The quality of questions I’ve been receiving has been incredible and leads me beyond the easy answers from my body knowledge into your body’s knowledge. Many of the questions cover topics found in the Table of Contents of my book, Body Knowledge System®.

Here are your questions answered:

Q. What do you mean by “practice”? Is it about communicating with your body?

A. Practice means a habit, an ongoing exchange of information between me and my body. Since my first love is dancing, one form of communication between my body and me is spontaneous motion. Moving my body quiets my brain and allows me to hear my body’s information. PLUS it brings us both JOY!

-Penny S, Newark, DE

Q. Events? Environment? And my body?

A. Those three words appear to have no association with each other—until you acknowledge the impact the first two have on the third, your body. The only control any of us has is over our self and how we respond to events in our environment. Stuff happens, and our response determines the outcome. Your body’s intelligence guarantees a successful outcome—only when you access it.

-Ella F,

Portland, OR

Q. My environment is beyond my control for now, so how can I apply your system to make it my system?

A. Your environment can support or defeat you if you are unaware of or ignore the affect it has on your body. Women particularly have environmental changes forced upon them with their various roles as professionals, homemakers, hosts, and guests. As with everything else in your personal body knowledge system, benefiting from your environment begins with communicating with your body’s intelligence.

-Gina M, Paris, IN

In order to solve a problem, first you have to identify it as a problem.

As a special invitation to you, I’m putting together a small, intimate group of 9 people and together, I’ll show you exactly how to:

• lose weight (and keep it off),
• get off your meds (for good),
• and how to enjoy every moment of every day . . .

So you lose weight, have greater esteem, feel lighter, and live where movement is part of your day

This is an exclusive invite so there’s only one way into the group. And that’s to have a conversation with me!

I’ve got a few time slots available here. This is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and I expect these slots to fill very quickly. Make your appointment now to get on your way to becoming a better you and in the meantime, take a look at what you could be learning!

Share Tags: Body Image, Mind Body Connection

FACT:  Events occurring in June contain four of the top ten anxiety inducing situations (marriage, family changes, debt and travel).  When you’re stressed, your body has one of these three reactions:

• Freeze, Flee, or Fight. 

Regardless of your specific response to stress inducers, your body’s reaction is always an extra dose of cortisol which slooooooowwwwwssssss your metabolism almost to a stop.

The result? FAT!

Celery or Chocolate Éclairs: regardless of what you eat, when you are stressed, you will get the most “bang” possible from every bite.

How ironic that when you want to look your best for an upcoming event, your body betrays you.

No! NOT TRUE! It is YOU who betrays your BODY!

The Body Knowledge System® is the Stress Solution for Event Anxiety.

1)      Body talk keeps it real.

2)      Comfortable clothes create confidence, enhance enjoyment, and reduce stress!

3)      Make each event easy on yourself…you are a guest, not the main attraction.

Client Story

Dahlia felt her stomach tighten as soon as she saw the return address embossed on the creamy linen envelope containing an invitation to her niece’s elaborate June wedding in Beverly Hills, CA. Aware of the upcoming event for months, she had dreaded this moment due to the family’s expectations.  Her hand shook as she stared at the RSVP card. Taking a deep breath, she reached for her copy of the Body Knowledge System®. Flipping it open to page 288, she read the introduction to the “Events & You” chapter. Her heartbeat slowed as she continued reading the reassuring words and the notations she had made in the margins. By page 308, she felt her smile return as she reviewed her notes addressing this event. Those notes were a product of her rediscovery of a real relationship with her body and the deep friendship that had been developing since she began to practice the Body Knowledge System® with her coach, Stephanie Wood, PPC.

Remember: Whether it’s a family event, or a networking opportunity, or a party with total strangers, or people you really don’t want to be with, BKS has a hot flash for you:  JUST SAY NO, THANK YOU!  And feel your anxiety slip away…taking the cortisol with it.

As an alternative, send a gift, and spend the day at the beach, the movies, or with a good book.

If you would like to have a conversation with me, please contact me, or if you would like to be in a free group tele-class, learn more here.

Share Tags: Body Image, Body Relationship, Eating Healthy, Reducing Stress

I get a lot of questions on “What is Cortisol and Why is it Making Me Fat?”

Well, cortisol is a hormone and when stressed these levels rise. Cortisol will increase blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and suppresses the immune system, which is part of the body’s fight-or-flight response. It has two effects on weight. At first it suppresses the appetite in order to do battle ‘fight or flight’, but then afterwards the cortisol will increase your appetite and store fat trying to get your body back into what it thinks is balance. It is thinking you should have used up the extra carbohydrates and fat while ‘fleeing’. It can also slow down your metabolism.

So you can be doing everything right as far as eating and exercise and still not be loosing weight do to stress and cortisol.

Here are some things to consider …

When your body is holding emotional and physical stress….your body is in defense so it produces again a hormone called cortisol. This will not harm you and what it will do is make your body hold onto unnecessary weight and make you feel ‘heavy.’

Now, with practice you can help yourself. You have to move with your body and acknowledge what she/he is feeling. Move your body. In this way the feeling will be less intense, and therefore move out of your body (thereby feeling lighter)…and when you feel lighter you make better choices in all areas of your life.

Cultivating optimum health is a way to support the intelligence of the body. When your body and emotions function optimally, you are better equipped to turn around the body’s stress drug—cortisol—converting it rather than storing it. Maintaining a state of mental and emotional well being boosts your immune system. When your immune system isn’t working properly, your body holds on to cortisol, increasing the tendency to store fat. The body thinks she needs to fill herself up to respond to stress. If you keep developing internal health, other aspects of health are likely to follow.

Make sure you are doing the right things to keep you healthy and as stress-free as possible.

Let me know if you found this post helpful.

Share Tags: Body Image, Body Relationship, weight loss