Final Reflections

1.Review your unit 3 personal assessment of your psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Reflect on these areas. How did you score yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 in unit 3? How do you score yourself now? Has the score changed? Why or why not?

In unit 3 I assessed my physical health as an 8, my psychological health as a 7-8, and my spiritual health as a 6. My physical health overall is good, but I still need to watch what I eat. It is so easy for me to indulge in unhealthy things, especially greasy foods. Since I have set the goal of watching what I eat, especially fried food, I have been more aware of what I put in my mouth. I am still an 8 physically, but I think I will continue to grow in this area as I want to work back up to my physical activities as I can tolerate. In my psychological health, I rate myself 7-8. I fall between these two numbers because I can’t fully say I am an 8. I still struggle with anxiety and stress. Since I have started the loving-kindness exercises and meditation practices, I have definitely seen an improvement in my overall psychological health. I am still not quite an 8, but I am closer than I was before I started this class. In my spiritual health, I still rate myself a 6. I am finding ways to become healthier as one of my goals is to set aside more time for myself spiritually to figure out what it means to me. Focusing on myself, my family and my loved ones will be most beneficial for me in this area. Meditation and yoga are great for my spiritual health. I can see an improvement overall, but not enough to rise above a 6 at this point. It will eventually get there as I now have the tools to get to where I want to be.

2.Review the goals and activities you set for yourself in each area. Have you made progress toward the goals? Explain.

I am continually moving towards my goals in each area. Even in this short amount of time I see some progress. The goals that I set for myself in each area were:
Physical: Eat less fried foods- I definitely watch more of what I eat because of my limited ability to work out recently. I will continue to watch what I eat as maintaining a healthy diet is so important for my physical health. I feel less heavy in a sense, because eating fried foods makes you feel tired and un-energized.
Spiritual: Reflect often during the day on what is meaningful and important to me- I definitely reflect on what is meaningful and important to me. Throughout this class I have found ways of which I find beneficial in promoting my spiritual wellness. There is still much work but I find that meditating really helps in relaxing my senses and brings me closer to a peaceful place. I can see myself calmer and relaxed because of these practices.
Psychological: Talk to my family and friends when I have a problem and need their opinion. Don’t keep it to myself and let it build up- I have also made progress towards this as well. I find that expressing my feelings is a great stress reliever as well. It causes so much more anxiety for me to keep my feelings to myself. I think the loving kindness exercise is really benefiting my psychological health. Taking the time to reflect on others and their importance to me make me realize how important it is to do so.

3.Have you implemented the activities you chose for your well-being in each of the three areas? Explain.

I have implemented yoga for my spiritual and physical health. Even if I am unable to physically do all aspects of yoga, stretching is so beneficial to me and my physical health. The loving kindness exercise I use for my psychological wellness but I could also use it for my spiritual wellness too. Meditating helps with all aspects of my integral health. This is the exercise that I like the most.

4.Summarize your personal experience throughout this course. Have you developed improved well-being? What has been rewarding? What has been difficult? How will this experience improve your ability to assist others?

I have found so many ways that this course has developed my holistic health. I am able to implement new ways to foster my well-being but also know ways in which to modify these techniques to fit my ever changing lifestyle. I thought I knew how to modify my wellness before this class but now after taking this class I really had no idea. I am amazed at all the different experiences I am able to experience because of this class. I am able to look at the day without stress and being groggy. I wake up in the morning and actually feel good and ready to take on the day, which for awhile was very difficult. I have taken so much from this class and thank everyone for all their participation in my discussion questions and my blog.