Small Business Mentoring, Educational and Transformational Kinesiology & Brain Gym: An interview with Gay
Q. How did you get into what you do?
When I was little I loved to hide myself in my dad’s eclectic library of philosophy, theosophy, astrology, palmistry and other fascinating esoteric reads. I voraciously read everything, amazed and often overwhelmed by the ideas and information they presented. It started my fascination with what I would now call the human condition.
These esoteric thoughts fuelled my imagination until I left school and started work. I embraced the corporate world, working in the UK in the insurance, recruitment and finance industries. A crowning achievement was being employed to open and manage an employment agency in Southampton at the tender age of 21. By 29 I had married and moved to Australia, bought a house and had a child. I felt competent and worldly until I met my Waterloo: my 3 year old son, I realised I no longer had a clue.
Desperate for help to understand this little being, I decided to train to be a group leader in STEP, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting. Despite a philosophy that rang true, I found it difficult to put the concepts consistently into place. Thinking I needed more training I enrolled in a Parent Skills Trainer program. I developed skills in counselling, group leading and community outreach but I still felt unable to consistently facilitate change either for myself or for my clients.
In fact, the more I knew the deeper the well I found myself in. Finally, in a Brain Gym® workshop I found a process that could facilitate me to get the information out of my head and into my actions. Brain Gym helped my second son, who was then 4, survive his frustration with life and, more importantly, helped me survive him! I knew I wanted to teach this amazing process that could create peace and transformation to others.
In 1996 I became a qualified Brain Gym instructor, opened my kinesiology clinic in Toowong and found Transformational Kinesiology which allowed my soul to soar. It gave me a framework to understand and express my authentic Self. I found I could attain and retain connection with my highest purpose and choose to consciously evolve.
Q. What are you passionate about in your work?
Many things! But professionalism and excellence in practice are very important to me. I have been most fortunate to train with Paul Dennison, PhD, the father of Brain Gym and Educational Kinesiology and also to travel to Denmark to train with Grethe Fremming & Rolf Hausbøl, the creators of Transformational Kinesiology. These individuals, with a passion for helping people to help themselves, have shaped me and mentored my practice.
Q. What other training has shaped your work? My dedication to best practice has led me to train with many other gifted and passionate people, including Australia’s Claire Hocking and her work on Primitive Reflexes, South Africa’s Rita Edwards and her work on Sensory Integration and Canadian Flower Essence creator Sabina Petit.
I broke many preconceived notions about the physical world through adventure based leadership training, including that what we see as real is not necessarily so. And, through specific training in learning styles, I learned about the multitude of ways we learn and the different needs we each have. This training led me to re-appraise my own ability to learn and decide to enter university.
Enrolling university was my biggest challenge. It was terrifying. I had hated school, was a dreadful student and had been petrified of exams. Back then I never studied but was incredibly fortunate that the education system in Canada was using continuous assessment which meant as long as a student maintained a C average, end of year exams were not required. I managed to finish high school with my university entrance but lacked the confidence in my ability to learn.
Despite this lack of confidence, I felt a degree would provide a context to my work that would enable me to be a better practitioner, I knew I needed to pursue it so I put Brain Gym and the Learning Styles training to the test. I did Brain Gym before every assignment and exam and developed study habits to suit me, not the recommendations of the university. I discovered I could learn and graduated, with distinction, with a GPA (grade point average) of 6.7 out of 7. I was elated by the discovery that I was indeed intelligent, something the school system had left me seriously doubting!
Q. What are some of your proudest achievements as a professional?
Creating a successful kinesiology practice must be the biggest. My journey to being a successful practitioner took more work, more focus and more trust than I thought I had. Many times I thought I would fail but the deep joy of working with clients to achieve their goals gave me strength to keep learning the skills to transform my joy into my business.
I was lucky, I had a business and sales background and a family history of entrepreneurs (my father and 3 of my 4 brothers and sisters have their own businesses). However, even with that background it took much more time than I liked to become successful. I also saw many talented colleagues give up on their dream of working with people. This engendered a passion to support others in their work so they to could create successful businesses out of their joy.
My passion developed into a vision of an Australian organisation to help support other Brain Gym Instructors to do the work they loved. I became a key player in the development of the Australian Brain Gym Network. Eight years later, in 2006 at the first International Australian Gathering, I was presented with an award for Outstanding Achievement from Brain Gym International for my work in this area.
This passion to support people took me to the USA to train as a certified Action Plan Marketing Coach with one of the most experienced and successful marketers for independent service professionals, Robert Middleton. His program, proven over time, is a simple and guaranteed system to consistently increase clients and improve profitability. I am now offering his program to people who have a passion and a dream but are struggling to make enough money to make it their business.
Q. What interests, even fascinates you about your field?
I love the ability to create change where it seems impossible. As someone who is often in change but also by nature quite fearful of it I feel very fortunate to have found such a process. I feel connected to my purpose and my authentic self and love that I can create my life and that I am still excited by helping others to create theirs. This is not to say that I don’t struggle sometimes! I do, it’s part of the journey, but I have tools to make it easier. I can’t imagine where I would be without the processes I use.
Q. What are some big things you’ve accomplished for clients?
One of my favourite clients was a 14 year old boy who had never read a book in his life who started devouring them. The thing that was so wonderful was that by breaking through such a block he discovered he was able to do anything he wanted. And he realised that sometimes judgements by the powers that be (teachers) can be wrong. He became the creator of his life, he didn’t have to be a victim.
Another who comes to mind is a client on the verge of divorce, he needed to become clear about what he wanted. Once he knew it was his relationship we worked on turning his thoughts around to create the changes required to keep that relationship going. I love that this work can facilitate a deep knowing in people and the strength to back themselves and follow through.
I have had many clients let go of traumatic pasts and start to appreciate and embrace themselves fully and completely. I find the changes my clients make all the more exciting because they discover, no matter what their age, that they have more power in their own life and can take more responsibility than they know. I love the freedom that gives them!
Now I love helping practitioners and people who have something wonderful to offer the world get it out there. Seeing clients who were once struggling having all their dreams come true brings me such joy.
Q. What do you like doing when you are not at work?
I used to be part of the Brisbane Playback Theatre Troupe, which I loved, but life became too busy. Aside from that I love to play with art materials. While I may never show my work it is a wonderful release of my creativity and I love it. It is also another thing I thought I could never do. I look forward to my next revelation!
Qualifications and Training:
B.SocSc (Human Services)
Educational & Transformational Kinesiologist
Brain Gym® Instructor, Optimal Brain Organisation and Visioncircles™ Instructor
Flower and Vibrational Essence Practitioner
Transformational Leadership Training
Family Skills Counsellor
Workplace Trainer
Reiki Practitioner
Action Plan Marketing Certified Coach
Member of:
Australian Kinesiology Association
Brain Gym International
Brain Gym Australia
Flower Essence Society
Recipient of:
The Educational Kinesiology Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement 2006.
