I was listening to a webinar last night by Brendon Burchard, who, similar to Tony Robbins, is a peak performance expert. He was discussing the habits of highly successful people, those who have the sustained energy to go out and GET THINGS DONE. He has mainly been interested in studying those who create multiple multi-million dollar businesses, but is also interested in the productive mother or those who balance career and family and stay in shape. They follow their purpose. They are “charged” as he puts it. He discussed things like physiology and psychology and making a choice to have bold enthusiasm (which I love by the way: “bold enthusiasm”).
For these people that he’s studied, at the foundation of all of it was PRESENCE. According to him, highly successful people are present to what they’re doing when they are doing it. We all have heard the “Live in the Moment” statement, but most of the time when we hear it, we shrug it off as another cliche.
For those of you who have followed me, whether my blog or Facebook or worked with me, you know that mindfulness is my “thing”. (“mindfulness” is synonymous with “presence”). It’s incorporated into the name of my business. I wrote and published my Master’s thesis about the effect of mindfulness training on eating behaviors. I have both formal and informal training in mindfulness, taking multiple Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction courses, which requires meditating (an “awareness, or presence, building exercise”) solo for 45 minutes a day, plus in a group for 2.5 hours a week for 8 week stints. In addition to conducting my own research study, I dove into the scientific research to learn more about the effects of this thing called “mindfulness”, citing more than 150 other published studies. It’s a really hot topic in the research world right now, and it’s proving to be beneficial for many things, including depression, anxiety, cancer, fibromyalgia, PTSD, IBS and binge eating, and many many more. According to Brendon Burchard’s personal research, not only does it help heal and cope, but it also helps us perform at higher levels.
There’s a reason why it fascinated me so much: it was something I so desperately needed. Learning how to become more present was a game-changer for me. I was under the most stress I had ever been under and was suffocating in it. I was binge eating, isolating myself, putting TONS of pressure on myself, and quite frankly, not enjoying my life. I had moved to Seattle to go to grad school and follow my dreams as a nutritionist and wellness coach and instead of thriving, I was numbing.
I was fortunate to have been connected with a Gastroenterologist at a local hospital when picking my thesis topic who was researching mindfulness for PTSD and IBS and was thrilled with my suggestion to add nutrition and eating behaviors into the mix. I had decided that I needed to study something that was not just going to fulfill the requirements to receive my degree, but that would help me grow personally as well. That whole process satisfied both the intellectual side of me that needed to know scientifically that it worked, as well as the experiential, more intuitive side of me that was drawn to it. I had heard or read about mindfulness and it felt rather “woo-woo” but I’ve learned to appreciate that.
After seeing various psychotherapists with no positive results, by increasing MY presence and cultivating all of the other attributes of mindfulness (acceptance, letting go, non-judgment, curiosity, openness)…my life changed. I stopped numbing and starting feeling, and started healing, while learning how to appreciate and savor and enjoy life again. I no longer needed to binge eat. I stopped isolating myself and found an amazing community to be a part of, I strengthened my friendships and relationships, I had a renewed passion for my career and following my dreams. Getting a published article out of the deal and the ability to contribute to the world of Science was a huge bonus.
Because I am so passionate about it, and it has had such a tremendous impact on me, on my journey with my relationship to food and my body….and now with my journey as an entrepreneur, I am so incredibly grateful that I get to share what what has helped me with others through my coaching but even more so through Mindful Eating courses. I am constantly learning and growing every time I lead a group, and it is so rewarding to watch women and men have breakthroughs.
This time I’m teaming with with Kristin Rivas, who is an expert in helping people break limiting mental patterns that are sabotaging their best efforts. She has a really cool story on her Tedx talk, which you can hear here. She and I realized that we were seeing clients for the same thing: emotional eating, depression/anxiety and mood balance and realized what a powerhouse it would be to combine our expertise and team up and lead a group, addressing nutrition and it’s role in physiology and mood while also training the mind and establishing new neural networks in the brain that will increase PRESENCE while also eradicating any limiting beliefs that the subconscious mind is holding onto.
We would love to have you along for the journey. It’s a six-week group that meets once a week and we’ll work on increasing presence and awareness, reducing stress and anxiety, building more pleasure into your life and letting go of fear and other obstacles.
For more information, go here.
Added bonus! Kristin and I are offering one free session with each of us for every participant (a $300 value).
Whether you join the group or not, I can tell you one thing for sure: by increasing your mindfulness, your presence, you will find more energy and clarity so you can be more productive, experience more joy and ultimately live more aligned with your purpose.
xo,
Meredith