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How on earth did I end up here?

1/4/2015

Believe it or not, I never intended to start my own Life Coaching business.

Really.

When I attended the Life Coaching, NLP and Hypnosis course and training, my goal was simply to learn more about myself and to get a glimpse of the so-called "Wizard" behind the curtain of human behaviour.

My own experience with this process was so transformational, so wonderful, that I just had to know the secrets.

How could something that, on the surface, appears so simple result in such amazing changes?

How did 3 months of life coaching result in more personal growth than over 13 years of traditional psychotherapy?

I needed to know the Matrix code behind the system.

And so I took the course, fully believing that I was there just to learn and then I would return to my regularly scheduled program.

As always, it seems my unconscious mind knew me better :)

Though I received my BA in Psychology over a decade ago, my own less-than-wonderful experiences with our mental health system left me feeling hopeless and wholly uninterested in pursuing a career in counselling.

There are cracks in our system that a Mack truck could fall through. Did I really want to be a part of it?

Nope. Not even a little.

And yet here I am.

I've always had a desire to help others; to inspire them to live a more authentic existence. And on my way to realizing my dream I found myself taking some amazing detours that I am still a part of to this very day.

I have worn many hats in my journey including:
Bingo hall associate
Veterinary manager and assistant
Bookkeeper & HR rep
Copywriter
Marketing associate
Graphic designer
Hula Hoop Dancer (yup - you read that right!)

And now, Life Coach.

Every step of my journey has led me to where I am today and I couldn't be more grateful for the fabulous people and lessons I have learned along the way.

Life often takes us to places we never dreamed we could ever be.

Sometimes, it's just a matter of having the courage to follow the winding path that makes the difference.

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Getting a "Bikini Body" is easier than you think!

25/3/2015

2 Comments

The warmer weather is right around the corner and I'm already beginning to see advertisements about how to prepare for the shoulder-baring, mid-riff worshiping season ahead.

Do you recognize any of these headlines?

"3 Ways to Get in Bikini-Body Shape Fast"
"How to Get a Bikini Worthy Body"
"Get Your Best Beach Body Ever"

With all this talk about preparing our bodies for the upcoming season, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon as well. So here it is:

The ultimate, fool-proof way to get a "Bikini Body"

Step One: Buy a bikini
Step Two: Put it on

That's it.

The truth is, your body is already "bikini ready", isn't it?

You have a body, don't you? And presumably the desire to wear a bikini, right?

What else do you need?

Weight loss groups and fitness clubs are great if you use them to motivate yourself to make healthier life choices. But this whole "bikini ready" trend is not about health. It's about shaming you into believing that who you are is not enough.

And that's just not true.

Your body is fine, just the way it is.

Stop waiting to reach some arbitrary goal before you enjoy your life.

Don't waste your time waiting to be something else. Enjoy who you are now because who you are is already enough.

If you want to wear a bikini, go ahead and wear it!

If you want to make healthier life choices, do that as well. But don't let some extra wobbly bits or love handles stop you from frolicking in the summer sun. Enjoy it!

Because who you are is exactly who you are meant to be. And you are enough!

Infographic courtesy of Huffington Post

Repeat after me:
All you need to have a "bikini body" is a bikini and a body. Period.

2 Comments

I like long names and I cannot lie!

19/3/2015

1 Comment

Blue Lotus Integrative Health.

It's a mouthful, that's for sure.

And even though every marketing gene in my body says I should shorten the name, I know that, long though it may be, this name is the one that feels right.

When I was coming up with the name for my coaching business, I wanted to choose one that really meant something to me.

Something that inspired me and, hopefully, would inspire others as well.

Turns out, I am apparently inspired by lengthy URLs ;)

Let's break it down....

Blue:

My favourite colour and the colour most associated with peace and tranquility, qualities I hope to bring to my coaching practice.

Pretty straight forward, don't you think?

Lotus:

The Lotus flower is simple and beautiful and has long been a symbol of re-birth and re-newal.

Rooted in the mud, the lotus leaves and flowers flourish high above the water, rising up out of the murky depths to blossom clean and bright. They symbolize purity, resurrection and enlightenment; the perfect symbol for the life coaching process and it's ability to help people make powerful and transformative changes in their lives.

Integrative:

The heart of my life coaching practice comes from assisting my clients in gaining better rapport with their Unconscious Mind and integrating this awareness into their daily lives.

It is estimated that over 95% of daily activity is controlled by our unconscious mind. From our breath to our heartbeat to what we pay attention to in the world around us, most of what we experience we do not experience consciously.

Right now, at this moment, you are sitting in front of your computer, or looking at your tablet or phone, seeing these words on your screen. You are aware of what you are reading and you know that you are in a particular setting, right? But how much of what you are experiencing are you unaware of? Up until this moment, I bet you were not aware of the sensation of your feet on the floor, or the sound of your breath. In fact, until I mentioned it, you were likely unaware of many things going on around you, and yet your eyes, your ears and all your other senses are taking in this information. So where is it going? If you are not aware of it, where does all this sensory input go?

The answer, of course, is your Unconscious Mind.

With so much of your everyday life being monitored by your Unconscious Mind, it makes sense to get to know it better, doesn't it? Some may call this Intuition, others may refer to it as Source or Life-force.

Whatever label you give it, creating a connection with your Unconscious Mind gives you access to your own inner wisdom and this integration is one of the most powerful tools we have.

Health:

Well, this is an easy one.

Health, defined as being "a state free from illness or injury".

It is the goal of most individuals to maintain and even enhance their health. It is the cornerstone of our longevity and the sometimes illusive goal that many spend their lives chasing when all along the tools were right under their very noses.

Life devoid of health can be cumbersome and fraught with pain. Health is something we all desire and something that we all have control over, whether we know it or not.

So there you have it.

Blue.
Lotus.
Integrative.
Health.

A long name with a short purpose: to help propel you forward into the life you've always dreamed of.

Simple, isn't it?

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Are you going to make me bark like a dog?

9/3/2015

3 Comments

It's always interesting when people ask me what I do for a living. As soon as they hear the words "Life Coach and Hypnotherapist" they get this strange look on their face. It's as if they think I'm somehow going to try to control their mind or make them bark like a dog.

Being a Life Coach and Hypnotherapist who practices NLP is not something most people rattle off when asked what they do, so it's perfectly understandable why people act strange when they find out. Many people are curious about how I got to where I am today and the truth is, I have no idea. Seriously. None.

If you were to go back in time and tell 16 year old me that I will one day be doing what I do now, I wouldn't believe you. And yet here I am. And there you are.

Let's rewind the clock a little....

My early adulthood was not pleasant. Back then, I suffered from severe depression, generalized anxiety (which is fancy speak for everything scared the bejesus out of me), self mutilation, anorexia and bulimia from the time I was 19 until I was 32. I actually showed signs of self harm and anxiety when I was 5 years old but only received an official diagnosis when things got really out of control in my last year of high school.

I was seen by multiple crisis teams, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors and specialists. I suffered from a whole host of physical symptoms in addition to the psychological symptoms and was living in chronic pain.
After way too many doctor's to even count, I was finally given a final diagnosis and prognosis: I was just broken, unfixable, and would likely be on meds for the rest of my life.

Telling a person that they are broken and unfixable and giving them no hope is a truly terrible thing

When the struggles of life affect us, hope is often the only thing that keeps us going. Taking that away is just awful.

At the time, I was taking handfuls of pills just to try to appear normal but all they did was numb me out. I went for CBT (Cognitive Behavioural/Talk therapy) regularly but never really found the answers I was looking for.

Eventually, I just accepted my fate and figured I would just have to do the best I could with my lot in life.

Then I learned about NLP, and the rest, as they say is history!

NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming and is a model of behaviour and communication that, when used therapeutically, can produce amazing and rapid results. I first found my own Life Coach when I was looking for a hypnotherapist to help me manage my insect phobia which had gotten so out of control that even leaving my house in the summertime was a challenge. After 20 minutes of speaking with my coach she got things about me that dozens of doctors and therapists never picked up on. She offered me the only life line I was ever given and I grabbed on with both hands and refused to let go.

After 13 years of traditional therapy I decided to try NLP because my coach was the ONLY person who ever told me that I was NOT broken

In NLP we believe that everyone is whole and perfect and just has strategies that are no longer serving us anymore. The techniques used in NLP are based on principles from neuropsychology, behavioural psychology, quantum linguistics and hypnotherapy.

Most people have heard of Tony Robbins, the inspirational speaker. He is actually an NLP Master trainer so the principles he speaks about are all based on NLP teachings. Oprah is also another well known NLP Master.

The difference between NLP and traditional talk therapy is that CBT asks "why" and NLP asks "how"

CBT is all about finding out "why" you are anxious and the truth is it really doesn't matter. My fave expression is "if it's not one thing it's your mother"! Knowing the "why" will give you all the reasons you are broken and will never give you the answers to HOW you can be whole and move on.

I would get so frustrated by my therapists.

I would tell them "I agree with everything you're saying and it makes sense in my head, but how do I get my heart to really feel it"? No one could give me the answer.

NLP doesn't care about the "why" - we care about the "how"

What strategies is your unconscious mind using to generate a reality that is served by anxiety? Once we know the "how" we can change the strategy so you can make different choices. It's really that simple. And unlike CBT which can last for years and years, NLP can achieve results in only a few sessions.

After 13 years of being told I was just broken and doomed to live my life under a veil of panic and anxiety I am now completely free of all my fears, phobias and OCD behaviours

I found the process so beneficial and inspirational that I decided to get my training and that is how I came to be a certified Life Coach, Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner and am privileged to work with people who want to be free from anxiety for good.

3 Comments

Is who you are who you will always be?

3/3/2015

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Each of us has beliefs about ourselves and about the world that we imagine to be true. These beliefs help shape our perception and form the basis of our personal reality.

For instance, you may believe that you are bad at public speaking or you may believe that you need to finish all the food on your plate or you may even believe that you cannot be hypnotized.

The beliefs that we ascribe to are designed to keep us safe and are learned from our personal life experience, from our parents, from our teachers, from our religious leaders and even from previous generations.

When these beliefs protect us and keep us safe that is a good thing and sometimes they stop us from experiencing life in the way that we want. For example, you would agree that the belief that a lion is dangerous is a good belief to have if you are wandering around the jungle and come across a lion. This belief, however, may be problematic if you go visit the zoo.

We take for granted that our beliefs are just an indelible part of who we are and therefore cannot be changed. You may have struggled to change your eating habits of your lifestyle choices or your dating pattern only to find yourself falling back on old habits. So you just shrug and say “maybe this is just who I am”.

The question is, is who you are who you will always be?

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My thoughts and musings

How on earth did I end up here?

Getting a "Bikini Body" is easier than you think!

Repeat after me:
All you need to have a "bikini body" is a bikini and a body. Period.

I like long names and I cannot lie!

Are you going to make me bark like a dog?

Is who you are who you will always be?

Jennifer Febel

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Categories

My thoughts and musings

How on earth did I end up here?

Getting a "Bikini Body" is easier than you think!

Repeat after me: All you need to have a "bikini body" is a bikini and a body. Period.

I like long names and I cannot lie!

Are you going to make me bark like a dog?

Is who you are who you will always be?

Jennifer Febel

Archives

Categories

Repeat after me:
All you need to have a "bikini body" is a bikini and a body. Period.