Lots of stalls where present who showed ideas, strategies or products that support a healthy lifestyle and at the same time live in tune with nature, reduce or avoid waste and overall be more sustainable.

Transition Guidance was represented through the Nuad Thai Academy – providing FREE Foot Massage during the whole duration of the festival.

Almost 100 people put their name down to get in the draw and win the Introductory Offer, the signature Package that gives an overview and an impression of the Nuad Thai Academy‘s specialty:

Nuad Thai – Traditional Thai Yoga Massage
Head Over Heels - Hand, Feet and Head Massage
Nuad Thai Aroma Oil Massage and a
Personal Energy Assessment

All together 2 hours of relaxation and balance, valued at $125!

The lucky winner is announced here.

physical, mental and spiritual/emotional

Stretching your BODY

If you exercise, stretching is (or should be) an essential part of your workout. Some classes focus solely on stretching, because of the enormous benefits it has on the body. By stretching a muscle, you allow it to lengthen, which sometimes is all it takes to get the tension out of the muscle.

If you stretch your spine, it allows the vertebraes to re-adjust on each other and to get back in alignment.

Take it easy if you just start out. Beginners want to stretch in the four major directions: forward, backward and sideways. For people with back problems, an easy cat-stretch (where you are on your hands and knees and roll your back up and down like a cat) is a great release.

People who are advanced may find benefit in yoga classes, where stretching is given for almost every asana (yoga position).

Stretching your MIND

Stretching the mind involves some so-called ‘Level-2-thinking’. This means that you do something new or differently; something that stretches you out of your comfort zone.

Level 2 is everything that you have not done before and that feels like a challenge in the beginning.

Public speaking is a big stretch for many people, for example, as is change.

What is it that you can do to put some more level-2-thinking in your life? You will be amazed, how quickly you will get adjusted to this level until the point, where it is no longer a stretch (and level-2 becomes level-1).

In Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this would correlate with quadrant 2: important, not urgent. for people in business this is the quadrant that is the most important for the business, because this is what will make it grow.

Generally stretching the mind is what helps us grow – personally and professionally. And it helps us to stay relaxed.

Considering everything mankind knows about aerodynamics and the proportion of wings to the body, the bumble-bee would not be able to fly. But the bumble-bee does not know and does not care and flies anyway.

Stretching the SPIRIT

“The sky is the limit”.

How often have you heard this saying, yet never really could believe in it?

Stretching the spirit is all about giving yourself the permission to think and dream big. What would be possible for you if you had no fear? What if you knew that whatever you did, you would succeed?

A stretched spirit is going beyond what everybody thinks is possible. Like Roger Bannister, who ran the first 4-minute mile. Nobody even thought that it was possible, until one day Roger just did it. Amazingly, since then a four-minute mile is not even an issue for young sports students. It has become a ‘normal’ achievement, not even recognised as something special any more.

Stretching the spirit can also mean to be the one to practice forgiveness for example, if that is something that you would not normally do.

What can you do to stretch your spirit? What is an emotion that does not come easily to you, yet would make the biggest impact on your performance or in your relationship?

Stretch your spirit once a day and experience the difference this has on your whole life.

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.

Chinese Proverb

Stretch yourself to who you really are and let go of the stress of trying to be what, who or how you (or even worse: others!) think you should be.

Are you feeling …

…stressed or overwhelmed?
…stuck or out of alignment?
…burned out or of low energy?

Are you concerned about…

…your ability to perform to your usual personal or professional standard?
…your lack of concentration, memory or learning difficulties?
…social isolation, an urge to withdraw from social activities or communicational challenges?
…unexplainable moodiness, depression, constant fatigue, allergic reactions or rashes, eczema or itches?
…reduced libido, temper or frustration, feelings of loneliness or not being worthy?
…hallucination, sleeplessness or nightmares?

If you recognise some of the above symptoms in your life, here are the good news:

Your body, mind and spirit are giving you signals that either or all of them are out of balance and need some time (and maybe support) to even themselves out.  In order to do that it is important to have a rest, listen to your self talk, observe your emotions and look at the signals of your body. That way the relevant part can do its work, respectively all three work together symbiotically.

The real reason for an imbalance of body, mind and spirit always comes back to one of three causes:

• physical stress (tensions and blockages in your body)
• mental stress (draining thoughts and limiting beliefs that seem to run around in circles, drag you down and make you feel powerless, weak or tired)
• spiritual/emotional stress (when you seem to be controlled by your emotions rather than being in control of them, when there is a conflict in your values or a lack of purpose)

Often a stress in one area is the reason for tension or blockages in another, because they are interconnected and feed from each other.

This is why Transition Guidance looks at the whole person and offers a holistic approach to reducing stress, improving your overall wellbeing and supporting relaxation for the body, the mind and the spirit.

What we do:

We balance and relax

body, mind and spirit.

We guide

through transition by choice or necessity.

We empower

to live an authentic life with purpose

We connect

you with your inner resources

and with like-minded people

“Have you heard there is a recession? – Townsville is not participating!”

Those are the words I recently saw on a sticker on a car. Now I know that the owner of the car is the regional director and the printer of the sticker is a member of a powerful referral networking group that I personally belong to too, and that this quote represents the attitude of most of BNI‘s members anyway.

However, I also noticed that not every person in business in Townsville (or elsewhere) is aware of that – yet.

Is there a recession?
Townsville Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Centre organised a networking event with an economist, when the hype was at a high. Steven Shepherd, Chief Economist for the Yellow Pages, explained the participants which numbers and KPI (key performance indicators) would indicate a recession.

Although I am not really familiar with economic specifications, I did grasp that neither Townsville specifically nor Queensland or Australia in general match recession indicators. So far so good.

So why all that excitement …
in the media about recession? Well, you may have guessed it already – because it sells of course!

Good for newspapers, online and TV channels. And good for ‘effecters’. “What is an effecter?”, you might ask.

What is an ‘effecter?
An ‘effecter’ is what I call a person who is living ‘at effect’. A person who lives at effect is always re-acting to people and events. They are almost always (and this is the only exception for them to be pro-active!) on the lookout for reason and excuses for why they are not succeeding or are not achieving their goals.

Recognising an ‘effecter’
You hear them say things like: “If it wasn’t for my husband/wife/children/boss/parents/friends/environment/teacher/the economy…. I would be/do/have….my ideal weight/my dream job/a bigger house/boat/car/whatever….., but because of ..[pick any supposed scapegoat].., I don’t.”

The consequence
For effecters, the media always offer the perfect alibi. Lately the ‘recession’ came in very handy as an excuse not to achieve targets or perform as expected. But unfortunately both sides, employees and employers  are only fooling themselves by blaming outside circumstances.
Pointing outside oneself, finding reasons and excuses and always blaming external circumstances means giving away power. It also causes people  to feel helpless, overwhelmed, out of control and dependent or vulnerable, which again results in internal and unconscious conflicts. Then again internal or unconscious conflict is among the Top-Ten causes to experience stress.

Living ‘at Cause’
Now while it is always convenient to point outside, the real cause can never be found externally.

The secrets of people who achieve their personal and professional goals are simple:

1. They always have one more reason why they can than excuses why they can’t.
This means that they do not stress about the things that they can’t change (everything that is outside their direct sphere of influence), do their best to change what is within reach and usually have the awareness to distinguish one from the other.

2. If possible, they avoid the news or choose carefully
When at age 16 I told my father that I am neither reading the local paper nor watch or listen to the news on TV or radio, he nearly fainted and fell off his chair. Although apart from a few exceptions I stuck with my statement (and still do), news that are somehow important to me, always find a way to come to my attention. This can be through friends or colleagues, a forwarded e-mail or an article or comment I stumble upon during an online research.

This might seem a bit extreme, but consider only to read information that directly and immediately impacts you or your business or that you choose to act on. What would be left if you chose to only read, listen to or watch news that match the following criteria:
a) they relate to a subject you (need or choose to) study in order to make a decision
b) they concern something you can (and want to) change
c) they help you to achieve your goals
d) they are is uplifting, positive and encouraging

3. They focus on important and relevant information
Every second, our senses are bombarded with 2 million bits of information per second. Letting all those bits in, would cause our conscious mind to literally overload. We are simply unable to process that much information. It has to be reduced to around 134 bits, which translates to 7 +/- two chunks of information. For example a phone number can have 8-10 bits – the single numbers – which make one chunk.

The rest is deleted, distorted or generalised through internal ‘filters’, like beliefs, memories, values, attitudes, decisions, language and ‘meta-programs’. It influences the triad of Internal Representation (what we think/Mind), State (how we feel/Spirit) and Physiology (the physical expression/Body). This triad is the foundation for our behaviour, our actions and our non-actions.

If you knew that what you focus on is what you get, which five to nine chunks of information would you allow to pass through your filters?

Imagine you’d only let important and relevant information in (and out!), wouldn’t that take a lot of worry and stress out of your life already?

4. They have an own opinion
It is much easier to influence people who rely on or are attracted to sensations, gossip, rumour and scandals than those who have their own view on things and take their lives in their own hands.

Have you ever realised how calm and balanced people seem to be who have their own opinion and know what they are talking about?

If they find a cause worth fighting for which they are passionate about, they become great influencers and often make an impact that can (and does) change the world – like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi or even Oprah Winfrey. Those people are leaders, which means they have followers who often adopt their role model’s opinion.

Having an own opinion can initially be stressful, the more it deviates from the ‘norm’, but as soon as people start to follow, it becomes outstandingly rewarding.

5. They surround themselves with positive energy
Some people get a kick out of spreading or consuming bad news. The front page news are the highlight of the day. They are discussed, circulated, ‘thought through’ and ruminated again and again.

Imagine how much negative energy is multiplied through that kind of action. Maybe you have experienced going to a room where people just had a violent confrontation or even an argument. Couldn’t you just tell by the vibration in the room that something was going on? And didn’t you feel tempted to escape that negative energy as soon as possible?

Studies have shown that patients recover much faster, easier and sustainable after surgery, if the team of surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists talk encouragingly, positively and cheeringly during the patient’s unconsciousness.

There is a saying that we become like the five people we most hang out with.

Would you rather be surrounded by frustration, fear, feelings of scarcity, jealousy and depression or encouragement, support, compassion, up-lifting ideas and reinforcement, inspiration or empowerment? Which are you providing?

And which environment is more likely to provide harmony and relaxation?

Using traditional Thai healing techniques, Transition Guidance combines body treatments with one-on-one coaching to invigorate mind, body and spirit. Specialising in work-life harmony, qualified coach and massage therapist Petra Creutziger’s approach allows wellbeing seekers to let go of the mental and physical blockages that are more-often-than-not caused by stress.

Transition Guidance offers many options for physical and mental stress release, stress management and stress prevention. Some of our treatments include:

• Indian head massage – release tension and eliminate toxins
• Nuad Thai – relax plus treat pain and body imbalances
• Laser coaching – your umbrella on a rainy day
• Discover your purpose – move forward with your life.

Special packages are available for ultimate value.

Take your life back in your hands… make a guided transition.

The Nuad Thai Academy will offer treatments like Indian Head Massage, Nuad Thai and Nuad Tao to complement the wellbeing coaching services and cover the physical side of relaxation.

What coaching is not: it is neither counselling nor therapy or training, although it might contain parts of all and compliment them beautifully.
Recent research has confirmed that training that contains coaching elements is much more effective and sustainable than training without them.

So what is coaching really? And why does it seem to be so difficult to describe? One of the latest definitions I found may explain it:

“Coaching is a solution that is waiting for a problem!”

What does this mean?

Coaching has as many facets as there are challenges out there.

Athletes and sports professionals understood the benefits of coaching long ago. Nowadays being a ‘technician’ is not enough. Talking to Sydney 2000 Beach Gold Medal winner in Beach Volleyball, Natalie Cook, she cemented that she never would have won without the coaching support she had.

Coaching acts as an accelerator for transformation through questioning and challenging beliefs, strategies and choices people making in all areas of their life