Want to Extend Your Life Expectancy?

I just got my free bus pass. Not sure when I will use it but great just to have it! I do use my train pass though and get a bit miffed when they don’t ask me to give proof of my age! And we get reduced seat prices at the cinema. This old age pensioner lark is a hoot! And my whole sense of time was totally reframed this year when during our time in India in January we were introduced to a 122 year old Yogi. And this man – Swami Buaji (he is proclaimed to be the greatest living exponent of Hatha Yoga and has met people like Winston Churchill, Gandhi, Mohammed Ali, Bertrand Russell…. the late Shah of Iran). And we met him as he had just returned from New York where he has been living and working for the past 60 years to restart the Yoga business in India that he left at that time. Well my time line just shot out of sight as a result of just being with him! And he was no quiet little old man. In fact I think that based on his interaction with Spence my husband I think he must be Frank Farrelly’s Grandfather. He could out provoke anyone I know!

Strictly Wonderful

Thanks to a great birthday present from my Master Prac group last December, this week I had a dance lesson with Ian Waite of Strictly Come Dancing fame. What joy! I loved every moment of it. In one hour we did the Waltz, the Quickstep, the Cha Cha, the Jive and he even taught me the basic steps of the Tango…the Tango!!! It was wonderful.

And Ian's teaching was superb. Oustanding rapport and example were the keys to his style. I think that some of his charm just does not come over on TV. He is so engaging. Do you get the impression that I rather liked him!! Anyway there were many gems in his teaching and one that rang especially true was that you have to have the fundamentals e.g. the rise and fall, the body posture, the rhythm in order to learn the steps and the technicalities of any dance. And what was interesting was that with one shift of posture in the Cha Cha; the straightening of the leading leg I found it generated the whole 'haughty' attitude of the Cha Cha; that is not quite the right word for it so if you can think of a better word then do let me know… I must say though that after one hour I felt as if I had run a marathon and Ian did not even have one drip of perspiration! Thank you so much Master Prac group!

If you want to join a dance lesson there we can give you details or come along to our Ballroom dancing session at our Alumni Reunion in June.

Some Dates for Your Diary

NLP Business Practitioner 4 modules, May–July 2008
NLP Trainer Training 3 modules, Oct–Nov 2008

And…

An Eye for Excellence

I have worn glasses since the age of 11. I have had phases of wearing contact lenses and even struggled with them when the only type that were available were hard ones. I remember a guy I was dancing with on holiday in Spain (when I was in my early twenties I hasten to add!) telling me my eyes were like pools in the night, and I remember thinking, “yes these contact lenses are killing me”. Anyway last week I went to Private Eye Opticians in Epsom owned and run by Suzi Purdy who was one of the delegates on our Intensive Programme in India last October. I struggle when it comes to choosing frames as I can’t see them on myself and I value opinion but find that most opticians might be OK technically but are not great when it comes to advising on style. Well Suzi picked out a frame and they were the ones! I have never had someone so able to select a frame for me with such skill. And not only that but something about the way that Suzi and her colleague chatted with me prompted me to give contact lenses another go. I await my new glasses with excitement and am really enjoying my new experience with lenses. I might not get the pools in the night comment again but I would trade this new found comfort for that comment any day! Now that is what I call rapport and influence. Suzi is moving to Reigate soon so if you want contact details let us know and we will give you her new address and phone number.

… Yet Another Beautiful Venue

Stay in a beautiful villa situated close to a mountain stream that flows down the lower slopes of the Pratomagno Mountains. The Villa, including an adjacent restored farmhouse, contains warm, inviting apartments and rooms, which bear the names of famous Tuscan artists, is also within easy reach of the main Tuscan cities, Arezzo, Florence and Siena.

How about that for an introduction to NLP course… ?

Now you may have already done an intro. But maybe you have a member of your family or a partner who is interested in starting a learning in NLP. And they could do the course while you enjoy the beauty of the region… maybe it is just worth doing the intro again!!! They are never the same! So many of our programmes are filling up as soon as they go online so if you are interested be sure to let us know….

Oh Barnsley We Love You…

Behind every picture is a story. This is my cousin’s son Stephen Foster scoring the first goal that knocked Liverpool out of the FA cup (family won out over traditional ties.. given that my home town was Liverpool). And they went on to knock out Chelsea. Well I knew when I saw him point to the sky in that way that he was dedicating that goal to his Dad, my cousin and virtually younger brother John, who dedicated his life to coaching his sons in football and who died unexpectedly young of leukaemia at age 57 just 2 years ago. I think that perhaps John had a hand in that goal.. Certainly Stephen thought so and he said it was a very emotional moment.. and it took him almost 10 minutes to get back into balance again for the rest of the game…

And how about this for Outcome Thinking from one of my Distance Learning students…

Dear Sue,

I wanted to share a moment of magic with you - which I believe was conjured by the effects of hearing your interview on the podcast! 'Audio' is my primary filter so any relationship is strongly influenced by that aspect. I was so open to hearing what you had to say that when I followed my listening with working on your feedback to my outcomes, the resonation was strong enough to open an internal channel or tune to one of my inner stations.

I sat for a time with my analytical function-mode and that was rather uninspiring - so then I sat with how I could see myself living my outcome -(to be in a new place) and the oddest image popped up - there I was, happy as a pig in the proverbial, riding a jaunty SCOOTER! I felt light, mobile, sitting upright, zipping around easily and very pleased with meself and all the things I could do so easily on my new mode of transport! I was so happy! So happy that I decided to take my niece and the dog out for dessert at a little café down the road -and never mind that it was a school night - we'd be back in good time to get her a good night's rest. We fairly skipped down the road and after buying Lola her portable pudding, it was across the street to the little outdoor café for my coffee.

A woman had been smiling at Lola and Puccini (the little dog) and she crossed the road, walking in front of us. I noticed she was wearing a kind of motorbike jacket and THEN I saw a design on the back of the jacket that read SCOOTER GIRLS! So, I hurried up to her and asked if the design was just for fashion - or, because she was involved with scooters. Well, not only was she a keen member of the Scooter Girls Club here, she was also headed for the same coffee bar so she gave me all the info and enthusiasm and encouragement I could ask for - HAVING JUST WRITTEN THIS TINY TINY OUTCOME NOT HALF AN HOUR BEFORE! And, she is a nurse by profession, so it's not as if I chanced upon someone who isn't aware of the pros and cons in her daily working life. She and the other ladies were gathering to take notes on the film 'Quadrophenia' for their Mods party here in SF next week!

And Audio Reigns

I loved doing the podcast on Productivity. Expect another soon. And my CD on coaching excellence

Sue