Grace Reynolds on ”Mindfulness Neurocoaching: The Quickest and Easiest Path to Post-Traumatic Growth”
07/29/23 • 65 min
"Self-regulation will always be a challenge, but if somebody's going to be in charge, it might as well be me." Daniel Akst
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/xjPY1-gmuNk
On Today's EPISODE #298 we will cover:
✔ What exactly is trauma and what does it look like in our brain?
✔ How do we become “traumatized”? (as an adult or child)?
✔ How can we recognize “traumatic” experiences in our life, so we can address them, (trauma-informed strategies) heal from them, and prevent them from holding us back?
✔ If our Primal Emotions are hard-wired into our brain, then how do we overcome them? (FEARS, ANGER etc)?
✔ How can we eliminate things that are worrying us? Our CRAP (conflicts, resistances, anxieties, and problems)?
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.
For today’s episode #298, we will be speaking with someone I got to know well, as we both took and became certified with a neuroscience certification course, through Mark Waldman[i], learning the basics of neuroscience and a unique technique called neurocoaching that we can both use to help individuals, schools or organizations. Grace Reynolds, who lives in Tasmania, Australia, (near Antarctica) went on to achieve a deeper level of certification as an advanced certified trauma centered neurocoach. We’ve been friends and colleagues for years studying and learning brain-based coaching strategies, and she recently asked me “have you covered neuroscience and trauma yet?” I knew that we’ve touched on it, but hadn’t covered it thoroughly yet.
We have covered trauma and the brain in pieces with Dr. Bruce Perry’s[ii] What Happened to You book, Sarah Peyton[iii] and her work on anxiety and self-regulation, or Dr. Lori Desautels’[iv] work on rewiring our perceptions of discipline in our schools, and it was even a part of our interview with Hans Appel[v], a school counselor whose book, Award Winning Culture took off in schools across the country. I remember while reading Hans’ book, it was in the first few pages that he mentioned how he had a difficult childhood, and he talked about how the sound of his back door opening after school would make his skin crawl as he remembered the trauma that would occur for him in his life after school, urging him to spend more and more time at school, away from home. I wonder how many of our students have stories like this. I remember in the first few pages of Dr. Bruce Perry’s What Happened to You book, he talked about a student who would act out in class. It turned out that the teacher’s cologne was triggering him to a bad memory of a past experience, showing us that triggers can occur and set us off when we least expect it.
I wonder:
How do past traumas show up and do they impact our life?
What Can They Teach Us About How We Might Respond to Certain Situations?
What strategies can we use to help us to maintain balance in our life?
While I didn’t have an experience as painful as Hans Appel’s, or the student with the cologne, these stories made me remember something from over 20 years ago that made my skin crawl, and still does. Psychological trauma impacts our brain, and can trigger us to feel threatened even when we are not in a threatening situation.
When I hear the sound of ice hitting a glass from a refrigerator ice machine, this sound takes me back to a time when I remember someone pouring themselves another drink, at night, and I just didn’t understand it. I can see the memory and feel the unhappiness from that time period, clearly each time I hear that sound. This traumatic memory shows me that trauma once it hits our brain, embeds itself deeply in there, until we can uncover it, identify it, and then figure out what we will do with it (forgive it) so it loses its power over us, or doesn’t interfere with our future results.
Trauma is something that we have recently begun to train our teachers with. Our episode with Dr. Michael Gaskell
"Self-regulation will always be a challenge, but if somebody's going to be in charge, it might as well be me." Daniel Akst
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/xjPY1-gmuNk
On Today's EPISODE #298 we will cover:
✔ What exactly is trauma and what does it look like in our brain?
✔ How do we become “traumatized”? (as an adult or child)?
✔ How can we recognize “traumatic” experiences in our life, so we can address them, (trauma-informed strategies) heal from them, and prevent them from holding us back?
✔ If our Primal Emotions are hard-wired into our brain, then how do we overcome them? (FEARS, ANGER etc)?
✔ How can we eliminate things that are worrying us? Our CRAP (conflicts, resistances, anxieties, and problems)?
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.
For today’s episode #298, we will be speaking with someone I got to know well, as we both took and became certified with a neuroscience certification course, through Mark Waldman[i], learning the basics of neuroscience and a unique technique called neurocoaching that we can both use to help individuals, schools or organizations. Grace Reynolds, who lives in Tasmania, Australia, (near Antarctica) went on to achieve a deeper level of certification as an advanced certified trauma centered neurocoach. We’ve been friends and colleagues for years studying and learning brain-based coaching strategies, and she recently asked me “have you covered neuroscience and trauma yet?” I knew that we’ve touched on it, but hadn’t covered it thoroughly yet.
We have covered trauma and the brain in pieces with Dr. Bruce Perry’s[ii] What Happened to You book, Sarah Peyton[iii] and her work on anxiety and self-regulation, or Dr. Lori Desautels’[iv] work on rewiring our perceptions of discipline in our schools, and it was even a part of our interview with Hans Appel[v], a school counselor whose book, Award Winning Culture took off in schools across the country. I remember while reading Hans’ book, it was in the first few pages that he mentioned how he had a difficult childhood, and he talked about how the sound of his back door opening after school would make his skin crawl as he remembered the trauma that would occur for him in his life after school, urging him to spend more and more time at school, away from home. I wonder how many of our students have stories like this. I remember in the first few pages of Dr. Bruce Perry’s What Happened to You book, he talked about a student who would act out in class. It turned out that the teacher’s cologne was triggering him to a bad memory of a past experience, showing us that triggers can occur and set us off when we least expect it.
I wonder:
How do past traumas show up and do they impact our life?
What Can They Teach Us About How We Might Respond to Certain Situations?
What strategies can we use to help us to maintain balance in our life?
While I didn’t have an experience as painful as Hans Appel’s, or the student with the cologne, these stories made me remember something from over 20 years ago that made my skin crawl, and still does. Psychological trauma impacts our brain, and can trigger us to feel threatened even when we are not in a threatening situation.
When I hear the sound of ice hitting a glass from a refrigerator ice machine, this sound takes me back to a time when I remember someone pouring themselves another drink, at night, and I just didn’t understand it. I can see the memory and feel the unhappiness from that time period, clearly each time I hear that sound. This traumatic memory shows me that trauma once it hits our brain, embeds itself deeply in there, until we can uncover it, identify it, and then figure out what we will do with it (forgive it) so it loses its power over us, or doesn’t interfere with our future results.
Trauma is something that we have recently begun to train our teachers with. Our episode with Dr. Michael Gaskell
Previous Episode
Scientist and Activist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols on ”Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Connects Our Brain to Water”
“Now it’s time to update my grandfather’s words by explaining them, and, by doing so, changing our understanding of our place on the planet, who we are, and what goes on inside and between us. It’s about reconnecting our sense of self and soul with our waterways and oceans. It’s about finding our creativity, clarity, and confidence in our deep Blue Minds.” Celine Cousteau, who opens up Wallace J. Nichols’ Blue Mind book, with a fascinating look into the depths of the ocean, reminding us of the words that meant the most to her from her grandfather, the great, Jacques Cousteau, that “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. People protect what they love.”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/wwx1jrHj33c
On today's EPISODE #297 "Blue-Mind: The Surprising Science That Connects Our Brain to Water" we will cover:
✔ What made Dr. Wallace J. Nichols connect the mysteries of the ocean, to our brain.
✔ How he gathered research for this book, and made real world connections between neuroscience and the water, never explored before.
✔ Why we are often more connected, emotional and happier around water.
✔ What Dr. Nichols noticed when he wore a waterproof EEC cap and measured his brain while swimming in the ocean.
✔ How Blue Mind can help us to become more self-aware, and move us towards freedom, possibility, wonder and hope.
✔ Easy ways we can all access and practice Blue Mind, especially on World Blue Mind Day, this Sunday July 23rd.
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional
Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.
For today’s episode #297, we are diving into the depths of the ocean, and learning about some concepts that Dr. Wallace J Nichols[i] has discovered that he calls “Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, or Under Water, Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected and Better at What You Do.”
When I was first introduced to Dr. Nichols, I was on a summer vacation with the family and just packing up our trip next to the clearest, bluest water I have ever seen on Grace Bay, in Turks and Caicos. My friend and Performance Coach Luke DePron, from EP 90[ii] sent me an introduction to Dr. Nichols for our podcast, and when I saw his book, I couldn’t have been more excited. I always want to understand the “why” behind certain things, and the ocean (and water in general) is something I’ve always been fascinated with. I took one look at Dr. Nichols’ book, Blue Mind, and I was instantly captivated. He asks some of the questions I’ve always wondered:
- What is water, and Why are we as humans so enthralled by it?
Then I looked at the cover of the book, and the tagline got me thinking more:
- What happens to me when I’m swimming in water? Why do I suddenly feel more creative than I do when I’m sitting at my desk? Or more connected to others? What happens to me when I dive down to the bottom of the ocean?
Now I’m reading Dr. Nichols’ book, hoping to answer these questions, and also a bit surprised that I never thought of the brain/water connection. If you’ve been following this podcast for some time, you’ll know that I’ve been working on the brain/and learning connection and neuroscience is helping the field of education to make huge strides as we know so much more about how the brain learns best today, than we did 20 years ago. What we are doing essentially, is expanding our level of awareness.
Then I read about awareness from the late author David Foster Wallace, who said in a commencement speech in 2005 that “education should be based on awareness. Awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time.” (location 175, Blue Mind).
Now my mind is wide open, my level of awareness has expanded, as he says “this is water” and I’m now making the Mind/Brain connection.
This is just the beginning. I’ve got some questions for Dr. Nichols that I hope will expand ALL of our levels of awareness around this thing called water, and how this unders...
Next Episode
Brain Fact Friday on ”A Deep Dive into Dr. Caroline Leaf’s 5 Scientifically Proven Steps to Clean Up Our Mental Mess”
On Today's EPISODE #299 we will cover:
✔ A Deep Dive into Dr. Caroline Leaf's 5 Scientifically Proven Steps to Clean Up Our Mental Mess, So We Can Help Ourselves, Others and Our Children (Preparing for Dr. Leaf's NEW Book Coming Out August 8th).
✔ What to Expect in the 63 Day Neurocycle (from her APP) from Andrea's Experience of Breaking Down Her Own Toxic Thoughts.
✔ How This Scientifically Proven Process Breaks Down a Toxic Thought, and Reconceptualizes It into Something Healthy and Manageable.
✔ An Overview of the 5 Steps You Will Use to Manage Your Mind.
✔ What Tools and Strategies Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests for improving anxiety and stress in our lives.
✔ Andrea's Thoughts on implementing these strategies for improved mental and physical health, with tools to create balance on a daily basis.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.
As we have now hit more than halfway through this year, I want to look back to where we started in January. We opened up January 2023 and SEASON 9 with an episode that focused on “prioritizing our mental and physical health, improving self-awareness and resiliency”[i] with a quote from Julie Smith, and her book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
She said “To me, working on maximizing our mental health is no different to working on our physical health.”
Today, we are going to show just how true Julie Smith’s concept of being mindful of our physical AND mental health is, and look at some strategies that we can all use immediately, for difficult times, so that we ALL keep our mental health at the forefront, with ideas for how we can use our mind to become resilient to stress.
For today’s episode #299, we are going back to the Basics, and reviewing EP #106[ii], from February 2021, where we covered a review of Dr. Caroline Leaf’s Neurocycle APP[iii] (that’s scientifically designed to help manage and reduce anxiety, depression and mental ill-health by 81%) along with her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, that we covered when we interviewed Dr. Leaf on a BONUS EPISODE[iv] back in 2021. I continue to release her episode every year, as her 5 STEP process to identifying, and breaking up toxic thoughts is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or tried myself. If anyone ever asks me “what do you recommend for getting rid of those ruminating thoughts, those worries, stresses or anxieties” that ALL of us feel at some point in our life, I always send over Dr. Leaf’s interview, and let them know about her APP that’s now called The Neurocycle APP, based on applying these 5 steps.
Why Am I Revisiting Our Mental Health Now?
After our last EP #298 with my friend and Neurocoach, Grace Reynolds[v], I mentioned that my girls were struggling with going back to school, and my youngest in particular, with a new school, no friends there, and an entirely new routine. I tried some of Grace’s strategies with her to help bring her brain back to calm, but I quickly realized that I needed more help for her.
I thought back to Dr. Leaf’s episode, and wished she has steps for me to follow that I could walk my 12 year old through, so I went back to the Neurocycle APP on my phone, and thought that it might be a good time for me to revisit the 5 STEPS that she suggests can clean up ANY mental mess, helping us to manage thoughts that make us anxious, or depressed, and eliminate ANY toxic thoughts, showing us how to take control of them, manage them, and break them down so that they don’t have any control over us. We’ve all got these thoughts in our head, whether it’s work worries, financial worries, family worries, I’m sure everyone can write down a bunch of CRAP they need to get out of their head. It’s really quite an experience and I thought I’m definitely past due for cleaning up my own mental mess.
I opened up my APP that I haven’t used since the last time I had a problem I wanted to eliminate, and right there on the home page was an alert about Dr. Leaf’s new book, coming out in days, called
If you like this episode you’ll love
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