Dr. Gay Hendricks is one of the most outstanding figures in the field of relationships, transformation and bodymind therapy. He is an author and co-author of many best-selling books including Conscious Loving and Five Wishes. After a twenty-one-year career as a professor of Counseling Psychology at University Colorado, he and his wife, Katie, founded The Hendricks Institute, which is based in Ojai, California and offers seminars worldwide. Dr. Hendricks has  appeared on hundreds of shows including Oprah and 48 hours. He also founded The Spiritual Cinema Circle, which distributes inspirational movies to subscribers around the world.

Contact Info

• Website: www.Hendricks.com
• Facebook: Hearts In Harmony

Most Influential Person

• Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian Philosopher and Teacher – He said, ‘If you can’t meditate on a subway, you can’t meditate’.

Effect on Emotions

• When I first began my mindfulness meditation practice forty years ago, I don’t think I  knew anything about my emotions. I think meditation has opened up a space in which I can really feel my emotions. Like right now, if I felt sad, I could feel it in my chest and I could say, I’m sad. I wasn’t able to do that forty years ago.

Thoughts on Breathing

• I’ve written a whole book on breathing called ‘Conscious Breathing’. I discovered that oftentimes clients and myself would, when we were trying to cut off emotions from ourselves, would cut off our breathing. We would hold our breath or restrict our breathing. Whereas if we open our breathing up and take full easy breaths, we can be much more aware of our emotions on a moment to moment basis. So I use my breathing as a barometer of exactly how I’m feeling. If I feel a big, easy, open flow of breathing, that usually tells me things are going on really well, but if I feel myself clamping down and not breathing as much, it’s because usually there’s something I’m anxious about that I haven’t opened up to or some worry I have that I haven’t gotten clear about. So I use my breathing as a powerful barometer.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Conscious Breathing Book by Dr. Gay Hendricks / The Big Leap by Dr. Gay Hendricks / A Path With A Heart by Jack Cornfield
• App: SuperMindApps.com An app that helps you learn to love yourself.

Advice for Newbie

Take ten minutes wherever you are and just pay attention to your breathing. Even if you’re sitting on a subway. Don’t try to make yourself breathe any which way, just take a moment to tune in and notice and then you can certainly get more elaborate with meditation if you want to use a mantra or take specific training in it, that’s a really good thing also. In the beginning have the willingness and the courage to pay attention to yourself. The philosopher, Blaise Pascal, hundreds of years ago said that all of our problems as human beings could be cured if we could sit in a room by ourselves for ten minutes doing nothing.

Thank You Bonus:

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