The following is a press release for a workshop I will be conducting at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego on Saturday January 16, 2010.

San Diego Press Club Sponsors workshop to jump start your career:

Here’s a big idea to take very seriously: we can – and do -- send ourselves uninvited messages that may be negative or limiting enough to impede our lives and progress.

That’s the theory proposed by psychotherapist, author and television personality Dr. Adrianne Ahern, who will expand on this theme at “Snap Out of it - NOW!” on Saturday, Jan. 16 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, sponsored by the San Diego Press Club.

“Ever have a goal that you can’t seem to attain or a habit you can’t break?  That’s because the hard-wiring of your brain is sabotaging your efforts and controlling your physiology, “ says Dr. Ahern.

Dr. Ahern’s “Snap Out of it - NOW” Four-Step method will help attendees remove barriers to reaching their goals, respond positively and effectively to change, reduce the negative impacts of a stressful life, and more. Her book will be available for sale. She will be assisted by clinical psychologist Marian Edelbrock, Ph.D, and Brandon Moreno, a Human Resource consultant and executive coach.

Reservations, free to S. D. Press Club members and, as a service to the community, $20 to non-members, may be made via www.sdpressclub.org, or by phoning Executive Director Terry Williams, 619-231-4340.  A complimentary continental breakfast will be served.

Jump Start Your Career!

Choose to attend the San Diego Press Club's first event of the new year on January 16, 2010. 

I have been asked by the board of SD Press Club to help their members snap out of attitudes of doom and gloom  that their profession is going down the tubes.  I will be showing workshop attendees how to retrain their brain for success -- so that they can start seeing opportunities and creative solutions where they've been seeing only roadblocks and dead-ends.  

At this workshop you will learn how to turn your internal saboteur into a pep squad!  You will be guided in uncovering and changing your limiting beliefs, and unleashing your creative powers!  This workshop will be interactive and is geared for communications professionals.  Hope to see you there!

Details of Event: 
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Date: January 16, 2010
Location: Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park
Cost: Free to SDPC members, $20 non-members
To register, please email the San Diego Press Club directly: sdpressclub@cox.net

Science has figured out that repeated thoughts actually carve neuro-pathways into the brain. The thought becomes hard-wired into your brain. Think about it -- when a self-limiting thought is carved in like that, it doesn't just affect your thinking. It affects your entire physiology and determines how you act and react to the situations in you life. 

The GOOD NEWS is that you can consciously re-wire your brain so that your conditioned beliefs and attitudes support you, embrace positive change, help you feel empowered in challenging times like these.  And when you feel empowered? You come up with brilliant ideas, effective strategies, innovative solutions.


Join me at Warwick's Books in La Jolla, California on October 14th at 7:30pm and hear me explain how you can get "Back in Charge!" and start living your life by choice, no longer by automatic reactions that keep you stuck unable to reach your goals.

Times are tough.  Things are changing and often we feel as if the sand is shifting under our feet and everything feels unstable. Most of us are resistant to change. Join me at Warwick’s Bookstore in La Jolla, CA on October 14th at 7:30pm and I will explain why that’s so.

As I sit in my therapy and coaching office in San Diego's Carmel Valley, I acknowledge that at the end of my journey of writing books and producing a TV show, I have successfully rewired the neuropathways of my brain--no longer am I the panic-stricken speaker I was when I first began to public speak while doing a post-doctoral fellowship at San Diego's Mercy Hospital; no longer am I the doubt-filled writer that needed to leave San Diego to write her book without any distractions; and, no longer am I the intimidated and tongue-tied TV & Radio guest that I was during the first media tour back in 2006.  In my acknowledgment of this, I feel grateful that I am now in the position to work individually with others and help them break free from the limiting beliefs and attitudes that are blocking their efforts at achieving their goals.

Though many of us yearn for positive change and transformation, our conscious or unconscious conditioned beliefs may tell us that we really do not have the ability to become substantially different or better than who we have been.  Do any of these statements ring true to you?

• You can't teach an old dog new tricks 
• This is just the way life is; we have to accept it
• You have to be born in the right place at the right time to make it
• You have to get the breaks and the right circumstances to be successful
• You can't have it all.  Getting by is good enough
• Most of us just aren't cut out for greatness

Some of us firmly believe these statements to be true.  Others claim that they believe in unlimited human potential.  But when it gets right down to it, almost all of us honestly experience life in terms of one or more of the limiting statements above. 

Human potential is the hope, but life's limitations feel like the reality.

You may not ever say these statements out loud. You may even argue against them, using the positive self-talk of recent decades. But take a moment: In your heart of hearts, do any of those statements seem like the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Deep down, do you trust these "reality" statements more than the possibility of transformation? If so, these beliefs have been hardwired into your brain and will sabotage any personal growth program you begin--and probably have done so in the past.

I am not asking you to just believe and trust in the possibility of your own transformation.  Those limiting "reality" statements, like all conditioning, are hardwired in and need to be unplugged and rewired to release their power. ...  I'll show you how to do this in future chapters....

(Above is an excerpt from the fist chapter of, "Back in Charge!")

Let's see how the brain operates to solve problems...  If you want to experience this exercise, it is very important that you do not skip ahead and read the material below where you are at the moment.

I’m going to show you two sets of puzzles.  This isn't a test where you get graded on how well you do. But I want you to pay attention to how your brain approaches these puzzles. The first set is very easy and almost everyone can solve it with no problem. But, however you see it, don't worry about it. Just pay attention to your process. 

Take just a few minutes with this set of puzzles:

1) What common 3-letter word can go into every blank below to make another word?

                        NIS

S                        CIL

KIT                       

2) What number goes in the blank box so the 4 numbers in both sets total the same number?

The next set of puzzles is much more difficult. I've seen Mensa members who couldn't solve it. The problems may look obvious on the surface but they aren't. Even when you think you've got the right answer, you probably won't. But still just work on the problems and see what you come up with. And notice how your brain is trying to tackle them.

Take a few moments with these puzzles:

3) Cross off 4 letters in this word to come up with a vegetable:   

CHLORINE

4) A deli has 2 types of bread, 3 kinds of cheese, and 3 kinds of meat. Customers can choose one type of bread, one cheese and one meat for their sandwich.  How many variations of sandwiches can there be?

• 17
• 18
• 24
•  27

Now, think about for a moment how those two experiences were different for you.

Before we go any further, let me confess that the second set of puzzles was not really harder. Both of these come from an elementary school level puzzle book. But what happened to your ability to solve the puzzle when you believed it was impossible?

The LA Times tackles “Job Stress.”  

In an article, “Sick of it” about how on-the-job stress is detrimental to your health, you’ll learn all the things you should “do,” to lessen the effects of on-the-job stress (e.g., take a quick walk around the office), or the things you should “not do” (e.g., don’t eat junk food), or the things you should “avoid doing” (e.g., consuming caffeine and simple sugars).  But what you will not learn in this article is what to do in-the-moment when the frustration, feelings of overwhelm or anxiousness flood your system and seem to take charge of your experience, making you “do” all the things you know you shouldn’t do!  What is missing is how to manage these emotions that trigger the unhealthy behaviors that keep us stuck feeling stressed and reacting in ways that do not serve us. Well, here’s a powerful and effective way to instantly get back in charge of your emotions.

The ABC’s of stress management:

1. Acknowledge the feelings of stress within you whether they are physical or emotional.  Maybe it’s tight shoulders or jittery stomach, maybe a feeling of anger or panic, or the inability to concentrate.  Simply acknowledge you are feeling stressed!).
2. Breathe with attention directed to the feeling wherever you feel it – allow yourself to experience it. Stay with the feeling (e.g., stiff neck, jittery stomach or frustration, impatience) and feel it.   
3. Cleanse that feeling from your physiology.  Again whether it is a physical or emotional feeling—use the power of your breath to release the feeling.  As you inhale slowly, acknowledge the feeling.  As you exhale slowly, release the feeling.  So inhale – acknowledge; exhale – release. 

Using these 3 steps of acknowledging, experiencing and releasing the feelings of stress, we will feel more calm, and when we are calm we will find ourselves thinking more clearly, making better decisions, and maybe getting the job you’ve always wanted!

When we don’t acknowledge and allow ourselves to experience the feelings of stress within, these feelings will continue to trigger unhealthy reactions—eating chips/cookies, drinking more caffeine, multi-tasking our way to anxious distraction, blaming our co-workers, and staying stuck in a life of reacting!  Learn to take charge of your emotions by turning toward them and letting yourself feel them (rather than “doing” something to avoid them).  We have been conditioned to believe that by facing negative emotions we will intensify them, but that it just wrong!  As I always say, “face it or get chased by it!”

I want to share a bit a feedback that I just received from a San Diego business woman about "Snap Out Of It NOW!" that aired in San Diego on KPBS August 8th:


"I was going through all the channels on Saturday evening and stopped when I saw your show on Channel 11 PBS.  I had not heard of you before.  I started Facebook about three weeks ago and started Twitter a couple of days ago and I signed up for both with you.  I would like to have a private session with you sometime in the future.  I sell real estate.  In this economic market, do you have room to schedule sessions for all 21,000 San Diego County real estate agents?  Ha, Ha.  Did you ever think of contacting SDAR--The San Diego Association of Realtors to put on a seminar.  Here is my psychological assessment of your program.  Assessment of you--I expected you to be intelligent so I will not mention that, but what came through on the television program and was most impressive was your "sincerity."  There is a new era coming soon in personal development and you are in the right place at the right time."

My in-studio interview at KPBS on Saturday night was really fun!  Thank you to all of you who watched and to those of you who set your DVR or Tivo to watch at a later time.

If you recorded "Snap Out Of It NOW!" and didn't have the chance to call in to join or renew your KPBS membership, you can do that NOW! online by clicking here.  Make sure to select, "Snap Out Of It NOW!" in the "Search by Program" drop down menu and choose the "thank you" gifts you would like.

The DVD of the special is only available through pledging your support to KPBS.  And, remember that my second book, "Back In Charge!" was written to support the material offered in the Public Television special, so the combo package will be the best way to begin rewiring your brain to start supporting your efforts at self-improvement!

Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind!

The power of your brain has much more effect on our health, wealth and general well-being than any external circumstance.  Most of us have it backwards because we haven't understood how the brain works -- and how we can consciously re-wire it to support our goals and desires.

Whether it's coming up with creative business solutions, increasing income, losing weight, or healing relationships, tonight's show, "Snap Out Of It NOW!" on KPBS-TV San Diego, Channel 11, at 7 P.M. will give you practical tools to get the wiring of your own brain to work for you, not against you!

Be sure to watch, or set your Tivo or DVR -- you won't want to miss it!


If you would like to become a member of KPBS-TV, or continue giving your support, please call in (Toll-free: (888) 399-5727) or go online and make a pledge!  Be sure to reference, "Snap Out Of It NOW!"

Please remember to watch "Snap Out Of It NOW!" if you live in the San Diego area, and if not, please share this info with family and friends who do!

Learn how to make your efforts at self-improvement start working for you! Snap Out Of It NOW! puts you back in the driver's seat, gives you the tools you need to face challenges with confidence, and provides the key to unlocking and rewiring the brain so you control it instead of it controlling you.

Be sure to watch on August 8 at 7p.m. on KPBS-TV! 

Call in (Toll-free: (888) 399-5727) or go online and make a pledge to support KPBS, and make sure to reference "Snap Out Of It NOW!"

Show details:

Event: KPBS TV Special, "Snap Out Of It NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern" "Face it or get chased by it!"
Date/Time: Saturday, August 8 at 7:00pm
Where: KPBS-TV Channel 11 for cable , but please check your local listing

Want to watch clips from this Show?  Click here!


Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind,

 

Reminder: Watch "SNAP..." on KPBS!

Please remember to watch "Snap Out Of It NOW!" on KPBS if you live in the San Diego area, and if not, please share this info with family and friends who do!

Learn how to make your efforts at self-improvement start working for you! Snap Out of It NOW!® puts you back in the driver's seat, gives you the tools you need to face challenges with confidence, and provides the key to unlocking and rewiring the brain so you control it instead of it controlling you.

Be sure to watch on August 8 at 7 p.m. on KPBS TV! Call in (Toll-free: (888) 399-5727) or go online and make a pledge to support Public Television in San Diego!

Show details:

Event: KPBS TV Special, "Snap Out Of It NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern" "Face it or get chased by it!"
Date/Time: Saturday, August 8 at 7:00pm
Where: KPBS-TV Channel 11 for cable , but please check your local listing

Want to watch clips from this Show? Click here!


Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind,
Adrianne

Just minutes away from my Blog Talk radio interview with my friend, Jordan Mercedes!  Check it out and take some time to listen.

Host Name:     Thrive In Balance    
Show Name: Time Out Before Burn Out with Dr.Adrianne Ahern

Length: 45 min
Description:  Are you addicted to going fast, never slowing down and working to the point of burn out? If so you'll want to tune in to hear Dr.Ahern help us to take time out before burn out and learn how to slow down to revive, rejuvenate and avoid the dangerous work burn out crash.

I’m preparing for a keynote I’ll be giving next week at a business luncheon in La Jolla and thought you all might enjoy this little awareness test. 

In my talks I show the audience some of the ways our brain works and how it – not circumstance -- controls our outcomes. Many of you have been doing all you can think of to keep your businesses going, increase income, encourage your employees and/or families, etc. But even if you are "doing all the right things," you may not be getting results. Let me show you why.
Here's a video about perception and awareness:

How many of you saw the moon-walking bear the first time through?

So how does that relate to us right now? If you’re conditioned to focus on how bad the economy is, how many businesses have closed in your industry, how many other people have lost money…well, that's what you are going to see. Your brain will not let you see the moon-walking bear or that unusual opportunity or that potential opening in your field. But if you re-wire your brain, your internal authority to start looking for the moon-walking bear, your brain will let you see it. 

You can consciously re-wire your brain so that your conditioned beliefs and attitudes support you, embrace positive change, help you feel empowered in challenging times.  And when we feel empowered? We come up with brilliant ideas, effective strategies, innovative solutions.

So how do we get there?   There are four basic steps to the process -- you can read about them and start the process with getting, “Back in Charge!”

Just got a call from KPBS - the public television station in San Diego - to schedule "Snap Out Of It NOW!" for their membership drive on  August 8th at 7pm! I am excited that my family, friends, colleagues and clients will be able to see my 90-minute pledge show, distributed by America Public Television, that we filmed last fall in Reno, Nevada.  Watch my show and discover why your efforts at self-improvement are not working! And, learn to rewire your brain to start working for you, not against you!

Show details:

August 8, 2009

KPBS San Diego, CA: Snap Out of it NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern 90-Minute Pledge Special

Saturday evening  August 8^th at 7:00 pm (Check your local listing!)

Be sure to watch!  Call in and make a pledge to support Public Television in San Diego

Call 619-594-6983 or send an email to members@kpbs.org.

Toll-free: (888) 399-5727
http://www.kpbs.org/

I love this Buckminster Fuller quote, as I feel it speaks to the need for each one of us to accept ourselves fully and ask the question, "How can I best be in service to life itself?"


"Everyone has the perfect gift to give the world - and if each of us is freed up to give the gift that is uniquely ours to give, the world will be in total harmony." 


I am always asking myself, "How can I best be in service to others, life, and to my unique purpose?"  
I am and will always be a practitioner -- receiving joy from working with the individual in achieving their highest potential -- however, working one-on-one reaches only a small amount of people. Therefore, I am grateful for the opportunity to have written, "Back in Charge!:  A guide to harnessing the power of your brain to create the life you'll love."  Some of you may know exactly what your gift is and how you want to offer it to the world; others of you who may not be so clear--your conditioning may be getting in your way of discovering your unique gift.  For you, I encourage you to pick up a copy of "Back in Charge!" and bring your conditioning into alignment with what you really want!

Our work life is the source of much of the satisfaction or dissatisfaction within our lives. It not only provides the income for our basic needs but also shapes what is possible in the rest of our life. It is an arena that can challenge our minds and test our relationship skills. It is usually one of the main ways we define who we are. And when we want to, or are forced to, make a change, it can be wrenching. But there are ways to make such a transition smooth and positive. 

Listen to my radio interview this morning on "The Career Clinic talk show" which airs Saturdays at noon Central on WZFG, AM 1100 The Flag, in Fargo.  You can link to live audio of the show at www.am1100.tv.

If your brain is convinced that your situation, whatever it is, is nearly impossible to solve, how do you think it is approaching it? But, if your brain believed that solutions would come easily and that it was fully capable of finding them, how does it respond?

Let me share with you a true story from my book, "Back in Charge!," about a graduate level mathematics student at UC Berkeley in 1939, George Dantzig.  George showed up late for class one day and found two problems on the blackboard which he believed to be homework assignments. He copied the problems and took them home. George struggled to find solutions to these problems but, knowing he was as capable as any other student in the class, he worked diligently until he solved both of them two days later. Six weeks after turning them in, George was contacted by his very excited professor, Dr. Jerzy Newman. The two problems had not been homework assignments at all. Dr Newman had written them on the board to show the class two of the most famous unsolved problems in statistics.

Yet George had been able to solve these problems. Why? Probably because he, and his brain, believed he could. Could the other students in the class have solved them as well? Perhaps. But all of the other students in class knew that the problems had never been solved. Their brains perceived a situation that was unknown and probably impossible; George's brain perceived a situation that was difficult but doable. It was not the circumstance, but the perception of the circumstance that made the difference.   Let me make this clear – – George perceived the circumstance to be mere homework. But they were exactly the same problems that other students perceived to be unsolvable!  When the brain is told something is unsolvable, impossible or very difficult, it approaches it as unsolvable, impossible or very difficult.  

Are you aware that your brain, not circumstance, controls your outcomes? I know many of you are doing all you can think of to find work, increase income, deal with your finances, etc. But even if you are "doing all the right things," you may not be getting results. 

Why?

If you’re focusing on how bad the economy is, how many people have been laid off in your industry, how many other people have lost money…well, that's  exactly what you are going to see. Your brain will not let you see that unusual opportunity or that potential opening in your field.

Some of you are walking around knowing that the sky is going to fall and you'll be lucky to survive at all. Others are seeing this time as an opportunity to change business as usual and create a more positive world.

Here’s the thing:  your brain doesn't care which is right, but it’s directing your emotions, heart rate, breathing – all of your systems – to prepare for a future event (whether it’s filled with positivity and inspiration or doom and gloom) that it believes will happen.   

Stay tuned for my next post – “The Internal Authority that Runs Your Life!”

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
—Albert Einstein

The following is an exercise from Chapter 6, Power of Imagination, of my new book, Back In Charge!

EXERCISE: Mental Health Break

Research from the Institute of HeartMath shows that experiencing pleasure or appreciation releases endorphins into the body, and five minutes of experiencing positive feelings is enough to counteract the toxic chemicals released during hours of stress! Within your brain, you easily have five minutes worth of pleasant memories. Flex your imagination muscles and heal your body by spending just five minutes a day recalling these great memories. Make it a regular part of your daily routine, maybe while commuting to work or brushing your teeth. Five pleasant minutes first thing in the morning will set you up for an endorphin-filled day. Five minutes at night will ensure a wonderful night’s sleep!

And, incorporating the power of your breath with this exercise will alow all these positive feelings to spread throughout your entire physiology!  Remember to sign up for Dr. A's montly newsletter and then download a audio recording of Adrianne teaching you "How to Belly Breathe!"

We're always being told how powerful the brain is.  Nearly every day we hear on television how we can change our brain and change our life.  We are being told that our brain is plastic.

In my talks and workshops I demonstrate this power to the people in my audience – and I explain how you can consciously re-wire your brain so that it directs its power on your behalf. Scientists and psychologists call this hard-wiring, conditioning. I often refer to conditioning as "the internal authority," the neuropathways in your brain that tell the rest of your brain what to do!

So what is conditioning?  Click here and hear me tell a true story, "Free the Mohini," about the power of conditioning.

I want to explain to you why all of the effort you have put into self-improvement has very little chance of ever, ever working. You know the programs--you've tried the programs!

• Get thighs like Cameron Diaz in 30 days!
• Lower your golf handicap by 10 strokes in two days!
• Be debt-free and a millionaire within 6 months?
• 3 easy steps to improve your sex life!

You know what? Many of these programs are valid and could really be effective. Except for one critical point: your brain will reject them. Let me repeat: your brain will reject them.
Similar to the way a body will reject a donor organ that is not compatible, your brain – the most powerful muscle you have – will reject thoughts, ideas, or possibilities that are incompatible or foreign to it. Why? Because your brain is "conditioned." And, that conditioning holds the key to your success or failure.

(What's conditioning? Click here to watch a video clip: "Free the Mohini!")

So... how do we overcome this conditioning? Well, I'll tell you a couple of methods that don't work so well. One is affirmations. Now before you jump all over me, there are ways to make affirmative statements effective. But just plopping a happy, fluffy, shiny thought over a grimy, nasty, negative one does not work. That's like spraying your nasty gym shoes with Eau de Cologne – the stink is still there and the combination is almost worse!

Another method that usually doesn't work in the long run: will power. Will power has a stronger voice, but it still has to argue with the voice of your conditioning which is why it takes so much effort.

So enough about what doesn't work--want to know what does? Aligned focus works. Aligned focus means that your conditioning is aligned with what you want so that any action you take toward that goal becomes effective. You need to re-wire the neuro-pathways of your brain so that it uses its power for you, not against you.

You want to loose weight so you wire your brain with the message: "I'm naturally slim and healthy" not "I've always been fat!"  If you want to break the record in the downhill slalom, your brain needs to be aligned with that goal so it will direct the blood flow to the right muscles, deepen your breathing, let you see opportunities for cutting time, etc, etc. If you want to stop yelling at your kid, your brain needs to be on board to keep your adrenalin from flowing to your vocal chords when you find out she hasn't done her homework.  Does this make sense?

If this makes sense to you -- get "Back In Charge!" and start rewiring your brain so that it starts supporting all you want to do, be, and have in life!

Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind!

Uncover the beliefs that are holding you back!


Here's an exercise from my new book, "Back In Charge!," to help you start releasing that negative self-talk!

Begin to identify the conditioned beliefs, the specific hardwiring, that has been blocking your efforts to reach your goals and desires.  For example, some conditioned beliefs you may have about career and finances may sound something like, “I’m not smart enough to start my own business” or “This is the only career I’ll ever be good at” or “I’ve never been good with numbers.” As long as these limiting beliefs remain unconscious, they maintain the power to sabotage your efforts. Once they are brought to light of day, you can work with them using processes outlined in the chapters of “Back in Charge!”

Begin by listing goals and desires that you have and for each goal or desire, write about the efforts you have made in the past to achieve them and the results of those efforts.

Next, list all the limiting beliefs you have about each goal. Remember that your limiting beliefs may sound very true to you: “I can't find a relationship because all the good men are taken.” “I can't start that career because I’m too old.”

If you can't identify what the limiting belief says, how does it feel? To get to that feeling, imagine taking action toward your goal or remember actions you’ve taken in the past. Did staying on a diet feel difficult? Discouraging? As if you were depriving yourself of pleasure? Note those feelings. Often as you experience those feelings, the negative belief associated with them will surface. Once you can acknowledge the limiting belief, you are taking back control and getting back in charge of your life!

Through this exercise, you are beginning to identify the limiting beliefs that your brain is working as hard as it can to support!

5 Magic Minutes

I'd like to give you a tool that can literally improve your health, calm your stress, and increase your mental clarity within five minutes. I'd like to teach you how to breathe. Does that sound boring?

Let me share a story.

Two monks, master and student, walked along a path, returning to their monastery after several hours of meditating high in the Himalayan Mountains. The student complained to his master, saying, “Breathing is so boring!” Without a word, the master grabbed his student by the neck, pulled him over to a nearby stream, and plunged the student's head beneath the rushing water. He kept him under water for several seconds, as the student kicked and squirmed. Finally, the master yanked his student’s head above the surface and asked, “Now, what do you have to say about breathing?"

Obviously, as the master reminded his student, breathing is critical to life. But proper breathing is also critical to physical health, emotional well-being, and mental clarity. It is crucial to the process of re-wiring your brain. Our ultimate goal in learning to belly breathe is to be able to take 1 or 2 full belly breaths and instantly feel relaxation fill your body and clear your mind.

Okay, let’s get started.

Without consciously changing how you breathe, place one hand on your chest and one hand over your belly button. Notice which hand moves more as you breathe. If you are belly breathing, the hand on your belly will rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale. If you are chest breathing, you may find the opposite to be true.

Without consciously changing how you breathe, place one hand on your chest and one hand over your belly button. Notice which hand moves more as you breathe. If you are belly breathing, the hand on your belly will rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale. If you are chest breathing, you may find the opposite to be true.

Stand with your knees slightly bent and relaxed and hold your tailbone slightly tilted forward. If this is difficult then sit with your back straight (not stiff) and use a pillow to support your lower back with feet flat on the floor. Sit tall with your chin slightly tucked in. You may even lie down if sitting is uncomfortable.

Relax your jaw and allow your tongue to gently touch the roof of your mouth—this is a great tool for your jaw clinchers when under too much stress.

Relax your belly. Just let it be.
Often our desire for a firm tummy or a fear of a “Buddha belly” may make it difficult at first to just let it fall naturally.

Now, bring awareness to your breathing. I invite you to close your eyes—this will help you focus inward and quiet the world outside.

Notice any tension you feel.

With your hand lightly placed over your belly button, inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into the bottom of your lungs. Imagine the oxygen filling your lungs. Your hand on your belly will rise with each inhalation. Your chest should move only slightly as your belly expands. It may feel awkward at first. Don't worry. Just continue until you feel your belly expanding with the inhale and collapsing with each exhale.

When you feel like you're getting the hang of it, take a full breath in through your nose to the count of 4. Imagine the oxygen filling all lobes of your lungs.

Exhale slowly and fully through your mouth so that it lasts 6 counts. Feel your breath being released from your body and feel your hand on your belly lower.

Now…pause briefly at the end of the exhale.

Never tighten your belly in order to make your exhale last longer… Keep it relaxed. Simply slow down your exhales.

As you exhale allow your whole body to let go and relax. Visualize your arms and your legs going loose and limp like a ragdoll.

Breathe 10 slow balanced deep belly breaths: 4 counts on the inhale and 6 counts on the exhale. Keep your breathing smooth and regular, without gulping in a big breath or letting your breath out all at once. Smooth and balanced.

If you feel light headed or anxious during this practice, stop for a 30-60 seconds and then start again.

Let’s begin breathing:

Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3
Inhale: 1…2…3…4, and exhale: 1…2…3…4…5…6…pause…1…2…3

How do you feel right now?

Since belly breathing may be new to you and because your body is taking in more oxygen then it is used to, you may feel light headed or even intoxicated at first. Your body is adjusting to the greater amount of oxygen. You can try again in 30-60 seconds after the feeling has subsided and start again.

Now, open your eyes and stretch your whole body as you feel your body refreshed, rejuvenated, alert and fully alive.

You can extend this breathing exercise by doing 2 or 3 sets of belly breathing. Five full minutes of
belly breathing will have a profound effect on reducing the feelings of stress and anxiousness and allow you to experience increased energy, creativity and mental clarity.

Practice this. Most of us find that our breathing shifts back to shallow chest breathing when we become doubtful, anxious, fearful, or when our minds go into mental overdrive. But practice makes permanent! Thus, when you notice you are entering one of these negative and distracting emotional/mental states, check your breathing and shift to the deep, calming, and energizing state that results from belly breathing.

If you haven't already signed up for my newsletter, please do so and download an audio recording of me taking you through the above practice!

Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind!

An exercise my clients find very helpful (use it myself, too!):

THE OBNOXIOUS QUESTION

Sometimes it's hard to stick to The Facts. Period. Especially in challenging times like these, circumstances seem to justify our reactions, our panic, anxiety, or anger – RIGHT?
The point is not whether your reaction is right or wrong, justified or not. The point is:
Does it really serve you?
Does it get you where you want to go?
Does it help you find solutions or feel good?
Does it really serve you?

I call this question obnoxious because when you're in the throes of a really delicious, impassioned, righteous ranting and raving session, it's very annoying to have someone stop you and ask it! Trust me, I know. Especially when you've got an airtight, provable case and you're certain that any court in the land would agree with you! You've been wronged and have dozens of juicy details to add to the story and your friends all support your position and . . .

BUT WAIT: … Does your response really serve you?
Is it helping you create the life you desire?
Is your worry and panic helping you find solutions to your business situation?
Is your righteous anger helping you figure out a new income stream? Is your frustration getting the work done? Probably not.

One of the most important aspects of freeing ourselves from negative conditioned reactions is making the decision to do so. Because the truth is that we have choice about how we respond to every situation. It doesn't matter whether our response is "justified" or not. The only question to ask is: Does this response truly serve me and my purpose? And once you've honestly answered that question, it is totally up to you whether you choose to hang on to the reaction or release it. Your choice. Always.

How To Get Back in Charge!

The Facts. Period.

Even without understanding the neuroscience of the brain, you can experience how to harness its power through this simple, practical exercise…

Oftentimes, especially when we’re under pressure, we get carried away by our conditioned reactions. For example, say I find out that my next GET BACK IN CHARGE! workshop has only 14 people signed up so far. "Oh, my gosh! Only 14 people! Obviously, the word isn't getting out. My PR people must not be doing their job. Or maybe the sponsors. Or maybe the word is getting out and nobody wants to come. I've spent all of this time and effort to put this together and nobody will experience it! What's the matter with people? I get paid thousands of dollars to speak but now that I'm offering something for free, nobody shows up. Or maybe what I have to offer isn't really valuable. Maybe. . ." Can you relate?

An event happens and our internal conditioning takes off and runs with it!

Well, try this. The next time you hear news or experience something that usually throws you into reaction (anxiety, anger, uncertainty, fear), PAUSE, restate the facts of the situation, and add a forceful "period" to the end of it. Don't allow your brain to speculate or follow its normal path of anxious thoughts. Just state the facts neutrally, then say "period." "Twelve people have signed up for my workshop so far. PERIOD."

Try this out for yourself: "I can't pay my morgage this month. Period." "The company lost an account this week. Period." "Home prices in San Diego are at an all time low. Period." By cutting off your brain's typical dialogue, you reclaim your place of choice. You'll find yourself responding to life's situations more creatively and positively. And you'll feel better!