Mindful Collaboration

11/08/2025

S.H.I.F.T. Happens releases November 18th. Get on the waitlist here: https://bobby-newell.kit.com/regulateandreset

11/07/2025

Parallel Paths & Personal Space

A few days ago, I looked out the window and noticed another plane flying beside us perfectly parallel.

Same altitude. Same direction. Different paths.

It was mesmerizing. Two planes, heading the same way, close enough to feel connected, yet far enough apart to maintain their own trajectory.

It made me think about the people who’ve been flying beside me while writing S.H.I.F.T. Happens.

The mentors, colleagues, and friends who’ve been right there cheering me on, sending encouragement, offering feedback, sharing their own stories of burnout, stress, and transformation.

Each one has shown up in their own way. Sometimes offering wisdom, sometimes just presence. And both have mattered equally.

But as I sat there watching those planes move through the same stretch of sky, I was also reminded of something equally important: the power of space.

There are moments when we need others to fly close enough to remind us we’re not alone — and moments when we need the air between us to stay clear so we can hear our own internal compass.

Writing this book has been both, a shared flight path and a solo journey.

There have been days I’ve wanted to reach out for reassurance, and days I’ve needed to trust that quiet knowing that says: You’re still on course. Keep going.

And honestly, that’s been the deeper lesson, that balance between connection and solitude, between support and sovereignty.

Whether you’re writing a book, building a business, leading a team, or healing your nervous system, this balance matters.

Support without suffocation. Connection without comparison. Encouragement without interference.

So here’s to the people who fly beside us - not to steer us, but to stay with us.
And here’s to trusting our own instruments, even when the sky feels uncertain.

If you'd like to get on the waitlist for S.H.I.F.T. Happens, you can do that here: https://lnkd.in/eQ_dKd2q

11/06/2025

I recently joined Marilyn Barker on the Put It in a Bubble podcast — a show about releasing stress, negativity, and fear one breath at a time.

We talked about something I see every day in my practice and in myself: how easily we live neck-up, disconnected from the body that’s quietly carrying the load.

Marilyn asked how I found my way into this work. I shared that I grew up with two teen parents in a Catholic family where giving back was part of life. That call to serve led me to social work and eventually to somatic experiencing, the approach that changed everything.

Our bodies are always scanning for safety and danger, but most of us were taught to override those cues. We stay “on” for too long, ignore discomfort, and call it resilience. In truth, it’s survival mode dressed up as success.

That’s why I wrote S.H.I .F.T. Happens: Reclaim Your Energy and Focus - Without Quitting Your Job. So many people don’t hate their jobs — they hate the imbalance. They’ve lost connection to choice and boundaries. I know, because I once found myself resenting the very business I built.

The first step to change is deceptively simple: slow down. Notice your environment. Feel your body. When you walk into a room, actually arrive. It’s how your nervous system learns you’re safe enough to stay.

Marilyn and I laughed about scanning a networking room and finding the exits, sensing the energy, and how that instinct isn’t anxiety; it’s intelligence.

Awareness is your body’s way of keeping you grounded.

We also talked about the courage it takes to honor discomfort. You don’t have to say yes to every opportunity. Sometimes the most empowered move is to pause and listen before you act.

And when you do want to engage but your body resists, somatic tools can help you re-enter connection gently so you can participate from presence instead of performance.

Between the laughter, the cats, and the coffee, we kept circling back to compassion: for ourselves, our nervous systems, and the people doing their best to regulate in a dysregulated world.

If you’ve been feeling on the edge or fully burned out, this episode is your reminder: you’re not broken. You’re ready to rebuild from the inside out.

S.H.I .F.T. Happens launches November 18 on Amazon Kindle.

You can grab the free mini-workbook now at https://lnkd.in/eQ_dKd2q

Thank you, Marilyn, for creating a space where calm isn’t a luxury — it’s a practice.

11/05/2025

I’m honored to share that I’ve been selected to speak at the TraumaWise Workplace Summit, happening March 2–6, 2026 — a gathering dedicated to building workplaces where nervous system awareness and psychological safety aren’t optional, but essential.

I'm passionate about bridging mental health and workplace culture and bringing the language of regulation, embodiment, and relational repair into spaces that often reward disconnection. Being invited to this summit feels like a meaningful recognition of that mission.

The reality is that many professionals today are overloaded, dysregulated, and exhausted. We’ve normalized stress to the point where burnout is seen as inevitable. But it doesn’t have to be.

My talk, “S.H.I.F.T. Happens: Reclaim Your Energy and Focus - Without Quitting Your Job,” is about helping people reconnect with their calm and clarity in high-stress environments. The S.H.I.F.T. framework — Slow Down, Hear Your Body, Interrupt the Pattern, Find What’s True, and Take Aligned Action offers practical tools to bring the nervous system back online so that authentic focus and connection can return.

Each letter represents a small but powerful pivot toward regulation. It’s a framework born from years of work with both high-performing professionals and compassionate clinicians — people who give deeply, often at the expense of their own energy.

In a trauma-wise workplace, we understand that burnout isn’t a personal flaw. It’s a systemic signal. When stress is chronic, productivity drops, creativity shuts down, and communication suffers. But when organizations begin to address stress through the lens of the nervous system, everything changes: people feel seen, relationships strengthen, and performance naturally improves.

That’s the shift I’ll be speaking about — how to lead and work in a way that’s not just sustainable, but genuinely life-giving.

What excites me most about this summit is the collective commitment to change.

This work is also deeply personal to me. I know what it’s like to be the steady one in the room while running on empty. It’s why I teach what I do because no one should have to choose between success and self-regulation.

When we create trauma-wise workplaces, we don’t just prevent burnout. We build belonging. We make it safe for people to be real, to recover, and to thrive.

I’m deeply grateful to the organizers of the TraumaWise Workplace Summit for curating this vital conversation. I can’t wait to join others who believe that calm is the new competitive edge and that the future of leadership is somatic.

If you’re passionate about creating workplaces where people feel safe, supported, and seen, I’d love for you to join me there. I'll be posting the registration link as soon as it's live.

10/29/2025

The holidays are coming! Are you ready to deal with your family?

10/28/2025

10/28/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bobby-newell-somatic-business-coach-and-therapist-220069b_somaticleadership-workplacewellness-neurodiversityatwork-activity-7388954852858494976-F8wk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAH3U_gBM8jv1a6Bslc7s5uPcI9W7LfF3tM

How Neurodivergence Shows Up in the Workplace and Somatic Tools to Manage It Have you ever noticed how some employees seem “on edge” all day… while others go completely quiet in stressful moments? Sometimes that isn’t a personality difference. It’s a nervous system difference. Neurodiverge...

10/27/2025

If you are looking for a therapist for your teen, Lillian Anderson could be a good fit. She is in our midtown Raleigh office and she also offers Telehealth. She is in network with Cigna, Aetna, and Blue Cross - including the elusive Blue Home. Please reach out with any questions to 919-205-5065 or you can schedule online at www.mindfulcollaborationnc.com

10/22/2025

Autumn reminds us that letting go can be beautiful.
As the trees release what no longer serves them, we too can shed old stories, expectations, and ways of being that no longer fit.

This season, notice where you’re holding on tightly and what might actually be asking to fall away.

What are you ready to release?

10/15/2025

Exciting things are coming next month. I’ll be releasing my book on stress management skills in the workplace and my friend Hanna Hepburn is introducing her Bring app for women looking for mentors.

10/13/2025