Integral Health Assessment
Natalie Morris Young
Kaplan University
HW420 Creating Wellness
Integral Health
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As a Life coach
and Respiratory Therapist I am in a position of encouraging and
teaching. My goal is to fully convert
to eating clean and encourage others in a more holistic approach to life. It is important for me to develop
psychologically, spiritually, and physically this is Optimal wellness. Optimal wellness and flourishing is a
lifestyle. This is something that is harder to convert to in this western
world. The treatments in the western mindset are only superficial. With the
holistic approach also known as the eastern mindset, the treatment is for the
whole body mind and spirit. This is a great career to pursue. There are so
many health and food related epidemics including obesity that we can help
save one human at a time. It has to start in the mind. My goal is one
mind at a time but it has to start with my mind first.
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Assessment
Over the last 2 years health
and nutrition has been a primary focus with me having my daughter. A
couple months after having my 2nd born I experienced postpartum depression.
This really opened me up to stress management. My spiritual practices have been
ongoing for 12 years however, I am not planted I am a fruitful seed spiritually.
I have had ups and downs which are natural. Presently, I am trying to
work on all of these aspects at the same time. I would score my spiritual,
physical and psychological using the lines of development model discussed by
Dacher. In fig.14 pictured below. Now
the 4 aspects discussed are psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, and
wordly. All of these 4 aspects relate to
the assessment of my spiritual, physical and psychological being.
The score I would give overall is a 5
based on the fact that I have the desire to change and have activated my plan
to achieve optimal health in all 3 aspects. Psychospiritual development is an
essential component of integral health. An expanded consciousness strengthens
our capacity for attention, focuses our intention, reveals a penetrating
wisdom, opens the heart, and brings to life the qualities of human flourishing.
(Dacher, 2006) A comprehensive assessment must include this aspect of life.
Missing
Fig. 14 Aspects, lines, and levels of Development
This diagram outlines the full spectrum of aspects, lines, and
levels in all four quadrants. “We all
have different talents, capacities, abilities, training, and upbringing. As a
result, one or more lines of development may have received a better start or
more attention than another” (.Dacher 2006)
Goal
Development
Mind, Body and spirit are the 3 main components that I am setting goals
to establish optimal health. My
plan to foster greater development in these areas are one at a time I need to
work on my spiritual health. This is where my will power gets its strength. Then,
nutrition focusing on feeding my bodies needs instead of desires. This is also
a skill that is worked on spiritually. Exercise is also the routine to be
established to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit. Through this course I have learned psychological health or growth becomes the catalyst for
spiritual development, “The spiritual process aims at penetrating the deeper
layers of the mind to uncover the natural wisdom, inner peace, and
loving-kindness that are the pivotal causes of a sustained well-being of body,
mind, and spirit.”(Dacher,2006)
Practices for personal health:
Any transition in life
requires preparation for success. According to Dacher he has defined
three preparations to achieve success in internal health. Loving-kindness is
activated through simple actions in our thinking, offered time, advice and lending
a hand in a form of generosity. Through having kindness we are able to
eliminate pride, jealousy and anger. Skillful action is learning to restrain
unskillful behavior and encourage skillful behavior. (Dacher,2006)
Applying this principle in my personal mental fitness pursuits and spiritual
fasting would relate to restraining laziness the unskillful behavior. Now my
two goals for the physical would be exercise and stretching as the skillful
behavior.
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I will activate my mental
fitness at least 3 time a week eventually 7 days a week. The goal is as soon as I arise every
morning I would like to meditate and prepare my mind for the day. In order to
make my other goals more attainable meditation will help me follow through
with my other goals with a determined and focused mind. Learning to meditate helps with the
spiritual development. This is a time of prayer and gratitude and inviting
the holy spirit to give you the strength to remain committed. Spiritual fasting is a form of mental
fitness as well as spiritual. Fasting
from unhealthy food is how I can incorporate the physical goal of better
nutrition. This will allow me to follow through with my nutrition goal daily
and nourish the physical. Commitment
Commitment is the most important key to this entire process. Over the
next six months to ensure my commitment I am utilizing two methods of
accountability. First a friend who is also dedicated to bettering her health
and fitness. I will also use free apps on my phone. The My Fitness Pal app
helps track your food and fitness while setting alarms and graphs to
encourage your daily activity. Also the other app it’s called the Pact which
pays you for keeping your commitment. One other important factor to keeping
my commitment is love. I need to love my self first. According to the Encyclopedia of Religion “ The idea of
love has left a wider and more indelible imprint upon the development of
human culture in all its aspects than any other single notion In fact, many
great figures have argued that love is a single most potent force in the
universe (Schlitz,Amorok,Micozzi, 2005).”
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References
Dacher, E. (2006). Integral
health: The path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic
Health Publications, Inc.
Schlitz, M.,
Amorok, T., & Micozzi. M. (2005). Consciousness
and healing: Integral
approaches to mind body medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Churchill
Livingstone.
