Currently, in the field of health there is very little encouragement for an individual to share their personal levels of physical, psychological, or spiritual health with their practitioner. An emerging field in health care is integral health which encompasses not only the biological aspect of health but also the psychospiritual, interpersonal and worldly aspects of an individual’s health care needs. Each of these areas in an individual’s health effects the others for example, if you are stressed in your daily life this stress will produce chemicals in your brain that are dispersed throughout your body and affecting each cell. Stress can also affect the amount of food you eat and the amount of exercise you choose to complete. When you have too much going on in your life you are less likely to take the time to stop and smell the roses or to meditate or spend time focusing on all the things you have to be grateful for in this life. Ignoring this psychospiritual aspect of your health also causes stress levels to increase and eventually your body will react by becoming diseased, for example you may develop high blood pressure. Your ability to cope in your interpersonal relationships may also become compromised as stress can cause a person to react inappropriately with those around them and to snap their head off so to speak! All of these things areas affect the world around you so I thought I would use myself as an example of how to evaluate behaviors and make positive choices to place your life back on track.
True health, all encompassing integral health, is a matter of making choices with positive intentions. My own level of wellness; physically, psychologically, and spiritually are in need of work!
I was doing well in the physical aspect of my health up until March of this past year when I started full time college along with full time work. I would say I am currently at a level of 7.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. I eat a large amount of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, eggs and dairy, nuts, flax seed and nutritional supplements. The area I work on consciously is adding to the category of grains. I am gluten intolerant so I cannot eat regular products like whole grain breads or pastas and I just got used to not including them in my diet. I have made a conscious decision and have added whole grain rice products in the form of crackers, pastas and breads and this has worked well. Additionally, I have added gluten free oatmeal to my morning meals.
When I started school I no longer had time to work out which I was doing five times per week. I have decided a change was necessary as I have become winded when walking, weak when I lift certain items, I am not sleeping as soundly, etc. I have borrowed a treadmill from a friend and I now complete my numerous reading assignments while walking on the treadmill.
I would like to say that the psychological and spiritual aspects of my health were as good as my physical health. I would say my psychological health has diminished to a 5 as I have become somewhat of a hermit while I am attending school. I feel this especially as I am becoming shyer when I am around other people or in a crowd. I am happiest when I have social interactions with others. I will make a conscious effort to go out socially with friends and work a lunch date or a nice walk with a friend into my schedule. Spiritually, I spend time in the morning and my lunch hour listening to speakers that develop spiritual paths and principles in my life so I would rate my overall spiritual health as an 8. However, as I age, I believe true peace and happiness come from spiritual principles and not from the trappings of possessions, as I did when I was younger, that we seem to collect while we are here living life. I want to boost my spiritual health to 10 as that is how important I think it is in the scheme of life and overall integral health. I also want to declutter my life of some of my possessions to promote a more peaceful feeling in my home and also to have less upkeep. I mean really, possessions take work! I have dabbled at meditation and have never been good at it as I have a busy mind but this is where I am going to place my focus during this project. I am committing to myself to spend 15 minutes per day just being still and quiet and to focus outwardly on treating others with loving kindness. I would like to get through the day being able to drive in traffic and not become upset!
I like your goal stategies because they are very similar to mine. The biggest thing is for us to just do it. I know that is oversimplifying things but that is just how things need to be sometimes. You are also starting small by adding little pieces of grains here and there and that is how I encourage my clients to start. I can not put them on the same workout plan as someone who has been working out for years. The one thing that i would like to add and I neglected to mention this in my blog is to write down your goals. I tell this to my clients even if it is something small being able to see a goal helps out a huge deal.
ReplyDeleteNutritionista,
ReplyDeleteI have recently been trying different gluten-free items and recipes, mainly due to the many benefits I have read about. It is becoming more popular these days and not just for people with food allergies. I did notice that I was lacking in the whole grain department and have had a hard time finding ways to meet the daily recommended intake, I will have to keep my eyes open for whole grain rice options.
I too noticed difficulty finding time for workouts once I started to juggle school, work, and life, and as you read in my blog, I now literally write it on my to-do list, this helps me make time because I know I feel and sleep better when I keep up with my workouts, yoga, and meditation.
Even if it is only fifteen minutes a day, being able to be silent and still can be a great way to 'restart' or 'reboot' your system.
Lastly, I definitely work on finding my happy place when I am in traffic and dealing with certain drivers!
Peace,
Nico