Neways Center

04/08/2026

Would you like more decision clarity? The next time you're stuck on a decision, you know, in that loop of pros and cons or other people's opinions or imagined future regret, try this:

• Put the question aside for a moment. Sit down. Feel your feet on the floor. Take a breath that actually reaches your belly.
• Then, when you imagine choosing Option A, notice the physical response. Does your chest expand or tighten? Does your breath deepen or become shallow? Do you feel a subtle sense of openness or contraction?
• Let that option fade and consider Option B.
• You're not looking for a dramatic signal. You're just listening. Most of the time, the body's answer is a quiet and subtle sense of relief or slight heaviness. A feeling of leaning forward or pulling back.

This practice helps the nervous system re-enter the decision-making process. Over time, it becomes easier to recognize when something is aligned and when it isn’t. https://newayscenter.com/overcoming-decision-fatigue/

Overcoming decision fatigue, decision exhaustion, or analysis paralysis starts with getting out of your head and trusting your body’s wisdom.

04/01/2026

Here’s a simple somatic practice for reconnecting you with your worth, not based on achievement, but on who you are.
• Set aside a few quiet minutes where you won’t be interrupted. Sit comfortably and allow your feet to rest on the ground. Let your spine lengthen without forcing it. Take a slow breath in through your nose and exhale gently through your mouth.
• Now bring your attention to your body. Notice where you feel tension or holding. Perhaps your shoulders are lifted, your jaw is tight, or your stomach feels braced. Without trying to change anything, simply acknowledge what’s there.
• Then place one hand on your chest or your belly. Let the warmth of your hand create a small point of connection. As you breathe, allow your body to soften just a little.
• Quietly ask yourself: Who am I when I’m not trying to prove anything?
• Let the question land in your body rather than searching for an intellectual answer. Notice what shifts. You may feel a sense of space, emotion, resistance, or even relief.
All of this is information you can use to give your nervous system a different experience, one where you can exist without needing to earn your worth in that moment.

https://newayscenter.com/low-self-esteem-explore-3-ways-restore/

03/26/2026

The next time you notice yourself about to automatically agree or adjust, try this short practice.
•Pause before responding. Feel both feet on the floor and gently press them downward for a few seconds. Let your body register the support beneath you. Take a slow breath in through your nose. Let the exhale be slightly longer than the inhale. Relax your shoulders and allow your spine to lengthen.
•Now quietly ask yourself: What do I actually think here?
You don’t have to say it immediately. Just noticing the answer interrupts the automatic pattern.
Presence often begins with a single breath.

You don’t have to kill the “go along to get along” part of you to be a leader. Instead, learn to make that part work for you, not against you

03/25/2026

“The primary wound in our culture is the separation between our thinking and our being. We’ve been taught that we can think more clearly if we shut down the sensations of the body.” ~ Philip Shepherd

03/19/2026

My article entitled, Designing Empowering Conversations: Where Choice Really Lives, is the cover article for choice Magazine! I’m so thrilled and appreciative of this privilege. The main point of it is: Most coaching conversations talk about choice as if it lives in the mind, as if better thinking, clearer logic, or more analysis will reveal the path forward. But in my years of working with high-achieving clients, I've learned something very different: Choice doesn’t originate in the mind. It originates in the body.

It begins in the subtle tightening before a “no,” the warm expansion that signals a “yes,” the micro-shift that happens when something is aligned — or not. The mind arrives later with a story to justify what the body already knew.

Empowering conversations start when coaches understand where choice actually happens and help clients return to that inner compass. Would you like to know more about this somatic approach? Feel free to direct message me.

As a courtesy to my followers, choice Magazine is letting you read this article for free: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qLVoBCea93yfOwbS_owlHYOXd1izxu-R/view

Published in, and reproduced with permission from, choice, the magazine of professional coaching www.choice-online.com. If you are interested in reading more choice articles, use my special coupon code, AUTHOR25, to receive a 25% discount off a print, digital or combo subscription: www.choice-online.com/catalogue

03/18/2026

In psychology, there is a concept called the shadow. The shadow isn’t the “bad” part of you. It’s simply the parts of yourself that haven’t been fully integrated into your conscious awareness because they feel too unsafe or unacceptable.

This shadow isn’t discovered through thinking alone. It often reveals itself through the body. Try this simple practice the next time you notice yourself reacting automatically to a situation that you know deep down you don’t want to.

• Sit comfortably with both feet on the floor. Take a slow breath in through your nose and allow your shoulders to soften as you exhale.
• Place one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen. Let your breathing settle into a steady rhythm.
• Now gently bring to mind a recent moment when you found yourself agreeing or accommodating before you fully meant to. Notice what happens in your body as you recall it. Do you feel a tightening in your chest? A slight contraction in your stomach? A sense of holding your breath?
• Instead of analyzing the sensation, simply stay present with it. You might quietly say to yourself: “I see you.”

Sometimes the most powerful shift is not forcing change but becoming aware of what has been operating quietly in the background. Presence begins with noticing.

More about the shadow self and how it creates a common pattern in women today in my post! https://newayscenter.com/auto-accommodating-reflex/

03/11/2026

Ambition has gotten a bad rap, especially for women. But we need a measure of ambition to get anything done! How can you feed your ambition without sacrificing your wellbeing, your relationships, or your sense of self? That’s what my latest blog post is all about. https://newayscenter.com/feed-your-ambition-catapult-your-leadership-career/

You can feed your ambition to be and have more without sacrificing your wellbeing, your relationships, or your sense of self, and here’s how…

03/10/2026

Ambition often lives in the mind as plans, goals, and future possibilities. But your body is what helps you sustain the journey. Try this short grounding practice when you feel overwhelmed or disconnected from your purpose.
• Sit comfortably with your feet on the floor. Take a slow breath in through your nose and allow your shoulders to soften as you exhale.
• Place one hand on your chest and the other on your lower abdomen.
• On your next breath, notice the movement of your body rather than trying to control it. Let your breathing become steady and natural.
• Now ask yourself quietly: What part of me is ready to grow right now? Notice any sensations in your body. Warmth, expansion, curiosity, or even nervousness. These sensations are signals that your system is processing what’s possible for you.
• Take three more slow breaths and imagine that your ambition is not something you must force, but something you can support gently, step by step.
• Then ask yourself: What is the smallest next step I can take today?
When ambition is grounded in the body, it becomes sustainable rather than overwhelming.

03/04/2026

In today’s world, many women experience failure in subtle but relentless ways. A launch that doesn’t convert. A conversation that goes poorly. A boundary that wobbles. A leadership decision that receives pushback. We internalize it quickly, “I should be further along. I should have handled that better. Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”

On the other hand, when you can say, “That presentation didn’t land the way I hoped. My chest feels tight. I feel embarrassed,” you’re naming the experience without becoming it.

However, when failure remains a purely mental loop, it spirals. Your nervous system registers it as a threat. You either go into overdrive to compensate or you shut down to protect yourself. Neither state produces growth. This is where embodiment becomes essential. When you involve the body and listen to what it’s trying to tell you, something shifts.

Failure leads to success when you acknowledge the emotion, regulate your body, and extract lessons that make your next attempt more successful.

03/04/2026

“I don’t know where we’re going,
But I know exactly how to get there.”
Renias Mhlongo
Photo by Md Meraz on Unsplash

03/04/2026

Here’s how you can process failure in real time. When something doesn’t go as planned, try this within the first hour.
• First, sit upright with both feet flat on the floor. Feel the ground beneath you.
• Take a slow breath in through your nose for four counts. Exhale for six. Do this five times.
• Now bring your attention to where you feel the failure in your body. Is it a heaviness in your stomach? A tightness in your throat? Heat in your face?
• Place one hand gently over that area if it feels comfortable.
Instead of asking, “Why did I mess this up?” ask, “What is this sensation trying to protect me from?”
Stay curious. Often, you will uncover something deeper than the event itself. Fear of rejection. Fear of being seen as incompetent. Fear of not belonging.
• Now, gently shift your posture. Lengthen your spine. Roll your shoulders back. Lift your chin slightly. This is not performance. It’s signaling safety and capability to your nervous system.
• Finally, ask one grounded question: “What is one specific adjustment I can make next time?” One adjustment. Not a complete overhaul of your identity.
In less than five minutes, you have acknowledged the emotion, regulated your body, and extracted learning. That is resilience in action. Stay tuned for more on Wednesday.

02/25/2026

When your nervous system feels activated, build capacity for feeling it without getting overwhelmed by it through a practice called Pendulation. This exercise helps you move between activation and safety without getting stuck.

Sit comfortably. Notice where your body feels tense or activated. (Jaw, neck, shoulders, hands, and stomach are common areas.) Don’t analyze. Just locate it.
Now shift your attention to a part of your body that feels neutral or steady. Maybe your feet or back.
Stay with the steady area for 20 to 30 seconds.
Then gently return your awareness to the activated area for 10 to 15 seconds.
Then back to the steady area.

You’re teaching your nervous system that activation and safety can coexist and move between them. This builds resilience not by eliminating stress, but by increasing flexibility.
https://newayscenter.com/work-with-your-body-accumulated-stress/