Saturday, September 7, 2013

Reflections of my journey...



Looking back at Unit 3 when this all started, I can see some areas that I improved and some that need the little push to move forward again. Starting with my physical status with a 6-6.5, I would say unfortunately it hasn’t improved much. Since then I had another knee injury that set me back to not being able to cycle for a month. I then slacked off with my other attempts of daily exercise, which was more due to the frustration of the pain I was in. I have now added some new supplements and made small changes in my diet and I have seen some improvement with my OA in my knees. I am slowly getting back into my cycling moving to 34 miles this week and happily without much increased pain! Score wise I’m probably still at a 6 but working on changing that over the next month.

Spiritually I had scored myself previously at about an 8 and I would say it’s about the same. I am working on achieving a daily meditation practice which has given me wonderful results in quieting the inner chatter and going through the day with an inner peace and calm. Psychologically I was at a fluctuating 8 and I’m about the same now. I feel this goes hand in hand with the spiritual practice. I had slipped below an 8 with the frustrations of my pain, but feel I am gaining control over that while at the same time I’m seeing improvements in my outlook on other things in my daily life.

My goals were to add yoga or Pilates to my exercise routine for my physical wellness, continue with daily meditations/visualizations for spiritual, and take the time with renewing both old and new friendships and spending more time with “fun” activities each week for my psychological well-being. These practices are all in progress, while still working on making them a priority in my daily life. Time management, physical constraints, and setting a daily routine has been part of the issue with me and I am working on establishing a better method.  

I enjoyed this course and it has been a great reminder of the importance of daily practices in all three areas (spiritual, physical, and psychological). As I continue to work on all three to reach my goals of improvement in these areas, I am reminded on any given day that I leave out my meditation practice, of how much it is helping me to feel more grounded with a sense of peace on the days I do practice it. Going through a difficult time this term with my physical health challenges kept me from some of my practices at times, but it is a great reminder of how all 3 areas feed each other to achieving a balanced sense of well-being.

This experience only helped me to better understand and inspire others through my own experiences and achievements. I look forward to being able to help others overcome some of their health and wellness obstacles by sharing what I have learned and helping them implement new practices.

A special thanks to Professor Beth and all my classmates who shared knowledge and experiences, and inspired me in this journey over the past 10 weeks! 

All the best,
Lynne 

3 comments:

  1. Ugh, knee injuries are just awful. Congrats on fighting your way to the other side! Any progress is good progress, never forget. Best of luck to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Amy, I agree and hoping the progress will continue:). All the best to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Lynne, I just wanted to give you inspiration to keep making improvements on your physical, psychological and spiritual practices. It is definitely not an easy practice to engage in. I had to take small steps in changing my daily routine which provided me with the time to engage in the exercises and practices more. However, I seem that this course was very beneficial to you by providing you with information to understand wellness and inspire others. I think that inspiring others is the most beneficial aspect of the course because many people need guidance and having someone to help them on the right path can give them a very rewarding lifestyle.

    Best of Luck!

    ReplyDelete