Unit 9: A Personal Plan to Integral Health

I. Introduction: 


The world of medicine is always changing.  And in order to keep up with this progression, health practitioners must equally evolve, sometimes even leading the way toward necessary change and transformation.  This evolution must first begin within the health practitioner, a personal walk of development of the psychological, spiritual and physical aspects of health and wellness. Medicine will not be transformed if we do not first take this step ourselves (Dacher, 2006). 

Integral medicine is holistic, evolutionary, intentional, person-centered and dynamic (Dacher, 2006).  This means that there is an embrace of all four aspects of the human experience, and not merely a manufacturing of new treatments and methods of the same stagnate medical practices we see in many communities (Schlitz, 2005).  The health and wellness professional must develop and be transformed in order to guide others on their journey toward wholeness and health (Dacher, 2006).  Otherwise, the risk increases of repeating what has become customary to many conventional medical practices in which only a patient’s symptoms and disease are the focus of treatment.  The whole person must be the focus: the mind, body and spirit (Schlitz, 2005).

In order to achieve my personal goals in health and wellness, I must make stronger efforts to develop each domain of my life: the physical, psychological and spiritual.  However, the most transformative evolution will occur throughout each area if I put a stronger focus on the psychological and spiritual domains of health and wellness, known as psychospiritual development.  It is my belief and experience that by first, allowing the spirit and mind to be changed, all other aspects of development will come naturally with greater transformation and development.  For example, by addressing the mind, it’s fears, fixations and distress; we release the hold they have on the mind’s ability to take the necessary steps to health and wellness. This opens doors to biological healing, development and evolution.  As Dacher writes, psychospiritual development “is the one are of our development that will most directly catalyze the full development of our life” (pg. 59). 

II. Assessment:

By using the six principles of Integral Assessment, I have become more closely aware of the areas in my life that need attention.  Asking myself such questions as, “Which aspects of my life is the most significant source of distress?”  And, “Where is my greatest opportunity for growth and development?” I am able to identify more specific focus on where changes need to occur.  This can be useful in the spiritual, physical and psychological domains of health and wellness.  Immediate identification can take place, which leads to long term relief of suffering and distress through a practice of inner, self-cultivated and maintained integral approaches toward healthy living. 

This assessment required me to be open-minded, unbiased and have guidance from someone who has insight and wisdom, assisting me in giving form to my assessment (Dacher, 2006).  I incorporated the assistance of a wellness counselor, who helped me identify areas in my life that I wanted to see change, both removing the suffering of stress and mental fatigue as well as building my awareness of and attention toward the aspects of my life that I see opportunities for growth.

Spiritually, my assessment led me to the conclusion that for several years, my life had been motivated mostly by survival needs, “driven by fear” (Dacher, pg107).  The condition of my marriage had directed me to turn toward my faith in Christ to sustain me physically and emotionally.  Upon leaving the abusive environment, I remained in survival mode and gradually decreased my spiritual development.  It had become habitual, yet unfulfilling, wandering and undisciplined.  My foundation in Christ as a Christian was evident, yet lacking still.  Inconsistency was the main identifying component of my spiritual development. 

  Psychologically, an integral assessment has shown me that I have been guided and made many of my life’s decisions based on fear and insecurity. Stability has been evident, but inconsistent.  My psychological development has been acquired mainly by information and partially pure awareness.  The emotions of fear were surprisingly evident in many areas of my life, affecting the interpersonal, the worldly, the biological and the psychospiritual development in my life.  This is a major point to focus on as I continue my journey toward integral health.

Physically, assessing my development was fairly easy to identify.  While my fitness progress has not been developing as quickly as it could, I am gradually addressing and making improvements to many areas of my physical health.  Nutrition has been the greatest development in my life physically.  However, a level of self-regulation in physical fitness and a progression into a highly trained mind and body has been lacking.  Again, consistency and self-discipline have been my weakness. 

Of all the areas of development, I have found that my greatest strengths lie in the physical domain of integral health.  I would give myself of score of 8 out of 10.  Spiritually, I would rank in second place at 7 out of 10.  And psychologically, my score would be approximately a 6, where I have found my greatest need for improvement.  The mind affects the body and its action; therefore, this is where my greatest focus should be.  A great connection lies between the psychological and the spiritual, in my opinion, since our spiritual beliefs and practices highly motivate and direct our thoughts and emotions.  I believe both will see great improvement with attention focused more closely.

III. Goal development: 


Physical Goals:

• Nutritional Improvements
•  Weight loss

My goal is to have a renewed energy, vitality and confidence in my health physically.  Ultimately, this means weight loss, continued improvements made to my nutritional practices and regular daily exercise involving cardiovascular and strength training for at least 60 minutes most days of the week. 

Psychological Goals:

• To reduce and cope with stress more effectively
•   To be motivated by wisdom and compassion

My psychological goals include the desire to reduce the stress in my life that comes from fear and insecurity.  I also hope to develop practices that train my mind to be motivated by wisdom and compassion, rather than emotional reactivity.  This will be a collaborative effort along side my spiritual practices and development as they are often connected and responsive to one another. 

Spiritual Goals:

• Daily Bible study
• Prayer and meditation  

My goal is to be motivated more toward finding wisdom and wholeness, seeking to renew a personal relationship again with Christ so that my purpose may be fully experienced and fulfilled. In so doing, my confidence, purpose and joy can be more easily restored and the painful circumstances that I face will not seem so insurmountable.  This goal includes a daily commitment of time toward Biblical study and prayer and meditation.

IV. Practices for personal health: 


    Strategies to foster growth in each domain of development will sometimes be isolated.  At other times they will be all inclusive.  For instance, the first step toward creating opportunities for reaching my goals in all domains will require an assessment of my priorities throughout each day and a withdrawal from activities that hinder my success.  Namely, time management assessments will be the first focus and habits like watching television will be the first daily routine that will decrease drastically in order to open up the time necessary to implement the practices required to reach my goals.  Another exercise in time management will be a healthy sleep schedule that will foster a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress.  Since I want to encourage success, my strategies for growth will be gradual and progressive.  I will begin with a small step rather than a huge leap.  For example, instead of making the commitment to immediately begin the day with a one-hour run, followed by a 30-minute Bible study and eventual 30 minutes of meditation during the day, I will start with one practice for only a few minutes.  As discipline and motivation increases, my time and involvement will increase and improve.  This is the best method toward reaching these goals toward integral health (Dacher, 2006).

Physical Strategies:

  I will walk/run in the morning for 20 minutes at least three days for weeks 1 and 2, increasing by 10 minutes and one additional day each new set of weeks until I reach 60 minutes/day five days per week.  At week #9, I will have reached my goal of 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise.  I will do this in the morning and will adjust my sleep schedule to wake one hour earlier.

  I will consult with a nutritional counselor and personal trainer on how I can best reach my physical goals and work with them at least once a week through the first month of my new routine.  I will learn what foods work best for my metabolism and nutritional needs and develop a weekly meal plan that works for my children and me.

  I will document my physical activities, thoughts regarding my exercise program, changes that need to be made and how I feel when I eat.  My notes will be useful when consulting with the trainers.  It will also help me self-monitor.

Psychological Strategies: (psychospiritual)

  Domestic violence counseling once a month through my church/local women’s shelter is available.  This will include group discussions, journaling (blog) and educational practices on the subject.

  I will reduce the amount of time I am involved in mindless activities like entertainment television viewing by two hours each day.  It is my hope to nearly eliminate the need for a television aside from its minimal usefulness.

  Mental workouts will begin with at least 5 minutes each day of such practices as the Loving-Kindness practice as well as The Subtle Mind, and Meeting Aesclepius (Dacher, 2006).  As time progresses and I find what practices work best for me, I will increase the duration and focus on one or two practices. These can be done at the end of my exercise routine, or done separately during the day.

  I will find a Yoga and/or Tai Chi class in my local gym and begin to learn how to use these practices from the direction of a qualified instructor and improve my mind/body fitness (Dacher, 2006).

Spiritual Strategies:

  Bible Study is first and foremost the most important activity I need to consistently include in my morning routine.  It has been possible, but difficult to maintain a daily time of prayer and study.  I will begin to remedy this by waking 15 minutes earlier each day to allow for a quiet and, hopefully, uninterrupted time of study.  As time and spiritual growth progress, I will increase my time and possibly add a separate time in the day for further prayer/study.

  Regular attendance in Sunday church services as well as participation in the Wednesday evening Choir practices would greatly encourage my spiritual growth and faith-walk.  A church-sponsored retreat would also be an option I’d like to consider participating in when possible.

  Joining the women’s bible study on Tuesday mornings would allow me to have a time of fellowship and study with the women in my community and church.  This would open doors to greatly needed friendships that have bee lacking since I became so isolated in my marriage.  I believe fostering friendships can be a spiritually healing practice altogether. 

  Five to ten minute Mind/body practices that include my children will be helpful in fostering psychospiritual health and wellness as well as develop their habits to incorporate this holistic approach to integral health.  Turning off the noise, reading and quietly resting our minds with the use of visualization and breathing techniques will help us all to take the necessary time we need when things get too chaotic and flustered.

V.   Commitment:

My progress will be assessed in several ways.  Through counseling, I will see the results of six months of my efforts from the accountable perspective of the counselor as well as my own.  Another way to track my progress will be by the journaling I publish through my blog and in private journals.  I can track my physical activities, eating habits and my thoughts on how the various contemplative practices are affecting my mental fitness and improving my overall health and wellness.  Accountability is critical and I believe it will be imperative to have a committed friend, relative and/or hire practitioner to assess my progress.  Weekly and monthly assessments will be sufficient to track my progress or lack thereof and direct my efforts.

For long-term practices in health and wellness, I will conduct another integral health assessment and then seek the assistance where it is needed at that time.  The inclusion of friends and family are essential for long-term success, but may not always be available.  Seeking professional help from a health practitioner who supports the holistic or integral approach to healing would be my first choice and seeking his/her wisdom and guidance in further health assessments would be the best way to see long-term success toward integral health (Dacher, 2006).

Reference:

Dacher, E.S.(2006) Integral Health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc.

Schlitz, M., Amorok, T., and Micozzi, M.S.(2005) Consciousness and healing: Integral approaches to mind-body medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone