Brain Training Family Activity - Important and Relevant for Everyone!

While running yesterday I had a feeling in my heart to share a part of my story in order to help someone....maybe just one person.

2020 was a crazy year for everyone and for me as well. I have a long story to tell but not here and not now. I am saving that for my book which I will finish some day.

I retrained my brain in 2020 using neuroplasticity (www.retrainingthebrain.com). Neuroplasticity is how you recover from strokes. Neuroplasticity is how PTSD can be reversed. Neuroplasticity can help those who lost a limb with phantom pain. Neuroplasticity can heal so many health issues. I thank God for Annie Hopper and DNRS every day.

I changed my brain in 2020. "We have power over our thoughts." We have all heard that, but now I believe it with all my heart. WE can change our brains and WE can help our children change their brains. Please stay with me!

My brain was stuck in fight or flight which led to many physical and emotional health issues surfacing. I was focused on one thing, all my physical issues and my brain was stuck in fear and anxiety.  If you find your thoughts going rogue and always talking negatively to yourself, READ ON!

I think adults and children of every age could use help learning how to change their thoughts to positive, joyful and happy. Our children especially have had to deal with so much in 2020. I think they deserve to learn how to change their brains to protect themselves.

Perhaps our children will be more resilient than we were due to the strength they are developing by living through this Pandemic. Maybe they will have better coping skills from this episode in their life. I pray that is the truth.

I am sharing this information with the hope that this information might help just one person. 

I am no expert, but I now know that your brain remembers every single event and incident in your life AND the way you reacted to it. It repeats that reaction every time another similar event occurs (think stress).You can train your brain to react differently and help your brain get out of and stay out of that anxiety and fear track. (you can learn more at www.retrainingthebrain.com)

I am only allowed to share one part of the program for legal reasons. However, this FUTURE MEMORY exercise might help retrain the brain and give the person participating something to look forward to.

Here is the activity that you can do as a family to change your brains:

Each family member chooses a joyful, happy event from the FUTURE that they believe will bring them joy and happiness. Make sure that this future memory makes you feel "warm and fuzzy." The "warm and fuzzy" is very important. Emotion is the catalyst for changing the brain. You can all close your eyes for better focus (or keep them open if more comfortable). One family member describes their FUTURE memory with as many details as they can, using ALL of their senses: what do you see?, what do you smell?, what do you hear?, what do you taste?, how do you feel?

To help you pick a FUTURE memory ask yourself:

What are you looking forward to after the Pandemic?

You must state your FUTURE memory in the present tense like it is happening RIGHT NOW. I always close my eyes, it makes it more intense.

Here is what one of my FUTURE Memories sounds like: I am going out to dinner now with my husband Jim to our favorite happy hour place in Troy; Eddie V's. I am in the car driving over now.

Details: 

Who is there? Jim is waiting at the bar for me. Jim and I drove separately because we were coming from different places. I like doing this because it feels like a real date. Colin, our favorite bartender is there with Steve, Jeremiah and the two women bartenders whom we love. It is June 25, 2021 (Jim's birthday!) We are ready to have fun!

What are you doing? Jim and I are dressed up like it is a special occasion. We love sitting at the bar and ordering 2 or 3 small plates and spending the evening talking, people watching and enjoying conversation with each other. Jim is such a gentleman. I always feel like it is our first date when we go out to dinner. Tonight is no different. 

What are you and others saying? Jim tells me that I look beautiful. This is such a small thing but it makes me feel so special. I tell him that I was looking forward to this dinner since all week and that I am excited to celebrate his birthday with him. We admit how wonderful this is to be here right now. He is my favorite dinner date.

What do you see? Colin is connecting with a customer down at the other end of the bar. Colin is truly a professional. He makes every customer feel special. He always remembers small things about us that blow our minds. He is mixing up some fancy drink without measuring anything. The bar is almost full and people look so happy.

What do you smell? I smell my favorite appetizer, lamb lollipops with balsamic glaze. I always get these first. The person next to me ordered them and reinforced the fact that I am ordering them today! I smell the glass of red wine in front of me and like to watch the "legs" run down the interior of the glass when I swirl it.

What do you taste? Colin brings my lamb lollipops and they are so warm and wonderful. The balsamic glaze is drizzled on the warm lamb and I take the first bite just like I am eating an ice cream bar on a stick. The balsamic hits my palate. Oh Yum! So delicious.

What do you hear? I can hear the ice cubes crashing against each other in the martini shaker. I hear people laughing and talking at the bar. I hear the trio playing some familiar songs. I hear the sounds of people having fun and enjoying each other.

What do you feel? I feel so free being here today. I feel happy to see the smiles on everyone's face. I am so happy to be with Jim. I can almost feel the joy in the room rise above everyone's head and hover there as it mixes with the joy of the person next to them.

What emotion can you use to describe this memory? The emotion I feel is JOY!

What color would this memory have if it had one? The color would be yellow because JOY is always yellow for me.

The last part of the FUTURE Memory Exercise is to take the emotion and the color and put it together slowly and let it move through you, like this: The JOYFUL YELLOW is in my brain now. My joyful neurons are firing and changing my brain. Now I can see the yellow moving down into my neck and shoulders. It is making me feel so JOYful. It is warm. As it travels down my spine I see the yellow JOY like dripping paint through my body. It is taking with it all negative thoughts and moving them all the way down my torso and thighs, knees, calves and out my feet. Take three very slow deep breaths. It is proven that there is benefit for YOUR brain while listening to someone else's memory exercise. 

This of course can be uncomfortable for some children or teenagers (and maybe you) to do out loud. But if you as parents make a habit of doing this exercise out loud (maybe before dinner), the children and teens may want to join in down the road. They will benefit just by listening to YOU!!! Your future memory can include everyone in the family!

If you can do some physical activity after saying your future memory out loud, it helps to seat the positive memories. Jump up and down, run up and down the stairs, do some push ups. This does not have to be a long physical effort, 1 - 2 minutes is enough.

Over time, you will change your brain and will have taught your children how to change theirs. 

Our thoughts are the most powerful thing we have when it comes to wellness. I can answer any questions you have. Feel free to email me at: deniselovathealthcoach@gmail.com.

I wish you health and healing in 2021

Denise Lovat

Certified Health Coach

source: www.retrainingthebrain.com. This blog only references a small portion of the brain training program.  The entire program can be purchased in DVD form at www.retrainingthebrain.com, which is how I did the program. It was life changing.

Hey, You are a Health Coach....

Happy New Year to All. My prayer is that 2021 brings you the health you deserve.

It has been so long since I posted a blog. I get annoyed when I open someone else's blog which looks interesting only to find the person gets to the point after 15 minutes of reading. SO..I am going to get to the point right now.

Just because I am a health coach, it does not mean that I eat perfectly and have all healthy habits! (I ate 6 large scoops of organic ice cream yesterday and I feel fabulous!)

It is not what we do once in awhile that makes us unhealthy. It is what we do MOST of the time that makes us unhealthy. What habits do you need to change?

I have a cheat day. It is Sunday. I do not work out and I eat whatever I want (except Gluten). I look forward to it each week. I have been very successful keeping my weight optimum while using this cheat day to feel human. Guess what? Deprivation leads to uncontrolled overeating. This cheat day causes your body to question what you are putting in it (if you eat clean the rest of the week) and increases your metabolism. (see worth the read!)

I am a trained health coach and I found it to be the most wonderful year of my life while I was being certified. Yes, I was making changes that transformed my own life, health and career. I wanted my clients to have this same transformation and to attack their health with the same enthusiasm. I found out that most people will pay the money, but they won't do the hard work it takes to change bad habits. 

I have been disappointed with many of my client's enthusiasm and willingness to make simple changes. I learned that people are stuck where they are mostly because of emotions and life circumstances. I was told while being certified, that client's need us (health coaches) to help them crawl out of the stuck space and start to move in a different direction. "Yes!! I said, I can do this!" I can do it, but can others do the hard work, can you?

I still believe there is a place for me to do this work. It is my passion and makes me the happiest I have ever been. The best combination of training would be psychologist and health coach. So much emotion and unhappiness goes into the food we eat and the habits we form.

I am forever grateful that I am a trained health coach and would love to help others. For now, I am working at Whole Foods as the Wine and Spirits Buyer which helps pay the bills.

Get Healthy,

Denise Lovat

Certified Health Coach