Wonderful E-Book by our Wellness Coach Partner!

If you’re a college-aged woman who is feeling lack of self-esteem about your looks and weight, frustrated with trying to find a diet and exercise program that fits your busy lifestyle, discouraged about the lack of healthy options at the school cafeteria, think that money holds you back from investing in your own health and wellness, then you need to check out the 8-Weeks To Wellness System For College Women!

Find Out How You Can Get Your Health Habits Program Working For You – and NOT The Other Way Around

“8-Weeks To Wellness” Will Teach You:

Steps to build your confidence, take control of your weight, and set your own pace, preferences and priorities around healthy options.

The proven formula to achieving the lasting change you are looking for when it comes to your body, mind and self-image.

The step-by-step guide to calm confidence in living your best self now and way after graduation.

What all the diets, books, programs and pills do NOT tell you and what you need to know now.

The reason why buying other people’s “health” programs and products don’t help you take control in creating your own well-being

8-Weeks to Wellness has its origins in a true story of the successful weight loss of a 21-year old, written 27-years later by the same author, coach, and mother who has dedicated her career to helping others create a better life through healthy habits.

She has helped dozens of clients tap into their innate desire to be well, to create a life designed around what matters most, and to teaching others how to use a proven system to create the foundation of the “greater you”.

Get the free ebook at http://collegewellnesssolution.com/  and check out her website at http://bodyvisionhealthcoaching.com/

Read Full Post »

Upcoming Writer’s Workshops at the Highland Lake Inn

Writing Retreat: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier
Aug. 21 – 23 and Sept. 18 -20, 2011

Workshop Facilitator: Joni Cole http://www.jonibcole.com/

Location:  Highland Lake Inn, Andover, NH

$530 per person double occupancy,
$705 per person single occupancy, all inclusive.

This retreat is designed for writers who are looking for an intensive period to write, share their work for quality feedback and instruction, and make progress on a new or existing project. Writers of fiction and creative non-fiction are welcome. Participation is limited to six to assure personalized attention.

Aptly named “How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier, the retreat takes place at the beautiful Highland Lake Inn Bed and Breakfast, located in Andover, New Hampshire. Conveniently situated in the center of northern New England, the inn offers spacious guest rooms with full bathrooms, distinctive furnishing and amenities, and private television and Wi Fi access. Innkeepers Gail and Pecco Beaufays offer old-school hospitality and personal touches. Meals are included in the retreat package.

Workshop facilitator Joni B. Cole is the author of the acclaimed book Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive (“strongly recommended” by Library Journal), and Water Cooler Diaries: Women across America Share Their Day at Work ((“both fascinating and eye-opening,” Publisher’s Weekly). Her creative nonfiction has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize, and will be featured in her fall 2011 book Another Bad-Dog Story: Tales of Life, Love, and Neurotic Human Behavior. Joni runs the Writer’s Center of White River Junction, Vermont, and is a frequent speaker and teacher at writing conferences across the country.

to register please contact Joni at joni.cole@alum.dartmouth.org
or (802) 295-5526.

Sunday Evening
Welcome reception at 5 PM
Dinner at 6:30 PM

Monday
Morning and afternoon workshop sessions
Plenty of free time to write or consult

Tuesday
Morning workshop session
Depart after lunch

Program Fee Includes:
• Lodging
• Writing workshops
• Welcome reception
• All meals (Friday dinner through Sunday lunch)

Writers are encouraged to bring:
• Up to 10 pages of your manuscript to share (whether it’s a rough draft, a few scenes, or just the germ of an idea)

The workshop sessions will focus on:
• Narrative drive
• Voice
• Conflict and tension
• Character emotional development
• Deeper meaning of story
• How to get inspired and stay inspired

Read Full Post »

Biking Along the Northern Rail Trail has gotten more interesting . . .

Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack County extended the trail in two directions this past October

Two more miles of smooth surfaced trail were added to eastern end of the rail trail in Franklin in October.   In addition, the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail just completed work along the ballast covered rail bed of the old Northern Railroad between Potter Place and the town shed in Danbury.  With that work completed, the Northern Rail Trail now follows Rte. 4, essentially, up to Enfield then on to West Lebanon going north from its Potter Place trailhead in Andover and follows Rte 11 east to Depot Street in Franklin.   As always, no motorized vehicles are allowed on the Northern Rail Trail, except for snow mobiles in winter.  Now the rail trail is continuous through two counties for about 45 miles from South Franklin to West Lebanon.

Combine your biking trip with a Bike and Stay Package at the Inn for a wonderful weekend getaway!

(source:  Friends of the Northern Rail Trail, http://www.fnrt.org)

Read Full Post »

Latest Tripadvisor Review: “Best Location for a Retreat Ever!”

Date of review: Mar 15, 2011

I’ve run numerous small (5-15 participants) writing retreats at various inns and hotels around the country. My most recent 3-day event at the Highland Lake Inn was exceptional, fulfilling the expectations of a “retreat” in every way. The accommodations were luxurious yet homey. Each room was spacious and spotless, repleat with fluffy bedding, TV sets, lovely amenities, and comfortable working spaces. We felt pampered from the first sip of delicious coffee in the morning to the incredible dinner our hosts invited us to share with them in the evening. Equally important, the Highland Lake Inn afforded our writing group the privacy and space we needed to meet and/or write individually. Last, but hardly least, our hosts Pecco and Gail were fantastic! This is where I intend to host many more writing retreats in the future!

• Reviewer ratings for this hotel:
  • Value
  • Rooms
  • Location
  • Cleanliness
  • Service
  • Sleep Quality

• Date of stay: March 2011
• Visit was for: Business
• Traveled with: Clients/Customers
• Member since: March 15, 2011

• Recommended by this reviewer? Yes

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g29727-d79158-r100273734-Highland_Lake_Inn_Bed_and_Breakfast-Andover_New_Hampshire.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

Read Full Post »

A lovely poem from a recent writers retreat guest

Highland Lake Inn – The Write Place

Words flow like wine, hither and fro

The glass of merlot give my cheeks a glow.

Gail welcomed us with a big smile

And tales of romantic parties of a bygone style

Candlelight reflected in goblets fine,

The tuna Pecco cooked was just divine.

As were the berries, red and black,

To Highland Lake Inn, I will come back

It’s winter now and snow abounds.

I imagine Spring fields full of bird sounds.

Summer will come next with lazy days,

Spent writing in the evening haze,

Of red, purple, gold, and blue

Joni and Marjorie to their heart’s remain true

This writer’s group who met in March

Shared words and stories

Surrounded by pine and birch

Mountains green and clouds of white

Highland Lake Inn is a beautiful site.

Copyright 2011 All rights Reserved                      Denise M. Simpson                                   20 March 2011

Read Full Post »

Sunday, May 8 -Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Writing Retreat: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier

Workshop Facilitator: Joni Cole
Location: Highland Lake Inn, Andover, NH
$530 per person double occupancy, $705 per person single occupancy, all inclusive.
This retreat is designed for writers who are looking for an intensive period to write, share their work for quality feedback and instruction, and make progress on a new or existing project. Writers of fiction and creative non-fiction are welcome. Participation is limited to six to assure personalized attention.

Aptly named “How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier, the retreat takes place at the beautiful Highland Lake Inn Bed and Breakfast, located in Andover, New Hampshire. Conveniently situated in the center of northern New England, the inn offers spacious guest rooms with full bathrooms, distinctive furnishing and amenities, and private television and Wi Fi access. Innkeepers Gail and Pecco Beaufays offer old-school hospitality and personal touches. Meals are included in the retreat package.

Workshop facilitator Joni B. Cole is the author of the acclaimed book Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive (“strongly recommended” by Library Journal), and Water Cooler Diaries: Women across America Share Their Day at Work ((“both fascinating and eye-opening,” Publisher’s Weekly). Her creative nonfiction has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize, and will be featured in her fall 2011 book Another Bad-Dog Story: Tales of Life, Love, and Neurotic Human Behavior. Joni runs the Writer’s Center of White River Junction, Vermont, and is a frequent speaker and teacher at writing conferences across the country.

For more information or to access a registration form for the retreat, visit: www.thewriterscenterwrj.com or  www.highlandlakeinn.com. Or contact Joni at joni.cole@alum.dartmouth.org or (802) 295-5526.

Read Full Post »

Bike and Stay Packages

We offer 36 miles of biking on the Northern Rail Trail, which has a flat, hard stone
dust surface well suited for hybrid bikes.  Open views across wetlands, lakes and rivers
alternate with corridors of pine and oak, old mill sites and granite cuts blasted by the Northern Railroad.  In between, there are stores with refreshments and swimming spots.

For reservations please call 603-735-6426

Read Full Post »

Diabetes: are we doing everything we can?

The modern Western Diet, as we know it from our great supermarkets, is potentially causing havoc on our health and, increasingly so, on our economy. While experts continue to search for ways of attending to the increasing rise of diabetes, those dedicated to prevention remain the ‘unsung heros” of the health crisis in the USA. The Highland lake Inn provides a powerful program to those who would like to get on track and stay there, especially as we look at some statistics below:

‘…fully a quarter of all Americans suffer from metabolic syndrome, two thirds of us are overweight or obese, and diet-related diseases are already killing the majority of us.’ As fast food creates these conditions in the individual and the health industry is chasing along just behind it, the ‘cost to society – an estimated $250 billion a year in diet related health care costs and rising rapidly – cannot be sustained indefinitely.

An American born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes in his llifetime….the diagnosis of diabetes subtracts roughly twelve years from one’s life and living with the condition incurs medical costs of $ 13,000 a year (compared with $ 2,500 for someone without diabetes).

This is a global pandemic in the making, but a most unusual one, because it involves no virus or bacteria, no microbe of any kind – just a way of eating. An estimated 80 percent of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by a change of diet and exercise..and the health care industry is gearning up to meet the surging demand for heart bypass operations (80 percent of diabetics will suffer from heart disease), dialysis, and kidney transplantation.’

The good news is that there is help and BodyVision SL, together with the Highland lake Inn, have the tools to co-create your wellness plan that will locate and expand your full potential,  set you on the path of a long and healthy life, enjoying your ‘best self’ and steering clear of the dangerous course that is becoming  more and more common everyday.

Please feel free to comment below, it is a pleasure to hear from you.

*Quotations from In Defence of Food, by Michael Pollan, No.1 New York Times bestseller and Sunday Times food book of the year.

Read Full Post »

Overcoming Habits: Getting Started

The Highland Lake Inn’s Health Coaching division is designed to provide the structure, resources and support you need to get healthy habits incorporated into the everyday for an improved quality of life and the freedom and peace of mind that underlie ‘the greater you’.

In a recent questionnaire, a participant named his biggest obstacle to weight loss as follows: ‘Overcoming Habits’.  To paraphrase a saying, first you make your habits, and then your habits make you, so, where to start to make a change? Transforming a habit takes time, practice, and accessing inner motivators that support you on your journey.

‘Overcoming’ habits might be rephrased in order to change the focus of our attention to what we really want. Overcome is described as ‘to surmount a physical or abstract obstacle, to prevail over, to get the better of, to win (a battle).’ With this outlook, the focus is on an impending doom of sorts, at least many of us feel that way when thinking of entering a battle. Will it hurt? Will I win? Am I ready? Is my opponent stronger than I? Do  I have the right weapons, strategies and talents? What if I lose?

No wonder we avoid it.  Take a moment to think about how this phrase can be rewritten in your own words to address what is right and good and going well. How can I find and nourish the seeds of greatness and responsibility in myself, my appreciation, my gratitude, my self-esteem in taking action and doing well? (sound better?) What would your phrase look like if  you re-wrote it to address the part of you that is calling for change, ready for change, excited for change, and write a detailed list of how you feel, as if you are already at your desired goal. (feel better?).

The unhealthful habits can be imagined as ‘dissolving away’, or like sand slipping away, as room is made for the new to come, the new habit that comes from your natural empowerment to be well.

We’d love to hear your comments below, your re-written phrases that look to capture the positive impulse behind your wellness goals.  For a personal telephone interview, please write to info@bodyvisionsl.com and we’ll help you get started today.

Read Full Post »

Your Biggest Frustration with Incorporating Healthy Habits into the Everyday

As the writer of the blogposts at the Highland Lake Inn Wellness division, I recently completed a large survey to gather and present information about obstacles that individuals encounter in starting or maintaining healthy habits in the everyday.

So, the question is: ‘What is the biggest frustration you are experiencing right now about incorporating healthy habits into the everyday?’ With the information gathered, or so I thought, I could directly address the client’s, or the potential client’s, 2-3 main issues.

The surprise came in the results of the survey. All included, a long list of completely different answers kept coming back, all counted, at least 27 different issues that individuals told me that keep them from moving forward in this area of their life. Most all of the survey participants indicated wanting to make a change at some level, but the sheer number of individual issues lead me to a much different conclusion.

Here are some of the answers: overcoming habits, high anxiety, no time,  conflict in the household, attitude, planning and completing tasks, getting enough sleep, too much to do, not concentrating on foundation work, water intake, organizing, prioritizing, adding on little changes, overcoming constraints, mindset, ambivalence, packaged foods, emotional eating, snacks at work, putting in effort, and many others, including my favorite, ‘lack of committment to one’s own good.’

What have we learned? That not one size fits all when it comes to behavior change. That no issue is too small to be important. That obstacles come in all shapes and sizes. That the individual, targeted solution is going to be the lasting one. That many of us do know ourselves better than we think. That we even know what would be the next step for ourselves if we could manage to take it. That problems have many sides to them that need attention.

Why is that encouraging? Because, as a health coach professional, it is once again confirmed that it is valuable to accept and take each person, each situation, just simply at face value and then proceed forward one step at a time. Using your inner knowledge, the ‘simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity’ as it has been phrased, is the unfolding of the wellness plan, the transformation that comprises true success.

What are your obstacles? Please feel free to comment in the space provided below,  and contact us at any time to find out more.

Read Full Post »