Participants' Experiences

“You Did Save My Life”

I have changed a lot from this. I had been suffering from depression for about 12 years now. I had an anxiety disorder that took me a couple of years to overcome. I did not enjoy or have any desire to live life. I felt completely out of control.

For the first time in 12 years, I can say I am happy and enjoy life.

My road rage is completely gone now. I used to get headaches at least 3 or 4 times a week. Since the beginning of the training, I have had one headache that didn’t last long. My mother and brother have told me how much happier and better I look countless times. The longest I have been mad is for a few seconds. I used to hold on to that anger for hours and even sometimes days.

It took me between 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep normally. Now it takes 5 minutes at most. I have regained control over my life, and my stress has gone away. This I know will be the greatest class I have ever taken… I don’t see how it could have done more for me than it already has… I really just wanted to thank you for teaching these things to me. I will never forget what this has done for me.

I just want you to know that you did save my life.

“I rarely have headaches and I am sleeping better”

Since starting this and practicing these relaxation exercises, and reading these workbooks on how to reduce my stress, my headaches are not as painful and not as frequent. I would have a headache almost every day and now, I rarely have one, but when I do it is not nearly as painful as it used to be. I can get a full night’s sleep without waking up or tossing and turning. And let me just tell you, I am less irritated at certain things than before I used to get so upset and irritated over the smallest of situations, and now they don’t even bother me anymore. I can let them go and I move on, and tiny things don’t ruin me anymore. I am a better person now than I was.

I have not had bad PTSD-type dreams for quite a while now. I am sleeping much better and getting more hours of sleep. My irritability and frustration levels have gone down significantly. But more importantly, I now know what the root of the problem was and I no longer allow myself to become angry and frustrated.

 “I am more relaxed and not so easily irritated”

 My biggest stressor was never getting enough sleep because I was constantly doing things, out late, never sleeping through the night, always having a million things on my mind, and just always going, never sleeping. This really helped with that. Especially when I would do the relaxation exercises right before bed. Once I put everything down and away, those exercises really helped me fall asleep; they helped so much I was usually asleep before I could get 10 minutes into the exercise. I also have become more relaxed, and not so easily irritated. I get extremely irritated when I get stressed out, so that has helped also.

“The pains in my back have been reduced”

I did not expect there to be such awesome benefits of taking this class, from the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. Practicing these exercises have relieved symptoms I have had problems with for years such as never being able to fall asleep at night to physical pains in my back that have been reduced by deep relaxation breathing and yoga.

I have noticed a great deal of reduced stress simply from the way I choose to perceive situations and how I respond to each situation. I have also noticed a difference in my time management and feel I have become a lot better at that skill. Every situation I choose to encounter has been dealt with a lot less stress than before, simply because of the way I choose to manage my time.

It’s interesting because I mentioned to my mother about how some of the guided relaxation exercises have helped me to fall asleep better at night AND provide me with the greatest sleep ever. The next morning, I seem to wake up with a greater amount of positive energy than I normally do (I am not a morning person). I thought it was interesting yet satisfying that someone could tell a difference in me by these small changes I was experiencing.

“I am feeling more peace and joy in my days.”

I just wanted to thank you for teaching me all you have in this course. Today some kids came to my apartment door to tattle on my son, and I asked them to leave, about 20 minutes later I had a big angry man at my door (their dad), and he was screaming at me. After a few seconds, his wife came up and was threatening me too. I remembered what you taught me and was able to keep my cool. In doing so, I was able to think clearly enough to turn on my camera and film the whole thing! I did not feed into the negative energy and was able to diffuse the situation. I felt that fight or flight surge up, and I did get a little shaky from adrenaline, but I think overall, I successfully handled the situation. That is all thanks to you. You are awesome!

I can have “sensitive” discussions with my children and husband with amazing results. I am finding that I am being “aware” of my surroundings and enjoying my days, not just “running around with my head cut off, like a chicken.” I also am feeling more peace and joy in my days!! Thank you, Mike!

“It has helped me find more peace.”

One certain technique that I thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy was the “Relaxing on the Beach,” as well as the relaxation “Release and Relax.” For some reason, this technique really struck me and helped me relax more than other techniques. It was amazing how I felt when I woke up and how I felt throughout the day. 

I love being able to feel relaxed finally and at peace. These are amazing exercises that I continue to use weekly and will continue to use. I feel less occupied and more lively.  I have felt so much peace. I never was a good sleeper; however, knowing how to meditate or use exercises to calm my mind has made it easier in my life.

Now I am not saying all of my stressors have been relieved because they haven’t. However, it has helped me have a better understanding of my body and mind and help me find more peace.

I enjoyed telling my husband the goals I had that week and seeing if he noticed a difference… He would often do the exercises with me to have someone to talk to about it. These exercises helped me and my husband come together and handle situations differently than before.

“My irritability and frustration levels have gone down significantly”

During theist few months, I have monitored my blood pressure and heart rate. Both of these have improved significantly. I used to have frequent headaches and was addicted to caffeine. I rarely have a headache anymore. 

I used to suffer from insomnia and would lie awake for several hours before falling asleep, rising in the morning very tired and frustrated. Using the relaxation exercise audio files and guided imagery I can now relax very quickly and typically fall asleep before even counting down past 10. Now I wake up in the morning feeling rested and refreshed. 

I have not had bad PTSD-type dreams for quite a while now. I am sleeping much better and getting more hours of sleep. My irritability and frustration levels have gone down significantly. But more importantly, I now know what the root of the problem was and I no longer allow myself to become angry and frustrated.

“I am more engaged in understanding life and what I can control”

This course has helped quite a bit in my life through these 4 months. I was so hot-headed and I was starting to become an angry person. I didn’t like that and once I started to meditate, many things changed around me. It all has gotten me more engaged in understanding life and what I can control. My partner has noticed that I have been more focused because when I usually get stressed, I don’t study or even clean. My sleeping habits have changed and ever since I had my daughter I could never fall asleep as fast as I did when I was listening to the guided sleep meditations. 

“My body is a safe place to be…that was so huge for me”

The material and techniques I have learned have really been life-changing for me. I still experience difficulty sleeping, I still experience sensory issues, and occasional headaches. The techniques have offered coping strategies that have taken the edge off of the issues. Trying to be in a mindful state has been a huge game-changer for me.

In fact, just the other day, and doing my mindfulness practice, I did a free write afterward. I was writing about my experience and I wrote that my body is a safe place to be, my body is not the enemy, and that what happened to me wasn’t my body’s fault. That was so huge for me. That is the first time in my life that I had thought that. And I am so excited to keep working hard and I have hope and know that I can connect and be present in myself.

“Nothing has been nearly as helpful”

I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder about three years ago. Since then I have been on and off medication, seen psychiatrists and therapists, and nothing I have tried to help manage it has been nearly as helpful as what I learned from you. The information is so valuable and I wish everyone could take it.

“My stress has gone from a 7 to a 1.”

When I started, I rated my stress a 7. I felt stressed all of the time. I felt the tension in my neck and back pretty constantly, which sometimes lead to headaches. I took ibuprofen at least 2-3 times a week. I felt irritable and sometimes just lost it.

There were many nights I would just end up crying because I felt so much pressure and was constantly overwhelmed. I kept feeling like life had to calm down at some point, but it never did. I felt like I lived my life feeling frazzled all of the time. It took some time to fall asleep, not super long, because I was always exhausted. My biggest problem with sleep came when I woke up in the night. I would wake several times and would just lay there, unable to turn my mind off. I could spend up to three hours awake at a time. I then woke up tired, cranky, and exhausted the next morning, just to start the cycle all over again.

Looking back, I had many conversations with people that ended up with me complaining about stress, exhaustion, or not feeling well. I hated it, but honestly, I did not know what to do to change it or that it could even be changed. 

Fast forward to today after learning all I have, I would rate my stress a 0 or a 1 (is 0 possible?). I have the same classes, problems, situations, kids, job, etc., nothing that way has changed, but I have changed. I love the changes.

I fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow. I still wake up at least once a night, but I roll over, and I am out again. I awake feeling like I have slept, and most of the time, slept well. I do not feel the same tension in my neck and back, I have had one headache since I started, and I could get rid of that through meditation (I wasn’t expecting that, it just happened). Since probably the first week after I started, 

I have not taken ibuprofen, which is unbelievable to me.

I do not feel frazzled, exhausted, or irritable very often, and I lose it even less frequently.

I now have conversations about how good life is and all that I have learned. 

My husband said I just seem happier. My mom said I seem like my load is lighter. One of my kids asked if something was wrong with me. When I asked what he meant by that, he said I was quieter, calmer, but said he equated that to something was wrong  (I guess the calm before the storm). He sees that as a good thing now.