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LUNCH  &  LEARN

 

The Stress Management and High Performance Clinic offers interactive and interesting Lunch & Learn presentations (not necessarily at lunch time!) for businesses and community groups at their location or virtually.  

 

The most popular Lunch & Learn topics are :

  • Tips for Better Sleep        
  • Smart Stress Management
  • Increasing Personal Resiliency
  • Anxiety: Dial it Down

It is also possible to have a Lunch & Learn presentation on any topic that is provided in the Clinic group programs.

 

 

Possible topics covered in Lunch & Learn presentations :

 

Smart Stress Management  -  shift from defense to performance

Learn brief brain/body calming techniques for focus, performance, and energy.

This presentation includes:

* shifting gears from defense (fight/flight) to effective coping and smart action

* how to think like a "good stress coper"

* identifying and defusing the most common stress escalators

* the BMW approach to relaxing mind and body

 

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Relaxation Techniques

Learn how to unwind from stress (without using alcohol or drugs to do it!).

This presentation includes:

* the stress responses to recognize as cues for action

* engaging in brief techniques (to prevent rising stress levels in the midst of a busy day)

* a long technique (to enhance immune function, mood, energy & restoration after a demanding morning or a long day)

 

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Tips for Better Sleep

Does it take a long time to fall asleep?  Mid-night awakenings?  Sleep is not refreshing?

Learn the most effective drug-free strategies to promote better, restful sleep.  (Yes, it's true that long term use of sleeping pills changes your sleep structure and generates insomnia!)

This session includes:  

* the 3 keys to decreasing insomnia

* what robs us of energizing sleep  

* how to fall asleep (or back to sleep) more easily  

* techniques that settle down the busy brain making it easier to sleep.

 

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Coping with Increased Hours On-line

Experiencing tech neck?  Screen fatigue?

If you're spending more time in front of screens, do you have a healthy relationship with your computer / devices?

Learn strategies for coping with increased hours on-line and helpful ways to :

* decrease Zoom fatigue  (increasing engagement & energy)

* improve posture and on-line work style

* increase body awareness

* protect your eyes from strain

 

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Energy Boosters

Having a quick coffee to re-energize?  

Unfortunately, caffeine and sugary snacks are false friends - we're more fatigued and have less energy 2 hours after consuming them, than if we hadn't touched them at all! 

Learn about this and 5 other surprising things that make us tired during the day... things that we can change!

This presentation also includes:  

* the special technique that business executives in the HeartMath research used to increase their effectiveness at work and have more energy to take home  

* the secret we can learn from children to become a more energized adult

In this interactive session we'll do brief, practical, drug-free and fun strategies that decrease fatigue, rebuild oxygen supply, recharge brain neurotransmitters, and replenish energy reserves.

 

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Heart Smart Stress Management

A truly heart healthy lifestyle is more than exercise and diet. 

The third and most important key (according to cardiologists Eliot, Bhat, Ornish and others) is stress management.  Yet this component is the most neglected! 

This presentation outlines the practical strategies that really relax the cardiovascular system, plus we'll use biofeedback to literally see your ability to generate a healthy heart rhythm and relax your blood vessels - the things that decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease.  

This presentation is especially helpful for those with high blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety, depression, tendency to hold onto anger, or who have a family history of heart attack or stroke (as these are all risk factors for cardiovascular disease and are positively influenced by the techniques covered in this session).

 

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Anxiety:  Dial it Down

Learn the daily behaviours, body and thought processes that influence our anxiety levels – and how to influence them to your benefit! 

We will include practical strategies to curb worrying and a racing brain, as well as decreasing anxious sensations in the chest, head, and body. 

This workshop is the first place to start to begin decreasing anxiety and thinking & performing more effectively.

 

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Decreasing Headaches

More than 1 or 2 headaches a month are too many! 

This presentation includes:

* the key drug-free strategies that prevent or reduce tension and migraine headaches 

* hidden headache triggers  (and the headache trigger combinations to really watch for)

* the 4 triggers that account for two-thirds of all migraines

* the "3 mini-days" approach to headaches

* developing a personal pain management action plan

 

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Stop Worrying!

Are you a worry wart?  Do you worry that you worry too much? 

Learn the 2 approaches proven to decrease worrying,

how to shift away from destructive / unproductive worry,

and the 5 pitfalls  that perpetuate worry spirals. 

We will also do some brain training exercises to curb worrying.

 

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Biofeedback

What if you could see exactly how tight your muscles are right now? 

Or what happens to your heart rhythm when you’re stressed or frustrated or angry? 

Or how much your breathing or blood flow or skin responds to anxious thoughts or stressful self-talk?

Biofeedback is like pulling back a curtain see into “windows” of the body and then watching as you experiment with different mind/body activities.  Instantly and accurately seeing these body changes ("biofeedback") can help you identify stress triggers and determine which strategies work best in getting you to calm, relaxed, healthy levels.  Biofeedback can be used to teach your mind and body to the best levels for decreased stress, good health and optimal performance. 

This session will introduce biofeedback, show how it is used, and include demonstrations.

 

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Increasing Personal Resiliency

Hassled, stuck, and defensive?   Or coping well and thriving under pressure?

Learn the 5 key characteristics of resilient people

and how to cultivate the self-calm, self-talk, and self-care behaviours that shift our mind/body from defense toward meeting the challenge and thriving.

 

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Resilient Thinking Strategies

What makes a good "stress coper" different from a poor "stress coper"?  The way they think!

This skills session outlines one of the core components of resiliency: resilient thinking strategies.  
Find out how closely your current thought patterns align with those most strongly associated with resilience.

You can learn how to think and work in ways that increase your hardiness to stress,  help you get through tough times,  and recover more quickly from adversity. 

A variety of thinking strategies will be presented and practiced.  

 

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Coping with the Holidays


Too much to do in too little time?  Feeling stressed or overwhelmed by a holiday that's supposed to be fun and happy?  How can you keep from losing your temper or losing your mind?

This presentation outlines the top 3 holiday stressors (and the 10 things that amplify them).  

Then we practice the stress management strategies most suited to coping with these special demands and factors.  

Give yourself a break... a break away from the tyranny of the "should's"... by coming out to learn the ways that good stress copers think and act so you can be one too.


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You and your computer - a healthy relationship?

Do you spend more than 3 or 4 hours per WEEK at a keyboard?

If yes, how do you score on the 7 factors shown to put keyboard users at risk of strain?

And most importantly, what are the proven things that we can do to prevent computer-related strain in the first place?

* Identify your personal risk profile and strategies for preventing strain, based upon research at the Healthy Computing Laboratory (San Francisco State University).

* Learn about the techniques that can relax the neck, shoulders, back, and eyes - areas that may be especially tight and strained in those working at computers.

* When provided in person, this session includes a demonstration of the muscle tension biofeedback (monitoring muscle tension levels) used to decrease the tension and strain during computer related tasks.

  

 

 

At your workplace, or for your community interest group, the Stress Management & High Performance Clinic can also provide :

 

 

FURTHER INFORMATION :

The fee for a 30 - 60 minute Lunch & Learn presentation is $250  (plus travel expenses if meeting in person at a location outside the Guelph region).

If you wish more information or have any further questions, do not hesitate to e-mail ksomers@uoguelph.ca or call Kathy Somers at 519 824-4120, ext. 52662.
Please leave a message so I can return your call.