Mind/Body Techniques for Surgery
It’s perfectly natural and normal to feel some anxiety about an upcoming surgery. After all, you will be experiencing a period of time that you have very little control over, and the outcome may be uncertain. The fear of the unknown – the what if’s – run around in our minds before any procedure that has risks. Many scientific studies have shown that our emotions can impact our immune system’s ability to function optimally. Using medication to calm one’s anxiety is standard procedure in hospital settings, but that takes the control of anxiety symptoms out of the hands of the patient.
Guided Imagery for Pain Relief
Curious about how guided imagery can be used for pain relief, stress reduction, and healing? Below is a short interview with Leslie Davenport, licensed therapist, clinical faculty at the integrative medicine center of a major hospital in San Francisco, and one of my psychology continuing education instructors, who gives a great example of how guided imagery works:
Posted in Articles, Healing, Imagery, Mental Training, Stress, Uncategorized, Wellness | 
alternative medicine, grief recovery, Healing, injury, Mental Training, recovery, wellness | 
Leave a commentLife Coaching Helps Cancer Patients Keep Their Eyes On The Prize
If you or someone you care about is going through cancer treatment, it’s possible that between doctor visits and treatment appointments there will be times when having someone with a fresh perspective to talk to might help. Life and wellness coaches as support system members are, perhaps, a choice that hasn’t been considered by most folks. Guest blogger Emily Walsh tells us more…
Life Coaching Helps Cancer Patients Keep Their Eyes On The Prize
Posted in Articles, Coaching, Healing, Health, Uncategorized, Wellness | alternative medicine, Coaching, doctor visits, Healing, motivation, New Wellness Story, recovery, support, surgery, wellness | Leave a commentAches & Pains: Your Body’s Language. Are You Listening?
Learn to hear the whispers of the body and mind before they have to shout.”
Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter*
Our bodies are wise. They know when they are not being treated well and they try to let us know by giving us signals. Are we listening? Or do we wait until it is in so much discomfort that it has to scream for attention?
Sometimes we are so impatient to get on with life that we forget to just be still and listen to what our body is trying to tell us. Those sensations we try to ignore are messages from our body – tension, nagging aches and pains, stiffness, headaches, tummy troubles – its only method of communication.
Your New Wellness Story
New Life Story® Wellness Coaching 
Empowering people who have been sidelined by injury or illness to create a new story of wellness.”
It’s time to create a New Wellness Story® for your life
Do you want:
- Healthier habits, but don’t know how to maintain them?
- Less stress?
- Whole person health?
- Lasting improvements in your mind and body?
Most strategies for changing wellness fail because they are contrary to how the mind and brain work.
Posted in Coaching, Healing, Health, New Life Story®, Uncategorized, Wellness | Coaching, goals, motivation, New Wellness Story, psychology, recovery, wellness | Leave a commentHow’s Your Stress Immunity?
Stress is part of life, we simply can’t avoid it. There are some folks who seem to bend and bounce back no matter what life throws their way, while others tend to bend and break. Let’s face it, life can be just plain hard at times. And yet, how well we hold up under stress may be more in our own control than we realize. In fact, stress can make us stronger.
The following article, written by Dr. Neil Neimark (reprinted with permission), talks about some things we can do to help us withstand day to day stress, as well as some of the more difficult things that come our way…
Posted in Articles, Health, Mental Training, Stress, Uncategorized | anxiety, Coaching, goals, Mental Training, motivation, psychology, recovery, sadness, stress | Leave a commentWhat Events Cause Feelings of Loss and Grief?
Sad events can cause sad feelings. But what if a happy event causes sad feelings, is there something wrong with me?
Even events that might seem like positives can cause stress in our lives. An example would be a promotion. Of course there are benefits, but there might also be a loss of free time, loss of anonymity at work, loss of being able to make your own schedule if you are responsible for more projects or more people, etc. The following is a list of events that have been shown to cause stress, and which may provoke feelings of grief and/or loss. If any of these have happened to you, recently or in the past, perhaps it would help to take some time to explore how they may be affecting your ability to be happy today.
Posted in Articles, Grief, Psychological Effects, Uncategorized | anxiety, depression, grief, grief recovery, sadness, stress, support | Leave a commentYour Body Eavesdrops on Your Thoughts
Research in the field of mind/body medicine tells us that all our thoughts and feelings are chemical. In fact, every thought and feeling we have is translated in the body into neuropeptides, which are the chemical messengers of thought and feeling.
Killer Clichés about Loss
QUESTION: I have heard that it takes 2 years to “get over” the death of a loved one; 5 years to “get over” the death of a parent; and you never “get over” the death of a child. Is this true?
ANSWER: Part of the problem is the phrase “get over.” It is more accurate to say that you would never forget a child who had died, anymore than you would ever forget a parent or a loved one. Another part of the problem is one of those killer clichés we talked about, that time, of itself, is a recovery action. Although recovery from loss does take some time, it is the actions within time that lead to successful recovery.
Posted in Articles, Grief, Healing, Psychological Effects, Uncategorized | anxiety, Coaching, depression, grief, grief recovery, Mental Training, recovery, support | Leave a commentGrieving Loss of Health?
Injury and illness are losses that may need grieving.
There are at least 43 losses which can produce the range of emotions we call grief. The long list includes:
- Death of a loved one
- Divorce or end of a relationships
- Major financial changes
- Loss of health
Grief is normal and natural, but many of the ideas we have been taught about dealing with grief are not helpful, for example:
- Time heals all wounds
- You must grieve alone
- Be strong
- Don’t feel bad
- Replace the loss
- Just keep busy
Posted in Articles, Coaching, Grief, Healing, Health, Psychological Effects, Uncategorized | anxiety, Coaching, depression, goals, grief, grief recovery, Healing, injury, psychology, recovery, stress, surgery | Leave a commentAsking for Help While Healing – Top 10 Tips
Asking for help is not always easy, especially when we are not used to doing it. When we are recovering it is sometimes even harder because we want to prove to others (and ourselves) that we can be independent, while secretly wishing others would “just know” what we need. While it is not reasonable to expect all our needs to be met just exactly when and how we want, it is possible to help others help us simply by letting them know what we need. So, what is the best way to communicate to others so that they will understand the things we cannot do for ourselves and be willing to help? The following is a list of ten tips for getting the best response.
Posted in Articles, Healing, Health, Mental Training, Uncategorized | Healing, injury, recovery, stress, support, surgery | Leave a commentOrthopaedics and Alternative Therapies
The world of integrative and alternative medicine is more popular now that ever. But how do you wade through the vast amounts of information available online without becoming more confused, or falling for scams from unsafe practitioners and their advice? I have spent many years reading books, magazines, peer-reviewed journal articles, and following discussion groups moderated by highly trained naturopathic doctors and herbalists, and yet there are still many times when I am not certain how to choose between two or more conflicting opinions. Oftentimes we ask our physicians for advice on certain modalities or supplements we’ve read about and they may know from personal experience which ones are good and which aren’t. But other times, physicians have not studied these modalities in depth and prefer to stay within the boundaries of what they were taught as generally accepted practices in medical school. That does not mean that many of the alternative therapies are not good, or even bad, it just means that your doctor either may not know enough about it or does not want to recommend it to protect their practice from liability.
Posted in Articles, Health, Uncategorized | alternative medicine, doctor visits, Healing, injury, support | Leave a commentEFT for Sports Performance & Injury Recovery
No matter what sport you play; golf, tennis, baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, track and field, or any other athletic endeavor there’s one thing for certain:
You would love to reach your full potential in the shortest time frame possible.
What if I told you that sports performance can be enhanced in just minutes a day using a simple technique that has been tested by professional and amateur athletes worldwide, with amazing results.
The technique I’m referring to is called Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT.
Posted in Articles, Coaching, Mental Training, Products, Uncategorized | anxiety, Coaching, Healing, injury, Mental Training, motivation, psychology | Leave a commentSue Hasker~Performing Edge Coach
Sue Hasker is recommended by Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter, Stanford Medical Center
trained psychologist and best selling author of Your Performing Edge:
I had the unique opportunity to coach and work with Sue Hasker in 2009 as an advanced student in my Performing Edge Coaching Certification training program for the past several months.
I am extremely impressed with her work, and I would highly recommend Sue Hasker to any college or to any of my colleagues or clients. Our work together involved education and rigorous training around the Your Performing Edge Coaching method and general coaching techniques for working with a variety of complex client issues.
Talking with Your Doctor
If you have been injured or seriously ill you will inevitably find yourself sitting in the doctor’s office with a lot of questions. What often happens is we feel rushed or nervous and forget to ask or forget WHAT to ask. Here is a list of reminders that will help during those times when it is important to know all the facts before making any decisions.
How to Talk to Your Doctor
How do you talk to your doctor? Does he or she do all the talking while you do all the listening? Are you afraid to ask questions? Do you leave the office feeling like you just sat through a foreign language class?
Posted in Articles, Uncategorized | Coaching, doctor visits, Healing, injury, support | Leave a commentMind-Body Training TeleCourse for Energy and Focus
Not a competitive athlete? That’s okay!
EVERYONE can benefit from mental training to do your best in any situation. Your “PERFORMING EDGE” is that feeling you get when you are doing your best, when you are “in the zone” mentally and physically. It could be while you’re exercising, while doing your favorite hobby, or even while working on a project around the house or at your job.
What makes the difference between being “pretty good” at something and being “excellent”? It’s just a matter of training your mind to “see yourself doing it right,” focusing on what’s happening now to eliminate distractions, and talking to yourself in a way that brings out your very best.
Sue Hasker ~ Wellness Consultant
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