Only the Beginning: Plans for a Continued Journey to Integral Health

     Here we are at the end of my 10 week journey in class, and just the beginning of a lifetime of working towards integral health. Looking at the definitions of health and wellness will help us understand why reaching integral health is so important. Health is the absence of disease, while wellness is enjoying good physical and mental health. Without a balance of mental health and stress management, chronic conditions of stress or unresolved psychological or spiritual issues can result in chronic disease. So integral health is the goal, and to achieve this we each must foster the three domains; psychological, spiritual, and physical development. Before a practitioner can do this for others, they must experience this journey themselves. This doesn’t mean the professional must be at a point of integral health when working with their clients, but engaging in daily practices themselves in all areas are crucial to helping others determine their own path. By embodying the image of peace and balance in these areas, it can give others a goal they see as attainable. With this personal experience of the practitioner, they can help the client determine which exercises and methods may fit into their individual lifestyle and personality.

     My journey had started out a little difficult this year with surgery and some other medical issues. To assess my health in each of the domains of spirituality, physical, and psychological, I compared to my times when I was in more optimal health to how I have grown and handled the issues I have been faced with. Starting with spirituality I would say I am about the same as my earlier assessment at an 8. Although it is the same, I have grown in some ways through my meditation practice. I continue to have a strong faith and religious practice, and would like to work on the meditation and reaching more of an inner peace to grow in dealing with life’s issues in a calm, thoughtful way.  Physically I would say I am still about a 6-6.5 due to physical constraints, and psychologically still fluctuating around an 8 or a little below.

     My goals are to continue to grow in each domain, where I can see improvements by the end of the year. Starting with my physical health I have found some exercises I can do with my limitations, but need to begin doing these on a regular basis (5-6 days per week). My psychological health has fluctuated mostly due to not making time for myself. My goal is to return back to setting aside time each day for relationships and “me time”. Spiritual goal is to have my meditation practice become a daily exercise.

     There is one thing that comes to mind with developing strategies for my personal health; consistency. This is what keeps me from progressing to the next level in some areas. Time management and planning will be a big part of keeping these practices. Let’s start with my physical practice and two main strategies. These include at least 30 – 60 minutes of exercise each day, along with transitioning to a plant based diet. To implement the exercise will be by setting a specific time each morning to do this, and planning it into my morning each day. As for the diet, this will be done by planning out and preparing recipes and dishes in advance, as well as freezing some for those busy days.

     My spiritual practice will be twofold. One is to get back to a regular weekly practice of going to church, and to determine meditation times (preferably two) each day that will be set aside for this. These will be done at a time when I can relax and tune out the mind chatter and long list of things to do.

     My psychological practice will be a little more difficult to implement as I generally leave out the “me time” that is so needed by each of us. Again I will revert back to time management and a schedule, even though I tend to resist them. I will plan for my daily times to spend with my husband, along with at least one time during the week for a fun activity away from the home. Secondly I will plan out a lunch or get together each week with a friend. These are the areas that recently have been neglected and I see the need for planning them out in advance.

     Assessment is an important key to measuring progress and staying on track. If we don’t assess our progress at certain intervals, how do we not only stay on track, but modify our exercises to continually develop in each area or domain. So I will set up measurements for myself in each area. Starting with the physical domain, I’ll monitor my progress with my exercise, along with modifying the plan each month to continue gaining benefits. These can be done by keeping a log of my daily diet and physical activities. The spiritual domain can be measured first by ensuring 1-2 daily meditations, then measuring the quality of reaching that inner space of calm and how I feel after the exercises. Psychologically is to continue my meditation practice which goes hand in hand with psychological health. In addition to this, I need to look at the quality of time spent on relationships and quality time doing things for enjoyment.

     We can help others aspire toward integral health to eventually change the culture we live in to a more peaceful, generous, and loving one. For us to affect this change it must start with us, as practitioners, and the example we can set for others.