MysticMag chats with Dr. Kathy Gruver, an internationally recognized speaker, author, and coach with over 30 years of experience in stress reduction, mindfulness, and personal growth. A two-time TEDx speaker and award-winning author of eight books, Kathy has inspired audiences on four continents and has been featured in top media outlets like CNN, Time, and Dr. Oz’s The Good Life. She is also the host of The Alternative Medicine Cabinet and co-host of The Fire and Earth Podcast. With a PhD in Natural Health and certifications in coaching, Kathy combines passion, humor, and expertise to empower individuals and organizations to create positive change.
Dr. Gruver, your journey spans various disciplines, from mind/body medicine to performing arts. How have these diverse experiences shaped your approach to stress reduction and communication enhancement?
I love this question and I think you hit the nail right on the head. I think a big part of what I do is successful because of my vast experience in the different disciplines. I never knew why I was always saying yes to new techniques or new courses and then I realize as I sit here that everything I’ve learned to this point allows me to provide healing for people in such varied and customized ways. Because I have such a varied background it allows me to step back and look through different lenses. I can see what my clients and groups are going through from the lens of mindfulness but then also Internal Family Systems, Compassionate Inquiry, or Cognitive Behavioral Techniques.
You emphasize the importance of practical presence in leadership. Can you share an example of how presence and mindfulness can transform organizational culture and team dynamics?
Absolutely. I believe it starts from the top down. So often the leaders slough off all the responsibility to those people underneath them; things like well if they’re not happy it must be them it can’t possibly come from up here. I think sitting in that presence and that stillness not only allows better leadership and communication, it also opens you up to the possibility that maybe you need to change in order to change the organization. And of course, with that presence, like I said, communication improves. You are going to listen at a deeper level and really get to the root of how things can improve and how you can contribute to that.
You’ve developed a stress reduction program for the US military and studied at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Harvard. What are some of the key stress reduction techniques you advocate, and how can they be applied in high-pressure work environments?
One of the main components of any stress reduction program that I teach has to do with meditation. And don’t misunderstand, it doesn’t have to be formal seated meditation, perhaps it’s a guided meditation or a walking meditation or the mini meditation that I teach, which is simply concentrating on the breath and on the inhale thinking “I am” and on the exhale thinking “at peace”. This is one of the simplest techniques and I think I must’ve taught it at this point to a million people. I’m also a huge fan of affirmations and visualization. Our brain doesn’t know the difference between what we’re thinking about and imagining and what’s actually happening. Our brain also looks for things that are familiar to us. So, using affirmations or visualization can help retrain the brain to find those things that we really really want as opposed to things we don’t want which is what we tend to be focused on.
Resistance to change is a common challenge both personally and professionally. What strategies do you suggest for individuals and organizations to overcome this resistance and embrace growth?
There’s so many tools for that. The one that popped into my head first is hypnosis. Hypnosis for fears and phobias and convincing our brain that we are safe is one of the best tools. Hypnosis goes directly to the subconscious and helps make changes there. Also knowing what you are actually afraid of is key. Usually, it comes down to death or being shunned from society and not accepted, which back in tribal days meant death. So, I think the first step is to pinpoint why you are resistant to the change and then you can pick a tool like hypnosis, cognitive restructuring, meditation, reorganization of your day etc. Also, making sure you are surrounded by supportive people who lift you up and empower you to change. Often we are around people who want to keep us stuck or who are narcissistic in some way and are not as supportive as we need to actually safely make those changes. So looking around to see who is in your circle is vastly important to embrace change
Communication is a central theme in your work. What are some of the most common barriers to effective communication you’ve encountered, and how can individuals develop better communication skills to enhance their personal and professional relationships?
I think the biggest barrier is us thinking that we’re doing a great job and everybody else sucks at it. We are the ones responsible for making sure our communication is the best it can be. It’s our job to adapt to the people around us so that we make the communication easier for the people we are trying to communicate with. We also forget that we all communicate differently. Some of us are very direct communicators, others are indirect. Some are drivers where some are amiable or expressive. Knowing how other people like to be communicated with is key to good communication. And again it comes back to us adapting ourselves.
If you would like to find out more about Kathy Gruver, please visit http://www.kathygruver.coach/ and http://www.kathygruver.com/
