compare and contrast

This truly is the final blog for this term. In that we were asked to review our unit 3 blog and compare it with today. In Unit 3 these are what I put as my answers:

1. On a scale of one to ten I feel physically I am about an 7.5 or and 8, spiritually I think I am about an 8 and psychologically I think am about an 7 or an 8. I feel I am at these numbers because no one is perfect and there is always room for improvement, I do the best that I can to live a healthy and a well rounded lifestyle and try and focus on wellness being one of the most important things but, I am human and "to be human is to err."  There are always things I can do in my life to improve my numbers in each category and some days are better than others.
2. A physical goal would be to increase my cardio exercise on a weekly basis, I get some now but I know I need to increase this, my goal will be to add an hour more of cardio to my life a week . Spiritually- I can pray more often and give thanks for all of my blessings more regularly, my goal will be to give thanks daily. Psychologically I need more quiet time, I allow myself a bubble bath every day but I don't usually give myself quiet time to meditate or reflect on my day. My Goal will be to add either meditation or reflection into my nightly routine, I will aim for 2 days of meditation and 3 days of reflection. That is more than I am doing now.
3. I think that the activities I can do to implement my life are more simple, I already do loving kindness towards myself and towards others, I practice this on a daily basis. I am lacking simple things that are mostly a matter of time and doing. If I allow a few extra minutes a day before bed nothing crazy but an extra 10-15 minutes daily I could achieve these goals. 

Today as I put in my final project, these numbers are lower than I thought. I Would say I am at a 7 all the way round. I have come to major realizations over the past few weeks that I am not nearly as healthy as I thought I was in all areas of my life. Physically I am underweight and have a skin condition that won't go away, mentally I am coming off of a year and a half worth of built up stress and spiritually I am not as connected as I could be. 

The goals and activities I had set in unit three I have started to work on I am doing more cardio exercises and praying and reflecting more and I am allowing more quiet time. I was given the gift of time for the next month and I am able to just sit and read or exercise as much as I want and I have more time to sit quietly and connect with my spiritual side. I am so grateful for  this gift and know how very important it is for my well being right now. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and it was effecting my health. I am hoping with this time of rest and relaxation that I can bring my numbers up to a 9 in all areas of my life.

As for implementing the activities I still practice loving kindness on a daily basis and I have added in the extra 10-15 minutes daily for reflection and meditation. I am trying to have a better grasp on my own integral health. It is a process.

Overall this class has really made me aware of my own integral health and what I need to do to change it. I see an acupuncturist on Thursday and I hope that he can help me with some of the physical things I am dealing with. I have the time to regroup and reorganize my life and with that I am going to make every moment count. I am now focused on me for the first time ever. I still have to be a mom and take care of my boys but, I have time to work on getting me healthy and I think that is exactly what I needed.  This has been my favorite class so far at Kaplan and I have learned so much. I really have thought this class to be the most beneficial so far. I plan on reading the third book that we didn't use and try the cd that came with it.

Thank you all for being apart of my journey these last ten weeks.
Shanti
Ramsie

The journey comes to written end but continues

This is the final post for this term and it has been an interesting experience to share all of these thoughts with my fellow classmates and my professor. This has been a good metaphorical journey one that I will continue just maybe not in the form of a blog.

Introduction:  As a health and wellness practitioner it is important to develop in all three major aspects of integral healing. Those aspects are physical, spiritual and psychological. It is important to develop these aspects because all three pieces are connected to the entire puzzle that is our life and our healing process. If one piece is not being developed or attuned the rest of the puzzle continues to shift around that piece knocking everything else lose and out of sync. the mind, body, spirit connection is where it all starts and to know that those pieces are all connected allows us a deeper insight to not only ourselves but to those we plan to help along this integral health path. As practitioners we must know how our own mind, body, and spirit are connected before we can help others find their path. Right now in my own personal life I am having to work on the physical aspects of healing. I have had skin spots since December and I have no idea what is causing them. I have been to a regular doctor and a naturopath, the naturopath said it was from food allergies and has put me on a very strict very rigid diet. Well because of this diet I have started to lose a lot of weight very quickly, which is not healthy especially when I am not very big to begin with. So now I need to figure out how to get rid of these spots but, now I also have to work on building up my muscle mass to balance out the loss of the weight. I am going to go see an acupuncturist to see if herbs and TCM can help me with the food allergies and the skin condition. This morning I started a new fitness program that centers on strength training and cardio so that I can build myself back up in a safe way. This is a process and I can already feel this affecting my psychological wellbeing. I am working really hard to eliminate any extra or unneeded stress so that my mind doesn't suffer. I am keeping my faith high and remembering to pray and offer my gratitude for I really am blessed.

Assessment: It is important that I constantly assess my overall health in mind, body, and spirit. If I am not assessing these pieces frequently how will I know what needs to be worked on or adjusted. Currently my assessment range is probably a 7 for all three pieces. There have been a lot of life altering changes to occur in my life since the beginning of April. if I being totally honest my life has been kind of in disarray for the last year and it has really been since March that I have been more attentive to this disarray and making changes and adjustments in order to really begin to heal. I need to work on all three aspects this means finding the right foods and exercises to fit my physical needs, I need to spend more time in meditation and relaxing exercises such as the loving kindness exercise or the focused mind exercise to build up my mental health, and I need to spend more time connecting to likeminded people, praying, and allowing more time to help with my spiritual needs. I had always considered myself pretty grounded and balanced in all of these areas and going through this class has really helped me discover how out of sync I really have been and how I have been hiding behind my fears and stresses and it has finally caught up with me and now I have to make changes before I wind up really sick with something far worse than itchy skin spots. The changes that have occurred in my life since the beginning of April is the universes way of telling me things need to change and change drastically or the outcome won't be pleasant. I have really been able to take the time to assess my health and wellbeing over the last two weeks, and I was not in a good place. Things are getting better and each day has offered a new and unexpected sort of surprise. I am happy that I have been given the tools through this class to recognize that things were not right and that it’s all part of the overall integral healing path.

Goal: The goals that I have right now are to eliminate as much of my stress as I can, I know that there will always be stress in my life as stress is a driving force in all of our lives, it's what allows us to get jobs done, and move through the day to day routine. I don't need extra stress and so I am working on keeping my stress level down. Another goal I have to begin to truly heal. As I mentioned the last year of my life has been pretty hard for me and I know I need to recover from all of that. I need to become the healthiest person I can for myself and for my little boys. I have been given a gift of a month long sabbatical and other than  making sure my boys are where they need to be and the normal tasks of being a mom I have nothing else that actually has to be done. I have decided to take a term off at Kaplan to regroup and so I am going to focus on getting my skin cleared up, putting muscle weight back on my body, and allowing time for myself to bring all three aspects of my life back into some semblance order. I plan on reading the game of thrones book series as it is something I have wanted to do for some time and I plan on lounging by the pool and relaxing, I plan on starting a daily meditation practice and just finding a little room to breathe. Life is too short to be overwhelmed and have constant chaos surrounding you. I am grateful for this time and am looking forward to healing this particular chapter of my life.

 Practices: There are many practices I can do to achieve my goals, I have mentioned several of them throughout this paper but, a few more examples would be yoga to strengthen all three aspects of mind, body and spirit, I love yoga and now that I am not teaching I plan to actually take a couple classes so that I can actually reap the benefits of yoga, I can also do a dance class or two as that truly is my ultimate stress reliever and one of my favorite forms of meditation and a great form of physical activity. I can do things like visualization for all aspects as well, visualizing being healthy will allow me to see myself healing. My mantra for this time is " I am happy, healthy, and healed." I started repeating this silently before bed last night and it will get repeated throughout my day, week, and life. I am going to continue my evening bubble bath to relax for my mental wellbeing. The nice thing about this journey is it too is a practice. Every day is something new and the practices shift and adjust as needed from moment to moment. I am excited to have time for these practices and to add them more frequently into my life. I just to need to make sure that when my month is up and I get back into a new routine that these all stay with me and part of a regular practice.

Commitment: Making the decision to change your life is never easy, and as I said I have had a months’ worth of life altering changes but, I am ready for the change and I am ready for something new, with that I know I need to be held accountable for my own healing journey and path. I need to stay on top of the mind, body, spirit connection and make sure that each piece is continuing to heal and grow. In order to do this I must assess my wellbeing frequently and make sure everything is still working properly. I need to watch the movie that is mind, body, spirit and see where things need to be changed and where there is growth and make notes of these things. I need to maintain a sense of healing at all times so that I don't wait until the imbalance appears in my skin to fix it. I need to be aware of how I am feeling physically, mentally and spiritually at all times and if something is off I need to increase my practices in that area so that I don't unravel at the seams as I have done for the last year or more of my life. I need to keep those seams together. Now that I am more attune to the integral healing process I vow to to myself and to my loved ones to be the driver of my own course and path, I want and need to heal now and always. This has been a journey for me to realize that I am in need of a new path and a new way to achieve that path on a more complete and total level.  I need to make these changes now so that I can be more prepared for whatever lies ahead and make the best out of my life ahead. I am 32 years old and really starting my healing journey here and now.

I close by saying- The journey comes to a written end but, continues.

A blended pair

This week we were asked to pick our two favorite mental fitness exercises. Looking back over all of the exercises that we have done over the last few weeks, I would have to say that my favorite exercises are meditation and the subtle mind exercises. I find these to be the most beneficial to me and my mental fitness. I feel like meditation really gives me a clear answer when I need it, it allows me to find a connection between myself and the spirit, it is also the first practice I really learned and it is something that feels like a connected part of me and the subtle mind exercise really allows me to clear my mind and gives me a chance to turn down the volume in my head. It allows me a few minutes of silence. I can add these to my practice because they are already part of my current practice. I think it is important to have a consistent practice, you can't teach a practice if you don't actually practice what you are trying to teach. These practices are a part of my own search for integral health. They do need to become a daily part of my search for integral health and I know that but, at least I know what I need to do to with these practices.
These practices are beneficial and I may add some of them into my own spiritual path but for now I am happy with my choices.

I hope the week is going well for everyone.
Ramsie

a week of regrouping and processing

This has been a week that has really tested me on a physiological and spiritual level. I decided to resign from my job that I had thought I loved. It turns out I had loved this job at one point but, I had gotten to the point where I had convinced my self that this was still the case. When I left this job I was devastated and I didn't know what I was going to do. I have two boys that rely on me and rent and everything else that goes along with being an adult. As the evening went on I became more and more calm and realized I was actually okay with this transition. The next day after dropping my boys off at school I felt lighter somehow and it was because I wasn't at my job. I then made the decision that there was something bigger and better out there for me. I have not spent much time meditating this week but, I have been spending a lot of my meditation time in prayer looking for answers that I need to find. I have always been very blessed and the right opportunity has always found me when I need it I am hoping this to still be the case, I have faith it will be.

As for exercise this week, I have always found that meditations where I have to visualize the image of a person especially a wiser person very challenging for me, as there are so many people who's wisdom is great and their teaching that I admire and respect so these usually tend to be a person of no particular face or identity. This was a nice time for reflecting, the light images were very nice but, for me there image of the white light was already present. I felt at ease and peaceful while practicing the exercise.

 The last part of my blog this week was to answer the question: "one cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" This means that you can't give someone directions on how to change if you haven't under gone the same change or something very similar. You can't know what a person would go through unless you under go it as well. This is beneficial for being in the health and wellness business because we can't help transform a clients health and well being if we haven't undergone our own personal transformation. If we have not tapped into all of our own levels of healing we won't be able to tap into anyone else's levels. It is the seeing is believing concept that can help drive us as professionals, our own personal testimonies can be used to help show our clients that there is truth in what we say.

I hope everyone has a great and blessed week!
Namaste
Ramsie

human kindness personal intimacy

Today is day like most Saturday's. I sit on my couch and work on homework and watch chick flicks. There are many things in which are going on in my life and all seem to balance a top the very small beam as to which I have put them. None of them to be of bother to me or to be causing me a great deal of stress but, I am very aware that they are there. With that being said it was a nice change to sit and practice the exercises for this week. The first was practicing the universal loving kindness exercise. To start repeating the mantras came easily and flowed as if a soft breeze whispering in my ear. After a spell though the mantras faded away but, the feelings of being up lifted and at ease remained. It was a pleasant task to sit there and wish well to others.
The next exercise too was  a nice change though an interesting outcome occurred. As I sat in stillness and reflected upon my integral assessment I came to discover that my Interpersonal aspect was the one that needed some work. I was not expecting this as I try very hard to keep my relationships with self, family, friends and community in tact. I do think that my intimate relationships are truly on the mend, I have had a series of unhealthy relationships and have been hurt in the process but, I have since worked through those issues and have become more aware of self and appreciation for myself and for the people in my life. I have had to learn what it is I truly need in a romantic partner and it has nothing to do with them but, what they bring to the entire table of my existence. I no longer need the embrace of another person to be content or happy. I do plan to try the intimacy and spiritual union exercise in our book. Along with that I plan to try and work on allowing my heart and mind to be more open to myself and those around me and paying attention to where my relationships are and how I can help shift them.

In light of the day
Ramsie

Subtle loving

This weeks exercise was the subtle mind exercise. I happen to like really enjoy this particular type of exercise, in my yoga classes I always teach breath as a focal point and do guided meditations around the breath  because it is an easy thing to focus on. This experience for me was very nice it was quiet in the house and I was able to really observe the things going on in my head. I avoid being in my head sometimes because it can be a bit scary and there is always so much going on that it is hard to look at each thing. Today I was actually able to weed out the muck and actually see what truly was going on in my head. My body was relaxed and breath was easy. This was different than the loving kindness because in that exercise you focused on physical person be it yourself or another person, this the focus was on the breath and the inner workings of the mind. I like both equally because they both create a different sense of peace and quietness within thy self.

The connection between spiritual wellness and mental and physical wellness is that there is a connection. In our text books, and research studies it shows how all three pieces are connected and without one the others don't function as well. This is manifested in my own life by the choices I make, the books I read, the food I eat and the path I choose to walk down in my life. For example I have had a skin condition since before Christmas, I have been to a conventional Doctor and their treatment didn't help, it actually made the condition worsen, I have been to an acupuncturist and his treatments have been a little better but not still right, so today I spent over an hour with a naturopath. We looked at my stresses, my environmental surroundings, emotional things I have had to deal with and after looking at all of these she ran a major allergy test and an ANA blood panel to be done to try and find a starting place to look to try and help me get rid of this skin condition. It has all been a process but it has been the process that I created.
Have a great week everyone
Blessed be

Loving kindness

Hello all,
I hope this has been a peaceful weekend for everyone.  In this blog we were asked to listen to the introduction to loving kindness and then practice the loving kindness exercise, and then answer these questions:

1. Describe your experience. Did you find it beneficial? Difficult? Why or why not? Would you recommend this to others? Why or why not?
2. What is the concept of "mental workout"? What does the research indicate are the proven benefits of a mental workout? How can you implement mental workouts to foster your psychological health?

Answer: 

1. My experience with this exercise was nice. I felt very warm and light inside while doing the loving kindness exercise. I have done this exercise a couple other times before in my life as it was something we learned in my 200 hour yoga certification program. Each time has always been a different experience as far as whom I chose to in each category but the feelings of peace and warmth that radiate through me have always been the same.  The speaker was much better through this exercise making it easier to focus on the act of loving kindness. I think this can be a challenging exercise for people because of the part about offering loving kindness to those we don't necessarily care for and this exercise could bring up some old emotional ties to those people making it difficult to follow the exercise. I also think though that if a person can get past those emotions that this is a great way to let go of past hurts forgive yourself and others opening the door for healing.

2. The concept of " mental workout" is to train your mind to be in shape as if you would train your body to be in shape. Benefits of mental workouts are: hanging the emotions from anger and fear to emotions of peace and happiness (Dacher, E. 2006). Things I could do to implement mental workouts to benefit my own psychological health would be, putting others needs above my own, truly being a friend when someone needs me and even when they don't. Reaching out and helping others for me decreases my own mental chaos and makes me feel better, it also makes me realize my life is not  bad and my troubles are not so great. I can also implement mental workouts by allowing down time, for me it is a 30-45 minutes bath daily, in this I picture all my stresses and worries melting away with the bubbles, the lighting is soft so my eyes can relax the music is low giving me a little distraction blocking out the noise in my head. Finally before bed I say positive affirmations about myself, about the people in my life, about my life repeatedly so that I fall asleep in a state of happiness and joy. there are many things people can do to implement mental workouts into their lives these are just some of my own personal mental exercises that get me through daily and keep me from going completely insane. 

Have a great week everyone

Namaste