NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Becky Patty____________________ Your Buddy: Kayla Sonderman__________________

Select any evidence-based intervention/recommendation to follow (do this over 8 weeks):

¨ Sleep at least 7 hours per night before and after a work or school day
¨ Practice mindfulness meditation for at least 10 minutes everyday
¨ Complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, such as biking under 9
mph, dancing, jogging, or playing tennis; or complete 60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week,
such as running, kickboxing, or jumping rope.
X Participate in two professionally led yoga classes for one hour or longer per week
¨ Spend up to 2 hrs in Nature or longer per week
¨ Other (Must get your Clinical Faculty approval first, and activity should be up to 2 hrs or longer
per week)
Complete Weekly journal entries:
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
1 This week I went to the meditation focused yoga class on Friday for an hour and the regular class for an
hour and a half Saturday. I am going to a small studio in my area, with classes of around 20 people. We
2/9- follow one instructor while an assistant walks around to answer questions and help with forms.
2/15
Comments on Activity:
The studio I decided to go to is close to my house, which I am glad because I want to avoid any reasons
I might find to not stick to my plan. My preceptorship schedule so far has me working Monday through
Wednesday, so I decided to go to yoga classes Fridays and Saturdays. I know myself and I know that I
may struggle at consistently going to classes on Thursdays, my first day off. I took a few yoga classes
years ago, so I came in with some understanding. But I clearly forgot just how physically demanding it
can be. Sometimes I do feel awkward, particularly when I’m next to someone who has obviously been
practicing yoga for years, but I have never felt judged during class.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
2 This week I went to the power flow class on Friday and the restorative yoga class Saturday, both of
2/16- which were to an hour long.
2/22 Comments on Activity:
The power flow classes was no joke. Within minutes I was sweating. I was nervous at times because I
felt I wasn’t doing a very good job and often felt unbalanced. But by the end of the class I was proud
that I kept up and got a good workout. This week I did notice that I am grasping some of the basic poses
and I am regulating my breathing better. But I also keep adding to the list of things I want to improve.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

My partner is proud of me for going to a new class and being open to learning while being around
others. She was glad that I have started identifying goals for myself to improve. She looks to forward to
hearing more about my progress!

M O’C Fall 2018

 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
3 This week I decided to go the hour long hot yoga class on Monday because I did not have preceptorship.
2/23- And I went back to the power flow class on Friday, again an hour.
2/29

Comments on Activity:
Hot yoga does not feel very good while it’s happening, but afterwards I felt like a new person. Even
simple poses were hard because I was also handling my discomfort and increased breathing. And
despite knowing what to expect, power flow still was a challenge for me. I am starting to see how
people can become obsessed with improving in yoga, each area of weakness is something for me to fix
with more practice.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)
My partner is very impressed that I did hot yoga, which she says would be something difficult for her to
do due to heat and humidity.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
4 Although I very much enjoyed the studio I was going to, it was becoming more of a financial strain than
3/1- I had considered. Instead, I have been following videos on youtube. I found an account called Yoga
3/7 with Adriene, a yoga teacher, and I decided to follow her 30 Days of Yoga at home videos. Each video
is roughly 30 minutes long, so I repeated the forms twice that day. I followed two of her videos this
week, for an hour each.
Comments on Activity:
One of the things that stood out to me was the fact her dog is present in her videos. It’s realistic, my dog
has been very interested in everything I do while I am laying on the ground. I like this because it shows
she really is trying to make her content suited for the home. The poses she went through were the same
or similar to those I did at the studio, but I liked that she added her own guidance and gave explanations
on the benefits of each pose. It was interesting doing yoga in my house, but luckily I have a large mirror
in my living room, so I was able to watch and work on my form.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)
My partner is proud that I am being resourceful and adapting to the current situation and letting
inconvenience cause an obstacle. She is glad that I found an instructor and format that works for me.
She is a big fan of my dog, so she is happy that she gets to participate too.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

5 This week I continued the 30 Days of Yoga youtube series by Yoga with Adriene. I followed Day 3 and
Day 4. I did each set of poses twice, with a total of two hours.
3/8- Comments on Activity:
3/14 It still makes me very happy that her dog is all of her videos. Mine is not as well behaved, but she is
getting better at giving me my space during yoga time. One thing I have realized I miss from in person
classes is the ability to ask questions and to get feedback on my forms. I have started pausing her videos
to watch how she exactly holds her body and try my best to replicate that, but I know I am not an expert
and can’t spot the mistakes I may be making.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)
My partner totally understands my concerns about not having an personal instructor, as she also
struggles with learning exercises on her own, without a teacher or observation. She said I should try to
use my mirror as much as possible to watch my forms and that I should use caution or avoid poses that
might be too difficult to learn alone.

M O’C Fall 2018

 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
6 This week I followed days 5, 6, and 7 of Adriene’s 30 Days of Yoga series. I watched day 5 and day 6
3/15- on the same day, for about an hour and a quarter, and day 7 twice for an hour.
3/21

Comments on Activity:
The poses from the Day 5 video were focused on calming, which was nice, but I decided that instead of
doing them twice I would follow the next video in the series. I enjoyed this more than I expected
because I felt significantly calmer and slightly stretched after the Day 5 poses, so I was warmed up for
the Day 6 poses which were more physically demanding.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)
My partner is proud that I did to separate videos in one day and getting more variety. She is glad that I
enjoyed the calming poses as a warm up as much as I did. She also mentioned that she was glad I did a
set that was more challenging and referred back to how much I had enjoyed the power flow class I had
taken.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

7 This week I followed days 8 and 9 of 30 Days of Yoga. Because of the benefits I noticed from last
3/22- week, I decided to add 10 minutes of calming poses before each yoga hour, after my stretches. This
3/28 totaled to roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes this week.

Comments on Activity:
I am glad I added an initial quick calming time before going more into poses. As much as stretching
helped physically prepare me for each session, just 10 minutes of simple posing and breathing gets me
in the right state of mind to continue. This week one of my friends who knows I have been doing yoga
weekly reached out to me for guidance, which was very incredibly gratifying. Especially because I was
able to answer most of her questions and gave her resources that could help.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)
My partner thinks that it is great that I took the intuitive to add an additional warm up to my yoga time
based on the improvements I noticed last week. She thinks it is cool that I am able to help others and
share the goodness of yoga.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

8 This week I followed days 10 and 11 form Yoga with Adriene’s series. I went through each day’s poses
3/29- twice. With the addition 10 minutes calming warmup I did each time, I did another 2 hours and 20
4/4 minutes of yoga this week.

Comments on Activity:
As I was finishing up the Day 11 forms for the second time, it finally hit me that I have been doing yoga
for 8 weeks straight. I am easily doing poses now that we real challenges for me in the beginning. I am
slightly nervous that now that I am not required to do yoga regularly, I will fall out of practice. But I am
determined to develop a schedule that I follow consistently.
Complete Survey Below
(Once Completed submit entire document to D2L Assignment Drop box by Due date and add to Your
Portfolio.)

M O’C Fall 2018

 Reflection on Panopto presentation and 8-week intervention:

What did these activities teach you?

These activities gave me first hand appreciation for the power of consistency and practice. Even after
reading numerous studies and hearing it multiple times in class, I think I still took for granted just how
much of an effect seemingly small activities can have on health and wellness if done regularly. This
project reminded me that I do have the power to improve and it does not require huge changes quickly.

Have you noticed any changes in your life since you began this intervention?
I feel better. I feel that I hold my body stronger, that I am more in tune with my movements, and I am
definitely more flexible than I was nine weeks ago. During the weeks I also found that it became easier
and easier to clear my mind and focus on my movements and breathing. I have started to use breathing
control during my day, particularly during times I can feel myself getting stressed.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I am looking forward to looking more into all the yoga resources there are available. I learned so much
just from one youtuber and from what I can tell there are dozens, covering various areas of yoga. I also
am interested in incorporating equipment in my practice. I have seen some poses that involve using
blocks to improve angles and towels to help with stretching.

Comments/suggestions:
I thought this activity was helpful because it gently forced me to start and stick to a practice that I had
wanted to for years. I can’t think of any suggestions at this time.

Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with these statements:
Following an evidence-based recommendation to reduce burnout was valuable to me.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

This 8-week intervention will help me implement preventative strategies for burnout in my career.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

This Panopto presentation titled: “Nurse Burnout: What this is and how you can minimize it in your careers”
effectively taught me how I can reduce and address nurse burnout in my career.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

Completing the Big Five Personality Test was helpful for exploring my risk of nurse burnout.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
1 2 3 4 5

M O’C Fall 2018