Dedicated to Helping You
Recover from Fibromyalgia

Are Your Feelings
(or Lack of Feeling)
Hurting You?

Hi everyone,

What's new this month? The biggest news is that you can now earn money when someone you refer to me signs up for my Health Coaching Services. Just sign up for my Affiliate Program here .

There's no charge to sign up. Then, refer people who you think would benefit from health coaching. All you need to do is refer them to a Free Teleclass and I do all the work. My system will keep track of your referral for a full year.

Whether it is a person suffering from fibromyalgia, someone who keeps trying to incorporate healthier habits but can't seem to stick to them, or a friend who is always stressed to the max and overloaded with "must" things to do, anyone can benefit from my health coaching services.

In fact, I call myself a health coach, but my practice often delves into the area of Life Coaching, because so many aspects of your life affect your health. Know what I mean?

And coaching is becoming more recognized as the avenue to get results when it comes to your health. There was an article about coaching in the May 16th, 2007 issue of Woman's World magazine (the one without all the advertisements) on page 54. This story is about a woman with four kids who, thanks to weekly calls with her diet coach, lost 30 pounds and is now down to a size 4.

With a coach you can:

*Find extra time when you thought there was none.

*Make small, simple changes that add up to big improvements in your health.

*Choose what fits into your lifestyle, instead of having someone tell you what to do.

*Get support and encouragement when you feel like giving up.

Consider ideas you may never have thought of by yourself. I have Free Teleclasses coming up this week and next, so you may sign up for a class here .

All right, I know I'm too long-winded at times. I'll move on to the topic of the day:

I'm in the middle of reading a book by one of the most famous coaches alive, Cheryl Richardson. (I'm told she charges $1200/month for each client.) You may have seen her on Oprah a few years ago promoting the book, "Take Time for Your Life". The one I'm currently reading is "Stand Up for Your Life", her third book.

The tagline of this book is "Develop the Courage, Confidence, and Character to Fulfill your Greatest Potential". Wouldn't you love to fulfill your greatest potential? Me, too! I believe that is honoring God's gifts.

The book is getting into an area that I haven't talked about or even dealt with much before--and I love it. I think it is so important for us in our busy lives. It is beyond stopping to smell the flowers. It is stopping to notice how you are feeling.

I'll lead into it with this thought: There is a reason you have fibromyalgia. What is your reason? Mine was that I'm supposed to help others recover from fibromyalgia.

But what is your reason? You are supposed to learn from your experiences. What is your lesson from your illness?

You may need to learn to put yourself first instead of last. Mom does not always have to have the burnt piece of toast.

You may need to learn to listen to your body and slow down or stop before you get to the point where you drop.

You may need to learn to make better choices or overcome addictions.

You may need to learn to get to know yourself better. This is the subject that has really hit me from this book. It is paying attention to how you are feeling--instead of covering up how you are feeling.

It's becoming aware of what you are feeling and letting the feelings come through--instead of shoving them down with food or cigarettes.

It is acknowledging and living your feelings instead of escaping into a book or tv.

It is living in the present instead of focusing on the past or always looking forward to the future.

It is stopping the mind from racing from one thought to the next, always planning, never in the "now".

I've heard all about this concept before, but I never really put it into full practice.

Cheryl Richardson talks about how buried feelings can manifest themselves in our physical health. Pushing down feelings will eventually take its toll on your health.

But experiencing true feelings can be scary and very uncomfortable. Frankly, it sucks. To be honest, there are some uncomfortable feelings that I still avoid. One is anxiety about writing this newsletter. I want to do the best for you and sometimes eat my way through these as I get anxious about what to write.

A fellow coach of mine once asked me to review an article that she had written. In it she talked rather matter-of-factly about how every physical ailment had an emotional connection and I said that I thought that area of the article was a little too far out for me--too new-age-ish. She, obviously farther along in her journey than I, said, "Doesn't everyone know there is a physical connection for every emotion?" I said, "No, I don't know that." And now I'm just getting ready to accept this idea, more than a year later.

I guess we are fed things as we can handle them.

So, what do you need to do to get in better touch with yourself, to get in touch with your true feelings?

Is it writing in a daily journal? Going for a walk? Taking a bubble bath? Sitting quietly among nature? Meditating? Praying? Cooking? Listening to Music? Painting? Dancing?

What do you need to do every day to get in touch with yourself?

Another idea from the book is to stop and notice your feelings throughout the day. Start with just 3 or 4 stops and work up to stopping every hour to just notice how you are feeling.

Hunger? Anger? Sadness? Emptiness? Boredom? Frustration? Joy? Gotta pee? What are you feeling right now?

Can you make the commitment to do something every day that helps you get in touch with yourself and your feelings? When will you do it? How will I know you've done it? (I'd love to hear your commitment and hear how you are doing on that commitment. Email me, OK? Just hit reply to this email.)

All for now. . . may you move forward on your journey to recovery today and every day.

Love,

Anita

Fibromyalgia Health Coach

Fibromyalgia Hope, LLC N3486 Guenther Rd. Waupun, WI 53963

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