Our body, mind and spirit are intimately connected. Addressing all three realms is critical to achieving and maintaining our health. I work with you, the client, to support you as you explore these realms. This process is dynamic and action-oriented; results are geared towards your self-described goals. As the “guide on the side”, I help you explore these realms in a safe environment. You will learn to use food to buttress your body, meditation to listen to your heart and mind, and yoga to bridge the connections between them. By the end of our time together, you will not only have changed what you eat, you will have improved your health and your self-esteem…and you will have accomplished many other life goals. I know this both from personal experience and from my work with clients.
Read on to learn more about my approach or discover the coaching programs I currently offer.
Nutrition
Are you confused about what to eat to best support your health? Do you find that you don’t have the energy you used to, or that you a cup of coffee, chocolate, or an energy drink late in the afternoon? Or do you have a chronic illness that is directing your life?
Take a minute to consider why you feel this way. More often than not, what underlies lack of energy, food cravings, creeping weight gain, and general anxiety has a lot to do with the food we eat. Did you know that 80% of chronic illness among Americans is attributed to lifestyle and most of that is due to food choices that undermine our health?
Most approaches to nutrition focus on counting or restricting calories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Instead of creating lists of good and bad foods or insisting on yet another miracle diet, I work closely with each client to find a balance of foods that satisfy their nutritional needs, as well as their preferences for taste and pleasure. Rather than eliminate entire categories of foods, I work closely with each client to identify or create healthier substitutes, one food at a time. Permanent change takes time and practice, so we make changes slowly and consistently, in a manner that supports the individuality of each client. I use a combination of nutritional science, realistic goal setting and practical lifestyle coaching techniques to develop an approach that works best for each individual, whether the goal is to lose weight, have more energy and vitality, eliminate cravings, or better manage a chronic condition.
No one approach works for everyone. As your coach, I will help you frame and follow through on choices that will lead to your own pathway to lifelong health.
Yoga
Most people believe that yoga is synonymous with stretching. This could not be farther from the truth. Yoga refers to thousands of spiritual teachings and techniques developed in India over the last five thousand years to harmonize, balance and strengthen mind, body and spirit. In the West, we practice yoga using asanas or postures, mindful breathing techniques, and meditation. Yoga asanas can be done quickly, creating heat in the body or slowly, to build strength and endurance. Regardless of the style of yoga practiced, yoga takes you out of your mind and into your body.
Benefits of a regular yoga practice include:
- Reduced sympathetic nervous system response, with reductions in cortisol levels
- Attention to body parts that have been neglected due to pain or trauma
- Increased muscular strength, coordination, flexibility, and endurance
- Improved ability to concentrate and focus
- Decreased skeletal muscle tension
- Improved gut motility, digestion and elimination
- Increased oxygen flow, decreased anxiety and depression
- Improved functioning of the lymphatic system
- Realignment of the spine with more efficient functioning of the liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys and intestines
I use yoga asanas and the associated breathing practices to help clients learn to be present and in their bodies. Focused breathing, placing attention within the body, and quieting the chatter facilitates a calm mind and an open heart. Specific asanas are used to open the heart, the digestive system, and other parts of our bodies that we keep tightly guarded. Once we learn to let go physically, we are able to let go of limiting beliefs and emotions that have been stuck in parts of our bodies. As we become “unstuck,” we are finally available and ready to change. Learning to listen to the wisdom of the body through yoga is a critical step in healing and transformation.
Meditation
Meditation is a powerful practice. It is used to access our unconscious mind and the memories stored within it, to calm the central nervous system, and to help us reach a higher level of consciousness. I use it in my practice to help clients get in touch with their body, especially with those parts of their body that are causing them pain or discomfort. Whether the client’s goal is weight loss, managing an illness, improving energy levels, or breaking a bad habit, quieting the mind in order to listen to the body is essential.
Meditation is also used to counteract the negative consequences of physical and emotional stress. When we feel threatened or not in control of our lives, our body prepares for flight or fight. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system results in increased muscle tension, blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and blood flow to the muscles, while cortisol, the stress hormone, is secreted, causing the release of fat and protein to supply energy to the body. Although these responses are lifesaving when we are in a dangerous situation, most stressors are not life-threatening, yet they trigger the cascade of reactions, including weight gain, brought on by the fight or flight response.
Many of my clients find themselves in a constant stress, and their bodies have little time to recover. The consequences…high blood pressure, headaches, reduced eyesight, digestive problems, facial, neck and back pain, insomnia, anxiety, weight gain and a weakened immune system. Research has shown that high levels of cortisol are implicated in AIDS, MS, diabetes, cancer, coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
Doctors often tell us to reduce our stress levels, but we find ourselves unsure how to do this. I use meditation with my clients to rebalance and reset the body’s reaction to stress. Regular meditation practice, as little as 10 minutes a day, has a huge pay out. It:
- Decreases the metabolic and heart rates, resulting in deep rest and regeneration
- Reduces levels of stress-hormones such as cortisol
- Reduces high blood pressure
- Relaxes bronchial airways making breathing easier for those with asthma
- Slows down the aging process of the brain
- Decreases anxiety, depression, irritability and moodiness
- Improves memory, creativity and learning potential
- Increases the subjective feeling of happiness and contentment
- Increases emotional stability
My clients with chronic conditions find that meditation has helped them turn their health around!