Private Hypnobirthing Classes now available

Hypnobirthing Private ClassesHappy new year to you! May this year be one of growth and joy.  I’m excited to announce that I am now offering private hypnobirthing classes in Bondi Junction and via Skype.

Learn how to harness the natural processes of your body to experience the relaxed, connected, natural birth that you want.

Benefits of Hypnobirthing:

  • Release fear of the birthing process
  • Reduce or remove the need for external painkillers
  • Can shorten labour
  • Can provide a gentle birth experience for baby
  • Allows fathers/ birth partners to positively participate in the birth
  • Quicker post natal recovery

Hypnobirthing uses 4 core principles to help you tap into your body’s natural ability to birth your child gently and easily

  1. Relaxation
  2. Breathing
  3. Visualisation
  4. Hypnotic Deepening

To find out more, visit my Hypnobirthing page, or get in contact to schedule your private class!

Better Than Done is out now

Better Than DoneI wrote a book for people like us.

Did I tell you I have been writing a book? Well, at last, it’s done! It’s Better Than Done, actually. My co-author, Geffen Rothe and I are so excited to share this powerful book with you. We would be ecstatic for you to get your hands on a copy of the first paperback print run or the Kindle edition, both now available on Amazon for you..

We wrote Better Than Done together over the course of two years. It is a powerful example of collaboration between colleagues, ultimately rendering us as friends and business partners.

It’s about a new, better way to set goals.

Traditional goal setting is outdated, ineffective and unsatisfying. There is a better way – paying attention to the qualities that are most important to you, every day. Better Than Done teaches you how to focus on your most valued qualities while living an ambitious life. We know this is so much more satisfying than just doing, doing, doing.

Better Than Done is more than a how-to process to achieve meaningful goals. It is a completely new way to approach being ambitious, called Intentional Goal Setting. You’ve heard the phrase “It’s about the journey, not the destination” many times. Well, we wanted to create a guidebook for how to actually do this, without compromising that desire to achieve ambitious, concrete results.

Be the first to get Better Than Done.

Get ahead of the pack and enjoy being one of the very first people to get a copy of my book in your hands. Begin your own journey of setting ambitious goals with sanity, success and satisfaction. Here it is then. Better Than Done. It’s for you. It’s for your friends. It’s for your colleagues. It’s for your children.

Buy it now on Amazon.

I am thrilled to share my book with you. Better Than Done: Sanity, Success and Satisfaction for Ambitious People is available internationally for purchase on Amazon.

Click here to buy Better Than Done in your country.

To your success and satisfaction!

 

Relocating to Sydney Australia for 2016

Sydney Harbour BridgeAfter 8 fine years of adventure in this most fabulous city of London, the Australian shores are calling me home.  I’ve loved living, learning and labouring in this fantastic city, and I want to thank each and every one of you for the time we have spent together.

It’s been a dream come true to spend the hours I’ve spent with you, my London clients.  To help you gain clarity on your desires, to uncover and remove the blocks to your success and to see you shine as the wonderful, unique and precious individuals that you are.  Thank you for trusting me to help you become the people you want to be.  It has been a true honour and privilege.

And, if you’ve been meaning to work with me, and not quite made it a priority, now is the time to book in to see me.  I am seeing clients through to the end of October.  That gives us 6 weeks.  Call the clinic on 0207 490 4042 and book in right now for Hypnotherapy or use my online scheduler to schedule a telephone consultation if you want to talk about a coaching program with me.  Beyond October, I will be continuing to offer telephone (and Skype or Facetime) coaching consultations as I make my way back Down Under, via Italy and Asia.

Thank you again, for being a part of my time in London.  And, I want you to know that while I may be leaving the northern hemisphere, I will be leaving a legacy here too.  Curious? Hold tight – I’ll have more about that very soon…

 

Image Credit: Jono Haysom via FlickrCreative Commons License

Why your New Years Resolutions will end in failure

New Years Resolution Fail

With another New Year upon us are you full of enthusiasm and good intentions for these next 12 months? The New Year is a naturally powerful time to pause and reflect on what you most desire in the coming 12 months. Sadly, a disheartening statistic quoted in the Journal of Clinical Psychology tells us that only 8% of people are successful at achieving their New Years Resolutions. If you’re among the 92% that do not achieve their resolutions you may be telling yourself that its because you’re not disciplined enough, not committed enough or not focused enough.

The real truth is that the New Years Resolution system is broken. New Years Resolutions come from the S.M.A.R.T goal methodology developed in 1981, and that methodology is out of date. The S.M.A.R.T acronym stands for setting goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-bound and this approach has been the staple diet of business and management for the last 30 years. The reason you are failing in your New Years Resolution is that you are using out-dated technology.

I have spent the last few years researching and experimenting with an improved approach to goal setting that ensures my clients, and myself, maintain enthusiasm and momentum while pursuing highly ambitious outcomes. This month I’m thrilled to be launching my first workshop introducing the Intentional Goal Setting System.

The Intentional Goal Setting System flips the S.M.A.R.T goal setting system on its head. Instead of chasing a very 1980’s form of external material success, our new approach to setting goals, tracking progress and defining success is all about being satisfied while pursuing your deepest desires.

The Intentional Goal Setting System invites you to focus on the kind of person you desire to be. Then, instead of focusing exclusively on your end result, you track the tangible, measurable experiences that provide proof that you are being who you want to be. This approach builds a greater sense of satisfaction in day-to-day life and provides you with strong motivation to keep on moving forward.

If you’re ready to make 2015 your most satisfying and successful year yet, then I invite you to be among the first to join me for my Intentional Goal Setting Workshop debut on 10th January.

Whatever your desires for the New Year, may your year be profoundly satisfying and full of joy!

Image Credit: Creative Commons License Vincent_AF via Flickr

3 Strategies to Stay Slim during the Silly Season

Strategies to stay slim

With the Silly Season now upon us are you juggling a jam-packed schedule full of office parties, Christmas drinks and mince pie madness? Here are 3 strategies to stay slim and sane amongst the frivolity of the festive season.

1. Don’t lose sight of your values

As I’ve blogged about before, our values drive our decisions. They dictate where we spend our time, energy and money. We feel best about ourselves and our lives when we live in alignment with our values.  If you’re reading this, it’s likely that feeling healthy and good in your body is an important value to you. If you find yourself feeling tempted to subjugate your value of health in order to fit in with the crowd at this time of year, I invite you to take a moment to reflect.

Get curious about how you can still be social and festive while living in alignment with your values. The next time the voice of temptation (posing as a rowdy colleague) urges you to have another drink, take a moment to check whether that decision is in alignment with your broader vision for yourself. Ask yourself whether accepting another drink will support your deeper desire to feel vibrant and confident in your body, and then make a decision to honour your values.

2. Become aware of sabotaging beliefs

As detailed in an earlier post, beliefs colour our view of the world and create the boundary conditions of our thinking. Beliefs like “I’ll look like a party pooper if I don’t join in the eating and drinking” or “people will think I’m unsociable if I abstain” limit our ability to think creatively about socialising.

I invite you to examine your current beliefs about what it means to be sociable.  In order to begin challenging those beliefs, I encourage you to put yourself in your fellow guest’s shoes.  Ask yourself which of these two scenarios would be more enjoyable for you at a social event?

Scenario 1. Trying to talk to someone who is so distracted by their internal ping-pong match over having another glass of wine that you barely feel that they notice you, or

Scenario 2. Feeling the warm glow of someone’s focused attention and interest as you spend some time getting to know a new acquaintance

Its likely that how another person makes you feel in their company is far more influential than the number of calories they consume.

By delving deeper into beliefs about what really constitutes being sociable we begin to open up alternative ways of socialising that honour what’s most important to us.

3. Discover what you’re really hungry for

This time of year is steeped in tradition and ritual, and the serving of rich foods is one such tradition that can be challenging. Traditions and rituals create strong unconscious associations that evoke memories of good feelings. When food is involved in tradition and ritual we anchor those positive feelings to foods. If you often find yourself over indulging in particular festive foods, ask yourself what feelings you’re really craving. Is it comfort, warmth or the cozy memories of preparing a special dish with a loved one from your childhood?

By becoming aware of the feeling you’re seeking beyond the sweet treat you can take alternative actions to enjoy that feeling in a way that honours your values.  For instance:

  • Cuddle with a pet or loved one to enjoy feelings of connection
  • Hunker down in soft pyjamas and a good book to elicit feelings of comfort
  • Create new traditions and memories by experimenting with healthy recipes of old Christmas favourites

Amongst the busy-ness of December I encourage you to take a moment to get in touch with your values. When you take the time to consciously honour your values over the holiday season you will find yourself well ahead when the New Year arrives. Then, instead of spending January making up for poor decisions made in December, you’ll be ready to step into the New Year, right on track and ready for an amazing year ahead of you.

 

Image Credit: Steven Depolo via Flickr

New Coaching Program

life coaching

Recently, I was working to help a client overcome interview nerves. As our work drew to a close, she reported a wonderful side effect. As well as feeling confident about attending interviews, she was feeling so much more calm and confident in her current role. Tasks that used to stand out as anxiety-inducing events had now settled into the background for her as commonplace normal activities. As a result, she posed this question to me:

“What am I supposed to do with all this extra energy that I used to expend on worrying?”

What a beautiful problem to have! I’ve been considering her question deeply, and now I have an answer…

Hypnotherapy is just wonderful for clearing the blocks, the negative habits and self-defeating beliefs that can make it hard to get through the day. Once we’ve tackled those barriers and reclaimed some mental space, then the real fun begins!

The answer to my client’s questions is to use that liberated energy to begin to create your life consciously. Until now, you may have found yourself living a life that was created by default or as a result of external circumstances. With the biggest energy drains and negative components now under control, you are in the privileged position to identify your dreams and desires and begin bringing them to fruition.

This is where my coaching skill-set comes into play. Coaching is forward-looking and action-oriented. In coaching with me, you have the added reassurance of my arsenal of hypnotic tools and techniques that can be called upon, as needed, to turbo-charge your progress.

Therefore, I am delighted to announce the launch of my personalised 3-month coaching program for hypnotherapy graduates.

The coaching program is specifically designed to support you – from discovering your desires and setting clear goals, to taking joyful action, all the way through to celebrating your successes. The program supports you with nine 45-minute coaching sessions across the 3-month period to keep enthusiasm and motivation strong.

While each coaching program is personalised for your individual needs, in coaching with me you can expect these elements:

  • Naming your desires
  • Achieving your goals
  • Creating a life that you love
  • Experiencing satisfaction in the journey
  • Gaining deeper understanding of yourself through your values
  • Generating greater appreciation of your strengths
  • Tapping into the courage to take action
  • Cultivating motivation through self-recognition and celebration

Here is what some of my coaching graduates have to say:

Kelly is a highly resourceful, fun and deeply committed coach. She has a natural air of confidence and approachable authority which ensured I always had complete faith and trust in her – she was also committed to my own autonomy and had a genuine respect for my own need to reach certain conclusions and come up with ideas myself. As someone with a long history of personal development and my own interest in coaching, my standards are extremely high and I plan to recommend her unreservedly to people who I know may benefit. – Jess, Singer-Songwriter, London

Kelly has been an absolute joy and her guidance has impacted me in unexpected ways. I have seen significant impacts in several of the areas that were targets of ours from our initial sessions. I feel that the coaching has helped peel back layers which at times felt like a setback but in actuality, were moving me and our sessions forward. I have fully trusted Kelly in my times of strife to allow myself to flounder and work out the problems, allowing more of the good bits in life to take over. I am amazed at the process as I did not know what to expect at first and would recommend it to anyone. – Julie, Pilates Instructor, London

You can read more about my coaching offering on my website, where I answer some of the questions that you may have. Alternatively, if this program tickles a glimmer of excitement inside of you, then get in touch and let’s talk. I’m offering a complimentary 30-minute consultation to answer any questions you may have and to explore how my coaching program could help you take your next joyful step in life.

Program Details

To make most efficient use of time, the coaching program is offered via telephone (or Skype, Facetime, Google Hangout). By working the program remotely, you will find it simple to fit our calls into your busy week. A 45-minute call allows you to speak during lunch breaks at work or to find space in your schedule between your business appointments.

Face to face coaching in my London offices is also available upon request.

Program Price

The program cost is £195 per month for 3-months.   Should you wish to purchase the entire program upfront, I offer a full payment price of £550.

In order to deliver exquisite service to my coaching clients, I only have room for 5 coaching clients for this launch. So if you’re ready to get started designing a life that you love, get in touch today for a complimentary 30-minute consultation to get you on the path to living a life that gives you joy.

 

Image Credit: Martin Fisch via Flickr

Axing Anxiety

Anxiety Workshop

Today, October 10th, is world mental health day – a day designed to raise awareness of the mental health issues faced by people across the globe. In 2013 15.2 million working days were lost due to the mental health problems of stress, anxiety and depression in the UK1. Mental health problems were the third biggest contributor to absenteeism after back and neck problems and coughs and colds.

Given that the management of stress and anxiety plays a key role in a happy and productive workforce, we need to get serious about solving these health challenges. Historically, anxiety has been regarded as a purely mental problem. The associated physical symptoms have been seen as a result of mental processes such worrying and irrational thinking. Little attention has been paid to the physical processes that contribute to the condition.

In our upcoming pioneering workshop next Sunday, 19th October, we combine my work as a clinical hypnotherapist with the work of Somatic Movement Educator Tanya Fitzpatrick to manage anxiety from both the physical and the mental perspective.

The workshop, Reprogramming Anxiety, will be held on Sunday 19th October at 10am at Clerkenwellbeing, 178 Goswell Rd, EC1V 7DT. In this two-hour introductory workshop you will:

• Identify your habitual patterns of anxious thinking
• Understand how anxiety affects you physically
• Learn skills to counteract anxious patterns
• Discover how to restore a sense of calm and comfort to your daily life

The cost of the workshop is £35. You can purchase tickets in advance by clicking the button below. To keep the group intimate, spaces are limited, therefore we encourage you to book in advance to guarantee your place.

Reserve your place by purchasing your ticket below:

Reprogramming Anxiety Workshop 10am Sunday 19th October 2014

1Sickness Absence in the Labour Market, Office for National Statistics, February 2014

Image credit: emdot via Compfight

 

Has your body forgotten how to relax?

Reprogramming Anxiety

Over the summer my fascination with the phenomenon of anxiety has led me to investigate additional approaches to handling the problem. In my enquiry I came across a compelling, albeit low tech, lecture by Dr. Leon Chaitow of the University of Westminster, London on the wide-ranging negative effects of incorrect breathing and the link between breathing and anxiety.

Chronic incorrect breathing causes an imbalance in the level of carbon dioxide in the blood, which leads to:
• Triggering of the stress response (sympathetic arousal)
• Feelings of anxiety and apprehension
• Bowel problems (diarrhoea or constipation)
• Exacerbating PMS symptoms
• Lowering of pain threshold
• Fatigue, tiredness and brain-fog

This discovery had me seek to correct of my own breathing. To achieve correct breathing, it was clear I needed to release the chronic tension in my back, chest and diaphragm. My search led me to the amazing Tanya Fitzpatrick.

Tanya is a certified Somatic Movement Educator, an advanced yoga teacher trainer, and a Body-Mind Centering Professional. Her speciality is helping her clients to retrain their brains to tell their muscles to relax correctly and to learn to move in an effortless fashion.

Tanya explains that through habitual patterns of tension, muscles in the body learn how to remain tight, and the brain develops what she terms sensory motor amnesia.  This means the brain literally forgets how to relax these muscles at all, leading to chronic tension, pain and restricted breathing.

Tanya and I quickly realised what a beautiful synergy our work has. She helps clients release physical patterns of anxiety and I help clients release the mental patterns that hold anxiety in place. Imagine the power of experiencing the effect of both!

We are so excited to share with you our brand new workshop, Reprogramming Anxiety, which will be held on Sunday 19th October at 10am at Clerkenwellbeing, 178 Goswell Rd, EC1V 7DT.

In this two-hour introductory workshop you will:
• Identify your habitual patterns of anxious thinking
• Understand how anxiety affects you physically
• Learn skills to counteract anxious patterns
• Discover how to restore a sense of calm and comfort to your daily life

The cost of the workshop is £35. You can purchase tickets in advance by clicking the button below. To keep the group intimate, spaces are limited, therefore we encourage you to book in advance to guarantee your place.

Reserve your place by purchasing your ticket below:

Reprogramming Anxiety Workshop 10am Sunday 19th October 2014

I look forward to seeing you in October!

Image credit: Fayez via Flickr

How to turn presentation nerves into an effortless performance

Presentation NervesI often work with highly competent professionals who want to rid themselves of the fear and panic involved in public speaking. What usually brings them to see me is a building feeling of anxiety about an upcoming presentation with all the associated physical symptoms of sweaty palms, tight throat, pounding heart and fast breathing.

Hypnotic intervention for panic responses experienced during presenting is very effective.
The goal for me is always to help the client bring their physical response back under control by uncoupling the negative experiences, beliefs and emotions they have associated with presenting. But, I don’t seek to take that physiological response away completely – here’s why…

When I’m not in the therapy room, I spend my time learning and performing trapeze. I know the incredible power of a natural shot of adrenaline before a performance. That anticipatory load of chemicals makes me strong, strong enough to perform moves that I sometimes struggle to complete in rehearsal. These chemicals also slow time right down, which allows me to have the luxury of ensuring my hand is positioned perfectly on the bar so I can execute my next move with confidence.

This heightened state of consciousness experienced by performers is called Flow. The term was originally coined in the 1980’s by positive psychology researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi when referring to an optimal state of performance. Flow is a state of focused or concentrated attention. In that state, time distorts – seconds stretching and slowing down during a performance or hours washing away in an eye blink as you’re completely immersed in a piece of work that you’re creating.

A ten-year study conducted by McKinsey found that top executives in flow are 5 times more productive than out of flow. In the New York Times bestseller, The Rise of Superman, author Steven Kolter explains that in the flow state the brain’s prefrontal cortex is shut down. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that houses the inner critic. When that critical voice is silenced we are no longer self-conscious or self-critical, and we are free to create and to perform.

Kolter describes the path to attaining flow:

The first stage of the flow cycle is known as struggle, which feels really unpleasant most of the time. Struggle gives way to release… and that triggers the actual flow state itself.

The key message here for those seeking optimum performance – whether that is in the athletic, artistic, creative or intellectual arena, is to realise that those early tingles which in the past you may have labelled as nerves, anxiety or fear are actually the precursors to flow. Those tingles are telling you that if you stick with it, holding a clear belief and vision of a successful outcome, that you can step through the doorway into flow where you can “be swept up by the river of ultimate human performance”.

So the next time you have the opportunity to take a risk by speaking up, I encourage you to recognise the opportunity that is available to you, the opportunity to step through the doorway and experience yourself in flow.

Image Credit: TOM81115 via Flickr

The Secret to Making a Hard Choice

Making a hard choice

 In her TED talk, How to make Hard Choices, philosopher Ruth Chang shares a new way of handling choices between two difficult options. “What makes a choice hard is the way the alternatives relate” she explains. “In a hard choice, one alternative is better in some ways, the other is better in other ways and neither of them is better than the other overall”.

The key to her argument is that when evaluating hard choices we are really evaluating our values. She posits that we incorrectly apply scientific thinking to values, “assuming that values, like justice, beauty, kindness are akin to the scientific quantities like length, mass and weight…”

Values are typically single abstract words like love, freedom, security, trust or joy. These words represent what’s important to us and will determine where we spend our time, our energy and our resources. I regularly use values in my work with clients. If you recall the Hierarchy of Change model that I wrote about in January, you’ll remember that changes made at the level of values and beliefs will automatically impact on your behaviours, your capabilities and your environment.

Most often our values are unconscious and were installed in the formative years of early childhood. Values are installed unconsciously through the strong influences of our family, our education and our culture.   Unless we bring those values to conscious awareness, we are destined to evaluate our hard choices based on someone else’s outdated programming.

Once you uncover and claim your own values, you are then much better equipped to be able to make a decision when faced with a hard choice. Ruth Chang explains that hard choices occur when the options are “in the same league of value, while at the same time being very different in the kinds of values [they fulfill]”. For instance, if choosing between two career options, perhaps one as a graphic artist and the other as an investment banker, the graphic artist option fulfills the value of creativity and expression and the investment banking option fulfills the values of security and status. The key to making the hard choice is to know what values are most important to you. When we make these hard choices from our values we are setting ourselves up to enjoy the most satisfaction with the chosen option.

So when faced with a hard choice between two options, I encourage you to follow Chang’s advice: “Instead of looking for reasons out there, we should be looking for reasons in here.” Make your decision based on your values, on what’s most important to you, to build a life rich in satisfaction.

Image Credit: Grant MacDonald via Flickr