For this blog, we are asked to post  our final project as the blog.  Soo, for  your reading pleasure. here it is:

HW420 Final Project

Andrea Nelsen

      Section One:  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?

I think that as a caregiver, in whatever form you choose to practice, you need to be first and foremost honest with your patients and clients.  The image you project to them of honesty and true compassion will help them just as much as any medication or treatments that you may prescribe. If you are a fitness trainer who is morbidly obese, that says that maybe your lifestyle and priorities are not in tune with your career choice, and you most likely do NOT practice what you preach. I work in the veterinary field and we are forced to communicate with our patients by reading their bodies and mannerisms. The clients, we have to communicate verbally, and in many ways, we are their counselors and help them make informed decisions about their beloved pets. It becomes clear very quickly when we are not sure of our advice or we are just trying to sell them a service. (At least with the ones I work with. they are savvy and very few are likely to just follow advice for the sake of being compliant).

In my future endeavors, I hope to work in the human field, and I feel that psychologically I will need to prepare myself to work with a wider variety of people and physical conditions. I honestly am not sure if I will make the transition to the human medicine world as I truly love the veterinary world, but human nature is such a wide ocean and I am far more used to dealing with those that have the same passion and care for animals as I do, that working and dealing with people in such stressful situations as ill health may be more than I am prepared for. Animals are far more forgiving in the long run.

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

Spiritually:  Using a scoring system of: Needs work (self explanatory) Adequate (good enough but it doesn’t hurt to strive for better, obviously) And Rock Star, I would put this as between adequate and Rock star. I have made a concerted effort to make “me” time and use it well. I have been sleeping better and found a center of peace with nature that took a while but is getting stronger.

Physically: Needs Work. I am overweight and while I have joined a gym, and go regularly, I do need to concentrate on my diet more than I do.  I have many heart related diseases in my family history and diabetes as well, and I have found myself being complacent as I have normal blood values and blood pressure. My husband has hypertension, and is on medication so diet should be easy fix, but I am not the best planner, and then fall back on easy, not so healthy options.

Psychologically:  Adequate. I feel less stress than I expected to with school, work and life in general, and I thing this helps the mind in this regard.  I do have some issues with a few people who have made life challenging and even heartbreaking, and I am trying to forgive and let this go, but as it is still a source of distress for my dad, it’s hard to let it go. Having never felt that my dad really stood up for and believed in me is also a huge part of this. (Long story short, his lawyer friend has him convinced I was trying to put him in a home to steal his money. dad’s hardly wealthy, and My sister in law and I were his primary care givers for 18 months after mom died. we were trying to talk him into going into an assisted living facility so he could have some social stimulus as well, and he actually thrived there when forced to go after being hospitalized. the “friend” told him we were trying to get rid of him, and he believes the man. so he’s back home alone with no services.. also the lawyer friend’s idea.. dad “disowned” me and won’t speak to me).  Yeah, I would feel lighter, freer if I could let this go, but too much time has been invested at this point to make this an easy endeavor. So I have the interesting dilemma of trying to deal with my anger, and my worry simultaneously. Oh, and If I try to “interfere” in dad’s health or life, I could be arrested. (Also his buddy’s idea). Dad says he doesn’t remember signing this document, but since I have a copy, I know he did.. Legally, I’m stuck, too.

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

Physical: I want to loose 35 pounds by the end of the year. I have three hour-long sessions in the gym weekly, I walk the dogs (granted, they are greyhounds, so they have speed but little stamina, so these are about a mile only) and ride the horse; this is a workout.  Maybe not as good as a machine or stability ball, but you do get the core engaged and use your legs.  It’s also therapy and relaxing as well, so extra bonus there. I need to change my diet, slowly to make the changes stick, and do more physical activity outside of the regimen at the gym. As I get in better shape, this will become easier as well.

Mental health: This will be the challenging one, and may fall in line with a shift in spiritualty as well. The gym etc. has been very helpful for my stress level, and I do sleep better, but this could also be improved upon. I do deep breathing and visualization exercise before bed, and this activity alone has helped greatly, and this class has been instrumental in building this in as a routine part of my day/night.

Spirituality: This and the previous one are about one in the same for me. My connection to animals and nature are my “spirituality” and also the main focus for improvement in my mental health. I don’t believe in god, I don’t practice an organized religion, but I find some of the concepts in Christianity very obvious and honorable.  The “Golden Rule” is the one that I feel has the biggest impact. If everyone just took a few seconds to think about the impact of their words and actions on those around them on a daily basis, so much anger could be avoided. I think too much emphasis is placed on wealth and power, and more time communing with nature and respecting it’s strength and limitations would help many find an inner peace and tranquility that may be lacking

Section Four: 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: Diet!! Got a new steamer, so I will be able to prepare more vegetables in a far healthier way.  I already use ground turkey in place of beef, but I can increase my fish intake, as the steamer is a good way to prepare filets, too. I also will try and get into the gym more or do something comparable at home.. I have weights and stability balls; I just need to make the commitment to use them at home, too.

Psychological: take the time to look inward for calm and reassurance, and not so much to outsiders. Try and not let the negative people influence my life as much (yes, this is hard and may, in fact be impossible but I can try. knowledge is power, and if I know the reaction/response, I can temper it. Mediation and yoga can help with these efforts, as can exercise and even the escape of reading or writing.

Spiritualty:  This and Psychological go hand in hand. More mediation and just contemplative thinking in nature or visualizing nature can be a great way for me to reach an inner peace and find the calm that will help me with everything from school to work to home life.  My pets are also a huge part of this for me. I can spend an hour just petting the dogs, or riding and I feel as though I have unburdened myself in a way that is hard to describe. I have always said my horse is my sanity, and I feel it’s true. She is getting older, so eventually riding will be phased out for her, but grooming her is calming, too. She will lower her head, and even rest it on my shoulder gently as if to say “thanks. That feels good, mom” (she acts like a big dog, actually. likes her ears scratched, tooJ even groans.) 

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?

For the physical part, this is simple. Get on the scale. And how long can I work out before I hit failure, or how many reps before I hit failure? I will also consider how I feel, not just what the scale says. I feel more energetic now than 6 months ago, and hope to continue this trend. The other categories are a bit harder to predict. I would imagine I would try and determine how I feel mentally and emotionally, much like physically. Am I sleeping better? Do I get any more stress headaches? Can I get calm in a more reasonable amount of time after a stressful situation?  Do I need to reassess my workout plan or alter my work schedule to be a better fit? Do I take more stresses from work home with me? (I tend to bring work home, so I also need to temper this habit) 

There is much I can do, and I am happy that I have made the first steps to a better overall health and wellness.  This class and several before this have made the obvious connection between mind and body and while I always knew it was there, having it better defined has been the trigger to make changes and strive for better overall wellness.

For this week, we were to choose two of the classes exercises that we responded to or liked the best..
I would have to say that last week's and the week 5 exercise  were probably my choices..
Last week, we visualized a person whom we aspired to be like, and the week 5 was a visualization exercise mixed with deep breathing...

Both were relaxing, and effective.. more so because we could choose our own pace and  pause if needed.. the breathing one was obviously easy to "master" as we all need to breathe, just sometimes it's helpful to have instruction on how to do it better..

 This class has given me the opportunity to explore things that I may have rejected in the past due to time constraints or other flimsy excuses.. simply stargazing or short meditations can be so rejuvenating to the mind and body that perhaps this should be taught in  grade school??
we may find that kids have less anxiety about fitting in or tests..

Just a thought..
Andi

For week 7 , this was our assignment: The mp3 was about focusing on a mentor or someone you perceived as having qualities such as those you'd like to see/emulate in yourself..( such as compassion, great knowledge or the like)

1. Complete the Meeting Aesclepius mp3 (located in the Doc Sharing area). Describe your meditative practices 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?
2. 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?

The person I focused on was a woman I have known for years, she is very high energy but it is a quiet energy that makes you feel like she can handle anything  (and she often does with grace and quiet dignity). I enjoyed the exercise insomuch as I admire this person and wish to be more like her, but feel that the idea that I could become her is a bit unrealistic, and in a way setting myself up for failure.
I simply can't be her as our experiences and lives have had different paths and these are all part of what makes up what we are. She has been a great example to go by, and I hope to be able to do more work with her, but again, she has also learned from me so we have a mutually beneficial relationship, and I think that it's important to note that as well


I feel like I have developed a greater understanding of contemplation and it's power. I have learned that it's ok to be selfish for a few moments to get my mind back into perspective and will continue to do so as I feel less stress and more confident in my abilities to deal with something negative

I  think that anyone who advises people ( health or otherwise) should have the experience to back it up..Much like telling someone that a certain restaurant is great if you've never been there or had the food , eventually the truth will tell and your advice will loose it's punch.. In my line of work, if I don't know the answer, or have never tried the product, I am honest and qualify my statements with honesty. An example; A new flea and tick product was introduced, my dogs had an allergic reaction so I told clients that I honestly could not verify personally that the product was effective, but I could tell them what I had heard from other clients etc..
On the self health side, I have tried acupuncture and feel it's effective, but do tell others that it may not work for everyone.. leaving it up to them whether to try  it for themselves or their pets.. ( have done for the dogs, too ).. I think as a health care professional, it's my responsibility to be aware of options, keep an open mind and keep myself (and my pets) healthy..on all fronts.. hard to take advice on not smoking from a smoker for example:-)  You also need to remain a bit separate and maintain objectivity as well to remain effective in your job.

Andi



 my crazy hound sleeping on the couch.. in the hound world, this is called "roaching"














  Meeting Aesclepius.mp3

1. Complete the Integral Assessment discussed in chapter 11 (p.115).
2. Describe the exercise and assessment process. What did you discover about yourself? What area have you chosen to be a focus of growth and development? Why? What are some specific exercises or activities that you can implement to foster greater wellness in this area?

This exercise was a bit .. ( ok ..alot ) challenging,, mostly because I am in another state for a Veterinary Convention and the distractions are many and sometimes mind numbing..  If you're interested I am in beautiful San Antonio  by the River walk and honestly would rather be walking along that than in lectures, but I digress...

The exercise asks us to relax and ask ourselves what aspect of out life  is a source of difficulty and suffering..( options  are psychospiritual, biological,interpersonal, or worldly").Then were to focus on that one area and , in the most basic sense , what can be done to improve this area..

If I'm honest, there isn't really one of the four that pop out as a focal source of  great suffering or difficulty. , but there are things within  all four, to varying degrees that I feel can be improved upon..
Choosing one, I went with biological as I am wanting to loose weight, and gain a sense of better physical health , or basically get in  better shape. I don't want to end up like my dad, with so many health issues he's basically home bound as a senior and is quite dependent on people for anything mobility related.. he suffers from hypertension and cystic kidney disease as well..

I discovered that while I have a certain amount of motivation to get fit.. I certainly can improve,, the habits learned in my parents' home are hard to break..  and sometimes its hard to make myself get to it and move!.. I wont' go into diet this week, as like I said , travel kind of screws up this whole diet thing..  I don't usually eat out this much but as I am in a hotel right now, choices are a bit limited.. and the convention provides free meals that I will take advantage of ( cheaper than going out and time restraints apply as well) The one thing I did plan ahead for was I am in a hotel that is about 1/2 a mile away,.. so I have to walk to the lectures and back as well.. and then there is the river walk.. have done that as a full loop once already.

Obviously , more exercise and less calorie dense food is the way to go.. common sense changes and creating new , healthier habits for long term for  better health and mobility when I get older.. ( I already have a few things in my favor, as my blood pressure at 43 is perfect, I have a job that is not sedentary , although not a great source of exercise, I am standing or walking for most of the time.. and my mind is also engaged, so bonus for my brain to keep learning ) I am going to the gym more often and varying my workouts for fun and function..  I do have bone spurs on my knees, so I have pain when I kneel or bend my knees too sharply.. so I am doing concentrated exercise to strengthen the areas around that joint to stabilize. Mentally, I know that everything I do is beneficial, but sometimes, especially when my knees hurt, or I'd rather read...I have a hard time convincing myself that I should get to it.. I remind myself how much better I feel afterwards, and , about 85-90 % of the time, that works.... the other 10-15%, I feel guilty about ( unless I am reading for a purpose other than fun)...
Again, this week is not an ideal example, as it's hard to feel motivated in lecture of this type.. mentally stimulated, yes.. wanting to circuit train, not so much.. I am very glad, that today was nice a breezy here in San Antonio, or that river walk would have been the short circuit:Today I did the 4.2 mile downtown route-).. Yesterday was 99 degrees and I was done in after less then 3/4 mile... ugh.. just to the convention center, back and then to dinner and back.. ( Bella on the River is highly recommended by the way.. expensive but all homemade pasta, marinara sauce and amazing house salad.. my big splurge for the trip:-))

Andi

Unit 5 post

As with last week, an Mp3 was offered with, for lack of better terminology, a series of deep breathing exercises to follow.. Very simple, as we all need to breathe, right??  I do recommend a bathroom break prior to this exercise as it is almost 25 minutes long, and I had just consumed a large amount of iced tea.. I re-started and that was much better:-)
First , and most importantly  was 10 slow deep breaths where you concentrated on the flow going in and out. Very simple  but amazingly effective.. I like it better when the instructions are brief, and they let you "work" at your own pace.. with moving water and a quiet flute as the only audio.. The voice is rather soothing as well. ( as opposed to the male voice in earlier exercises.. I just did not like his voice, and rather than relaxing me, I felt more annoyance than anything.. just personal preference) I thought that both this exercise and the loving kindness exercise from last week were about the same as far as ability to focus and included  the same voice and quiet audio.
We were asked to discuss the mind/body/physical wellness connection and how we have experienced it personally. The best example I can think of is when I am at the gym, on the treadmill ( aka slip and slide as I have tripped on this machine and need to have a sense of humor about that)or  when on the elliptical machine ... when I hit that zone.. you runners know what I mean...( I don't run, as my poor knees would protest loudly and painfully), but when in that zone, I truly zone out.. I may look at the TVs in the room, but don't really pay attention to whats on.. rather observe the images( oooo look at the pretty colors :-))  and my brain goes elsewhere.. sometimes to "write" a school project in my head, other times to plan my next errand or task.. but often just to just BE. No pressures, no demands save for breathing ( The text for class encourage us to use this time to concentrate in the ins/outs of our breath as well much like the aforementioned exercise above) I find myself visualizing waves on a shore, or an eagle soaring, a herd of horses running.. or ( big surprise) wolves howling in concert.
When done with exercise, and in the car, I find that I still feel relaxed and I'll admit, that I actually have to force myself to concentrate lest I become a driving hazard..I have since learned to at least splash  cool water on my face before leaving the gym!  I have since tried the 10 deep breaths exercise just prior to sleep with success.. my brain did actually seem "quiet"

North Shore of lake Superior.. one of my favorite spots on earth.

Another favorite spot:Lake Shagawa, Ely, Mn.