Unstoppable Body and Mind

Today’s episode is not to be missed!  I interview Dr. Howard Schubiner- a Pioneer, Researcher and Leader in Mind-Body Medicine. Howard is such a kind and sweet person, and explains pain and neural circuits in a compassionate, scientific, and easy to understand way.  He has developed a protocol for diagnosing neural circuit pain (also called neuroplastic pain, neurogenic pain, TMS, Mind-body Syndro...

Chances are, if you have chronic pain or disease, you are also the type of person that puts a lot of pressure on yourself.   We tend to put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else puts on us, and often we have a higher expectation of ourselves compared to others.   Constantly feeling like we should be different, creates a state of internal pressure.   I talk about the pressure we put on oursel...

The number one way to rewire your brain when you have chronic pain or stress is to FEEL SAFE.  Like in your body, at a somatic level.  Especially if you can react to sensations neutrally, calmly, this signals your brain and nervous system to calm down so you can heal. In this episode I explain about the nervous system and why we might feel unsafe.  Even if you aren't aware of conscious thoughts yo...

Our brains are always trying to make meaning.  And when we have a new pain or flare up, I have noticed many of us tend to look at our past to make sense of it.   The way we react to pain will make a difference in whether our pain is amplified or decreased.  So if we react with fear and stress, this actually causes our brain to PRODUCE more pain.     When we compare current symptoms to the pain, an...

Embodiment is to become connected with ourselves, mentally, emotionally and physically. There are many reasons we become dissociated from our bodies- programming to ignore our body cues, to hate and even to fear our bodies.  Usually we only pay attention to our bodies when there is pain or discomfort. When there is pain, being in the body is not comfortable.  So the thought of focusing in on the b...

Today I teach about boundaries, in what might be a new way for you to understand them.   Boundaries are important for chronic pain and disease sufferers, because many have personality traits of people pleasing and being a "goodist" (wanting to be seen by others as good) Boundaries are not created to control others, that just frustrates everyone.   Boundaries are about what you will do.  And you do...

In this meditation, you will visit your inner child.  Any part of you from the past that is unhealed.       Gain a deeper understanding of your inner child, and the programming it believed.   Know that you can now, as an adult, reparent your inner child.   When the inner child is seen and heard, and feels safe, then you have access to your higher self.  The truest, healthiest version of you.     G...

Today I talk about indulgent emotions- emotions that come up over and over and tend to keep you stuck.   Indulgent emotions are based on a thought error, often one we have believed for a long time.  We can get stuck in a thought loop of negative thoughts and emotions, until we questions these fundamental beliefs.   Indulgent emotions are "dream excuses."     Common indulgent emotions are: confusio...

I noticed a sneaky little trick my brain was using to keep me stressed.  Regret! I give a couple examples of how I noticed my brain immediately turn to regret, as soon as a stressful situation was almost over. Regretting things from the past that can not be changed, is a sure fire way to cause suffering. If you have chronic body issues, you can often learn to identify when you are having indulgent...

This episode is all about how to change your thoughts by recognizing when you have thoughts that aren't serving you.  And finding new thoughts that are less painful. Thoughts have an emotional effect on our bodies.  So we can tune into how the body feels when we think a thought, to know if it is one we want to keep.   If a thought is causing you to feel tight, guarded, painful, or heavy, you can q...

Did you know trying to change your thoughts can cause psychological stress and exhaustion??? When we work on changing our thoughts, sometimes that can happen easily.  But sometimes we have to really work to believe a new thought. Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort you have when your brain holds two competing beliefs.  And that makes it sound mild.  Sometimes we call it the "river of misery" wh...

Hey all you perfectionists and recovering perfectionists!   In this episode I talk about how perfectionism may have gotten you this far in life.  But if you living in chronic stress because you think you aren't good enough in some way, then perfectionism may no longer be serving you.   B Minus work is a way of lowering the bar for yourself, to stop expecting the unrealistic, and to allow pleasure...

Are you a giver?  Do feel more comfortable giving, than receiving?    Do you struggle asking for, or receiving help?    Well listen up!  Because working on receiving could benefit not only you,  but also the people around you.     Constantly giving is not sustainable.  You may already know that by the toll it has played on your body.  If you are giving at your own expense, you can balance that by...

Here is EXACTLY WHAT TO DO to get out of pain and heal your body.   And it's not what you think! In this episode, I talk about how healing is not a matter of following and exact series of steps.  Healing is an individual process, and what works for one person may not work for another. So how can you know exactly what to do for YOU??? What I teach is to integrate back into the body, and find the in...

In this episode I talk about how sometimes in life we have negative emotions.     We have an inner child that can feel self pity or unloved or unworthy.     So rather than beating ourselves up.  Or worse, thinking that something must be wrong with us because we can't get over some negative core thoughts, I suggest you try ALLOWING them.   Set a time that you write and vent - imagine your inner chi...

In this episode, I teach you a strategy you can use to start to change your thinking patterns and rewire your brain.  It is to be a Detective for the opposite of what you already believe.     Our brain is used to seeing what we already believe as truth.  So the first step is to notice that you believe something.  Then notice if what your believing is serving you.   When you have identified a painf...

The way you react when you feel pain, determines whether you continue to wire you brain for pain or not.    When you respond with fear, anxiety, worry, stress or urgency, then your brain gets feedback that the sensation it is feeling is very important.  The brain prioritizes looking for pain.  And the hyper vigilance and guarding actually CREATE more and more pain pathways!   When you can respond...

In this episode, I take you through a calming meditation.  We focus on the positive sensations in your body, and finding a place of safety within that you can come back to.     This meditation is great to decrease fear and promote calm in the nervous system.     Follow Betsy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bodyandmindlifecoach/   Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXZSYYGL2cfJl-oEOzq...

In this episode I talk a little about the word I have chosen for 2021- Light. Have you chosen a word for 2021?  Today is a quick listen to get you thinking about the intention you want to set for the coming year.   Follow Betsy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bodyandmindlifecoach/   Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXZSYYGL2cfJl-oEOzqspA   Website https://bodyandmindlifecoach.com  ...

Today I interview Danielle Savory about overcoming chronic pain, embodiment, and finding pleasure.    Danielle is a sex coach for women, and host of the podcast “It’s My Pleasure.”  Her education is is in Neuroscience and Buddhist Psychology.     She shares her chronic pain journey, starting with noticing her thoughts - allowing sensations in her body, and having self compassion.     Danielle stud...

Today I interview Iva Faulknerova.  I invited her on the show to talk about an online course she took through Yale, called “The Science of Well Being.”   The course is taught by Dr Laurie Santos, Psychology professor and Host of the Podcast “The Happiness Lab” https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being   She talks about NPI:  Neuro-Psycho-Immunology- the study of how thoughts effect...

Today I am teaching about some ancient yogic wisdom, not neuroscience.  But remember, science has it's limitations.  We can only observe and quantify certain things we can perceive.   Listen with an open mind, and maybe find a new perspective to look at your body and mind connection. The Koshas are 5 layers, or sheaths, that cover the light we have within us.  When the layers are dense, our light...

In this episode, I summarize what Body and Mind Lifecoaching is, and what I teach.   Body and Mind Lifecoaching is a fusion of what I have learned studying neuroscience and mind management principles.      I teach: 1-A new way to look at chronic pain and disease-by understanding  how and why the brain produces pain 2-How to respond when you have pain 3-How to feel ALL of your emotions and sensatio...

The concept of radical self acceptance is that in order to truly change yourself, you must accept yourself just as you are.   We usually think if we are kind to ourselves, then we will never change.   So we hold ourselves to unreal perfectionistic standards and then beat ourselves up when we don't achieve them. But what if the way to change is not to be hard on yourself? "It wasn't until I accepte...

We all have some form of future fear, which can effect us in the present moment.  People with chronic pain and disease often have so many unknowns about their health and prognosis, so future fear can be limiting and debilitating.   Today I want to talk about a specific kind of future fear- fear of evolving yourself into the next version of you.  Are there some dreams you have forgotten about or no...