety of food groups. I exercise three times a week, and live an active, healthy lifestyle. I would scale myself around an 8.5, because there is always room for improvement.
Psychologically I would scale myself an 8 because I do become stressed often from the stressors of life. I stay well grounded for the most part, and am currently partaking in exercise techniques to calm my mind and not worry about the little things.
Spiritually I would scale myself at a 5 and am still trying to find myself. I am not the most religious person but do live by a group of core values that hold true to me and give me the strength to persevere.

Goal development
I must set goals and obtain them if I want to develop my mind, body and spirit in order to flourish on all levels of integral health. I know if I set my mind to these goals and really try to incorporate them into my life, I can sustain and further promote my health and lifestyle decisions.
One goal that I set for with the spiritual aspect is to read or take a theology class in the near future to really try and find a higher spirit that will govern me help guide me towards a life of happiness, hope and faith. I understand spiritual health is not all about religion, although I need to add more faith to my life.
Physically I must maintain my exercise and nutrition plan. In October I had a stress fracture in my leg that hindered my ability to exercise and I became complacent in my weekly fitness schedule. I received this injury from working out too much and become quite lazy for a few months instead of rehabbing. It is not until now I am getting my energy back to fulfill my physical aspect of health and will be out there running a 5K tomorrow morning at 645 AM. The injury was painful and it led me off course with development, I must stay on course to obtain this level of health.
Psychologically I must not let stress get the best of me and take time to practice the relaxation techniques we learned throughout the course. I work in a high stress area with many complaining patients and staff, if I take the time to accomplish one task at a time and relax my mind I will be able to not clutter my mind and focus more clearly at each task I take on.

Practices for Personal Health
Physically I must follow a proper nutrition plan that benefits my body and also provides the fuel I need for the day. I can take these practices from books, or taking nutrition advice from the dieticians I work with in the medical field. With exercise I tend to have the same routine I must be able to more well -rounded and focus on all target groups in order to see the maximum benefit for my body. If that means working out one more day a week or allotting more time for my workouts it’s what I need to do to see my potential in the physical aspect.
Psychologically I must practice relaxation techniques that work for me, whether it be a form of yoga, meditation or biofeedback. I will find out which practice or technique works best for me and incorporate it into my life. I must take time to exercise my brain, and always look to actively learn something new instead of concentrating on trivial items such as television or video games. The brain is a muscle that needs constant stimulation in order to develop. I will plan out my time accordingly that will reduce the amount of time I allot for trivial things and replace them with constant learning activities.
Spiritually I must follow a faith that will help guide me through life and give me the strength to carry on when times get rough. I plan on studying different faiths and learn from them and develop my own spiritual guide that will help govern my way of thinking and beliefs. I must also detect destructive emotions and replace them with a healthy set of behaviors and attitude. I must learn to make the best choice for me and not act on impulse or negative behavior rather use thought and logic to further development my ideas. I must be able to reach deeper layers of the mind to reveal wisdom, loving-kindness and seek inner peace.

Commitment
I can track my progress through goals if I set realistic 6 month goals and fail than I will identify where I went wrong and go back to the drawing board, so to speak. I must create smaller goals that are easily obtained which lead to a long term goal in order to stay on track. When accomplishing these smaller goals my confidence will grow and I will able to track my progress to the final goal of sustained health, happiness and wholeness which are components of integral health. If I notice I am moving in the right direction I will take time to remind myself the power I will feel and person I will become if I reach my goal. Hopefully this will give me the energy and commitment to carry on throughout my journey to integral health.