Week 10

As the class comes to a close my scores in week 3 were somewhat low, especially for spiritual, I say on a scale of 1-10, it was a 4. Now I feel for the most part my score is at a 8 (being good) . I think it has changed as I really have been trying to fit some form of meditation into my life even if it is in the car.I have made progress at my goals, which I am happy about, the meditation and breathing has really helped me.This course has helped me, as I think I really needed this class, I meditate, work out and  I have tried to develop a group of friends that I trust when I feel own.


Thank you
Fran

Week 9 final

Creating Wellness Week 9 Final Project

My Integral Health Plan

By Francine Kleiner Browning

I-                Introduction – The reason that is important for health and wellness professionals to develop spiritually, physically and psychologically is for many reasons. One reason is that by opening up our heart we can be more open to help someone get better and we can be a better teacher. If we look at our work, in a way were we say how can I help, and to look at your work as a mission to serve others. Also be helping ourselves we can be a better teacher because we can better understand our clients or patients. If we do not practice what we preach it will be difficult to lead someone to a path that we have not been down. My area that needs improving is spirituality, which I am currently working on by meditating daily, as well as doing the Loving Kindness exercise, I have also been looking at my work and the bigger picture by how food can affect moods. I currently working out, so I am fine physically, psychologically I feel I am getting better due to the fact that meditation is making me calmer.

II-              Assessment – I have scored pretty well on all areas, the only thing that I feel like I need to work on is my spirituality, also physically I am good but I think I workout too much so I am doing more gentle forms of working out such as yoga. I think that if you improve one area the other areas sort of flow and get better. So I feel that when I am spiritually connected I feel better physically as well as less prone to getting so stressed out about something which then effects my psychological aspect.

III-            Goal Development

My goals for spirituality are the following, I am working on my commitment to say prayers, and do some form of meditation daily. In addition I am practicing the Loving Kindness; I want to do at minimum five minutes a day, and hopefully more as time allows. My goal is to really open my heart and not let stress affect my life.

My goal physically is to continue my regular workouts and also include some form of moving meditation, such as yoga. I find that when I do yoga along with deep breathing my body can let go of stress more easily.

My goal psychologically is to have a group of friends that I can talk to to keep me sane, also to do some sort of memory game, such as a crossword to keep my mental fitness good.

I feel that by working all three, my life would be much less stressful.

IV-           Practices for Personal Health

Spiritual- 2 exercises I am trying to foster growth are Loving Kindness, and also the Witnessing mind. With the first practice I have been slowly building up to doing 10 minutes a day, I love doing this because it keeps my head clear for the whole day. Exercise two I have been sitting and meditating, I started with 2 minutes and now I am on 4 minutes, If my mind wanders I feel them and release them by using my breath.

For the physical I am doing yoga, preferably in the morning or right before I go to bed and I also run usually after the yoga, and also in the morning. I say my run is almost like meditation as I live by the water, and when I run you can see the sunrise and it just puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day and I also tend to eat much better.

For the psychological I have a group of friends that I talk to when I am stressed, and if I do something such as a crossword it keeps my mind sharp and focused.

Accessing my process- I think my struggle for me will be my dad’s unveiling in two months, so if I can make it through that without getting to stressed, that will be a good way to see if all these exercises are helping me. Strategies that I am currently using, for instance I try to get up a little earlier to pray and meditate. I also have been using my kids and having my children pray and say affirmations. There are times when I feel rushed and have no time; however I feel that even if I do one thing such as 5 minutes of meditation I will see some benefit. My problem is I tend to beat myself up if I do not do all of it and I need to tell myself it is better than doing nothing. For me the biggest challenge is the spiritual not because I do not believe but more because of time , I even say prayers in the car before I drive or before I meet with a client so at least I am getting it in

 Very Intresting
So last night I watched a documentary called Food Inc, very interesting and disturbing, especially about the whole Monsanto issue.  If you don't know Monsanto is an chemical company that now owns the patent on seeds, from birth to death and God forbid you save one of your own seeds and do not pay them for theirs. Their seeds are known to have GMO's, now I asked myself why would I want food made from a chemical company? Also, if they have nothing to hide why are they so against labeling? Definitely something to ponder, also while I do eat meat, I prefer my animals to be humanly treated and allowed to graze rather than, to be crammed in to a pen and fed corn, which ruins their systems and cause E coli. Also why would healthy food be so expensive and crap food be so cheap, we need to take a stand and start buying from local farmers and when food is in season.
Thank you
Fran

Week 8
I am currently using the Loving Kindness Mediation and I have been trying to do it in the morning before anyone is up, so I have time., I also have been trying to practice the Subtle Mind and really see about letting go of things. I use for mental fitness by trying to let go of negative thought patterns. I also have been doing another Loving Kindness, in my car before I get to work with my clients, I find that when I have done this that I really am open and able to help my clients a lot easier .
Thank you
Fran

Week 7

1) Okay so I started out with good intentions, and then the gentleman came on to do the meditation and for some reason I cannot relax, I tried I got about 10 minutes into it and I had to turn it off. Mindfulness mediation has helped me relax and I can usually do it if I find the time do it, it has mainly helped me spiritually, I think if I can continue to do it ,it can help me deal better with the stress in my life.
2)"One cannot lead another to where one has not been" I love this because I feel that one needs to practice what they preach, I will not give a client a workout that I cannot do myself and this is kind of the same thing.I do feel that we owe to our clients to be well, as this way we can open our heart and help them along their path to healing as well. I implement this by trying to pray every day as well as meditate, as well as do some form of yoga, I find that if I don't I am not centered and not focused and cannot help others.

Week 6

The exercise  loving kindness went well, I actually try and do some form of this every day, saying affirmations that I want to help other people and what I can do. I find that when I do this I can open myself more fully. I also try to enjoy the time and be very present with my kids as well. The assessment for me I chose to focus worldly and biological because these are the areas that seem to affect the worst. When something outside affects me I then do not take care of myself like I should and then my health suffers. I find that when I meditate I usually feel better. Another thing I do to help this is called morning pages, where basically you get up in the morning ans write down what is bothering you and I usually feel better and less cranky after I do this.
Fran

wwek5

I have to say I enjoyed this week much more than the loving kindness as focusing on the breath helped me relax more, because with loving kindness I pictured my dad, and then got upset . For me this week there was no frustration just relaxation and letting go. For me the connection of spiritual wellness to mental and physical wellness is big, I know that when I am upset I feel unconnected and then I get aches and pains in my body, or when I do not have time to breath and meditate I feel unconnected so it all ties in so much for me.
Fran