Taking Flight!: A Whole Life Wellness Handbook

By Colleen Koziara

Every senior should have the opportunity to enjoy their retirement years to the fullest, regardless of their challenges. In Taking Flight!, author Colleen Koziara presents health and fitness programming for those who are looking for a ground-up approach.

Addressing the whole person and their whole wellness needs, Koziara details a program focusing on the seven dimensions of wellness: physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, vocational, and environmental. Taking Flight! provides detailed, step-by-step instructions as well as a brand-new structure upon which to build wellness programming that is individually directed.

Designed for use in senior communities and for those who live and work with seniors, this handbook offers guidance and training to help caregivers provide meaningful experiences in the areas of health and wellness. The information provided in Taking Flight! supports seniors in maintaining their independence, inspires their continued personal growth and self-directed exploration, and fills their lives with joy and a renewed sense of purpose.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Nov 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781480835528

Colleen Koziara

Patricia Campbell, M.Div.,M.S.,is a masters level therapist with over twenty years' experience working with children, teens, and families. In addition, she has seven years' experience as a hospice chaplain. She has seen the impact of unresolved loss and grief on emotional health and hopes to teach people how to cope. Campbell currently lives in LaGrange Park, Illinois.

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Copyright © 2016 Colleen Koziara.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-3551-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3552-8 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3553-5 (hc)

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/30/2016

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Introduction

Physical

Environmental

Vocational

Emotional

Intellectual

Social

Spiritual

Definitions

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INTRODUCTION

Whole Life Wellness

Taking Flight!

INTRODUCTION

There are many ways to encourage and maintain optimum health, and most have nothing to do with medical interventions! By engaging a person in experiences that support the Seven Dimensions of Wellness, you can help that person to be healthy on a Whole Life level.

We know that programming is provided in senior communities, but what is its quality and depth? Are the programs being offered really addressing the needs of the whole person and their Whole Life Wellness? What about those seniors who are receiving services at home? Or seniors who are living alone or with their families? How are the needs of seniors in these Seven Dimensions of Wellness being met? Who is helping them engage and participate in their own Whole Life Wellness? Sadly, too often the answer is no one, even in the best of senior communities.

Staff at communities are on strict timetables for services being provided and their duties often do not provide opportunities for extended interactions. Family members and visiting caregivers are also busy people juggling many duties in a limited amount of time. Oftentimes there may be only 15 minutes left in a visit after the requirements of care are met to conduct any sort of wellness programming, and then, where does one begin?

This handbook provides the roadmap to answer that question.

Beyond Bingo has created the Whole Life Wellness – Taking Flight! Handbook to be used with equal success by staff in communities, family members, visiting caregivers, friends working with seniors in their homes, and seniors themselves.

The Taking Flight! Handbook provides a variety of programming ideas geared toward taking advantage of available time and resources that make it possible to include Whole Life Wellness as a part of each and every day.

Updates and additional modules, which include videos and step-by-step pictorial instruction guides, are available by subscription. Discounts on special materials are also available through preferred vendors as a benefit of your subscription. To set up a subscription, please contact [e-mail].

Welcome to Beyond Bingo’s

Whole Life Wellness Handbook – Taking Flight!

Beyond Bingo is owned and operated by Colleen Koziara. Beyond Bingo is a senior wellness consulting firm that specializes in the creation of multidimensional whole-life programming. These programs are carefully designed to support seniors in maintaining their independence, to inspire their continued personal growth and self-directed exploration, and to fill their lives with joy and a renewed sense of purpose. Colleen Koziara has more than 15 years’ experience in the senior healthcare industry and is a named creator/contributor on the 2010 and 2012 ICAA (International Council on Active Aging) International Innovators Award Winners for outstanding senior programming.

Let’s Begin!

This handbook is laid out in seven sections. Each section features one Dimension of Wellness, a description of that dimension, and a list of wellness programming that will fulfill your senior’s Whole Life need for experiences in that specific Dimension of Wellness.

We know from research that Social interaction decreases depression and the need for antidepressants. We know that Physical experience improves health and some of our most important numbers – blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, and respirations. This handbook provides a quick reference guide for ways in which you can engage your senior in experiences designed to serve each specific Dimension of Wellness.

Each section is broken down into four subsections, based upon the time that each experience will take: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour. Time estimates include preparation and conclusion, and take into consideration the challenges of a variety of environments. The materials needed are simple and often available right in the home. Most of the programs involve no travel, although in each Dimension of Wellness a Whole Day Experience is identified to provide the opportunity to leave home and embark on an adventure!

In addition, the suggested experiences are chosen to serve a wide range of cognitive and physical independence levels. For example, if your senior is confined to bed, you may read and learn about healthy eating, and encourage exercises modified for their personal ability level. The idea behind the Whole Life Wellness Handbook – Taking Flight! is to take the onsite challenges out of wellness programming and assist caregivers such as yourself in providing meaningful experience in these areas by providing the necessary training and roadmap needed to encourage this most important aspect of care.

So let’s get started!

THE SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS

Many people think about wellness in terms of physical health only. The word invokes thoughts of nutrition, exercise, weight management, blood pressure, and so on. Wellness, however, is much more than physical health. Wellness is a full integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It is a complex interaction that leads to quality of life.

1. The Physical Dimension – The Physical Dimension recognizes the need for regular physical activity. Physical development encourages learning about diet and nutrition while discouraging the use of tobacco, drugs, and excessive alcohol consumption. Optimal wellness is met through the combination of good exercise and eating habits.

2. The Social Dimension – Social wellness refers to our ability to interact successfully in our global community and to live up to the expectations and demands of our personal roles. This means learning good communication skills, developing intimacy with others, and creating a support network of friends and family members. Social wellness includes showing respect for others and for yourself.

3. The Emotional Dimension – The Emotional Dimension recognizes awareness and acceptance of one’s feelings. Emotional wellness includes the degree to which one feels positive and enthusiastic about one’s self and life. It includes the capacity to manage one’s feelings and related behaviors including the realistic assessment of one’s limitations, development of autonomy, and ability to cope effectively with stress. Awareness and acceptance of a wide range of feelings in yourself and others is essential to Whole Life Wellness.

4. The Intellectual Dimension – Intellectual wellness is characterized by the ability to make sound decisions and to think critically. Intellectual wellness is also referenced using terms such as Brain Fitness, Cognitive Health, and Mental Plasticity. It includes openness to new ideas, the motivation to master new skills, and a sense of humor along with creativity and curiosity. Striving for personal growth and a willingness to seek out and use new information in an effective manner for personal and social development are also part of intellectual wellness. The Intellectual Dimension encourages creative and stimulating mental activities. Our minds need to be continually inspired and exercised just as our bodies do. People who possess a high level of intellectual wellness have an active mind and continue to learn. Intellectually healthy people use the resources available to expand their knowledge and improve skills. Keeping up-to-date on current events and participating in activities that arouse our minds are also important part of Whole Person Wellness. Brain Fitness in particular will be discussed in depth in the expanded section on Intellectual Wellness that is found later in the handbook.

5. The Spiritual