Unit 3 Blog

1.  Taking stock of myself, should be interesting.  Using a scale of 1-10 as a barometer of my physical, spiritual, and psychological health should be fun.  Let's start with my physical health.  I'm going to answer this in two ways.  First of all as a retired professional athlete my physical health is, and always has been, a huge priority and therefore I have always taken, and continue to this day, to take very good care of myself.  I work out in the gym daily, train at the beach (beach volleyball which was my profession), and surf often.  I also eat a very clean diet and monitor my daily food intake and have for years.  So I would say I do well physically with regards to taking care of myself but before I go and give myself a silly 10 or something I should disclose I've had five broken arms, two broken legs, my lower back operated on twice, my appendix has ruptured, I've had my knee and hand surgically repaired, and a wide assortment of stitches, sprains, bumps and bruises.  So the arthritis and overall soreness I experience is usually a bit more than the laymen.  I give myself an 8 physically and I would give myself a higher grade if I did yoga once a week or did my stretches.  Let's take a look at my mental health.  I'm going to say that going back to school at 40 boosts my mental acuity a bit but not much.  I have always viewed myself as more of a jock than a scholar, I'm not complaining, we all have our strengths and I enjoy my athleticism a great deal but back to my mind.  I'll give myself a 7 for my current mental health as I feel school is a great way to improve this number.  Now on to spirituality we go.  So a few years ago I decided I wanted to know more about the bible and started attending Saddleback church.  Some of you might have read the book, "Purpose Drive Life" by Rick Warren as he's the lead pastor at Saddleback and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made.  I feel my spirituality is in it's infancy but something I'm working on with church attendance, a bible study, and reading the bible in one year so for now I'll give my spirituality a 4 but moving the right way. 


2.  I really need to stretch with either a class or take yoga once a week to offset all the dynamic and high impact stuff I do daily for my physical health to improve.  I will have my undergraduate in nutrition next September so my mental health is being worked with school so my goal is to continue to take three classes and do my best to keep my GPA at 3.5 or higher.  My spirituality is something I've been working on for the past few years and in February of this year I started a "read the bible in a year" program of which I'm still on track and joined a small bible group as well, which since has been disbanded but I'll join another one as my goal. 


3.  There aren't any large obstacles in my way, unless I view myself as a large obstacle, in reaching my goals.  I try and keep my goals and aspirations in sight and if I get too close to them I raise them so goal reaching and setting are something I enjoy doing. 


4.  I struggle with these relaxation exercises.  Or at least I imagine I am struggling.  It takes me the better part of five minutes to get comfortable, another five minutes to stop thinking about the assignments I should be doing instead of laying on the floor, and then another five minutes to focus on the man's voice and do what he says.  By this time it's over and I'm not sure what the hell just happen.  It's not say I won't get better with these exercises but the athlete in me who wants to try harder and concentrate more is not something I believe is going to help me all that much with these types of exercises.  I will adjust and try again. 


Mike Scales

Hey there classmates.

I was shocked to say I enjoyed the quiet time with the music in the background and the very soothing voice of that gentleman though my arms and hands never seemed to get warm or heavy.  I'm not sure if this is in direct conflict with the idea of the relaxation assignment but I seem to get more relaxed, distressed, and level headed after activities such as working out in the gym, training on the beach, golfing, and surfing are my first four choices to help me relax.  I do have to admit that I must work hard to keep an open mind about meditation and the power of suggestion.  I want it to work for me and I always wonder if perhaps I'm just not believing it fully so therefor it won't work for me.  This relaxation assignment was a start and I'll keep making an effort.

Mike Scales