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Who’s your Coach in Team U

September 26, 2013
inb-coach, b-mail
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Hey, you said you wanted something more, something different, something better in your life. That’s where a coach comes in handy!

I mean it’s so easy to get researching, analysing, discussing, reading, investigating, addressing any risks or potential to fail, planning…. and the list goes on and on and on and on. What happens? Nothing. You make minimal or no impact on your life, you just learn a lot of new information and waste time with endless details and searches. You stay well within your comfort zone and life goes on……..just as it is.

Working with a coach means you get someone’s 100% attention on what you want to achieve – new direction, greater authenticity, action planning, job promotion, new habits or motivation and courage to move forward in some other way. They will help you progress from analysis paralysis, being overwhelmed and going in circles of data, research and procrastination, to taking action and making real change happen.

Your coach is there to provide a safe and supportive environment to explore, understand and clarify each step, behaviour and action. Not only do they offer non-judgmental challenge, through open questions and application of their skills in understanding others, they also bring an intense belief that you can truly do whatever you set out to do. (ok, they’re not going to let you do anything dangerous or illegal, but that’s the exceptions to the rule!)

They can also act as an accountability partner for you – celebrating your successes and sharing your pain at the failures as well as enabling you to understand what made those outcomes happen and how to replicate or avoid them in the future.

If you’d like more info on how I work with people as a coach, pop over to b-coach page.

What would you love a coach in your team to help you with? Shout them out below or over on Facebook and see what this coach has to suggest!

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you need to move it, move it – body and mind in action

September 12, 2013
inb-coach, b-mail, b-train
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You all know I’m passionate about how your body and mind work – especially how one can support the other’s change.

Two of my favourite experts are Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Social Psychologist and Doctor Dance aka Peter Lovatt of the Dance Psychology lab. Both work to learn how moving our bodies affects our brains – in Cuddy’s case to see how hormones change our peformance and Peter uses dance to change our abilities and mood.

Your self-perception of your abilities to do something can creep out into your body language – if you’re unsure or lacking confidence, your body posture will typically become smaller. You might cross your arms, avoid eye contact or fidget with your hands. However, feeling great about yourself makes you stand a touch taller, smile more and exude more warmth.

Amy and her team started to measure 2 hormone changes, testosterone and cortisol. The first you’ll know is the “male” hormone and affects our risk taking and the second is the “stress” hormone. Her research focused on hormonal changes in students as they were interviewed. Prior to the interview, some were asked to “power pose” – large, open body postures – and others to adopt low status poses – ie hunched over to make themselves smaller with limbs crossed.

The results? Power posing tricks the brain into increasing testosterone and decreasing cortisol: students relaxed and felt more confident. Importantly, they performed better in their interviews.

The Dance Psychology lab is seeking to understand why dancing changes the way we feel. I saw Doctor Dance at a School of Life Sunday Sermon and did some curvy belly dancing and line dancing. Shoulder shimmying and swirling arms open up our creative thinking; whilst the squarer steps gave our logic problem solving skills a boost. WOW! You can watch the sermon here on his next School of Life event page, a dance night in October. I’ll be there and hope you’ll join me.

I use a combination of these to raise my game, increase my personal impact and inspiration. With teams, I’ve incorporated power posing to presentation and influencing skills training and worked with individuals to increase their confidence ahead of difficult situations. By changing body position, posture, gestures and so on, you can make your brain function better, change your mood and open up opportunities. Bringing your body and mind into harmony

Do you consider your body when approaching a situation where you want to be at your best or when your mood needs an uplift? Let us know in the comments; what you do and any favourite tracks to get you moving!

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Pilates – not all it seems…

June 27, 2013
inb-mail, b-Pilates
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Joseph Pilates exercising with his students

Joseph Pilates exercising with his students

Pilates isn’t just for pop stars and dancers: in fact, the first students were soldiers and security guards. The common factor is that they all want to feel confident in themselves and proud of their bodies.

Yes Pilates does improve your posture, flexibility and core strength, but here’s 3 body issues that you might not expect Pilates to deliver quick fixes to.

So invest a little time each day and you too can step out with your head held a bit higher.

1)   the chin jut – you know it, a long day staring at your screen…..gradually your chin is getting nearer and nearer to the screen. Tension grips your head, neck and shoulders. Here’s a “do it at your desk” fix: sit up tall, look to your left and then roll your head down to look at your toes and around until you’re looking to your right. Look straight ahead and you’re back to the beginning. Repeat a few times to the left and the reverse to the right.

UPDATE April 2014: Focus on keeping your shoulders still to avoid the stretch slipping to your waist.

2)   the bingo wings – the summer is coming (I hope!) and your arms want to be out of long sleeves. Stop the wobble fast: arms out to the side, like you’re a giant T. Draw 6 tiny little circles with the finger tips, with the movement coming from the shoulder and keeping the arms straight. Repeat in the other direction and add in more sets (clockwise and anticlockwise – no skipping!) as your arms get strong. Oh yeah, it’s meant to burn!

UPDATE April 2014: you should be getting better at this now, add a water bottle in each hand.

3)   the nipped in waist – apple, pear or bean pole body shape, we all want that nipped in waist (Guys, you know it better as swimmer’s lines down your sides). Fold your arms in front of you like a Cossack dancer and focus on your top wrist (wearing a watch, hair band or cuff helps here). Breath out to rotate through your waist like you’re a pepper grinder to twist the top half of your body to the side and breath in to come back to facing forward. Repeat in the other direction, trying to keep your wrists, nose and breastbone (or cleavage, if you’ve got one) in one vertical line. Repeat the same number of times each side or risk ending up wonky!

UPDATE April 2014: you want it harder? Ok. Tie a know in a belt, ribbon or dynoband. Hold it taut between your hands. Raise them up to shoulder height in a wider V shape. Keep the knot central to the move as you twist.

These quick and easy exercises are adaptations of matwork and standing Pilates exercises: if you want a body overhaul, book in for an assessment now or class and in the meanwhile, get going with these.

What are you looking to fix? Tell me in the comments and I’ll see what I can suggest!

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what’s your big picture?

June 20, 2013
inb-coach, b-mail
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Sometimes, it’s super easy to get stuck down in the details of everyday life and miss what’s going on at a higher level. You know the saying “can’t see the wood for the trees”, right? Ever felt that way?

I have often seen this happening for truly amazing folks, who for a variety of reasons can’t pull up, breathe and see what’s around them. As a coach, I soak in what I see, hear and sense from them to find a question or observation to help spot the wood. Today, I want to share a simple way to get started, that my clients find useful.

Grab your pen and paper and find somewhere relaxed and disturbance free. Divide the paper in half – top and bottom or left and right – your call.

Let’s take the first half – this is the doom and gloom space. Ask yourself what/who drains my energy? What/who makes me want to stay away? What/who is out of sync with my ambitions and values? Jot it down – big and small, it’s all valid. Be as broad as you can – work, life, relationships, hobbies, socialising, etc. If you run out of steam, ask yourself what else? Note it, ask the same question again and note it…you get the idea.

Move to the second half, the joy and laughter space. Now ask what/who really makes me feel energised and passionate? What/who makes time fly by without me noticing? What/who matches my values and principles? If you dry out, ask “what else?” – keep going until you’re fully out.

Look at both side by side: how can you turn down the doom and gloom and turn up the joy and happiness side? I like to take a big fat black pen to the bad stuff and a big green highlighter to the good 🙂

Now, the wood should be starring back at you from trees in its big picture glory!

Want to develop your joy further and ditch the gloom? Why not book a session with me to get the benefits of a second mind, new perspectives and a good prune of your trees? Head over and drop me a line.

Right now, I’d love you to share in the comments: what are the joy and laughter things in your life? Let us all enjoy them here!!

  • Ritu of The Lifester • June 20, 2013

    Sarae, I LOVED doing this exercise. Really effective to lift myself out of the panic of holding my first event for 20-somethings and dealing with the “OMG my marketing efforts are not working, what should do?” and the endless minutes spent on Facebook amounting to nothing. I forgot to look at the positive side: 15 RSVPs, a couple of tickets sold, amazing venue, the promise of the pint afterwards 🙂
    Thank you so much. Love, Ritu

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when I grow up I’m gonna be a…….

June 13, 2013
inb-coach, b-mail, b-Pilates, b-train
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Hairdresser? Lorry Driver? Occupational Therapist? Vulcanologist? At some stage, I went through a phase of all of these. I was an engineer for a while, before my wonderful manager recognised my skills in setting a direction, bringing people on board with my ideas and getting stuff done. He pushed me into a new career path, asking me some tough questions, pushing a few buttons and finding me an unusual next step. From then on, my passion has been helping others achieve their goals.

As time’s gone by, this has changed from in-house HR and training roles, serving the wishes of bosses, to working independently with individuals, leaders and teams, who are looking at how they grow, shape and make the future brighter.

One of my favourite coaching topics is the “I wanna be a…….ermmm I’m no longer really sure anymore.” dilemma. The subjects we choose at school and university often shape up into a certain career path and for some that really works out well. If you’re like me (and many others), it’s not until later that with a bit of life under your belt, you realise this isn’t what you signed up for or it’s not making use of your true talents.

So now I’m all grown up and can proudly say I’m a coach, trainer and Pilates Instructor – yep I can help you stretch your body, brain and life into that new shape you’re seeking. Drop me a line to start your next big adventure.

Share in the comments below; what did you want to be and how’d it work out?

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