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Stress, Overwhelm, and...Skydiving?

Posted by Bronwyn Katdare on March 8, 2023 at 11:33am

STRESS, OVERWHELM, and …SKYDIVING?

By Coach Kat, Mar. 3, 2023, copyright Bronwyn Katdaré 2023

Imagine this: you’re tossing and turning for most of the night, your mind racing about all of the things you have to do tomorrow and all of the things you completed today. You’re doing this while your partner snoozes away. That’s irritating – how dare your partner sleep while you’re wired and tired, staring at the ceiling!

The alarm goes off just as you start to doze. You’re exhausted, have a headache, and are swearing under your breath. Your partner decides to make a romantic advance and you rebuff it with an angry outburst as you drag your ass out of bed. You aren’t hungry so you skip breakfast and shift into high gear with some caffeine. Maybe you get the kids to school or get yourself to work. You’re in traffic, feeling restless and irritable. You still have a headache and now your back aches. You get to work and your boss is acting like a jerk. Coworkers ask you to lunch and you decline because you have too much to do. You’ve been working on a project and not getting much done. It feels like you’re in a fog – you’ve been staring at the wall - and can’t concentrate on anything. Your stomach starts to get upset from the anxiety.

You sit in your car after work and cry. It all just seems like too much. You return home, still fatigued, still pushing through your day. You sit down with some pizza your partner picked up on the way home. You’re still hungry so you have some crackers and peanut butter. The dog needs to go for a walk but you’re just_so_tired. Then you sit to watch a movie and eat some ice cream.

Does any of this sound familiar?

This story illustrates many of the ways stress symptoms show up physically, emotionally, mentally, and behaviorally.

Stress is the gap between demands (perceived or real) and capacity (perceived or real). When demands exceed capacity, stress is initiated through physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social lenses. Said another way, stress is the physical or mental response to an external cause. A stressor may be a one-time or short-term occurrence (acute) or it can happen repeatedly over a long time (chronic). Your "Stress Signature" is how stress shows up through signs and symptoms. Symptoms are a message for you to make an adjustment. Part of your stress signature could be in the form of anxiety (there is a distinction between stress and anxiety, and you can have BOTH): Anxiety is your body's reaction to stress and can occur even if there is no current threat.

What happens to the body during stress?

The body’s autonomic nervous system controls your heart rate, breathing, vision changes and more. It controls all of the things you do that you don’t have to consciously think about doing. Its built-in stress response, “fight-or-flight,” helps the body face stressful situations. When a person has long-term (chronic) stress, continued activation of the stress response causes wear and tear on the body. Symptoms develop because your body, under constant stress, cannot turn off “fight-or-flight” even when there is no threat. Our bodies are not designed to do this. Our bodies are designed to respond to the threat in the short term and then go back to the “rest-digest-relax-heal” state. Under chronic stress, you could experience problems with sleeping, muscle tension or pain, high blood pressure, weight issues, decreased concentration, or memory issues. You may find difficulties in the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems. You also may also be at higher risk for developing a variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders or depression.

Stress is subjective. Stress does not only come from the external environment; stress can come from our internal reactions, behaviors, and perceptions, as well. For instance, how many of you are or know those with perfectionist tendencies or control issues?

Let me tell you a true story.

Did you know that I went skydiving on a whim, but in the background of my mind it was to overcome my fear of...not heights...spiraling out of control in a freefall. That's right! It's very specific because I used to hold on SO DAMN TIGHT to CONTROL EVERYTHING!

That's why skydiving worked for me. I only had control of my body position. As it came my turn to jump, I told my instructor that I really didn't want to jump. He ignored this and hooked us together.

I told him that I don't have any control and he said to leave it to him. Are you freaking kidding??!!

I was sweating, adrenaline pumping, and my head spinning. There was a storm on the horizon and we even saw some lightning in the distance.

We got to the door and I said let's not...and he jumped, taking me with him. I screamed and screamed and screamed! Terrified!

Then I realized I was screaming into the wind and nothing I was doing was going to change that I was falling from the sky. I might as well enjoy the sights on the way down. That was my turning point, the relinquishing of control, the release of stuck emotion, the serenity followed by an incredible endorphin rush! I accepted that I couldn’t control everything and the payoff was HUGE in the change of my mental and emotional state, and it stuck with me.

This is actually part of the reason why I became a coach and healer. I see friends, family, society, and clients under so much stress and pressure - and holding onto so much crap and trying to control everything so perfectly. Today, women are so stressed out, burned out, and overwhelmed from both external and internal stressors. In my work, I teach them how amazing it is to release all of that and restore their health - body, mind, and soul! They know that by following my protocols and programs, they are taking the next steps to sleep better, soothe inflammation and premature aging, and reclaiming peace and empowerment.

Now, you don’t have to go skydiving to enjoy these benefits! Schedule a Calm the Chaos Clarity Consult with me today!

In the meantime, here are some activities you can try when you start to feel overwhelmed:

Keep a journal – write stuff down and get it out of your head
Download an app - like Aura - that provides relaxation exercises, meditation, mindfulness, movement, and more
Exercise and make sure you are eating nutrient-dense foods
Stick to a sleep routine and make sure you get quality sleep
Ditch caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine because you are pouring fuel on the fire
Identify and challenge your negative and unhelpful thoughts
Reach out to a qualified coach – like me – who can guide you through ways to positively deal with your stressors before they become symptoms (or reverse the symptoms by dealing with the stress)

Again, schedule a Calm the Chaos Clarity Consult with me to Ditch the Distress and Turn Your Symptoms into Peace, Harmony, and Effervescent Health!

(Bronwyn Katdaré is a certified Hypnotherapist, Integrative Holistic Health Coach, and Jungian Soul-Centered Life Coach. She incorporates Shamanic healing, Reiki, Akashic Records, and Kundalini Awakening Yoga into her coaching and healing practices).

HEARTBREAK: Understanding How Chronic Stress Breaks Your Heart

Posted by Bronwyn Katdare on January 27, 2023 at 12:15pm

HEARTBREAK: Understanding How Chronic Stress Breaks Your Heart

By Coach Kat (Bronwyn Katdare), February 19, 2020, copyright Bronwyn Katdaré 2020

“Stress Kills.” We’ve heard this over and over to the point where we have started to brush it off because, hey, everyone has stress, right? We’re all going to die sometime, right? Our stress and busy-ness has been elevated to a status symbol, a badge of honor showing how “important” our rushed lives are. Doctors are quick to offer a magic pill when you talk with them about stress, overwhelm, anxiety, or the feeling of drowning. Blah, blah, blah, stress kills.

We go about our lives, accumulating bits of stress like static cling lint. We eat it, drink it, speak it, breathe it, bathe in it, and send it off with others.

What does this mean for us?

Let’s first think about heart disorders from an energetic perspective. (Keep reading. I promise I’ll talk about the scientific physical effects soon enough). From an energetic perspective, heart disorders are a result of harboring resentment. Irregular heartbeats and angina are patterns that weaken the heart. These patterns erupt from self-anger and resentment so that you are living in a negative emotional energy field. When you live in this negativity, you cannot have clarity and your decision-making falters: you think in terms of “cannot” and “never.”

The heart center represents the emotional body. As emotions become congested, you begin to experience coronary breakdown and weakening of the system. Symptoms in the physical body include exhaustion and shortness of breath. Any panic or anxiety-related behaviors are electrically charged and result in an irregular heartbeat.

Congestion in the heart and in the emotional body is what happens when emotions get stuck in the physical body instead of being processed in the mental body, then becoming available for release. Here is the kicker: these emotions may belong to you OR they may belong to someone else. Let me explain that last part: for example, empaths always have to ask themselves if what they are feeling belongs to them or to someone else. Even non-empaths might be protecting someone else or not telling a person something they need to hear. When this happens, that emotion or truth is held inside you. When a person has hurt a lot, has been hurt a lot, or has absorbed hurts, it causes the most damaging heart weakening patterns.

Does any of this sound like you???

E=Mc2. This is possibly the world’s most well-known equation. Einstein proved that energy and mass (matter) are interchangeable. They are simply different forms of the same thing. Energy must find a way of being expressed, whether verbal or through disease. The pressure resulting in your body when you do not let emotions out, is energy working its way into matter.

A person has a heart attack because congested emotions, panic, or a stressful situation reaches its peak and the system becomes overloaded. This can be situational (like losing a job), due to depression or long periods of loneliness, carrying the emotional burden for others, or due to the abuse of the physical body (crap food, smoking, drinking, sedentary lifestyle, etc.). A heart attack puts all of this to an immediate stop. Basically, the heart has had enough.

Keep this in mind: your history does not heal you, so let it go. Stress and hurt do not heal you, so let them go. Truth heals you. Lies destroy the heart but truth heals it.

For the science nerds, let’s take a look at what happens inside the body when we live in a state of chronic stress. Physician and atherosclerosis researcher, Alan Tall of Columbia University, has stated, “The idea has been out there that chronic psychosocial stress is associated with increased cardiovascular disease in humans, but what’s been lacking is a mechanism.”

Let’s talk mechanism, then.

Many recent epidemiological studies have shown that psychosocial factors may accelerate the development of atherosclerosis. People who face many stressors – including surviving natural disasters, those who work long hours, those who have had sudden trauma - are more likely to develop atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty plaques inside blood vessels.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic progressive disease with a long preclinical phase. Risk factors such as age, smoking, blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, infection and inflammation, and genetic factors are associated with the development of atherosclerosis. All of these are known to impair endothelial function, which are keys in the early atherogenic process.

Chronic stress has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and it contributes to endothelial dysfunction. Why is this important? Impaired endothelial function triggers the first step of atherosclerosis progression and manifests long before the establishment of atherosclerotic disease. Endothelial function is measured by nitric oxide release in the brachial artery before and during hyperemia (increased blood flow). This is called flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and shows the frequency and progression of atherosclerosis. Carotid artery compliance (CAC) is widely used as an index of arterial elasticity, with small artery compliance considered to be an early marker for cardiovascular diseases and of early atherosclerosis. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) indicates the severity of atherosclerosis; therefore, increased carotid IMT is associated with coronary atherosclerosis.

That was your down-and-dirty physiology class. Got it?

So, chronic stress is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and chronic stress contributes to endothelial dysfunction. Symptoms of chronic stress are all too familiar. The first is vital exhaustion (VE), a psychological state characterized by heightened irritability, unusual tiredness, a loss of physical and mental energy, and demoralized feelings. VE is an indicator of chronic mental stress and reflects decreased ability to cope with stress. VE may contribute to an increased risk of early atherosclerosis in young, healthy adults. Studies have demonstrated VE after myocardial infarction and after stroke. Therefore, treating exhaustion may be a strategy to improve cardiovascular health.

Besides endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis is affected by factors in the plaque itself. In addition to fats and cholesterols, plaques contain monocytes and neutrophils. Monocytes and neutrophils are immune cells that cause inflammation for the healing of wounds or infections. However, in chronic stress, there is no wound or infection to heal. The fight or flight of the sympathetic nervous system causes monocytes and neutrophils to build and take up residence in the walls of blood vessels. If plaques rupture and escape the walls where they are lodged, they can cause more extreme blockages elsewhere (ie., heart attack or stroke).

The most stressed out people have the highest levels of neutrophils and monocytes. Chronic stress also increases blood concentration of the hormone noradrenaline. Noradrenaline binds to a cell surface receptor protein called β3 on stem cells in bone marrow. In turn, the chemical environment of the bone marrow changes, increasing the activity of the white blood cells produced by the stem cells. When the β3 receptor is blocked, there are fewer of these dangerous plaques as well as decreased levels of active immune cells in plaques. This denotes the β3 protein as a link between stress and atherosclerosis.

So how are you going to heal? That’s the question.

First, you are going to get real with yourself. How have you been abusing yourself, consciously or unconsciously? How have you been allowing others to abuse you? Now, stop it. Stop all of it and get real.

Second, your diet must change. Dr. Michael Klaper is famous for saying, “It’s always the food.” This is the deal and it’s easier than you may think:

1. Whole-food plant-based vegan (meaning you eat easily recognizable foods that look like they did when they were in the ground or on the tree). Drink water! You should consume at minimum half of your weight in ounces/day.

2. Gluten-free (due to inflammation and the fact that the MAJORITY of people do not tolerate gluten even if they show no outward signs of sensitivity). Gluten causes inflammation and inflammation must be kept down.

3. If you already have heart disease or are predisposed to it, I suggest you follow Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., MD, Director of the Cardiovascular Prevention and Reversal Program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. He has written books and cookbooks on the prevention and reversal of heart disease. In a nutshell, in addition to the recommendations above, you will also eat a diet free of sugar, salt, and oil.

4. Learn to cook and like it. Schedule time to prep and cook. Freeze meals for those days when you know you will be busy.

Third, get moving. Find a form of exercise you enjoy that is also intense enough to build strength and have cardiovascular benefits. The more you enjoy an activity and place it in a convenient timeslot, the more likely you are to do it and stick to it.

Fourth, build your spiritual immune system. Health is not simply a matter of physical or mental health. Utilize the talents of a Shaman, Reiki practitioner, or another practitioner that is trained to work on your spiritual and energetic health.

Fifth, find a means of stress reduction and make it a priority. Tai chi. Qi gong. Yoga. Forest bathing (walking in Nature…no headphones, no texting). Barefoot walking (“grounding”). Journaling. Figure it out and do it.

Sixth, engage with your support system. This may be family, friends, a therapist, or clergy. You must have a system of support to decrease your risk of depression.

Seventh, if you hate your job, figure out an exit plan. Do not suddenly up and leave but definitely change what you are doing. Can you have a flexible schedule so you work from home a couple of days per week? Are you past-due for a promotion or a raise? Would you be happier on a different project? Is your passion somewhere else? Figure out a way to make that your job. If you do not have a job, is your soul screaming for something to do? This may be employment or going back to school but it may also be volunteering – museums, libraries, animal shelters, your child’s school. The key to all of this is to value yourself to make the changes necessary to make your soul sing (and not scream).

Eighth, make your home somewhere you not only want to be but love to be. If it isn’t a place of sanctuary and peace, change it so that it is. Clean, get rid of toxins, display what “sparks joy” and donate what does not.

Ninth, how are your relationships? Do they “spark joy” or are they a source of chronic stress? A trained professional (therapist, health or life coach, or clergy) can help you figure this out.

Tenth, stop smoking. Find your reason WHY to quit smoking and make it big enough to be the most important thing. Is it for your health? Is it for the health of a loved one? Are you afraid? Whatever the reason, make this a priority. If you cannot do this on your own or you have tried time and again, seek the help of a trained professional – a doctor, a hypnotherapist, or a smoking cessation specialist.

Finally, one more for good measure: Allow this to speak to the deepest reaches of your soul to get in touch with your wild self and your one precious life:

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean-- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do With your one wild and precious life?

(Bronwyn Katdaré is a certified Nutrition, Lifestyle, Functional Medicine, and Soul-Centered Health Coach, and Hypnotherapist. She is a Reiki Master, Shaman, Kundalini Awakening Yoga Teacher, and Akashic Records Consultant. She helps women who are stressed out, burned out, and overwhelmed, and whose stress has turned into symptoms, reclaim peace, find calm in the chaos, and live from a relaxed and empowered state of being).

My Inner Child Made Me Do It! (Or, "Healing the Child Within")

Posted by Bronwyn Katdare on November 6, 2022 at 12:08pm

My Inner Child Made Me Do It! (Or, "Healing the Child Within")

By Coach Kat, Oct. 28, 2022, copyright Bronwyn Katdaré 2022

One day I will own my own home. I dream that it will have an extra bedroom that is not needed for any specific purpose. Not as a guest room. Not as an office. Not for storage. In this room, I will keep my sacred treasures from childhood – all of the things that made me feel good, or safe, or that I just loved. My Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag will be on the bed. I was not allowed to keep the sleeping bag on the bed or to sleep in it other than during sleepovers. It needed to be rolled without going off-center or having any creases. I will keep this sleeping bag on the bed for just a nap here and there or nestle in to read a book. I will keep my treasured books in a bookcase - books that I bought at book fairs as a young grade-school child or ones that I loved but my mother hated to read to me. “Two Pesos for Catalina” or “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” were two of my favorites. Animal figurines will live here – the animals who protected me, who really knew me because they listened to my stories, wishes, and fears. The dolls with grand dresses will live here – those dolls who I wanted to be! My jewelry box with the dancing ballerina, a box that contained my “jewels” and slips of paper with wishes written on them.

Why? Why do I want this room filled with kid’s stuff? The answer is easy. My inner child needs a place to go to relax, feel safe, and be surrounded by love.

What is an Inner Child?

Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, first proposed the concept of an Inner Child after exploring his own childlike inner feelings and emotions. He discovered through sessions with himself, a memory of playing with building blocks as a child. This memory was laced with much emotion. He felt that this creative child still lived within him but in his outer life, he lacked that creativity he once held as a child. For several years, Jung connected with this inner child through the process of Active Imagination, creating toy villages made of stone and blocks. Jung hypothesized that it was this inner part that influenced all we do and the decisions we make. This process and theory paved the way for what he termed “Individuation,” or the process of becoming fully integrated and whole in your soul; becoming who you were meant to be; the realization of the Self, which is the union of the conscious and the unconscious.

One of the first steps in the process of Individuation is to reconnect with your inner child. The inner child holds all the memories and emotions, good or bad, that we experienced growing up. The healthy inner child is the part of your psyche that retains its innocence, creativity, awe, and wonder toward life. When our inner child is healthy and we are connected with them, we tend to be inspired, productive, and have a zest for life.

Sometimes, however, the inner child felt a need to protect us as children from trauma (big or little) and to absorb the negative words or harmful actions of our caretakers. This inner child did not have his or her needs met, still does not feel safe (physically, emotionally, or spiritually), and is hypervigilant. This inner child may still be “running the show” and unconsciously influencing all we do even though we are now adults. The unhealthy inner child may make questionable decisions, overreact or “blow up” over triggering events, or operate on old stories or beliefs. They can be full of anger, shame, or rage because of the maltreatment or neglect they endured.

Inner children are the lens through which injured adults make their decisions. Can you imagine a child making sense of adult relationships? Or making career decisions? Or money decisions? If we ignore the wounded inner child, we feel disconnected from life, tired, empty, and unhappy. If we engage in inner child work, or work toward Individuation, we begin to ease the wounds of this part of our psyche.

Ask yourself:

· When was the last time you spoke to or connected with your inner child?

· How often do you take the time to tune in and listen to your needs?

· Do you regularly make space to play and enjoy life?

One of the benefits of inner child work is that hidden gifts and aptitudes can emerge. Many of our relationships improve, our addictions and habits lessen or fade away, and our connection with ourselves deepens. Understanding and tending to our inner child is crucial for self-healing, developing healthy interpersonal relationships, building self-esteem, and practicing self-love.

When you are ready to begin this process, consider my Soul-Centered Coaching program. Soul-Centered Coaching is designed to assist individuals through what Carl Jung called Individuation, the process of becoming a self-actualized, fully-spiritually-developed human being. This is what I like to call "Becoming Whole in Your Soul." More information on this program can be found here.

(Bronwyn Katdaré is a certified Integrative Holistic Health Coach and Jungian Soul-Centered Life Coach. She incorporates Shamanic healing, Reiki, Akashic Records, and Kundalini Awakening Yoga into her coaching and healing practices).

KUNDALINI AWAKENING YOGA: The Magic That Activates Your Potential

Posted by Bronwyn Katdare on August 14, 2022 at 10:16am

KUNDALINI AWAKENING YOGA: The Magic That Activates Your Potential

By Coach Kat, January 25, 2022, copyright Bronwyn Katdaré 2022

I hate yoga.

This is what I told myself as I was having existential crises (aka nervous breakdowns) in college and grad school. I tried to do the yoga videos, the calming meditations, just listening to the instructor speak while I had my eyes closed. Seriously, it made me even more anxious. My body became tense and screamed out in pain. I was rejecting it on every level. My mind hated yoga. My body hated yoga. I hated yoga. It just wasn’t for me.

Well, perhaps this is because I was not practicing the type of yoga that would be right for me. The kind that I would crave. The kind that made me feel both exhilarated and at peace after finishing. The kind that released toxic crap that was creating obstacles and open me up to…sometimes bliss but sometimes just simply feeling way better than I did when I started out that day.

Fast-forward many years and I am a certified Kundalini Awakening Yoga teacher! Kundalini Awakening Yoga is transformative magic that has been a game-changer in literally every aspect of my life. It was the missing link.

(You can transform your life, too, with Bronwyn's Kundalini Awakening Yoga series! Click here).

Kundalini yoga dates back to 1,000 B.C. as a spiritual practice originating in Vedic philosophy. It is mentioned in the Upanishads, which is a sacred collection of teachings that promote health through the practice of yoga. The original classes were teachings on peace, consciousness, and joy and did not incorporate physical practice. The physical practices – the kriyas – are taught today to continuously move energy through the body.

Kundalini yoga was brought to the United States from India in the 1970s by Yogi Bhajan, who adhered to strict disciplined practices. When people think about the practice of Kundalini yoga, they might think about his teachings and wearing white robes and head coverings. THIS is NOT THAT!

Kundalini Awakening Yoga borrows from all the traditional kundalini kriyas but makes it more active and accessible to everyone. It is known as the yoga of awareness that taps into the body, mind, and soul using breath, physical movement, meditation, and mantra. It is said to awaken the full potential of human awareness. Kundalini kriya is an orchestrated pattern of movements, sound, pranayama, mudras, concentration, and meditation that guides the energies of the body and mind to a specific result or change of consciousness.

Kundalini yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system by stimulating and toning the Vagus Nerve. The Vagus Nerve is a part of the Central Nervous System running from the hypothalamus and amygdala to the colon that controls the ability to move between the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems. The Vagus Nerve connects the mind to the body and vice-versa. When the Vagus Nerve oscillates correctly, it acts like a tuning fork setting the Autonomic Nervous System to vibrate at the level of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (rest-digest-heal) rather than the Sympathetic Nervous System (fight-flight-freeze). Although the Sympathetic Nervous System is necessary and keeps us safe and alive, present day society spends most of its time in this state.

Some people may have heard that Kundalini yoga is dangerous or that you don’t want to mess around with it. This is a myth! Kundalini energy is simply your potential. The point of ALL yoga is to raise Kundalini energy, your untapped potential - who you are and who you need to be. YOUR POTENTIAL is already there. In my classes and programs, the body is prepped for the release of the energy by strengthening the nervous system so it sets the vibration to the parasympathetic state: the rest, digest, detox, relax, and heal state of being.

(You can transform your life, too, with Bronwyn's Kundalini Awakening Yoga series! Click here).

Why do I teach Kundalini Awakening Yoga and incorporate it into my programs? First, Kundalini yoga balances the glandular system, strengthens the nervous system, and enables you to harness the energy of the mind and emotions so you can be in control of yourself, rather than being controlled by your thoughts and feelings. Kundalini yoga brings down ALL inflammatory markers in just 12 minutes/day.

Second, Kundalini is basically the energy of the body, your full potential that can be awakened. The energy flows through what are called chakras, or energy centers, that are connected by a channel of energy flowing up the spine and around the mind. The goal of Kundalini Yoga is to keep this energy flowing in order to release blocks.

Third, Kundalini yoga helps you break through your limitations and increases self-worth, your self-esteem, and how you value yourself and the world. Mantra is a very important part of a Kundalini practice based on the belief that chanting words at the energetic level creates vibratory changes in your state of consciousness. As Kundalini energy increases, it creates biochemical changes, your awareness increases so you can step out of the victim story, and take charge of your life. Trust the process and flow. Transformation happens quickly with Kundalini Awakening Yoga. It will open you up and you will feel changes in your body, mind, and soul.

Finally, Kundalini Awakening Yoga is a physically strengthening practice. Kundalini Awakening Yoga is for everyone, regardless of skill level or fitness level. Even those with restricted mobility can do this, even if they are simply chanting the mantras or using breath and meditation. It is simple with no practices or levels to achieve. It does not seek perfection but, rather, looks for continuous movement of energy.

If you do nothing, nothing in your life will change. You have to consistently practice to stay in a high vibration state, but it’s not about doing hours of practice per day. Mantras and chanting strengthen the Vagus Nerve by activating the vocal cords and muscles at the back of the throat. The mantra helps deflect the negative mind chatter and the energy around that chatter. The words of peace and joy from the mantra repeat through your system, the chakras, and positively affect all parts of your life.

(You can transform your life, too, with Bronwyn's Kundalini Awakening Yoga series! Click here)

(Bronwyn Katdaré is a certified plant-based holistic health coach, specializing in intuitive, lifestyle, and functional medicines. She is also a Soul-Centered Coach, incorporating Shamanic healing, Reiki of the Usui and Karuna traditions, Akashic Records, and Kundalini Awakening Yoga. Bronwyn is guest faculty with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and a graduate of the FSS Three Year Program of Advanced Initiations in Shamanism and Shamanic Healing. She is also interested in quantum physics, astrophysics, transpersonal and Jungian psychologies, and ecopsychology).

What is Soul-Centered Coaching? (And...How to Work with Me for FREE!)

Posted by Bronwyn Katdare on June 1, 2022 at 10:13am

What is Soul-Centered Coaching? (And...How to Work with Me for FREE!)

By Coach Kat, May31, 2022, copyright Bronwyn Katdaré 2022

Drawing from Jungian, Depth, Transpersonal, and Archetypal psychologies, as well as many wisdom traditions, Soul-Centered Coaching provides a robust experience for those wishing to expand their process of personal growth.

Different from other forms of coaching or psychotherapy, Soul-Centered Coaching is not driven by goals; rather, the sessions begin by using a technique from Transpersonal psychology called Open Awareness or a technique from Jungian psychology called Active Imagination. We typically engage these techniques early in the session and enter into a slightly relaxed state where we can be more open to new perspectives and insights. We then discuss what arises from that experience and apply it to your immediate situation using archetypal and shamanic perspectives.

Soul-Centered Coaching is based on the premise that your psyche is the ultimate inner healer – that your psyche can provide all the answers you need - so we often find that powerful symbols emerge that we can work with through dialogue, active imagination, dreamwork, creative visualization, ritual, etc. Soul-Centered Coaching sessions can be a good option to work through blockages, find inspiration, or integrate what comes up for you in other kinds of spiritual, depth psychological, or transpersonal work. Sessions uncover resources, shift limiting beliefs, and move beyond deep-rooted patterns in a gentle and safe way. It institutes new, creative, generative processes and allows deeper connection as you step fully onto your path of spiritual awakening.

Sessions may include but are not limited to: dreamwork; myth, symbol, and story; non-ordinary states of consciousness; alchemy; Shamanism; ecopsychology and nature; shadow and archetypal work; and more.

Bronwyn Katdaré is a certified Plant-Based Nutrition, Integrative Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Functional Medicine Health Coach as well as a Soul-Centered Coach. She is a Reiki practitioner, Shamanic healer and faculty for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, Akashic Records consultant, and a Kundalini Awakening Yoga teacher. She is also certified in mitigation of Electromagnetic Frequency Fields.

Bronwyn works with those who desire to untangle and free themselves from coping mechanisms, belief patterns, and illness triggered by adverse experiences and discharge wounded energy from the physical and energetic bodies. Bronwyn believes that physical or psychological symptoms have at leave one underlying root cause in the spiritual. Symptoms are a call to connect with Soul and to ask what needs or desires are being ignored or going unmet.

She is also a certified Dog Obedience trainer, Police K9 trainer and handler instructor, Explosives Detection K9 Team Handler, and Canine Athlete Specialist. She uses her healing abilities with the dogs she trains. (For more info on dog training, go to Katdare K9 Coaching).

Bronwyn earned a M.A. in Criminology, B.A. in Sociology/Criminal Justice, Certificate in Forensic Science and Law, and Certificate in Authentic Leadership. She also has training in Dynamic Energetic Healing, drum circle leadership, sound empowerment, and ancestral lineage healing.

On most days, Bronwyn can be found walking her two Shepherds in the woods, going for a mountaintop trail run, doing Pilates, and meditating. Her cats prefer indoor adventures with Bronwyn and can be found “helping her” make the bed, putting away groceries, and leaping onto high surfaces to dust.

Bronwyn is an actor, director, and writer who has appeared in theatre, film, web series, and commercials. She “hangs out” at the library (snagging a great weekend read) and parks, walking through neighborhoods looking at architecture, experimenting to see what grows in the garden and what does not, and imploring the “kitchen faeries” to cook dinner for her (they never do!).

For a very limited time starting in June 2022, Bronwyn will be offering several participants free sessions in Soul-Centered Coaching to help achieve her advanced certification. Participation information is as follows:

· Participation is first come, first served based on whether I think you are a good candidate for coaching (based on the consultation form). Open to anyone age 18+.
· 3 FREE sessions with the purchase of 3 sessions at the reduced rate of $75/session – OR – 5 FREE sessions with the purchase of 5 sessions at the reduced rate of $75/session.
· One session per week, lasting an hour per session, for the duration (either 6 or 10 total sessions). Otherwise, sessions will expire.
· All sessions must be pre-paid and there are no refunds. I am depending on these practicum hours to achieve my advanced certificate.
· Interested parties should immediately email me at coachkathealth@gmail.com, fill out and return the consultation form I email to you, and let me know your availability.

(More information and all services can be found at https://www.coachkathealth.com/).

Bronwyn Katdare's Posts (5)