This transcript is computer generated and may contain errors and not be an exact representation of the audio
Hi this is Welcome to Self® and I’m Dr Hayley D Quinn, fellow human, mother, wife, clinical psychologist, supervisor, trainer and coach.
Welcome to Self® is a place where you can come and learn about the practices that assist us as humans, realise that you’re not alone in the ways you struggle, and have your curiosity piqued on various topics as I chat to wonderful guests or bring you solo episodes. This is a place to remember that you are human first and have different roles in your life that need your attention and for that you need to take care of yourself in the best way you can. My aim is that this is a place of nourishment, growth and nurture. A place where you can welcome Your Self.
Hi, welcome to another episode and the start of more solo episodes that will be known as bite-size business.
I’ve made the decision to increase back to fortnightly episodes, for those of you that have been listening for a long time you’ll know that episodes used to be fortnightly and I made the choice to move to monthly because the workload was actually becoming too much for me to do on my own.
I used to have somebody else do my podcast management and they could no longer do it, so I had to take that role on for myself, and I knew that if I tried to keep doing episodes at the frequency that I’d previously been doing them, I was going to get overwhelmed and be overcommitted in the things that I needed to do, so I made the decision to move the episodes to monthly.
It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, because I did really want to keep providing the information on a more regular basis, and I really love creating episodes and interviewing guests, but I knew I had to prioritise my own well-being in making that decision and it was the right decision for me.
Since then my business has evolved and I have made some choices to bring somebody onto my team to help me with some of the tasks that need doing, particularly around the podcast, which is exciting because what that means is I can focus on creating content and recording the podcast and not have to worry so much about what’s happening with the backend of it.
So why bite-size business? Let’s be honest it was a catchy little name that popped into my head when I was on a walk one day and I like it, so that’s what I’ll be calling these solo episodes. What can I say, not all business decisions are the result of stimulated thinking and protracted decision making!
The idea of these episodes is that they will be short, easily digestible and include some helpful tips and information to assist you to engage in your business in a way that is more sustainable for you. I’ll even include some guided meditations if I get feedback that these are helpful.
I also encourage you to reach out and let me know what you’d like to hear about, any topics that particularly interest you or areas that you’re struggling with and don’t know how to address.
Although this episode is only intended to be an introduction to the new format and frequency. I will share with you one of the tips that I use throughout my days that whilst it sounds so simple really has been a game changer for me, really has made a difference for me in my business and also the other aspects of my life.
I’m talking about using your breath and often I’ll hear people kinda sound a bit doubtful that that’s going to be particularly helpful and they’re wanting some tool or strategy that’s going to help fix a problem or maybe there’s a little bit of eye rolling that might happen but bear with me because this really has been a game changer for me.
Your breath is one of your greatest assets it can really help you change the way you’re feeling and it can really help you slow down and quieten your mind so that you can actually access your own wisdom of which you have so much.
Often when we’re really busy running our business and doing all our life admin we just don’t get to hear the wisdom because there’s too much other noise in our mind.
When you intentionally slow down your breath you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, this is the part of your nervous system that allows you to feel a sense of safeness and feel grounded, your rest and digest system. When you activate this system it messages to you that all is well, and you can focus on the broader picture. On the other hand, when your sympathetic nervous system is activated, you’re more likely to be feeling anxious or on high alert, in your flight, fight, freeze, fawn response and as such your focus will be narrower and your motivation will be to get safe no matter what. Now this doesn’t always make for the best decisions in your business, and I will be doing an episode more on this later.
So I invite you to just take a moment now to intentionally slow down your breath, just be aware of your in breath and your out breath. Wherever you are whatever you’re doing. You don’t need to close your eyes. You can close your eyes if you want to and it’s safe to do so but you don’t need to.
Just notice the rise and fall of your belly and your chest as you breathe in and breathe out and slow your breath to a level that feels comfortable to you. You may want to breathe in for a count of 4 or 5 and breathe out for that same count of 4 or 5, or whatever feels right for you.
As you do this, just notice how you feel. What your body feels like, what your mind feels like, perhaps you might notice the thoughts in your mind slowing down a little bit, you might not, that’s normal too, especially if this is something you haven’t done before. It does take practice and like most things, with practice it will get easier. Having said that even when you are well practiced at this, you will likely still have many times when your mind just doesn’t want to slow down but rather jumps around all over the place. You can gift yourself just a few moments of this soothing rhythm breathing whenever you like, and this is something I invite you to practice over the next few days. Just taking a few moments to slow down your breath and pay attention to what’s different when you do this.
I’d love to hear how you go when you try this some more, so send me a message either on socials or flick me an email I’d love to hear from you.
I hope the first little episode of bite-size business has been helpful, and I look forward to bringing more of them to you soon.
Go well and go gently with yourself
Thank you for sharing this time with me today. I hope your time here was helpful and supportive. If there has been something in this episode that you found helpful, I invite you to share it with another person you think might benefit. I’d also love it if you’d leave a five star rating and review wherever you tune in. Ratings and reviews really help to increase awareness of podcasts, meaning I can spread helpful information more widely. All reviews are welcome and much appreciated as I know they take time out of your day. If you’d like to be notified when the next episode airs, please use the link in the show notes to join the mailing list. Music and editing by Nyssa Ray. Thanks Nyssa I wish you all well in your relationship with yourself and may you go well and go gently.
Links to Dr Hayley D Quinn Resources
Link to podcast mailing list: https://drhayleydquinn.com/podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drhayleydquinn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drhayleydquinn
Freebies: https://drhayleydquinn.com/resources
Meditations: https://drhayleydquinn.com/shop/
Journal: https://drhayleydquinn.com/product/welcome-to-self-compassionate-journal/