Final Thoughts

Through the course of this class I have been challenged to look at all areas of my health and wellness. I have examined my physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of my health. During the time spent in class I have worked to build a plan to help improve myself in these three areas. This was done in Unit 3 of the class. At this time I would not say that I have increased in these three areas as not enough time has passed to successfully show improvement on a long term scale. I am not paying more attention to my nutrition and this is helping with my physical health. I also am now reading my Bible more yet this is not a daily occurance. The positive effects of these on my psychological health has not yet been fully experienced. I am still in the start up phase and working on consistency in all areas.
This course has helped me to look at myself on a more in-depth level and to see how all the pieces fit together to lead my to optimum integral health. The biggest challenge has been to change my routine to ensure that I am meeting all needs of my health and not just one aspect. I think that this experience will help me to be more open to others and to see different paths to improved health and wellness.

Jonathan.

Personal Application

I.                    Introduction

There are several aspects that make up integral health and they are psychological, spiritual and physical health. True and total health is just more than just the physical and more and more people have an understanding these three areas as a whole and living out this concept. It is important for the health and wellness professional to understand all three areas and how they interact so that they are able to help lead a client to total integral health. All three areas are in need of some help in terms of my own integral health and they all are differing degrees of strength in helping me to achieve total integral health.

II.                  Assessment

Every person needs to take some time to look within and to truly get an understanding of where they are in terms of integral health. This allows for a sort of jumping off point to see which area of the three needs to be given extra attention to or if there should be more of a concerted effort to incorporate all three at the same time. For myself I scored very differently in the three areas. Under spirituality I scored the highest of the three. I really make an effort to pray every day and to take time out to thank God for everything that he has provided to me and to my family. I would give myself a score of 7 out of 10 for this aspect of integral healing. For the physical aspect I would score myself 5 out of 10 as this is an area that I am not currently actively pursuing in terms of a structured exercise plan. For the last aspect which would be the psychological I would give myself 6 out of 10. I think that some of why I am not pursuing more in regard to my exercise and nutrition is because I am putting up mental blocks that sometime stop me from even starting.

III.               Goal Development

It is always good to have goals and they need to be ones that are attainable. For myself I have started to put some goals into place that can help me in moving forward toward integral health. For my spiritual piece one thing that I am going to do is to take some time out each morning and devote this to reading a passage from the Bible. This way I can really grow my knowledge of the Word and be able to hold within my heart and inner being to be able to call upon in times of stress and struggle. I have a plan of working out three times a week to meet my physical needs. I will set aside time on Tuesday and Thursday evening after work and on Saturday morning. This will give me a minimum of three times a week doing vigorous physical exercise. For the last aspect I will start a journal to help me to keep my thoughts in perspective and to help try and identify those areas that I allow to dictate on a more sub-conscious level when I feel overwhelmed. This can help me to have a feeling of accomplishment and to keep pressing on to attain total integral health.

IV.                Practices for Personal Health

Having goals only help a person when they are put into action and there are changes that come out from practicing and working toward achieving personal goals. Setting aside time each morning to help with my reading of the Bible is important and making this time special and sacred. Each morning I will have this be a time when I sit at the kitchen table and have my first cup of coffee and read Scripture. Having a devotional book that leads the way and helps to identify what verses or books to read has helped me in the past. This gives a purpose and goal for the chosen Scripture passages. Another thing that I can do to help foster this growth spiritually is to find a new church family. I currently do not belong to a church and have not for the past year. Being part of a group that supports each other’s grow is very important. For my physical growth I have joined a website that allows me track my calories spent each day and to log my food intake. This will help me to stay on track to be held accountable. I log in my food each day and this keeps track of my calories. I also have what is called an exerspy that is a devise that sits on my left arm and helps to track my calories expended and my sleep. It also tracks how many steps I take each day. This system will allow me to have a good understanding of what I am accomplishing or not every day. There will be a check in every 14 days so that I am held accountable for my actions. The last piece of my goal to improve my integral health is on a psychological aspect. The first thing that I will do with this is to start to keep a journal of not only my activities but also my emotions during times of high stress when I sometimes sabotage myself and overeat. This does wear on me as I do not always have the energy to give my all and to keep going when I become overwhelmed and slip in my diet. I will also start to use the Loving Kindness practice but alter it more toward loving myself a little bit more and not being so hard on myself. This is a practice that I can do two times a week on Monday and Friday in the morning before I head off to work.

V.                  Commitment

It is always good to have goals yet there needs to be commitment to have put them into action. Long term success and overall integral health is the desired outcome by the client and the health care practitioner. There should be ways to track and measure success when on your journey. For the physical aspect of my integral health the website that I use will help with this part of success. I have to track my outcomes every 14 days and the program alters based on the results. This allows me to see if I am on track or need to make changes to get on track. For the other two aspects; spiritual and psychological it may be a bit more difficult to measure. There should be outcomes of improved Loving Kindness and caring not only for myself but also for other people. I should have a better understanding of who I am through writing and be able to identify when I become overwhelmed and make the necessary changes to stay on track. I should develop a greater understanding and love for my Savior through my daily devotion. Going back to church will allow me the fellowship and support that I need to stay strong with my faith and convictions. Having brothers and sisters in Christ also help me by pointing out areas that I may need more care and support will also keep positive and going for the long term commitment. These are all areas that can help me track my progress and to stay focused on developing my total integral health.

Favorite Exercises

During this class there were several exercises that we participated in to help gain a better understanding of integral health and wellness. There were two exercises that I really enjoyed the most and can see using in my everyday life. The first was the exercise about Loving Kindness. This is a great morning exercise to help start the day off right and to be in a positive loving frame of mind before going out into the world. The second were the visualization exercises. For myself I usually think of using visualization to help improve sports or fitness performance yet it can also be used to help improve overall health. This would be a great evening exercise to do before going to bed. Sleep is a great time for the body to repair and recover from the days activites and stress. Taking the time each day can help to bring great improvements to a persons overall health. Focusing on getting a good nights sleep and having good dreams can help focus the mind and help the body to relax and move into a nice restful sleep.

Jonathan.

Meet Asciepius

Good evening class,

I have to say that this was the hardest practice to experience and that I did check out when it was mentioned that Asciepius was a god. This is I know something that is tied to ancient Greece and the East yet it went against what I believe to be true. For myself I struggled to picture the wise person and then to have light connect us together. I do not believe that we are made pure and gain understanding just envisioning an older or wiser individual. I think that we need to always be learning and growing from our experiences so that we can continue to treat others with love and kindness. This is something that Jesus taught his disciples that they should put others first. I have not per say done meditation practices this week yet each day I do take time to pray asking for forgiveness and thanking for my many blessings. I ask for strength and guidance in my day to day dealings with people and ask that all I do help to further God's purpose.

In looking at being able to lead to others to where I myself have not gone is to what it means to lead by example. How can I ask my clients to track their foods and watch calorie intake when I myself do not. I need to understand the patience needed to keep a food journal and to also earn respect from my clients if I am unable to follow my own direction. I have an obligation to myself to ensure that I am walking a strong spiritual path and that I am not being hypocritical when it comes to my testimony. I need to show that my life is different and that I really care for others in my practice. The biggest thing that I can do in my own personal life is to walk the walk. I need to seek out the needs of others and fill those needs so that others can know that there is hope for a better future. 

Jonathan.

Loving Kindness and Integral Assessment

Good afternoon,

I once again went and did the Loving Kindness practice. This time I knew what to expect in terms of where the exercise was going. I did however note that I either thought of other subjects or found myself zoning out. I am discovering that what I thought of as meditation actually involves some active mental training on the part of the practicioneer. For myself I find that I really need to focus on what I am supposed to be accomplishing. For this exercise I thought of the person that brings high levels of love for myself and as I moved through the exercise I kept having to re-think of this person as the feelings that I felt were to be going out to others. I strongly believe that what we put out into the world each day does come back to us and that like minded people are attracted to each other. If making others the focus of  your life is a goal than you will run into people that also have a serving mindset in giving to others.

The second part of this exercise was to look at areas within ourselves that we may need to spend time on healing or giving extra loving attention. For myself the areas that have been a struggle have been in finding time to exercise and to follow a well balanced diet. This weekend I started on this path by doing a cleanse - fast type structure. I limited my protein and did not ingest any processed foods. Friday was mostly focused on fruits and veggies with Saturday more on soups and broths. Today I am including protein. Yet on all three days there has not been any processed carbs. This is to help cut down on my cravings for sweets that we seem to be bombarded with during this time of year. Once this weekend is over then I will continue in limiting my carbs to complex and get back to some type of daily activity. I plan on walking at work during my breaks and doing yoga at home.

Jonathan.

The Subtle Mind Exercise take 2

For this exercise we were supposed to look within and take some time to quiet our minds by first focusing on our breathing. This allows for there to be a slowing down of one's self and to help with blocking out the external distractions. This was to replace the exercise of Loving Kindness that was discussed in earlier posts. I will admit that after the breathing part and when the guide stopped talking and all that was happening was the sounds of the ocean my mind wandered and I really had to focus. I went back to thinking about my breathing and about half way through the exercise I fell asleep.

I do think that there is a definite connection between a persons physical wellbeing and their mental wellbeing. Being able to meditate and take time out to slow down will have huge positive gains for a lot of people. I do however struggle with the spiritual aspect of these exercises. They are based in a lot of Eastern philosophy which speaks to finding your own salvation on the inside or reaching your own perfection. There were many examples given in the reading. As a Christian I struggle with this belief and have had to not let my own beliefs interfere with experiencing the class. My salvation comes from the change in my life that took place when I put my faith in Jesus Christ. I understand that when I feel struggles and do not fully want to love another person this is my opportunity to pray and ask for strength to give what is needed to help further the kingdom of God and to lead by example. Practice is very important in being able to find calm and to show loving kindness yet I do not believe that it completely comes from within. It starts with the change that knowing Jesus Christ can bring.

I strongly believe that the physical aspect of exercise such as running, practicing yoga or playing a sport can increase your awareness about yourself and how you fit into this world. Being able to express yourself through activity helps to calm the mind and get yourself ready for a time of quiet and reflection that these exercises can help you to accomplish. The key component is practice.

Jonathan.

Loving Kindness

I have to say that this exercise was a challenge for me. During the exercise I found that my mind wandered a lot and I struggled to stay focused beyond my breathing. I know that for myself looking inside and just taking time to slow down is a great blessing as for many of us, myself included seem to always be on the go. Stopping and taking the time to reflect on our inner thoughts can be very positive. I know that looking at ones actions and thoughts can help to bring about a better sense of who we are as humans and giving of ourselves to others. I am not sure if the actual practice of breathing in grief and suffering and breathing out joy and wellness were just a way to reflect on how we treat other people? Or if this was some actual belief in taking in real pain and suffering and sending out light and happiness. This is something that for myself I do not believe and so this may be why I stuggled in staying in the moment and focused. I think that any type of meditative practice is a benefit to others and finding quiet can do wonders to reducing stress levels. This practice I would not recommend just on the fact of how I do not believe in sending out positive thoughts and feelings into the universe make a difference. Practicing what you preach in terms of loving kindness helps facilitate change and fosters continued growth and development.
To me the concept of a mental workout is taking the time to stretch your thoughts by quieting the mind and working through difficult situations. This allows you to look and review actons and feelings so that you can learn and grow. Hopefully positive changes happen and this is an exercise that again needs to be practiced so that it is not lost. Benefits of mental workouts allow a person to think clearly and to act proactivly in situations and not to be in a constant reactive frame of mind.

Crime of the Century

To start off I am not really sure why this exercise was called Crime of the Century. It was a relaxation exercise that focused on the shakra's of the body and realizing that our bodies are like a prizm. This exercise focused on those areas and had us imagine a colored light eminating from the body. This was in addition to thinking or saying out loud a phrase of affirmation. I found that going through the exercise and trying to relax at the beginning was a bit difficult. We had just eaten dinner as a family and my oldest had his girlfriend over to the house. I also had a slight tickle in the back of my throat to I was coughing a bit at the begining. There were a couple distractions from my children in asking me questions yet once this was past I was able to finish the exercise. I am not really sure how much of the actual visualization or affirmations I accessed on a deeper level yet I do know that at the end of the exercise I was very relaxed and took a small cat nap. Taking time out of our hectic lives is often forgotten and doing more quiet times like this can have a profound positive affect on our psychological well-being.

Jonathan.

Reflections on my Integral Health

When a person looks at their overall health they must take into consideration three areas, physical, spiritual, and psychological. These three make up the whole. For myself currently in my life if I were to rate these areas from one to ten they would look as such:

Physical - 6
Spiritual - 7
Psychological - 7

For the physical aspect of my well-being I feel that this number represents where I am at currently. I am not really finding time to exercise yet I am still trying to play on a tennis league during the weekend and I always do things like walk the stairs at work and park further out to walk. For these reasons I feel that I sit at a six. A goal for me would to start going back to the gym. I pay for a membership yet have not been to the gym in over 2 months. I would want to try and go Saturday and one other day during the week. Combining this with tennis on Friday and Sunday I am now exercising 4 days a week.
For the spiritual aspect of my well-being I have not been taking the time out each day and pray and read my Bible like I used to do. I also am not currently a member of a church and this is missing and something that I want to change. I plan on making one of my goals to find a new home church that I can start to attend and be able to fellowship with other Christians.
For the psychological aspect of my well-being I feel that this number represents where I am at currently. I have all my life struggled with my weight and this is something that as I get older weighs more heavily than in the past. It stems from the fact that I have been able to lose weight yet have not been able to keep it off. I currently weigh in at 250 pounds and even though this is not super heavy, I am a personal trainer and the fact that I let myself be persuaded to not eat the most healthy foods and to limit my exercising by others makes me feel that I am not fully leading by example. It is getting harder to believe that I can make a long-lasting change. One thing that I can do that may help to start to keep a jounal of my actions and feelings in relation to how I approach food and see if this helps me to build more consistency in watching the calories that I intake.

Jonathan.

Relaxation Exercise

This afternoon I tried a relaxation exercise and found that it put me into a better mood once I was finished. I had come home from grocery shopping and was about to prepare dinner (taco's for those that are interested). I was feeling a bit stressed by my youngest how happens to now be 12 years of age. I sat in my chair and started the exercise. I closed my eyes and followed along. I do have to say that I was half hearted at first because of all that I had going on today. By the middle of the exercise I was feeling the stress leave my body and was really focusing on my arms and hands pulling the blood from my core and moving it to my extemeties. I felt warmth and heaviness and I began to relax. As I continued to focus on my breathing I felt my stress leaving as I began to relax. After the exercise I stretched and felt like I had a second wind. Taking time out to take care of ourselves is extremely important and sometimes in our busy, hectic lives we tend to forget to show a little love to ourselves. This is a great exercise and one that I will repeat.

Jonathan.

Welcome

Good evening everyone! My name is Jonathan Carney and I created this blog for my Creating Wellness class. I am a certified personal trainer and a licensed massage therapist and Bear Down Training is the name of my company. I currenly train and massage part-time and work full-time for a non-profit housing counseling agency. I am in the home stretch and have only 3 classes remaining including this one until I graduate with my Bachelors in Health and Wellness. I am excited about this class and what I can learn and share with my peers. I look forward to reading my classmates blogs as we journey through class together. Good luck everyone!

Jonathan.

Unit 10 Blog

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 the time that I have completed between Unit 3 and today I have still not successfully completed my goals. I have put them into place and have made some adjustments. I am in the process of looking at home bound activities and exercises to help with my physical activity. I have pulled my old yoga books out of storage and brought out my weights. As for my spiritual goal I have not been as successful. I have read my bible a couple of times in the morning and have prayed yet this has not yet become a daily activity.

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

See above answer.

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

See above answer.

1. 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?

At this time I do not think that I have improved but I have definitely become more aware and have thought more about what is needed. I am slowly changing my attitude toward some areas such as my nutrition and physical activity and am becoming more open to change. You have to be mentally ready for change to be effective and I am moving in that direction if at times a bit slowly. This will help me in my career as I have not really been living by example and this needs to change. This has helped me to bring it to the forefront that I need to change myself first before I can affect change in others.

Unit 9 Blog

                  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 psychologically, spiritually and physically because they need to operate from a place of balance. All areas need to come together to have completeness which is what it means to strive to attain integral health. There are so many components and the health care professional needs to be able to lead by example and experience when working with clients when at all possible. This allows for there to be trust and understanding from the client as they understand that the heath care professional has knowledge and experience.

For myself I would say that the one area that I need to really develop would be the psychological side of integral health. This is in terms of consistency and not getting down when I miss either a workout or do not do so well with following proper food intake. Lately I have found myself in a bit of a depression when it comes to being positive in terms of maintaining my health and leading by example. I am looking at finding someone that I can be accountable to that will also offer encouragement as I strive for my goals.

                II.           

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

I would have to say that if I were to score myself on all parts of integral health that I would definitely have room for improvement. I am a health and fitness professional currently yet do not work in this field full-time. I plan on making the switch when I graduate. I believe that if I worked in a gym/fitness center setting I would be much more focused on my overall physical health. At this time I am only playing a sport (tennis), twice a week on a league and this will not allow me to reach my optimum. I have tried to only go three times a week to the gym to give me five days of activity and this has been somewhat of a struggle.

Spiritually I would have to say that I have more room for growth. I am currently between churches and still haven’t found the right one. This is starting to have an effect on me as I am not able to fully fellowship with other believers. I am still working on reading my bible and taking time to find quiet and to pray and this is having a positive impact on how I am with other people during the day.

Psychologically I know that I need to be stronger and to not get discouraged when I am not meeting or even giving enough effort to meet my goals. I am currently looking for a workout partner that will help me to be focused and to stay on track when I become discouraged. I find that it is too easy for me to say I will take care of this tomorrow. I find that this works in a lot of areas in my life. I am a great procrastinator. So this is an area for improvement. I also find that if I get out of rhythm or routine that I give up to easy instead of getting “back on the horse” as they say.

               III.           

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

It is very important to have goals and to make sure that they are attainable and sustainable. For my physical goal I plan on getting active in the gym at least two times a week. This will then put my days at 4 with physical activity which is a good starting point. For my spiritual goal I plan on finding a home church by summer. This makes it more of a priority to visit other churches until I find the right one. This is something that I have been slacking in as of late. For my psychological goal I will find myself a workout partner that I can use for support since I am not seeing the full support at home. I will share my goals with this person and use their energy and interest to help stay focused. This leaning on each other will hopefully help each of us to reach specific goals.

              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 – I will exercise two times a week on Tuesday and Thursday and play tennis in the league on Friday and Sunday. This will give me four days of exercise each week. These are two practices that I can do each week to help me to meet my physical goal with the possibility to add another gym day during the week.

Spiritual – I will make sure that I take 15 to 20 minutes each morning to pray and reflect on my own spiritual growth. I will also take time to read my Bible and to study and understand the principles within. Another exercise that I can do is to add deep breathing at the end of the night as I am getting ready for bed. This will allow me to de-stress from the day and bring fresh blood and oxygen to my body making it ready for rest.

Psychological – This one will be a bit more difficult yet I think that by adding writing in a journal to my weekly routine. This will help me to release those things that may be bothering me and allow me to find resolution once they are placed on paper. Staying motivated should increase through this as I can use the journal to track my progress and to set new goals. I can look for a workout partner that I can relate to in reaching goals together and helping each other with levels of motivation.

               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?

In terms of how I will track my physical progress over the next six months will relate to the tennis that I am currently playing each week. There is a local tournament in September that I will start to train for to compete. I will gear my workouts to increase my stamina and strength to make sure that I compete fully at my optimum. The league that I belong to I plan on competing in while I live in Phoenix so this will help me with long term practice.

For my spiritual growth and wellbeing I plan on being in a home church that allows me to grow spiritually with my walk with God. This will hopefully allow for Bible study and other group activities that can foster growth. This will help with long term as I will be building friendships that hopefully will be long lasting.

For my psychological growth and wellness I have thought about keeping some type of fitness journal. This would include tracking progress through stats, photos and just comments made on how I feel each day in relation to my health and wellness. I will use this to help stay motivated or to get motivated that can help with long-term success.

Visualization and Mediatation

These are two exercises that are often overlooked when it comes to improving health and happiness. Too many times people do not take the time to reflect on themselves and where they fit in the world and how they can make it a better place. All of this can have a profound impact on reducing our stress levels which can lead to increased health and wellness. Taking time out each day to meditate allows us to quiet the mind and to reflect on us as a person and how we fit into our world. This allows for an inner viewing of who we are and how this impacts our daily lives. Visualization is a great exercise on many fronts. This can be an important tool in improving our physical traits such as through envisioning success in changing our bodies through diet and exercise or improving in a sport. If we do not believe that we are able to change and cannot visualize this change then it becomes more difficult to improve our physical situations. Having the belief and visualizing health and vitality are important when looking to make improvements in ones health.

Unit 7 Blog

1. Complete the "Meeting Asciepius" exercise on track #4 of the Dacher CD. Describe your meditative practice(s) for the week and discuss the experience. Explain how mindfulness or meditation has fostered an increase in your psychological or spiritual wellness. How can you continue to apply these practices in your life to foster greater health and wellness?

Currently I am not doing a regular practice concerning meditation. I did listen to the exercise and yet could not get into the cd. I have really looked at what I have been doing for myself on a spiritual level and I really have to make more of an effort. I have been focusing on improving my prayer life and making a better effort on being in touch with my inner self. Making sure that I have time set aside each day for myself will help me to continue with my spiritual growth.

1. Describe the saying: "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself” (P.477) How does this apply to the health and wellness professional? Do you have an obligation to your clients to be developing your health psychologically, physically, and spiritually? Why or why not? How can you implement psychological and spiritual growth in your personal life?

This saying is referring to how it is difficult for someone to lead in a direction when they do not know where they are going. It is much easier to lead someone down a path that you yourself have experienced. This is important for the health professional is to be able to lead by example. It is difficult to have a client eat properly or to exercise regularily if the health care professional is not doing this too. We have an obligation to our clients to always be improving ourselves and to always be learning. Life is constant change and we need to make sure that we are always improving and able to share this with our clients. I can implement spiritual growth by making it an important part of my life concerning improving my own health and wellness.

Integral Assessment

For this exercise I completed a "loving kindness" meditation that allowed me to focus on myself and be able to help project out to those around me. This allowed me to find focus and to quiet myself to really listen and work on being more loving and caring to myself and to those around me. I then did a integral assessment which looked at the four aspects of the human experience; psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and worldly. For each of us there is a different level of development concerning the lines in these quadrants. The one area that I am currently focusing on is the biological sector. I am trying to get a handle on my diet and to not be persueded to deviate from what I should be eating to improve my health. I am also looking at getting back into shape and finding space and time to be physically active again. This I have started by joining a tennis league. As for the psychospiritual piece I am still looking at finding a church and making time to be in communion with my Creator and to listen to His direction. My interpersonal is always growing and being challenged through the fact that I have guardianship of my nephews and they are always challenging me to be better. As for the last quadrant; worldly, I am trying to lead by example when I can in offering a free meal or donating money to the local rescue mission. There is always room for growth and we should always be growing on a daily basis. I find that as I near the age of 40, I already know quite a bit and there is still much more to learn.

Subtle Mind Practice

1. Compare and contrast the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle mind exercise. Explain your experience including the benefits, frustrations etc.

So I was able to listen to the Loving Kindness exercise yet was not able to listen to the Subtle mind exercise all the way through. It became static around 7 minutes into the exercise. When I forwarded it to the end it was still static. I do not practice these types of exercises normally so this is always an experience for me when I listen to the CD. I was looking forward to the Subtle Mind exercise and was just starting to relax into my breathing when the static happened. I listened for another 3 to 4 minutes to make sure that it was not part of the exercise before forwarding through to see if it got back on track.

1. Discuss the connection of the spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness. Explain how the connection is manifested in your personal life.

I think that we are all spititual beings that need to connect and acknowledge this part of our lives. I myself am a Christian and have a belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior. This allows me freedom to not let some of lifes smaller concerns weigh me down as I know and believe that I am saved and watched over and protected. No matter what happens I know that I will be looked after and have seen this in my life. I think that this helps me to control the stress in my life. Stress can be very damaging and once you learn to let go and just believe that what is meant to happen is meant to happen then the little things do not take such a toll physically or mentally.

Inner Reflections

1. Based on your reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being optimal wellbeing), where do you rate your A-physical wellbeing, B-spiritual well-being, C-psychological well-being? Why?

Physical Wellbeing - this area is a 6 for me at the moment. I am getting back into shape and working on being more active through practicing yoga and playing tennis.

Spiritual Wellbeing - this area is a 7. I am currently in the process of finding a church family and trying to get back into my prayer life and Bible reading to help me to get and stay focused.

Psychological Wellbeing - this is a 7 also. I feel good about myself and my life for the most part. I am nearing the end of my school time and am starting to get tired and a bit burned out. I am trying to focus on my goals and stay strong while I finish up my Bachelors this year.

1. Develop a goal for yourself in each area (physical, spiritual, psychological).

For my physical wellbeing a goal that I have is to make it to the gym 3 times a week. This will help me to not only improve my tennis game but will also help with my overall health. For my spiritual wellbeing a goal that I have is to take a passage each morning from the Bible and read. I will also make it a point to meditate on what I read and to pray and find focus before I start my day. For my psychological health I will make sure that I am taking time out for myself and that I stay as refreshed as mentally as I possibly can.

1. What activities or exercise can you implement in your life to assist in moving toward each goal?

I think that making sure that I have my goals written down will help to reach what I have placed before me. I will look for people that can motivate and encourage me on my journey to health and happiness.

1. Complete the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century. To hear this exercise, click here. Describe your experience. (What it beneficial? Frustrating? etc.)

I found this exercise to be benefitial in that it helps you to focus and relax by concentrating on your breathing. This helps to slow down the body and the mind and put you into a place of calm and focus that allows you to find those areas in your body that may hold extra tension. The different colors helps to bring focus and the different mantra's allow you to put into words what your future actions will hopefully become.

Hello

My name is Jonathan Carney and I want to welcome you to my blog. I am starting this as a homework assignment yet plan on continuing it after I graduate. Bear Down Training is the name of my business that I have started and plan on growing to offer massage therapy and personal training. I also plan on using this medium to post different papers that I write concerning my place in the health and fitness world. I look forward to sharing what I learn and hopefully help others lead a healthier life.