Here we are at the beginning of the holiday season, when tensions run high and emotions we’d rather not deal with sometimes creep in.

• Maybe the holidays remind you of someone you lost and you can’t quite “get into” the festivities
• Maybe you’re seriously sun-deprived and could use an energetic boost beyond Vitamin D supplements
• Or maybe your family stresses you out (ok, that’s all of us to one degree or another)   =)

I’ve been tossing around the idea of “value-based coaching” and decided now would be the perfect time to roll it out to help you through the holidays this year.  I’ve offered it to a few clients so far, and those who have taken me up on it are loving the concept.

Here’s what it looks like:

• You and I schedule an hour together on Skype or phone between now and December 31^st
• We jam for 60 minutes on whatever you want to talk about to get you inspired and moving in the best direction
• You pay based on the value you feel you received (Whatever amount that is… no questions asked; no amount is too small or large)

Now, there are a couple stipulations to this kind of agreement:

1. Payment is due on the day of your session.  Following our meeting, I send you a link to pay through PayPal for the amount of your choosing.
2. There are no refunds since you determine the price.

Whatever your situation, if you could use some insight, guidance or a strategy session this holiday season, CLICK HERE to schedule a coaching session with me or call me at 480.788.8756.  Appointments are available on evenings and weekends, in addition to regular business hours.

By the way, if you’re looking for a more comprehensive coaching program, check out HeartFlow.

(Excerpted from The HeartMath Solution)

The term “freeze-frame” is movie lingo for stopping a film at a single frame to take a closer look. As you know, a movie is made up of countless frames of film. The projector showing the film runs the sequence of frames past a powerful light so quickly that we perceive them as continuous and unseamed. Together those separate frames create the movement that draws us into the story. If we want to see a still shot of one of the moments flashing by, we have to stop the projector—or freeze the frame. We can look at life as a high-speed movie. We get so caught up in the momentum of the story that it’s easy to forget that it’s made up of individual moments. From one minute to the next, we have an astonishing range of thoughts, emotions, and experiences that make up our lives. Think about it. How much has happened inside you since you started reading just this chapter? Maybe the phone rang or you were otherwise interrupted. Maybe you had to move around to get comfortable or find the right lighting. Maybe a certain phrase you read reminded you of something else and your mind began to wander. Each of these events left a mental or emotional trail in your internal world.

If the interruption was enjoyable, you returned to your reading in a pleasant frame of mind. If it wasn’t enjoyable, your discomfort was subtly—or not so subtly—woven into your experience as you continued to read. You get the point: each response leads into the next frame. You’re writing the story of your life one moment at a time. The FREEZE-FRAME technique gives you the power to stop your reaction to the movie at any moment.

It lets you call a time-out to gain a clearer perspective on what’s happening in a single frame. By helping you align your head and your heart, it gives you quick and efficient access to heart intelligence. Going to your heart through FREEZE-FRAME reduces stress, but it does more than that. It shifts your perspective, allowing you to tap into a deeper source of intuition and power. FREEZE-FRAME uses the power of the heart to help manage the mind. Because our mental, emotional, and physical systems are all interconnected, FREEZE-FRAME also has a powerful effect on our emotions and biology…

From time to time it’s a good strategic move to call a time-out and regroup your internal team—your head and your heart. You may think you don’t have time to take a break, but you do: FREEZE-FRAME was designed to work quickly. The brief mental time-out it gives you allows you to gain access—on the spot—to the balancing power of the heart and the revitalizing insights of heart intelligence.

The Five Steps of FREEZE-FRAME technique:

1.  Recognize the stressful feeling and FREEZE-FRAME it! Take a time-out.

2.  Make a sincere effort to shift your focus away from the racing mind or disturbed emotions to the area around your heart. Pretend you’re breathing through your heart to help focus your energy in this area. Keep your focus there for ten seconds or more.

3.  Recall a positive, fun feeling or time you’ve had in life and try to re-experience it.

4.  Now, using your intuition, common sense, and sincerity, ask your heart, What would be a more efficient response to the situation, one that would minimize future stress?

5.  Listen to what your heart says in answer to your question. (It’s an effective way to put your reactive mind and emotions in check and an in-house source of commonsense solutions!)

Try the Freeze-Frame technique next time you find yourself in a stressful situation.  With practice, you can use it to immediately bring yourself back into balance.