If I were to rate my overall well-being on a scale of 1-10 I would rate my physical well-being at an 8, spiritual well-being at a 9, and my psychological well-being at a 7. Physically I am very healthy however I do have a heart flutter condition that limits my ability to do intense exercise or work. I do eat relatively healthy each day and I drink lots of water so my diet is a positive aspect. I also take vitamin and herbal supplements which I feel attribute to my strong immune system. Since taking vitamins and herbal supplements over the past 3 years I have not gotten sick and I always feel positive and energetic. My goal physically is to establish a routine of activities that I am capable of doing without causing issues with my heart and then make that routine a part of my life. Distractions such as work, school, and other day to day activities can easily derail even the best daily routines so I want to develop a system that works around a busy schedule. I am in a good place spiritually and I have strong spiritual beliefs that keep my day to day attitude very positive. I would say that of the three aspects of health my spiritual aspect is the strongest. My goal for spiritual health is to take more time connecting in a peaceful setting. An exercise I have been working on lately is when I first wake up in the morning I keep my eyes closed and meditate for 3-5 minutes before I open my eyes. I think of peaceful things and also give thanks for all of the blessings I receive each day. This exercise has really made the start of my day so much better and positive. I rated my psychological health the lowest of the three because I still have some control issues in life that I have to work out. When things don't go the way I want them to go I have a bad habit of wanting to control it. That type of behavior can lead to stress and anxiety as most of the time we can't control everything that goes on in our lives. I have been working on present moment awareness to help with this and it has worked great. By staying focused on the present moment I don't put any negative energy into worrying about future "stuff".
I completed the relaxation exercise The Crime of the Century and found it to be an interesting method of meditation but not the most effective. I found the process of imagining windows on my body and then visualizing colored beams coming out of them to be a bit taxing and not very relaxing. It almost seemed like work by the time I was working on my 4th beam of light. In addition by using the colors of the rainbow I found it hard to think up what the colors should look like such as aqua-blue and emerald-green. I think the whole process could have been simpler to make it an effective relaxation technique. I'm pretty confident I wouldn't use that method again.
James, it was great to read your post! I think it is so awesome that you are doing so well physically and spiritually. I am impressed that you take your physical well-being seriously and do all that you can to keep it up. I am interested in what supplements you are taking to keep your immune system so healthy? Can you say that the connection of the strength of your spiritual boosts your physical? I think this next unit will be very interesting as it will address the spiritual aspect of holistic health. I can say that if it weren't for my faith and belief and dependence on God I would be in a much worse spot. My spiritual life is my core and I don't know where I would be without it. I can relate to the psychological being the lowest. I am in the midst of learning what "healthy" looks like when it comes to relationships and coping mechanisms. As I said in my blog, I'm in the midst of turning the wagon around and not sure what the roads supposed to look like yet. My weakness is fretting and lack of trust. I am really excited about learning what it means to be a balanced person because my degree is in health and wellness and I want to help others find that too, but I have to figure it out before I can lead anyone else. Thanks for your post! Christina
ReplyDeleteUsing a few minutes in the morning before I wake up is a wonderful idea to fit in a little meditation and plan out goals for the day with intention. I completely agree with you about the meditation techniques, it could have been a lot simpler.
ReplyDeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned developing a routine early in your blog. Man, do I struggle with this! Not that I have an issue with the concept of a routine, I just feel my life is so hectic with work, school and making sure my teenage son stays on track for graduation and college afterwards, it's all a bit overwhelming to say the least. You would think the meditation exercises would give the relaxation I need lol. I'm a structured kind of guy, but I have had to let that go when school started, so I think of myself as a Bear Grylls artist.......I improvise, often, when it comes to making schedules and lists. Though I feel this is changing more and more the closer I get to graduation, yesss!