Mistress Wellbeing

Do you feel pulled inexorably into the external world of bad news and overwhelming humanitarian crises?

This trend has increased massively during the last few years, with pandemics, war, energy crises and climate change all featuring large.

It influences your equilibrium, mood and general sense of wellbeing.

So how can you look after yourself and find a point of refuge and power in the tumultuous world we live in?

By turning within and cultivating your own garden.

I'm exploring this today, how to build awareness and tend your own heart so you have a solid, secure place within.

You will influence the world in this way.

 

If you feel stuck in life, lacking passion and excitement, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks is a good read.

Today I'm sharing my process as I took my leap, out of the world of Family Medicine where I had security, kudos and skill, into my wellbeing business which feels so much more vibrant and alive.

At the time it felt uncertain and terrifying, and I was most definitley following my gut not my head!

It's an ongoing huge piece of personal growth to search for and find my zone of genius, especially as I wasn't really sure I had one to begin with...

My sense of expansiveness arises from facing so many fears to get here. Those fears never completely go away, they still raise their heads, I'm just better at dealing with them!

How many hours do you spend at work?

My coach asked us this in a group meeting once and one of my colleagues started to cry.

It's a good metric to know and be deliberate about.

How many hours are reserved for play?

How do YOU play?

I'm sharing my own story here of all the ways I've pursued the joys of play in the past few years, as I've really stepped up to play more expansively.

Life is a rich tapestry of fabulous opporunities for fun, laughter and joy. 

If that doesn't ring true for you, how can you bring more of it into your life?

I give you so much permission and love to go after what lights you up!

Do you want to age vibrantly and joyfully?

It is possible to feel better at 50 than you did at 40?

My vivacious guest this week is doing exactly that, and she shares some of her movement medicine with us today on the podcast.

Tracey has developed the Reshape Method specifically for peri and menopausal women who want to age without pain, look terrific and feel great, without spending endless hours at the gym.

Likewise, my Empowered Women program offers mental and emotional vibrancy without spending endless hours in therapy.

Here are the paralells,

Over the years we accumulate the emotional baggage of negative meaning making associated with life events, just as we collect sprains and injuries.

These will weigh you down and keep you from allowing joy, lightheartedness and fun into everyday life in the same way that physical injuries develop into chronic pain.

This is why making adjustments is essential as we age, so we're not carrying around a bag of arrows to shoot at ourselves in the dark of the night.

Hope you enjoy our chat!

 

I've been on many retreats over the last few decades, and each one has offered an opportunity to connect with myself, reflect and redirect my energy, as well as enjoying the influence of teachers and other students.

Opening myself to retreat has been a huge learning opportunity, as well as a rest and reset, and of course, the unique retreats I offer have grown out of these experiences.

I'm sharing a little of my own journey on retreat today, and also letting you in on how my first Bali retreat came in to being.

It's a good story!

Being bold and trusting my gut really paid off. I had faith that my own excitement would be communicated to those who could hear it and who wanted a similar growth experience.

I can say that it worked, and I'll be in Bali with my sixth Bali retreat, Find Your Joy, in a few short weeks.

I can't wait for the healing space we create together and the heart-opening that occurs for all of us.

To hear Trish and I exploring the concept of Gestalt group play in the context of retreat, click here.

Are you an Olympic Worrier?

😳

 

It's a cliche, but it's very real. Anxiety can affect you and me in so many ways, with one main outcome - it makes life unbearable.

 

Which one is you? 

The 2 am anxiety spiral.

Hiding under the table at work fighting off a panic attack.

Nausea on the commuter train.

Hyperventilating on the phone with demanding clients.

Free floating anxiety that attaches itself to the next thing as soon as the first issue is resolved

And so many more.

 

My event is the 2am spiral, (I came first in the heats😂). 

But I've learned to work with it and you can too.

I'm exploring two simple tools for switching on the light in the dark night of worry in today's podcast.

Burnout is epidemic in the Australian workforce. 

Deloitte recently published their women at work report for 2022, and almost half of the women interviewed describe burnout symptoms.

So my LinkedIn newsletter this week is all about how to recognise and work with burnout. Subscribe so you don't miss any of the tools and tips I share weekly to support wellbeing.

On the podcast I'm sharing my experience of burnout and beyond.

I hope it will support you to recognise and take action if you are one of the 45% of women who rate their mental health as poor or extremely poor.

On my webiste you can find free tools to support your wellbeing

Why do we want change?

Couldn't we just stay the same for ever? That would be simple!

But it would be against nature.  It would become dull and stale and boring. 

Nature is in constant flux and so are we, when we are healthy.

Energy is meant to flow in and out of us, through us. And we flow, like a powerful river, responding to life as it emerges. 

This is healthy self process, alive, responsive, available, spontaneous and joyful.

If you could wave a magic wand, what would you like to change in your life?

Join me as I explore the secret ingredient for change on the podcast today.

To access your free gift, click here

Do you feel you're meant for better things?

Or that you're just not using all your gifts?

You want to play bigger but something holds you back?

Today I'm exploring the two forces at work during the making of change, and how they can act like a foot on the accelerator and a foot on the brake. 

The force for change, and the force for sameness.

What I know is that change is a process, a verb, not a noun. It takes time.

It can also be understood and supported so that you can step out into a bigger version of yourself and do those wonderful things (like starting a podcast).

So how can you support the force for change AND work creatively with the fearful and often harsh, critical voice for remaining the same?

When you recognise these two parts it becomes easier to work with them.

The counter-intuitive piece is that the voice for sameness, despite it's harsh, shouty nature is fearful and trying to keep you safe. It's protecting you from shame.

It needs kindness, self compassion, self acceptance and encouragement so it can be brought along for the fabulous ride and you can be strengthened by integrating it instead of banishing it.

If you would like support for change, check out my program for empowered women here.

 

How is adversity showing up in your life? Do you need support to manage it well? Not just to get through, but to work creatively with it so that it can lead to growth and wisdom instead of shutting down.   I notice that responding to adversity can take many forms. Compartmentalising, avoiding or being overwhelmed are a few that I see a lot in my work.   This makes so much sense in the immediate face of illness, bereavement, career crisis or other challenging experiences, but they are not good long-term solutions.   I know that therapy offers a way to process and allow emotion instead of leaving it stuck in the body, usually in the heart, where it can lead to illness and discomfort.   Together we allow, process, and heal. We build a safe container where emotion is released and understood, and the heart can rebuild.   Over time, there is a flowering which is the product of the work we do.   Acceptance blossoms, there is a softening, warmth, connection and expansion which leads to more joy, love and intimacy.   To find out more about the Bali retreat, click here.