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Judith and Erin are discussing children and teenagers and talking about how we can give them the tools to cope with life’s challenges. The names of the girls are Emma Lloyd Secondary School Teacher, Guidance Councillor and mental health and well-being coach @emsguidance and Eimear Walsh Primary School Teacher, yoga and mindfulness coach @wellbeing_wishes_irl.

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If anyone had told me five years ago that I would be a yoga teacher now, I would have laughed and said no hope.  Glossophobia or fear of speaking in public is a very common fear for a large number of people and to overcome it was a huge achievement for me.  I can pinpoint back to my childhood the situation in which the phobia took hold.  We were reciting poetry for a music festival, and I had the lead lines in the class.  Whatever way I said the lines, it was not good enough for the teacher so she made me stand and continue repeating them until I felt faint.  I told her I was feeling faint and nauseous, but she didn’t let me sit down, I was embarrassed and humiliated.  From that day on whenever I was asked to speak or read in a group of people, panic set in and the same sickening feeling would come back to me. 

Fast forward 25 years, I had been practicing yoga and seeing Judith at the same time. in one of my sessions with Judith we were talking about a change in career and she suggested becoming a Yoga Teacher.  The thought never entered my mind, even as Judith spoke the words, my inner little Rosie was saying was ‘No Way’…  However, I started using my tools along with Judith’s visualisations and I gained the confidence to sign up to the 200hr Teacher Training Course.  Initially I loved the course, I was confident and brave with my lovely group of teachers and fellow students.  As the course progressed, we started teaching practice, and all was well until I made a mistake and then the fear took hold again.  What happens on the energetic level, eventually manifests into the physical.  My back started to spasm, I could not practice, I couldn’t move, it was as if I was rooted with fear, a fear of moving forward.

It was then that I remembered Judith’s book and how she worked with her own inner child to create new patterns and overcome her childhood fears. Daily I worked with little Rosie, bringing her back to the classroom to confront the embarrassment and humiliation she felt on that day many years ago.  It was very hard at first, however, I needed to step through this, or my fear would continue to grip me. I visualised going back in time and walking into my old classroom everyday reciting the poem and each day it got a little bit easier. Until one day I visualised the whole class reciting the poem with me.  This is when I knew I was making progress.  I still continued my visualisation until the day of my Teacher Training Practice where I was able to walk into the room with confidence and nervous excitement.  I had used my tools to let go of the old patterns that didn’t serve me and kept me stuck.  I had formed new positive neural pathways and I knew my inner little Rosie was very well capable of giving a class.  I now love standing at the top of a class, whether its in a park or a centre, teaching my yoga with confidence, knowing that I turned my fear into love.

Rosie gives weekly yoga instructions in Tymon Park, Tallaght on Monday nights from 7pm to 8pm

You can follow her on

Instagram – exploring_new_pathways

Or

Facebook – @RosieBoyle

For the past 15 months the world has collectively held its breath. Waiting, watching and anticipating as numbers of Covid 19 cases continued to rise. We, as adults, struggled at times to process the pandemic, so imagine how young children felt and thought about it during critical periods of development as they were deprived of opportunities to engage in normal childhood activities. 

Our brains aren’t fully developed until they are at least 25 and so for over a year they have struggled to make sense of it all. Thankfully with the easing of restrictions increasing on a daily basis, an air of optimism has started to encircle us as we all prepare to step into the new norm.

However, for children leaving 6th class, not only are they learning to navigate this new norm, they also have to negotiate the big leap to secondary school where they go from being the proverbial big fish in a small pond, to small fish in a big sea. Entering the unknown can result in excitement but also anxiety, particularly as there have been no open days for schools this year. 

More than ever, especially over the coming summer months, what they need prior to this transition is not only time and space to embrace childhood and have fun, but peace and calm and a home where they feel safe to just be.

As the adults in their lives, it is our job to be their constant harbour and to create this calm and peaceful environment where they feel heard, valued and loved. A fundamental step in creating this atmosphere is by looking after our own well-being and filling our own cup. This not only sets an example for the importance of such a practice but it also has a ripple effect to the lives of all around us. By us ‘being the calm’ in what may be a chaotic time for them, they know they can count on us which allows them to flourish both emotionally and socially. 

Other tools to help them make this transition include meditation, breath work and having an open discussion. On August 18th, together with Emma Lloyd, we will be delivering the first online transition course entitled ‘Bridging the Gap’ which aims to provide practical tips and tools for children in preparation for making the transition to secondary school. It also provides practical advice for parents on how to support their child. For further details please see www.emsguidance.com or @wellbeing_wishes_irl or @emsguidance on Instagram.

My name is Robyn. I’m a Nurse Wellness Advisor and Founder of Insight Wellness.
 
Having worked as a nurse for the last 6 years, I have seen, particularly during the pandemic, just how much we struggle with fear and feeling powerless with our health and well-being.
 
I’ve experienced my own health struggles, which led me to start working with Judith 3 years ago. She opened my eyes to the fact that I can create my own reality, and that I have an unlimited amount of potential inside me. There started a journey of how to tap into it and I’ve been using it ever since.
 
Since I registered as a Nurse, I have also qualified as a Nutritionist, Personal Trainer and Meditation Teacher. Proactive healthcare is where my passion lies, and I like to put most of my energy into sharing the power of Spiritual Self-Care. How reconnecting with ourselves and our inner voice can help us navigate through difficult situations that show up in life.
 
 
Why did I create Insight wellness?
 
I’ve always felt there’s a missing element to healthcare. I want to teach people how to improve their self-care and tap into the unlimited amount of potential they have inside.
 
Insight wellness is there to do that. I share tools and insights that people can use to step through fears, tune into their inner voice and consciously create their life. I run workshops, free self-care sessions, guided meditations and journaling sessions. It is becoming a gorgeous community of like-minded people who are ready to improve their health from the inside out.
 
Nurse Wellness Advisor
 
My journey so far has also led me to work with a brand new health insurance company and create a position as their Nurse Wellness Advisor. This position allows me to create their proactive health content and focus on total health, mind, body and spirit. I am really looking forward to watching the rest of it unfold.
 
Website: www.insightwellness.ie
Instagram: @weareinsightwellness
 

I have been seeing Judith for the last 2 years and I use the tools she gave me for most things in my life.  I opened GW Motors in the end of 2019 as a small garage I ran by myself.  My business is going well, gaining more and more momentum over the last 12 months. Ironically, Covid has been our busiest time.

Of the tools Judith has taught over the past 2 years, the following 2 have been most transformative for me:

– How can I create positive momentum? 

I was focused a lot on lack and needed to shift my outlook. I set up a GW Motors Instagram page and started sharing car tips and tutorials. It had a really positive response.

– How can I manage my fears so I don’t keep stopping the momentum?

I would meditate/visualise in my office every morning before starting work. I also worked with my inner child. I wasn’t very confident in myself and what I could achieve, so I had to find a way to slowly step forward and change that. 

I started offering a drop and collect service for all of my customers. It was convenient for them and for me. This helped a lot.

I started asking my customers to give me google reviews. They did and were really positive. I also started building good relationships with people in the industry around me, getting referrals and jobs from them. I would support their business too.

If I felt fear, I’d pause and step through it. Sometimes, if things were crazy during the day I would lock myself in the office for 10 minutes to slow down. I know now that everything ripples from the inside out.

Website: WWW.GWMOTORS.IE

Instagram: @GW.MOTORS

Continuing momentum can be hard especially when you’re thrown into the unknown over and over again. My businesses have been repeatedly closed, over the past 12 months. Whilst I had to close the doors of my clinics and salon, I decided I was going to drive my business forward and continue the love and passion I have for it, my team and our clients.

First let’s explain the importance of momentum….
“Momentum”, everyone knows is a force that makes things that are moving continue to move. You can use this word to describe physical forces. But it’s more commonly used for describing success. If you start to be successful at something, like running a successful business or growing a successful team, it is to continue that success despite what’s going on around us. In reality this is you creating momentum, not taking your foot off the pedal or simply not giving up on your dreams despite the hurdles. So I was honoured that Judith, who has been virtually coaching me throughout the pandemic and before asked me to share, how have I managed to continue my momentum throughout the pandemic.

Firstly my personal and business goals changed dramatically when covid hit, it was a matter of survive the business as apposed to thrive the business. I made it my mission to first see clearly where my business was at and what was my break even (costs) for the salon and clinic where, to keep it operating despite no clients being allowed through the doors. I didn’t sleep, eat or speak for at least two weeks. I was in panic mode. A mixture of emotions and negativelty certainly creeped in but this is exactly what it took me, to realise I had so much to loose if I didn’t continue the momentum and reinvent my business.

My first step was to write a clear plan and new goals to follow and see what I needed to do to keep me focused. It was the most important thing for my family and the best source of hope that my team would return to their jobs. I’m a small business but a big operation employing 24 people and these are 24 very unique and very special, hardworking ladies to me; my second family!

I set my new goals, having all the details I needed to know what my business needed to survive and sustain the financial pressure I was suddenly under. I focused on the outcome and reassured my team that everything would be ok, despite me not even knowing if it would be. I remember grouping them together and saying, nothing for us will change, our jobs are safe and the business will be fine. I included them in helping me continue that positive momentum, and gave them the reassurance they needed at that moment in time.

Once everyone is secure it alleviates a lot of worry. This also helped my own personal reassurance as they would text me with encouragement and that in hand continued the momentum back and forth between the team and poured over into supporting our clients online.

On a financial basis I tried to be as creative as possible and I pursued leads I hadn’t had time to whilst the business was open and I developed Myskincare @ home as a brand. Taking over 7 months for this to manufacture and deliver, I have to say it was a great exciting project to distract me and especially that no one knew except my team. So as prototypes came and samples of our different devices it was lovely to have them try it and get excited alongside me when we identified what items made the cut.

It only took one or two corporate sales, lead from social media to see the potential in driving new ideas. Christmas despite being closed for most of our festive season, was a success driven by a new aspect of the business; corporates gifting through local businesses. I didn’t realise how many of my clients lead massive teams and were happy to support me and my team and all offered to gift through us. This is the momentum that launched our @home devices.

This helped my confidence loads and I was able to catch up on some of my rent and bills that I had on hold. After that the reassurance I gave my clients that we would be back also reassured us, as their messages flowed in saying they would and wait as long as it took! They encouraged us even further and shopped local for all their hair and beauty needs online.

My online shop started to really take off and that made me focus on the positive things I actually had control over as opposed to what I couldn’t control. This momentum brought so many other opportunities and businesses started to reach out to us to say they would like us to stock their brands. We were given larger margins to work with and salons and clinics requested to stock our lasted MySkincare @ Home devices.

Judith had a massive part to play in continuing my momentum, we virtually connected every second Thursday and it made me accountable and ensured me to tick off my actions towards my goals, by our next meeting. I remember the very first action after our first virtual meeting was, find a good reliable courier. I was operating for 13 years but never really developed the online side of the business and always had used our postal service for most of our orders. Now to think I have created a whole new dimension of the business, that requires its own team, personal courier Paul and a rebuild of our website as it expanded massively.

It was a minefield taking those first steps. I’m not going to portray it was easy because I felt like I was holding my breath for months, maybe close to a full year but now I thank myself for stepping through it. For having the courage to continue the momentum and I know there are so many more doors to open from my consistent hard work and my team supporting me. I’m excited to get my businesses back open, especially my Clinic in Cows Lane, which was only just a dream in my head 12 months ago, but despite the obstacles I created opportunities and against all odds I know they will be a massive success.

Momentum is everything, if we worry, we will have more worries, if we begin create opportunities, more opportunities will come and that’s how the world evolves, relationships included. It doesn’t mean I don’t worry I just don’t tend to feed that worry if someone says to me, ‘OMG you must be so worried with your business closed’, I replace it with ahh it will make me appreciate it when I go back and it’s giving me the chance to develop elements of the business I never would have had time for. I’ve learned from being through this pandemic, a recession in my early years of business all whilst rearing a family, that you can reinvent yourself many times in this life. I always try to conquer the challenge and to me this is living and being grateful I was brought up to have so much stamina.

I plan to continue the momentum and see where it takes me. Intention goes where energy flows.

I’m a busy mum of two, a secondary school teacher, a guidance councillor and coach to teenagers and parents. One of the questions I hear often is ‘are we ever going to adapt to the new norm in schools’?

My answer is yes, but we as the parents and guardians have a big part to play in helping our children settle back into school, in reducing their fears, acknowledging their anxieties and ensuring them that they are safe and together we will all get through this.

“If children feel safe, they can take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings, and grow.”

Alfie Kohn

As a parent, I worry about the unknown who doesn’t but we can’t focus on the unknown we need to focus on the now, the present moment and our children’s health and wellbeing. Their mental health and wellbeing is as important as their physical health. The work of education is divided between the teacher, the environment in the school and the student’s home.

We as parents and guardians need to manage our own fears and anxieties to ensure our children don’t carry that burden on their shoulders, we need to teach our children how to mind themselves and others while encouraging them to be children and teens and to live their lives the best they can in these strange times. Yes, this is easier said than done but we must try, those little or big ears are taking in everything on they hear on the news and around them.

Since Covid I have worked with a number of young children and teens, today their biggest fear is “killing their parents or grandparents from giving them COVID”. My heart breaks for them and fears for the other children who are internalising these fears. As adults most of us have the skills to cope with these thoughts and feelings, our children don’t so let’s help them through this difficult time as much as we can.

Firstly, shower your child with love and affection, tell them they are safe, hug them, hold their hand they need to know physical contact with our loved ones is ok. Talk to them, encourage open conversations about what is going on in their lives and the world around us, when you are talking to them be present and fully attentive, ensuring they feel heard.

Second, we must mention phones and social media, we could talk for hours about the positives and negative implications our phones are having on our lives but now is not the time, one thing we know for sure is we need to be mindful of how much time our children are spending on their phones and various social media platforms. It is our responsibility to monitor this and to instill positive habits around phones use. We also need to leave my example.

Third, a simple yet powerful tool positive praise, this is one of the most effective tools to build their self-esteem. Having healthy self-esteem is really important as it helps our children make positive choices in their everyday life and helps them deal with difficult situations like Covid and the changes to their life at present. Praise your children for how well they are doing in school and extracurricular activities.

Other tools we can use to help our children during this difficult time: simple Meditation, meditation is a fabulous tool for children of all ages, it can be a little a 1 minute but it will help them slow down, be present and notice what’s going on for them. Worry stones for younger children put these in their school bags so they can use when they feel overwhelmed in school.

A balanced healthy lifestyle is crucial for all of us especially in this difficult time, children need fresh air, to exercise daily, ensure they have a balanced diet, drinking lots of water throughout the day and finally sleep, leave the phones downstairs and ensure they are getting a good night’s sleep.

Finally, teach them how to be present, you must lead by example take a moment each day with them to be present and expressing gratitude for something in your lives that day,

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”

Alice Morse Earle

Instagram: @emsguidance
Website: www.emsguidance.com
Email: emma@emsguidance.com