In Unit 3 I scored my physical health as a 6. It is still a six, because even though I am doing what I have planned to physically heal, it is a slow and steady process. My doctor has to remind me that even though recovery from reconstructive surgery on my foot will take over a year or more, my progress has been good and right on target. My psychological health actually fell from a 6 to a 4. I think that is because I have had a lot of added stress in all aspects of my life lately, and I haven’t taken the time to implement my new health and wellness plan. Once I do that, I know this aspect of my health will improve. In Unit 3 I scored my spiritual health as a 4. I am now up to a 5, because I have been putting some contemplative practices into my life. I have not made a lot of progress in this area, because I am still working on making a commitment to put contemplative practices into my daily life. My classes are over and I am ready to graduate, so I am going to take the time after the holidays to put the program that I put together into practice.
This course in health and wellness has altered the way I look at my overall health, especially my recovery from surgery. Up until I took this course, I was doing a fairly good job of doing what I thought I needed to do to help with the recovery of my ankle and the rest of my body and mind that have been affected by over two years of chronic pain and mobility problems. I began a yoga regimen, relaxation exercises and weight loss program about six months ago, which I thought was the best way I could become healthy again. This course has shown me that I have neglected one of the most important parts of an integral health program – the spiritual aspect. I never thought o myself as a person who could meditate or bring contemplative exercises into my life, but this course proved that I could. I’m beginning to understand that bringing contemplation practices of loving-kindness and Asclepius into my life will make a huge difference in how I will heal. I had a few courses in mind that I wanted to take during my last semester at Kaplan, and I am really happy that I chose this course on health and wellness. It will definitely change my path to recovery in a very positive way.
This course has given me so very good tools to use, when I go into the field of substance abuse counseling. I will now look at each client from all aspects of his/her life, and I will be able to help them put together a plan to help them heal and recover from the results of alcohol and/or drug abuse and addiction. Even if my client can only take a few small steps with a very basic plan for health and wellness, I know it will make changes that will alter the way they look at themselves and their health.
I know this class has really been a blessing in itself. It has reminded me how important meditative practice is and also how important spiritual health is as well. Because of my background in physical health and my certification in personal training and my own workouts, sometimes I get carried away with just the physical part of wellness and forget the rest. I believe I have improved in those two areas slightly since beginning this class because it has reminded me how important those two other areas are and I have repacked all of my Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle cds and books and have began my meditative practices again, and my reading about mental and spiritual health.
ReplyDeleteI hope you recover from surgery quickly and are able to implement your plan into action. I am glad to hear you are graduating and hope that you have a great 2012 and beyond!
In health
Michelle C.