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An 8-week course to help you dissolve stress.

My friend and fellow-teacher Rachel Posner is going to be offering her incredible course Your Brain on Mindfulness: 8 Weeks to Dissolve Stress, Build Resilience and Thrive. I love Rachel’s work. She’s an incredible teacher, really knows her stuff, and I think will get a great course if you register.

Rachel and her family just spent two years in Spain during the same time that me and my family were living in France. Rachel and I even did a workshop about reducing stress for the holidays together.

I wanted to help her spread the word about her course and would encourage you to take a look.

Your Brain on Mindfulness: 8 Weeks to Dissolve Stress, Build Resilience and Thrive

A course by Rachel Posner

This is the online course for people who want to permanently reduce stress.

Launches on September 28th, 2020

Learn more/Register

Register before Saturday and type earlybird when it asks you if you have a coupon and get $200 off!

Does This Sound Familiar?

I often feel stressed and overwhelmed.

I lose patience with myself and my friends and family more than I want to admit.

I beat myself up for not being or doing “enough”.

I know there’s a lot of good in my life and a ton to be grateful for, but I’m too stressed to pay attention to any of it.

You deserve to feel calm, present and happy in your life. Your Brain on Mindfulness is what you've been looking for.

Your Brain on Mindfulness is a comprehensive online course designed to completely shift your relationship to the stressors in your life. We'll work with evidence-based practices that help you feel calm, even when life is chaotic. These mindfulness techniques will create lasting change and support you in feeling more calm, present and happy.

Your Brain on Mindfulness

Your Brain on Mindfulness: 8 Weeks to Dissolve Stress, Build Resilience and Thrive by Rachel Posner

Buy for $695

Buy for 2 payments of $350

Your Brain on Mindfulness: 8 Weeks to Dissolve Stress, Build Resilience and Thrive

This is the online course for people who want to permanently reduce stress.

Launches on September 28th, 2020

Are you ready to find calm amidst the chaos?

Make Real Change

Commit to your own well-being

Enroll Now

Does This Sound Familiar?

I often feel stressed and overwhelmed.
I lose patience with myself and my friends and family more than I want to admit.
I beat myself up for not being or doing “enough”.
I know there’s a lot of good in my life and a ton to be grateful for, but I’m too stressed to pay attention to any of it.

You deserve to feel calm, present and happy in your life. Your Brain on Mindfulness is what you've been looking for.

"It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it."

- Hans Selye

Lots of people teach classes to help you relax. Relaxation techniques are definitely important, but they’re not enough.

I’ve spent the last 20 years helping people reduce stress and be more happily engaged in their lives and I know what it takes to truly change your stress response. If you want to create lasting change, you need to approach stress from a variety of angles.

The solution isn’t to get rid of stressors, but to change the way we respond and relate to those stressors.
I’ll teach you techniques to rewire your brain to handle stress differently so that you stop paying so much attention to what isn’t working and instead focus on what’s already great in your life.

Truly the nicest thing I’ve done for myself in this lifetime.

"Your Brain on Mindfulness was like a curated tour through my brain that allowed me to stop and re-wire synapses along the way. Rachel’s presence created a safe place for me to laugh, cry, discover and nurture my best self. Truly the nicest thing I’ve done for myself in this lifetime."

Corbin / Musician

Have you said any of these things lately?

I yelled at my daughter in the grocery store yesterday and then felt totally embarrassed and ashamed.
I’m burned out and I’m tired of taking care of everyone else. What about me?
Lately I feel nervous or even scared for no good reason.
If one more person tells me to take a deep breath, I’m going to scream.
I feel like nothing I do is good enough.
I really wish I hadn’t said that to my husband last night. I just lose my temper so quickly and it’s like I don’t have control over what comes out of my mouth.
I just can’t catch up. It feels like there is never enough time in a day.
On a stress scale of 1-10, I wake up at a 3 or 4 and by the time I get to work, I’m already at a 5 or 6.
I’m just not as patient as I used to be.
I feel like I’m always behind and can never catch up.
I’m so tired all the time. I’m always up late trying to get stuff done but when I lay down, I either can’t fall asleep or I can’t stay asleep. It seems like as soon as I close my eyes, there are a stream of worries bombarding me.

"No matter how educated or wealthy you are if you don’t have peace of mind, you won’t be happy."

-Dalai Lama

Find more ease in your life

We all have stressors in our lives - in fact stress is at an all time high and America ties for #4 on the list of the worlds most stressed-out nations. In other words, our exposure to stress isn't going to change. But how we experience that stress can change. The practices in this course will help you:

Feel Calmer

Decrease your stress and anxiety levels
Feel safer and more at peace
Breath better
Wake up in the morning feeling more rested and less stressed
Be less reactionary and have more control over you temper
Stay calm even when life gets intense or chaotic

Feel More Compassionate

Take better care of yourself
Feel less self-judgement and self-doubt
Feel more self-compassion and self-confidence
Be more patient with yourself and others
Feel more compassionate and less angry towards others
Feel less “burn-out” - drained by the pain of others and the state of the world

Feel More Joyful

Feel more connected to yourself and others
Notice life’s small but beautiful moments throughout the day
Pay more attention to what is wonderful about your life and focus on nourishing and growing what you love.
Embrace all of it!

By decreasing stress we are able to grow what we love about our lives and change what no longer serves us.

Rachel’s offerings are an indelible resource to longtime practitioners as well as the newbie.

"Rachel’s course synthesized information for me in a way that made complex and challenging material accessible. Her depth of knowledge shines through experiential activities thoughtfully assembled and presented with warmth and authenticity. Rachel’s offerings are an indelible resource to longtime practitioners as well as the newbie."

Steve / Psychotherapist

Join Me

Enjoy learning from the comfort of your own home.

Enroll Now

So how do we do it?

How do you embrace your life so that you can both address your stressors and challenges head-on AND keep growing what’s already good? The answer is not one-size fits all.
Sometimes we need to build our stores of self-compassion, sometimes, we need to work with practices that take us out of our fight/flight/freeze response and calm our nervous system and sometimes we need to track the underlying patterns that got us here in the first place.

Your Brain on Mindfulness is a unique approach to mindfulness that takes YOUR mind/body/brain into account. You’ll explore a comprehensive range of practices that will help you gain understanding and perspective so that you can get grounded, build resilience and thrive!

Rachel Posner MA, C-IAYT, ERYT-500

This course is the culmination of my 20 years of teaching yoga, practicing yoga therapy and counseling, and designing and guiding wellness courses and retreats.

With so many courses out there, what makes this one different?

I excel at taking complicated information from yoga, mindfulness, neuroscience and psychology, and presenting them to you in a way that is easily digestible and actionable.
I’ve created a unique blend of evidence-based practices that will rewire your brain to handle stress differently so that you can focus on growing states of calm, presence and joy.
You’ll learn the “why” and “how” of the practices. When you understand why a practice works, it increases your belief and confidence in the practice itself. The mind is extremely powerful and studies show that when we believe in something, it works better. YOUR understanding and belief in the practice will make it more effective and the change more significant and long lasting.
I’ve been teaching this course live for years and can say with absolute confidence that it works!

Curriculum

Module 1

Your Brain on Mindfulness:The Big Picture

Module 2

Finding Your Center:
Practices To Turn Off Your Fight / Flight Response

Module 3

Deep Calm:
Reversing The Negative Effects Of Stress

Module 4

Self Awareness:
Grounding In The Power Of YOU

Module 5

Self-Care:
The Art Of Paying Attention

Module 6

Compassion:
The Neural Networks that Build Happiness

Module 7

From Compassion to Optimism:
The Neuroplasticity Of A Cup 1/2 Full

Module 8

Where Do We Go From Here?

What does it look like?

Every Monday morning you'll receive a new module filled with the exact lessons, tools and practices you need to start changing the way you deal with stress.

You'll receive additional emails throughout the week with reflection questions, poems, articles, bonus practices and inspirations.

Online does not mean unsupported. Through office hours and email support, a private facebook group, live chats and optional add-on sessions I'll be here to guide you through the process.

I am full of gratitude to Rachel for being my mentor, my guide and my brain’s best advocate.

"I have enjoyed the physical and psychological benefits of a yoga practice for over a decade, but it was Rachel Posner’s “Your Brain on Mindfulness” class which brought into sharper focus, the latest neuroscience research available to enhance my practice, calm my mind and enlighten my interactions in the world. Rachel shared the latest scientific evidence showing how one can actually create new “grooves in the brain” to interact in this increasingly chaotic world in a more complete, calm and healthy manner. Through examination of the research, class interaction and practice, Rachel shared how it is possible to consciously change our brains through meditation and mindfulness in order to create a more open, accepting, positive and joyful frame of mind. I am full of gratitude to Rachel for being my mentor, my guide and my brain’s best advocate."

Sally / Retired Librarian

Is this course really for you?

Changing your relationship to stress takes commitment. If you don’t think you are ready to carve out time each day this is not the course for you. I recommend you:

Take 15-20 minutes a day to explore mindfulness meditation practices.
Turn practice into action by consistently implementing what you are learning throughout your day with 3-5 minutes "practice pauses".

I want to be clear that without actually practicing these techniques, you won’t likely see results. Please make sure that you are at a time in your life that you want and are ready to commit to a regular mindfulness practice, so that you can create the changes you desire.

REFUND POLICY

I believe this course is highly effective and am committed to offering you with a valuable and positive experience. That said, I know that it may not be for everyone. Therefore a full refund is available if you notify me via email, rachel@rachelposner.com by October 5. After that deadline no refunds will be permitted. No exceptions. Before requesting a refund, please go through the module 1 lessons and practices to ensure that this course is not the right fit for you.

Learn more/Register

Register before Saturday and type earlybird when it asks you if you have a coupon and get $200 off!

My friend and fellow teacher, Rachel Posner, wrote something wonderful that I really wanted to pass along about fear and the neuroscience of fear. I have a deep respect for her work. Please take a look.

Reposted with permission.

This blog is not about influencing how you feel about the coronavirus. It’s not about giving you any facts, numbers, percentages or travel advice. And it’s not about comparing your chances of getting the virus to getting another flu, SARS, or any other disease for that matter. All I want to do is help you feel more relaxed so that you can gain perspective and approach the news with a clear head. Because the news is sensational! It’s about grabbing your attention. And what all reporters know is that nothing grabs our attention as quickly as fear. We are simply wired to pay attention to fear. Your brain spends the whole day looking for danger and then works to protect you from it. Unfortunately, your brain is not as discerning as it should be and is easily scared and prone to making up stories. Like an overprotective parent, it tries to protect you when you don’t need protecting and gets you to make decisions that aren’t always in your best interest.

If you’re feeling stressed about the coronavirus, or really anything for that matter, I recommend you check in with your nervous system. Why? Because when you’re in the fight/flight/freeze response, you can't see clearly; literally or figuratively. When you get scared or anxious, often your sympathetic nervous system turns on, narrowing or blurring your vision, sending adrenaline and cortisol into your system and readying you to act. But if you don’t “act” or you feel that there’s nothing you can “act” on, you can get stuck in the fight/flight/freeze response.

Let me give you an example:

You’re 2 hours into, “breaking news” on the television or you’ve clicked on the “coronavirus live update” for the 10th time today and you’re starting to get really worried. What started out as a natural curiosity and concern has shifted to perseverating thoughts, bodily discomfort and tension and fear for yourself and your loved ones. If you’ve made it to this stage, the likelihood is high that you have entered into the stress response. Because your limbic system is highly activated, the perspective taking and decision making networks in your brain are offline making it difficult to think and act appropriately. Your system is flooded with cortisol and adrenaline, you’ve got tunnel vision, unable to see the big picture and your immune and digestive systems (along with all the other non-emergency systems) are suppressed. You’re stuck in a chronic stress response and you are likely in a state of fear. Which brings me to the point I want to make today:

The power of fear is a greater threat than the coronavirus.

Fear suppresses your immune system, narrows your perspective, stops you from making good decisions, increases anxiety and bodily tension, causes emotional dysregulation and premature aging (just to name a few).

So if you really want to protect yourself from coronavirus, be informed without being inundated. When we act we build resilience and confidence. So in terms of the virus, follow all of the WHO’s recommended protective measures: wash hands frequently, avoid touching your face, practice respiratory hygiene, pay attention to the general advisories, and most importantly, be discerning when it comes to the information you are taking in.

You do not need to have the news on all night, or read 37 articles a day to stay informed and follow precautions.

Once you understand what you can do to act, it’s time to practice mindfulness.

Here are 5 tips to help you get a handle on fear:

1. When you’re feeling stressed, take a pause and get mindful. Acknowledge that you are stressed, and pause to notice what’s happening in your mind and body. Just name it: I’m noticing a feeling of……. You don’t have to get wrapped up in the story, you are just naming how you feel without judging it. Acknowledging thoughts and emotions can help us to become observers of those thoughts and emotions. Notice the difference between how it feels to say, “I am noticing a feeling of fear” versus, “I’m afraid”.

2. Get Grounded. Notice the places in your body that are in contact with support (the ground, a chair, couch, bed, etc.) As you exhale, let the weight of your body drop down into that support. Cultivate a feeling of weightiness and grounding. Take a few more breaths staying focused on those contact points. Getting grounded helps your thoughts to settle and can interrupt and decrease worrying.

3. Notice the way you are breathing. Begin by lengthening your exhale. Make the exhale at least as long as your inhale - longer if it’s comfortable. Then notice if you feel most of your inhale in your chest. Try to drop the breath down and expand your belly as you inhale so that you are engaging your diaphragm. A diaphragmatic breath followed by a long exhale will activate your parasympathetic nervous system and turn on your relaxation response.

4. Notice the sensations in your body. Move from your feet to the crown of your head, one body part at a time and consciously notice any sensations that are present. Paying attention to the sensations in your body can deepen the mind/body connection, distract your mind from cyclical thoughts and help inhibit the stress response.

5. Place a hand on your heart or your cheek and bring in a feeling of self-care and self-compassion; a genuine wish to alleviate your suffering. If it feels difficult to offer yourself compassion, bring to mind someone you care for deeply and imagine that you are sending them love and compassion. You are not focusing on suffering itself, only a genuine desire to be free from suffering. Compassion inhibits the stress response and activates networks in your brain involved in perspective taking and decision making. It can also release oxytocin and dopamine, leaving your feeling happier.

If you’d like a little help, you can open this audio meditation and I’ll guide you through it.

Some of you have asked about the Costa Rica retreat. It is still on! If I can help alleviate your fears, don’t hesitate to reach out!

That said, I am on my way to a Vipassana retreat and will be completely offline from March 11-22. If you have questions about the retreat I will happily respond when I return or click here to email my retreat partner Beck.

Wishing you a calm, fear-free day, and so much love!

Rachel

https://www.rachelposner.com/blog