Combining EFT With Other Healing Processes

November 16, 2008

One of EFT’s most useful aspects is its flexibility in working with other energy treatments.

Many clinicians’ efforts are to focus their attention on the problem while balancing or remove an obstruction to the body’s energy system. This influences them to combine EFT with other procedures. Other kinds of healing bring better and speedier results when combined with EFT.

Hypnotherapists use EFT while their patients are in trance and ask them to tap on the specific acupoints to intensify the core emotion that causes the problem. This allows the patients to eliminate and neutralize this emotion faster and use their own intuition for healing. By attaining emotional freedom, they return to a natural state of balance and strength. The combination of EFT and hypnosis likewise helps patients boost their confidence and good traits.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) works even better when EFT is infused. With the movements of the eyes, the emotional charge associated with a traumatic experience is easily accessed. However, many patients with risk of destabilization or suicide are not ready for EMDR right away. For better supervision and support, they must make some progress in areas such as tolerating their emotions first. This is where the tapping sessions of EFT come in.

Acupuncture and EFT go by the same principles. They both tackle the meridian acupoints and the flow of energy through the body. However, they differ in the manner of application. While acupuncture uses needles, EFT involves tapping of the fingers. It takes many years for acupuncturists to master their field, and they must be properly licensed. For this, acupuncture cannot be self-administered like the EFT. This is likewise the reason why acupuncturists teach EFT to their patients for home use.

Massage therapists merge it into their job. Working hands-on with the human body in pain, they can feel whether there is an openness or resistance to unwinding the muscular tension. When resistance is felt, they stop massaging and shift to EFT tapping. Once they resume the massage work, the muscles are more loose as compared how it was prior to the tapping.

Making a fear disappear with Reiki, the practitioner positions his hand over the patient in the Distance symbol. This sends Reiki back to the time when the fear first occurred and became a problem. The patient then regresses and changes the past based on how he wanted it to be then and on how he perceives the situation will occur if it happened now. When the patient’s memories get intense and vivid, he diverts to EFT tapping. Then he leads the patient to a pretense, which will let the patient find his real identity resurfacing.

Medical doctors and healing practitioners of all sorts incorporate EFT with the psychotherapeutic alternative cure that they carry out. Emotional Freedom Technique is so versatile that it can complement other procedures grounded by the similar theories and methodology. They are compatible with each other because they share the common goal of freeing the energy system from negative emotions that block the balance of the human body.

Emotional freedom technique eft is a modern, powerful, easy and secure energy

Clinical Hypnosis

November 15, 2008

Clinical Hypnosis is a procedure in which an individual is taught to enter a state of heightened focus, relaxation and suggestibility. This hypnotic trance state becomes the basis for alleviating or resolving medical and psychological symptoms, as well as enhancing performance and creativity. However, for many people hypnosis conjures up images of zombie-like states where you are under the control of someone else (a “Svengali”), or of a stage full of fools clucking like chickens. These images are understandable given how hypnosis is often portrayed by the media. As entertaining as these images may be, they also perpetuate myths and misconceptions that prevent many people from pursuing a treatment that can be a valuable clinical tool.

Myth #1: Hypnosis is an “unnatural state” of mind

Hypnosis is actually a natural trance state that almost anyone can relate to. Here are some familiar examples: becoming absorbed in a good book, day dreaming, driving a familiar route on a freeway but missing your exit because the mind was “somewhere else,” or watching a movie. Consider the movie example in more detail. The “reality” of a movie-going experience is sitting in a darkened room with several hundred strangers mesmerized by a flickering light on a silver screen. Yet if the acting, writing, and directing are captivating enough, the reality is suspended and whatever is being suggested (amusement, fear, sadness, etc) is what is experienced by the viewer. In this natural trance state you are in full control and could easily get up and walk away if you wanted to. Typically you leave only if what the movie is suggesting to you is not pleasing! All hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis. The hypnotist is only a guide in the process of teaching the individual to bring about the trance state readily.

Myth #2: Hypnosis is sleep

Although hypnosis can produce profound states of deep relaxation it is not sleep. The hypnotized subject is actually aware and in control at all times.

Myth#3: Only the weak minded or gullible people can be hypnotized

Virtually everyone can experience hypnosis. People appear to have greater or lesser natural hypnotic ability. Generally those with higher levels of intelligence, creativity, and “fantasy-prone” behavior (such as day dreaming or being easily absorbed in books and movies) make the best subjects. Typically it is fear and misunderstanding that hinder someone from reaching deeper levels of the trance state. The hypnotic process does not involve pitting the will of the hypnotist against the will of the subject. The hypnotist is merely the guide for teaching the subject how to produce and utilize the hypnotic trance state.

Myth#4: One could end up “stuck” in hypnosis

Because hypnosis is such a pleasant state, many are reluctant to terminate it. Similarly, we might wish that a soothing massage continues indefinitely. However, even if the hypnotist were to “command” remaining in hypnosis, or if he/she has left the room, the subject would either fall asleep, or more likely simply open his/her eyes and be wide awake.

Myth#5: Hypnosis can coerce one to engage in immoral or unethical acts

Any suggestion can be rejected in hypnosis, especially those that violate a person’s beliefs or morality. The hypnotic subject is actually in full control at all times and will not comply with anything against his or her will.

Myth#6: Hypnosis is like a truth serum

Because the individual is in full control, he or she can also to edit whatever is said to the hypnotist. Just as a psychotherapy client selects his/her own level of disclosure during psychotherapy, the hypnotized subject has the same options. Hypnosis is not admissible in a court of law because distortions and actual lying is possible.

Potential Benefits of Hypnosis:

· relaxation

· stress management

· help with depression, anxiety, and phobias

· improved sleep

· smoking cessation

· modification of other bad habits

· improved cognitive functioning

· enhanced athletic, sales, or academic performance

· increased self esteem

· pain management

· optimization of other mind/body connections

Daniel Galant, Ph.D., CHT, is a clinical psychologist at Practical Recovery alcohol addiction treatment, where he integrates hypnotherapy into the treatment of addiction and related problems.

EFT Advantages

November 15, 2008

If you are looking for some medical treatment and you found out that those medical cures were just so expensive that you cannot really afford it, the result would be finding an alternative remedy or treatment for the sickness.

Not every one of us has the strength to survive a tragic and depressing situation easily and no one has the power to clear up the negative emotions just with a blink of an eye. There is also not a single pill or tablet that would endure depression, most of the time people just either diverse their mind or thoughts to other things rather than think of the problems or there are also some who are being too entrenched on the difficult situation that made it hard for them to move on and face the situation with a clear and positive thinking and attitude.

Depression is a mood which is a result of a negative thinking – as soon as a person starts to experience a difficult situation there is a big possibility or chance that he will think about the situation over and over again resulting to emotional breakdown or depression. This is one of the most difficult emotions that a person can experience and it is also one of those emotional problems that is hard to heal; this is where Emotional Freedom Technique will come about.

Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT is an alternative medicine or let’s just say a psychotherapeutic medicine for different illnesses like depression, anxiety, addiction, and the likes. This technique is derived from the theory which stated that whatever imbalances in the human’s body energy system will affect the individual psychology of the person. For example, a person is currently in a difficult situation then it will result to negative emotions and thinking so the body will adjust to what you are feeling and thinking – resulting to a balance effect; this would only mean that whatever you are about to think or feel will also be felt by the body. This is what EFT is trying to heal, there are some tapping that would be needed to complete and make the technique as a remedy for different kinds of illness or negative feeling like depression.

EFT is actually considered as a needle-less way of acupuncture since it can be an alternative treatment but it is needle-less because it doesn’t require the use of needles in the process, it will only use some tapping on some parts of the body to help the treatment. It will only be a way of tapping the parts that would result to body’s relaxation and healing process.

The first advantage of using this technique is that it will not require the use of any medical equipment or any operations just to heal the illness that you have. You will not need to spend a lot of money to undergo some complicated and risky medical operations. You can also apply it by yourself just follow the instructions indicated on the manual or you can also ask some specialists to help you out. Another thing is that, the effects would be just after a few minutes so you don’t have to suffer from it at a long range of time – as soon as you applied the procedures rest assured you will be having the expected results in just few minutes.

If you are looking for eft to rejuvenate yourself and activate new sensations such as heightened abilities, rebalancing the physical and mental emotions for unlimited amounts of energy to be unlocked,do visit this for eft training and free eft Demos

Achieving Goals in Five Steps

November 15, 2008

We all want that sense of achievement that comes with reaching our goals. Whether we are working for ourselves or working within a larger organization, we get a deep sense of satisfaction when we accomplish what we set out to do. Some people seem to achieve their objectives without much effort. Others never quite seem to get there. Have you experienced frustrations such as these?

• Only half of your managers are using the new system after spending over one million dollars on its implementation.

• The incidence of customer complaints continues to rise even after the latest product redesign.

• Members of your department continually change focus so nothing gets finished.

If so, then you may need to revisit how you set goals and plan for their accomplishment. From my years of working in a number of organizations and on a variety of projects, I have condensed the lessons I have learned into a simple five step process. I call this process the Five Cs approach. This approach does not use any rocket science, just the basics needed for getting things done in your organization. By using the Five Cs process steps you will improve the chances of achieving your and your organization’s objectives.

The Five Cs approach can be used for activities as basic as organizing your team’s leave calendar to the more complex planning and rollout of your organization’s annual fundraiser. The approach consists of these five basic steps:

Power of Thought – Visualize to Create Your Reality

November 15, 2008

Mastering the power of thought is the key to a successful life. This article will show you how regular visualization allows you to create the reality you desire.

It seems clear that our thinking literally creates our world, and if this is so why not think the way we’d like to live?

Scientists tell us everything we hear, see, and experience actually takes place in our brains, and that an “outside” world may not even exist. Deepak Chopra, Joseph Dispenza, and many others agree that life takes place primarily in the mind. From a hard scientific point of view, areas of our brain activate to allow for the different experiences of sight, touch, hearing, feeling, and so forth.

The same area in our brain orchestrates the vision process whether we are looking at another person face to face, or closing our eyes and thinking about them. Whether we are dreaming or awake, the exact same mechanisms within us facilitate our experiences.

I illustrate this to make a point: Whether you are a proud skeptic or a starry-eyed believer in all things new age, it seems irrefutable that the power of thought plays a very substantial role in the makeup and direction of your life.

Regardless of our personal philosophies, religious preference, or educational background, we cannot escape the fact that what we think and feel about has a profound impact on the events and circumstances of our life. In fact with a little practice, the power of thought reveals itself to us in truly extraordinary ways.

For example…

If the brain can’t necessarily distinguish between an image it sees through memory and one it accesses via direct physical line of site, consider the power of deliberate visualization. Along with affirmations, visualization exercises have been taught for years by self-development coaches.

You can hold any image you want in the eye of your mind for as long as you want. You have absolute control over this operation and can bring it to bear any time you like on any subject matter that pleases you.

Vividly see yourself in possession of all the wealth you could possibly want. Hold the image of yourself being fit, happy, and always full of inspiration. Whatever you want your life to be like, first create the image of it in your mind and focus on it with intensity.

Beyond just seeing the outcome you desire, feel the kind of happiness and joy that come from victory and achieving your personal goals. Let these good emotions flow freely, and also engage the sounds and other sensory input that might accompany your envisioned experience. While you visualize, pretend you are living in the moment of having your life exactly as it appears in the image you have created.

Above all you should enjoy this experience. Don’t let it become a chore and never allow it to resemble work; it should be something you sincerely like doing and you should get a legitimate rush from the activity.

Not only will this exercise will make you feel great, but it will also prompt your subconscious mind to find ways to connect your current circumstances with the outcome you visualize. In essence you will set into motion such things as inspired thinking, spontaneous action, and self-fulfilled prophecy.

Continue to visualize once or twice each day in sessions of anywhere from 30 seconds to ten minutes each. As with any skill, the more you practice the easier the process will become for you.

And over time you are almost guaranteed to see the events of your life unfolding in a way that mirrors the subject of your visualization sessions. Is this the law of attraction, or is it the subtle power of autosuggestion?

In truth, these terms refer to two sides of the same coin. Furthermore, there’s no need to bother yourself with the technical nuts and bolts of how and why; just rejoice in the creation of your new life.

Learn how to use the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking to create exactly the life you want. Millions of people have changed their lives with these simple yet powerful techniques, and you too can have the amazing success you dream of.

Those Who Take Complete, Unconditional Responsibility For Their Own Lives Are the Ones Who Consistently Accomplish Big Things

November 15, 2008

Something I find fascinating is that everybody – every last one of us – wants the best that life has to offer. Yet only a very small percentage of us will ever achieve anything better than mediocrity. Everybody wants a greater sense of financial security. Everybody wants to provide their loved ones with a good life. Everybody wants the peace of mind which comes from knowing that money will never be an issue or concern. Sadly, however, the reality is the overwhelming majority of us will never get there.

What makes this dichotomy more interesting is that the divide between the haves and have-nots has nothing to do with a person’s race. It has nothing to do with a person’s sex. It has nothing to do with where someone was born, who their parents are, whether or not they finished their schooling, what field of endeavor they choose to pursue or how high their IQ is. Going all the way back to the time of cavemen, there has always been and always will be that much smaller percentage of people who are successful at whatever they choose to pursue.

But why? Why are there so many smart, sincere, hard working, well meaning people in the world who will experience little more than financial struggle all of their lives? What are the small number of people amongst us doing to live in financial abundance that the rest of us are not doing? As you contemplate this question you may come up with dozens of good answers. And, I’m not going not tell you that any one answer is better than any other. However, there is one good answer to this question that I’d like to focus on throughout the remainder of this article. And here it is: the most successful amongst us take full, unconditional, personal responsibility for their own lives. It’s crucial that you completely understand the importance of this concept to get the most from this article.

For starters, those who fail to take full responsibility for their own lives are living in victim mode. If you blame your lousy job or your dumb boss as your reason for being mired in mediocrity, you’re playing the role of a victim. If you’re blaming the lousy economy for your circumstances then you’re playing the role of a victim. If you ever find yourself complaining about anything at all, you guessed it, you’re in victim mode. And, there simply is no such thing as a successful victim. If a victim ever did happen to somehow stumble upon success, that success would certainly be short lived.

Taking responsibility also means doing something – taking some kind of action – to help move yourself forward toward your goal. For example, let’s say you have a vision board. On your board you have a picture of a sexy speed boat that you dream of owning. You stare at the picture of that boat every day. You meditate about owning the boat. In your meditation you see yourself in the captain’s seat cruising the ocean blue on a gorgeous, sunny day. Based on what you know on the law of attraction – through your vision board and meditation – you are magnetically drawing that dream boat into your reality. All you need to do to make the boast your possession is to visualize having it and it will be so. Right? Wrong!

The reality is that nothing on your vision board will materialize unless you take some sort of action towards actually acquiring it. You see, anyone who thinks the law of attraction alone will bring them everything they want in life is sorely mistaken. The law of attraction alone, when not combined with meaningful action, is worthless. Taking action also means taking responsibility.

Taking responsibility for your life means using your leisure time to read a good book instead of watching another useless television program. Taking responsibility means consistently engaging in some type of salubrious activity. It means learning something new that will add to your value in the eyes of your employer or your clients. Taking full, unconditional, personal responsibility for your own life is very empowering. When you come to the realization that your fate lies in your own hands, you’ll be giving yourself permission to accomplish any goal you set your sites on.

Taking responsibility for yourself also demonstrates that you understand that nobody else will make “it” happen for you. You have to make “it” happen for yourself. Now here’s the real kicker – people, subconsciously, want to be in victimhood. As crazy as this may sound, most people are comfortable playing the role of a victim. They may not realize it or will disagree vehemently with this idea. However, if they were to take a hard, honest look at themselves they would see that they somehow would feel threatened by success because success would take them outside of their comfort zone. And that is where the real problem lies – people, by their very nature, want to stay with what they are most comfortable with.

Finally, taking responsibility for your own life means that even though you may not be able to control everything you experience in life, you do have complete, unconditional control over how you react to that which you experience. Wow, how empowering that is.

In order to take responsibility for your life, take a good look at the areas you feel could use improvement. Start with just one area and begin to work at changing it for the better. Find a book, a web site or an article that can help you with the area you wish to improve upon. I don’t care what area you wish to change for yourself, there is a resource out there which can help you do it. I can recall a time when I was in the bookstore and I happened to notice a book on how to properly get a sun tan. At that very moment I realized that if there existed a book on how to sun tan then there has to be a book on any, and I mean ANY, topic known to mankind.

Folks, your life is in your own hands – make the most of it. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. Make sure that when you look back on your life one day you’ll see successes and disappointments but not regrets. Disappointments will mean that you tried; you gave it your all but came up short. Regrets will mean that you didn’t even try at all. Please, don’t let that be you.

dan@danielherzner.com 914-525-2487 http://www.letsgetbacktobusiness.com Daniel Herzner is Founder and President of Lets Get Back To Business dot com, located in White Plains, NY. Dan has been a serial entrepreneur for the better part of his adult life and has worked tirelessly at building businesses. His latest endeavor is a web site centered around providing free resources to help others.

5 Tips to Restore Balance in Busy Lives

November 15, 2008

Do you feel as though there are never enough hours in the day… that you get to the end of the week and wonder where the days have gone? Do you spend all your days running around, never seeming to have time to sit down… yet you get to the end of the evening and have difficulty working out what you have achieved? Do you start each day with good intentions, making lists of jobs to do… and still find that you have loads of things outstanding at the end of the day?

When we lead busy lives, trying to juggle work, families and keeping house, making time for ourselves falls even further down the list… after all, if we don’t feel we have time for all the things we HAVE to do, there is no chance of having time for the things we WANT to do… is there?

And of course, the more we struggle with those never ending lists, squeezing more and more into our days, the more tired we get, as our energy reserves run low. We are tired at the end of the day, yet sleep becomes difficult, or in some cases impossible, because we just can’t seem to switch off… and so when we get up the next day, we are beginning the day already tired and so the cycle begins again.

In order to bring yourself and your life back to a point of balance, you could try the following:

Keeping a family diary or calendar. Make sure there is enough space on each page to write down what you have to do. Add in your appointments, the kids’ sleepovers, when the library books need to be returned as well as school trips and family birthdays. Don’t agree to take anything else on until you know that there really is space in your diary for it.

Making shorter lists – long lists are daunting, and when we get to the end of the day without having crossed everything off, we feel a failure, knowing that we are starting tomorrow with half of today’s list as well as tomorrow’s list! Limit you list to just 6 or 7 items. Keep each item realistic…. “Paint the kitchen” may be on your list, but if it is accompanied by “clear the loft”, “dig the garden”, “take the car for a service” and “get the children to ballet, gym, scouts and piano lessons”, it becomes daunting, and almost bound to fail.

Stop working by 9pm – If you work until bedtime, your body and mind have no time to wind down, and sleep becomes of poor quality. Set yourself a time limit that allows you an hour or two before your bedtime to start the “relax and switch off” process.

Don’t be afraid to say ‘NO’. Very often we take on tasks simply because we don’t want to offend, or we don’t want to appear inadequate or unable. It is OK to say “No, I’m sorry, I don’t have time to do that for you today”, or “No, sorry, that doesn’t really appeal to me”. Don’t clutter up your precious time with jobs you don’t need to take on, and don’t use up your precious energy getting worked up about things that you have taken on that you wish you hadn’t.

Make a few moments for yourself – although it would be nice to have a day to yourself, or even just a free afternoon, we all know that is usually impractical. But just 20 or 30 minutes can make all the difference to the mind/body/life balance. Go for a walk, take a soak in the bath in the middle of the day, do some classic yoga stretches, or listen to a guided imagery recording to reduce those stress levels and provide you with the energy you need to make the most of your day.

Of course different things work for different people, and you may find that some of these suggestions work better for you than others. Introduce one of the above into your day at a time, and let it become a habit before introducing the next one. Enjoy taking control and reclaiming your time, and your energy.

Kimberley Mercer is a partners at Guided Imagery Downloads. Kimberley is a NLP practitioner, reflexologist and hypnotherapist.

Astrologically Positive Body Image

November 14, 2008

Body image is often based on what society says we are supposed to look like, but in magazines, movies and on TV you will see everybody you don’t look like. Maybe you are somewhat overweight, underweight or have some other issue like adult acne or terminally bad hair days. Here are some tips, through the signs, on how to love your body and yourself exactly the way you are.

Aries: Aries tend to stay happiest while in motion. Their body’s strength uniquely affects the emotions of the Ram child. Regular exercise added to the day results in an astrological attitude of a child - exploring local creeks and back roads, they take the path less traveled by. Their sense of self and body image will stay positive whenever they are in a state of movement, exploration and independence. Rise above negative self-absorption with dance, yoga or just a nice walk down the local promenade to go shopping for a new pair of Nikes.

Taurus: Positive body image means you feel good in your own skin. Taurus expresses self love by indulging in some soft and pricey threads to wear and to surround themselves with in the home; velvety-smooth sofa pillows, blankets and throws. Taurus is ruled by Venus so they have a naturally intuitive understanding of how mind-altering the material of a garment can actually be to the psyche. Consignment and resale shops are hot now and many carry gently used yet luscious clothing at a third of the price, which works for Taurus who is always grounded in the budget department. Do not be hard on yourself if you don’t look like Jessica Biel or Beyonce. They don’t even look like that. Those magazine covers are all airbrushed - so go ahead and love every well-dressed inch of your BFA (Big Fat Ass).

Gemini: If you are born under the sign of the twins you are blessed with an ability to actually read! (You’d be surprised how many folks can’t sit still long enough to finish a book.) A Gemini with an imperfect body can always benefit from sharing their insights with their less literarily inclined friends. When a Gemini is helping someone else somehow - with an email, on the phone or sending a singing telegram - they are not thinking about the size of their own backsides. Ponder this meaty subject on your own.

Cancer: Cancerians must be aware to not eat as a way of shifting a challenging mood or forgetting that last boyfriend. You will create a cycle where you then obsess about that extra fat gathering around the back of your upper arms not to mention your beefy badonkadonk region. Make self-absorption work for you by being very nurturing toward yourself. Accept what you look like now and stop worrying about how you’ll never be taller or have a flat stomach. The average women is a size fourteen wishing she were a four. Lots of us are a heck of a lot bigger than that (Janette insisted on that comment since only her right thigh is a size 14.) Get over it. Take hot baths, drink yummy teas, hum to yourself happily in the shower. Don’t isolate. Find new friends who love your hiney exactly the way it is.

Leo: You exude self love but sometimes the inner you has a challenge with what you consider to be less than “perfect” looks. Or maybe you project that perfectionism onto your family member or loved one. Be aware that while it’s true that the most attractive signs of the zodiac get the best jobs, money and pick of romantic partners, the first person you must come to terms with is yourself. Accept any slight or not so slight imperfections like knock-knees, facial hairs or going bald. Relax. Put down that mirror, and smile that gorgeous smile for the world to enjoy.

Virgo: Your positive body image will blossom when you’re less anxious and that only happens when a Virgo learns to stop worrying and relax. Don’t be frightened of aging, or putting on a few pounds. You will survive and so will your body. Put down that perfectionism inner dragon that is either keeping you from the gym or not doing anything else but going to the gym. See the beauty of your own virgin self, before all the cross talk got in the way. Get a worry stone - rub it endlessly.

Libra: Your positive body image can be discovered in finding balance. Your assignment is to accept your body exactly the way it is - just give up trying to change it. There is a desire in the Libran to be all things to all people, including themselves. Know that, like everything else, your stomach in a bikini has its ups and downs. Emotions are naturally fluid - judgment really only last seconds if you acknowledge the thought or feeling, then let it go! Do not physically compare yourself to models in magazines or any of the cast members of Grey’s Anatomy.

Scorpio: Your positive body image can be found in the expression of your sensuality. Try combining lavender with vanilla and rub it behind your knees and ears. Like Aries, make your body feel good and you will feel better about it - even if you don’t look like Brad or Angelina. Languish in a Jacuzzi with floating, glowing flower lights (available at Target) or get a full body massage. If that doesn’t work, try noticing when you are comparing your backside to others and experiencing jealousy. Thank yourself for sharing and shake it off with a little polka dance. Find a sensual partner who doesn’t having hang-ups about their own bodies that they could project on you. (Cuz that’s a bummer.)

Sagittarius: Negative body image, self absorption and wishing you had the waistline of Jennifer Aniston can be tamed by studying the cultural and philosophical insanity behind today’s obsession in the media with the skinny babes. Know that this obsession is a mere societal trend and remember that back in the fifties Marilyn Monroe (a perfect size 14/16) was considered perfect. Share with others your insights into the Sophia Loren era vs. the Olson Twins era, and you will have others also laughing so hard that they too, forget to obsess about their reflection in the mirror or their BFAs (Big Fat Asses).

Capricorn: When you are not completely lost in your world of work, you may find yourself hating your thighs. Get over it. There are lots of other people that got over it on the Internet. It’s called the “Fatosphere.” Check it out. Get out amongst friends or go online and socialize. Have some fun. You can have a positive body image by starting to notice when you do feel good about your body, which is probably when you are remembering to breathe deep. (Stress is a major contributor to the blues and deep breathing is a great cure.). Love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). It wants to be loved just like the rest of you.

Aquarius: Accepting yourself and your body type exactly the way they are is something that comes natural to you. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you are the least pre-occupied by the size and shape of your body parts. If you do need a body image boost, go remind a sister or a brother what you already know - that physical looks and beauty are not based on what you see on TV or on the cover of Vogue. Explain to your poor, lost friends how you have embraced your own eccentric wardrobe, hair and possible quirky thinness. You know that the first step of change is acceptance. Go to the local mall and put up a banner which reads, “Love Your BFA (Big Fat Ass) and It Will Love You Back for a Lifetime.”

Pisces: Give, give, give, then give some more then stop. Your key to positive body image is to have healthy boundaries when it comes to your compassion for others. If it goes too far and you are taken advantage of then you will get down on yourself and mope about. Then you will pick on your butt in a pair of undersized jeans. Also, take care of your somewhat delicate health because you are not happy when you don’t feel well. Work out. Realize that we are all in this together, that most women would give up ten years of their life to be another body type - yes, that is a recent statistic from Fitness Magazine. Go out and turn your negative obsession about your looks into a positive celebration. That may mean finding some new friends who love your BFA (big fat ass) with all its luscious dimensions.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.

Beautiful Fat Ass Babe Society: Unite With Laughter

November 14, 2008

Laughter. What a cause. What a cure. We had to do it – create an empowering society of B-FABs (Beautiful Fat Ass Babes) that are fully committed to huge amounts of fun. The B-FAB movement has begun, and big fat belly laughs for one and all are our goal.

Laughter is critical to well being for a number of reasons. Without humor what would we do when we see big clown feet, squirting flower lapels, and big fat asses? Yes, BFAs (Big Fat Asses) are meant to be laughed at, especially when you are the owner and operator of that fine piece of equipment. If you let yourself think about it, isn’t it funny that for years the size of your ass in a pair of jeans has been running your life? Isn’t it funny in an airplane seat how you have to flap like a goose to get up out of your tiny coach seat from hell? Can we get a big guffaw for all the times you looked for just the perfect sweater to luxuriously drape over your bountiful backside only to find out that you may have just hidden your ass under so much fabric that you now resemble Omar the Tentmaker.

This is not a mixed message. This is our way of pushing home the fat point that being serious, sad and mad at the state of affairs in the rear is a gosh darn waste of time. Not only that, depression and misery over your beefy bod’ will only make you eat even more and be even less healthy. Let’s look at the facts; laughter actually does heal. Did you know, according to WebMD, that laughing heartily 100 times a day gives the same cardio results as working out for 20 minutes? Buy a joke book and ditch the treadmill for god sakes!

Here’s the deal - you can’t think and laugh at the same time. It’s like trying to keep your eyes open when you sneeze. The more you laugh, the more you want to. And if you are around other people laughing – it LL just keeps multiplying upon itself. (Sound contagious? It is.) When we laugh we give up our egos and see our own humanity and the humanity of others. Did you know there is even such a thing as laughter clubs?

What, you ask, is a laughter club? It’s a group of people who meet to laugh together, every week, in a public place. There is no formal structure - just an anchor laugher who orchestrates the event. A session might include simulated laughter and techniques mixed in with stretching and breathing. You can simulate laughter and still get the same good results in the body like a real laugh. (Great, now there’s something else we can fake.) Laughter Yoga is now a worldwide movement, bringing about attitudinal changes to help us all live in peace and harmony. There are now more than 1,300 laughter clubs in India, USA, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.

Hey, B-FAB’s, let’s unite! While the B-FAB Society isn’t exactly a laughter club we do think that there will be a heck of a lot of healthy laughter going on. What we are creating with the B-FAB Society is a self acceptance and self celebration society. Let’s laugh at our predicament and then let’s reinforce for each other how wonderful we are just exactly as we are – fat asses and all!

Let’s try this self-acceptance thing – self loathing didn’t work…what if this does? How about letting a big fat laugh rip about our wretched pasts? If you laugh, your ass will not blow away, we promise you. The news all around the world really sucks these days and it’s as if we’re afraid to be jovial selves. Hey, what if the cure for a new future could be found in giving up dieting and stopping all the complaining about our weight and the weight of the world for just a bit? Try it on. You don’t have to have a great sense of humor. Borrow your great aunt Sadie’s cacophonous laugh for the night, find some friends, BREATHE, laugh and call a B-FAB girlfriend to tell her how great she is.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.

Fashion – Not Just For Skinny Bitches

November 14, 2008

“I’m tired of thin people telling me what to do,” is Janette’s new motto. Have you noticed how the thin people always have an opinion on what you should wear and whether you should feel comfortable in a locker room or at the beach? Our B-FAB (Beautiful Fat Ass Babe) friends don’t do that to us. They know that we will wear what we’re comfortable in and that it’s none of their business. Our B-FAB friends trust that we have a mirror and that we know what we look like. Dressing the B-FAB butt can be a fabulous experience if you can just stop criticizing yourself long enough to notice how good you can look.

Plus size clothing is now so much more available that it was back when we were little. There was a time when you could maybe catalogue order from Lane Bryant or Newport News but you couldn’t walk into a nice shop and find a gorgeously styled outfit that was cut for your body type. Now you can. There are chain stores galore – Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug Plus, Catherine’s, Chico’s. It is so much more comfortable for a B-FAB (Beautiful Fat Ass Babe) to go to a store where there is an abundance of things that will fit her. It’s wonderful to go into a store filled with women who look like she does instead of being the one lone fat girl hoping to find something in the Junior department at Macy’s.

We do, however, hold many plus size fashion manufactures criminally liable for some of the fabrics they try to foist on us. We’d like to be crystal clear here. Double-knit polyester doesn’t look good on anyone not even a S-FAB (Skinny Fat Ass Babe). There are size 8’s out there whose cellulite would defy the doubleknits they try to force us B-FABs into. Is this a conspiracy? Have the hard-body young-ones decided to flush the adipose carriers out in the open with this flammable synthetic we call “double-knit turquoise pants”. Don’t do this to yourself. There is no reason to look or feel that way. In summer, for god’s sake, try linen. It’s loose, light, cool and shows it’s own wrinkles instead of your dimples. Linen wrinkles in a way that works (unless you’re on Daytime TV wearing the horrifying outfit with the linen jacket that Janette chose when we taped the Tyra Banks show… sometimes we all make mistakes. There was a reason why that happened and if you come to our website and ask, we’ll tell you.)

If you happen to have a stomach that is kind of like a big jiggly bowling ball beneath your belt, it might not be the best choice to wear knit pants and a stretchy little t-shirt with a bare mid-riff. Since Janette won’t wear a bathing suit or form fitting clothes she has been questioned about whether or not she does, in truth, embrace her BFA (Big Fat Ass). If that’s what you think you may be missing the point of embracing your big fat ass. Embracing your BFA doesn’t mean that you convince yourself that you look like Jessica Simpson. It means that you recognize that there is a bias in this country that only calls thin beautiful. It means you find the beauty and the gifts in who you are as you are. Embracing your ass when it comes to fashion means that instead of wearing the fashions that look best on Paris Hilton that we choose things that are the most comfortable and flattering for us. It means choosing outfits that boost our confidence and remind us that we are actually NOT operating with a handicap. We can be as hot as anyone else. (Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, That girl America who is Ugly Betty. Lots of B-FAB are infiltrating the pop culture making more and more room for the rest of us.)

B-FAB’s look best in natural fabrics. Let’s face it – anyone looks best in natural fabrics. If you can afford to go up a notch from the chain stores to boutiques there are finally fashion lines that create gorgeous clothes with great styling and fabrics. FLAX, Cut Loose and Cynthia Ashby to name just a few. Luna Luz has a tie skirt that would make any B-FAB feel like a million bucks.

Do you know what clothing is for? It’s to make you feel good about yourself. It’s not about conforming your tastes to what the media has created. It’s about inhabiting our bodies with pride and finding the look that makes us feel like who we want to be. Let’s make it our mission to stand up and show that B-FABs are quite stunning just as we are. B-FAB power rules. Come join us.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.

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