I love Brooke Burke. She works her butt off, has what 4 kids (??!!) and always looks insanely amazing, bronzed, super fit and healthy. But, besides all the material stuff she's acquired (the killer bod, hot hubby, adorable kids, kickin' career) she also works her butt off to stay connected and in touch with her family. I know this because I read her blog in my daily Modern Mom (http://www.modernmom.com/) email that I devour first thing every morn.
Ya see, me and Brooke, we actually have stuff in common. We both have blended families. She has two kids from her previous marriage to Garth Fisher and two with her current hubby David Charvet. Half the week, her Garth girls go to their dads and then return home to reintegrate with her kids with David. She has written about the trials of this and how totally intense it can be for everyone. I've got the same deal-e-o only divided by two and without the ex-Baywatch babe for a mate. My five year old girl, Aria, stays with her dad for half the week and I have a one year old, AJ, with my current hubby, Jay, Aria's step-daddy. It can be a lot to get your head around. Like all families and parenting in general, dynamics can swing from a blissed-out-love-fest to hot and exhausting. Jay and I have always tried to stay on top of this stuff and I had written about the AMAZING Connecting to Your Child with the Brain in Mind workshop we attended a few months back which blew our minds ( if only they would do more!). When Brook touches on this family dynamic stuff in any way, I light up.
So when I read the other day that Brooke had done a weekend workshop (that she raved about) to deepen connection and communication, I perked up, big time. For someone so stunning in appearance, she is totally unafraid to show the gritty side of how challenging blended families can be. As if parenting isn't hard enough, add steps into the mix. Brooke is also the first the go on about how intense it is to be a working mom and the toll it can take at times on her relationship with her husband and her kids.Her blog posts are always honest and raw and this time, I was so moved by the life-altering-life-lessons she walked away with this past weekend, based on the Harville Hendrix, PhD. inspired "Getting The Love You Want", that I jumped into detective mode to hunt down the best workshop providers. Ever.
This led me to life and relationship coaches David and Janis McCann, who run the Center for Conscious Relationships. They are leading PhD.'s in Imago Relationship Therapy. I am someone who seeks experts on everything (clearly Groomed LA was born out of my obsessive deep need to know the best of the best and consult with them on, er, everything) as in: do I leave my baby for an overnight? Call the child specialist. How do I divvy up dish duty? Discuss with my therapist.From what I hear, the McCanns are the leading experts in the field of deepening connection and clearing lines of communication a (life-long goals). The more I learned about them, the more people came out of the woodwork tell me they had personally worked with them, on their relationships, with their co-workers, with their families, by themselves. In case you haven't noticed, communicating is my thing. If there is a way I can communicate with my family with more conscious-awareness, compassion and to make myself heard with as much clarity as possible and (!) to make sure I am listening to everyone's needs with as open-a-heart as possible, than sign me up, stat.
Go poke around their website and you might get as inspired as me. They even have an upcoming workshop on the weekend of August 5-7th in Valencia. If you need an intense communication chiropractic adjustment or to just wake up if you've are gotten a little sleepy or stagnant in your life – these are the peeps to work with.
Love and Life Grooming!
Center for Conscious Relationships
David and Janis McCann
Phone:
805-667-7789