Welcome fellow Kaplan Students

If health and wellness is important to you, you will enjoy this blog. Every week I will post a topic of interest to those that want to live as healthy a life as possible. Every week you will find information obtained from my weekly reading, course requirements, and projects all specifically related to health and wellness.  I hope you enjoy it and benefit from it.

Seven Goals to Better Health

Health and wellness really is a simple process. If your health is important and you would like to begin a process of getting healthy, and staying healthy here are seven keys that will get you going on the right track.

Goal # 1: Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Our body is more than 70% water and when we are dehydrated this lack of water is the first step to cellular destruction. Dehydration leads to organ failure. When our organs fail we get sick. Goal # 1 is to get 8 hours of water a day.

Goal # 2: Get as close to 8 hours of sleep a night. Throughout the day your cells are damaged by the toxins in the air, the foods we eat, and the stress we put on our body. During our sleep cycle our body attempts to repair the damage create during the day. Chronic sleep deprivation will weaken your body’s ability to repair the damage done throughout the day and you will eventually get sick.

Goal # 3: Learn and use a stress management technique at least once a day. Next weeks post will list several stress management techniques. One of the most destructive elements to our health is stress. Stress does three very serious things to us. Stress causes us to gain weight and get fat, stress weakens your immune system, and stress makes you susceptible to illness and disease. Stress also kills the brain cells in the part of the brain responsible for thinking, rational thoughts, logic, reasoning, and intelligence; so essentially stress will make you fat, sick and stupid.

Goal # 4: Begin a simple exercise program. You can start by walking, and gradually extend the distance and speed everyday a little bit at a time. We have been told about exercise for year and most people know the importance of it, but 70% of Americans still don't exercise. Exercise strengthens your immune system, makes your heart stronger, and helps to reduce your stress. If you have not exercise in a while and you have health problems consult your health professional before beginning a fitness regimen.

Goal #5: Begin eating more fruits and vegetable than red meat. The experts have told us for years how important the right food is to our health. Food can be divided into 2 simple categories: foods that add to hour health and wellness, and foods that deteriorate you health. Foods that contribute to good health are fruits and vegetable. The foods that contribute to illness and disease are red meats.

Goal # 6: Take vitamins. The debate about whether you should or should not take vitamins is over. The experts are all aware of just how important vitamins are, but are you. Most of us do not eat properly in the first place so we are not getting everything we need from the food we eat. Even if you are eating properly most of the nutrients we expect to find in the foods we eat have been depleted from farming. The solution is to simply take a multiple vitamin. The link that follows is the super liquid vitamin I take http://www.betterbrainbody.com/

Goal # 7:  Develop and participate in a strong social network. Research has been pilling up that shows how good friends, family and a social support system is very good for your health. According to “Current Directions in Health Psychology (2005)” epidemiological research indicates that supportive relationships may significantly protect individuals from various causes of mortality including cardiovascular disease. The following link is to a nationwide network of various groups that can be used to find networks you might enjoy. http://www.meetup.com/

What has learning integral health done for me?

Studying integral health has been the single most interested and educational course I have ever taken. The knowledge gained from this course had an effect on not only me personally but my entire family. During the third week of this course my mother was diagnosed with leukemia and given 90 days to live; this alone though the entire families into a tail spin. The stress of first trying to find other options for her, because the conventional medical community ran out of their limited options and gave up, to accepting the fact that she decided she didn’t want to try anymore the most stress I ever faced in a 30 day period and I spent more than 31 years in the Marines.

My mom passed away 10 days later, and even though everyone has their own way of handling grief it was what I had leaned in this course on contemplative exercises that help me the most. The Loving Kindness and Subtle Mind exercises were a God send. These two were part of my daily routine and whenever things got a little rough I could always take a moment and calm things down. However, the most exciting affect these two exercises created was not in my but in those around me. I think the Loving Kindness contemplative practice worked wonders on everyone around me.

I have always been or thought I was in very good psychological, physical and spiritual health. In Unit 3 I assessed myself pretty high in all three categories, but by Unit 7 it was clear I didn’t know what I was talking about. As high as I scored myself back than I feel I am at least twice as good now having studied this topic.

I have made major strides towards my goals and feel there will be no problem accomplishing them. I have implemented all my goals and have developed plans to accomplish them I think the most interested goal and plan deals with developing my psychological and spiritual wellbeing though contemplative practice’s. I meditate at least once or twice a day and it has got to the point where I might spend more than an hour in a half in some form of contemplative meditation. But most interesting is the use of brain entrainment to assist in developing the various mental states available thought meditation.

Brain entrainment is a way to rapidly achieve the alpha, theta or delta brain was state found when doing contemplative exercises. It’s used to help you get into a meditative state and create change. There are several brain entrainment tools a person can use I use the one below.
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