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We’ve all seen the cheesy party-entertainer hypnotist in old movies … entertaining the crowd by making someone perform silly, sometimes embarrassing acts that are totally out of character. Then again, there are those respected professionals who employ hypnosis therapy to aid us in breaking old habits (smoking, overeating) or releasing emotional ties to painful memories and experiences. The one thread that ties both extremes together is the basic fact that hypnosis works, and the Conversational Hypnosis Self Improvement Course teaches you how to use this powerful tool to improve your own life.

Do you want to make more money? Be more successful in sales with a whole lot less work? Want to feel like your opinion is valued by coworkers, friends and family? This course can help you make all that happen and much more!

Contributor/trainer Igor Ledchowski is a world-renowned hypnotist and teacher of advanced techniques to hypnotherapy professionals around the globe.

He has perfected a unique approach that enhances your own charismatic powers of persuasion. After years of being asked to do so, he’s condensed his powerful training course – which cost attendees nearly $7,000 – into a clear, concise home course designed for anyone to follow. The Conversational Hypnosis Self Improvement Course teaches you everything from the basic function of hypnosis to advanced techniques that will allow you to command a room full of listeners and draw them into your realm of influence.

Do you notice when others “talk with their hands?” How many people “talk to themselves” either audibly or inaudibly? If you’ve notably observed these common behaviors in others, then you’ve already identified the first opportunity to get inside their head. These powerful lessons allow you to influence others by quickly connecting with their inner thoughts and desires and gaining their trust. More importantly, Igor points out the pitfalls to watch out for to ensure that you don’t over-reach and potentially provoke distrust.

With the Conversational Hypnosis Self Improvement Course Igor guides you to live the tenets of persuasion. He gives you keys that you can easily incorporate into every aspect of your life so that they become second nature. It’s not magic, it’s science that has been tried and tested for decades. Why shouldn’t you have access to the same knowledge that others have used to build their own successful careers?

Each of the 12 information-packed CDs takes just about an hour to complete, but you can begin to practice your newfound skills after finishing the first one. And you’ll be so pleased with how easy it is to learn and implement Igor’s techniques that you’ll look forward to each new session. You’ll have eight full weeks to try out the program and if you don’t see results you can return the CDs for a full refund, no questions asked. In addition to the 12 program CDs you will receive four free bonuses that offer advanced techniques to guide you through particularly challenging situations.

Try the Conversational Hypnosis Self Improvement Course and you’ll quickly open the door to all the wealth, persuasion and popularity you’ve always wanted.

Let Self Improvement Review Kings Brian Garvin and Jeff West teach you more about Conversational Hypnosis. Feel free to use this article but please leave all links and author bio intact.

One of EFT’s most useful aspects is its flexibility in working with other energy treatments.

Many clinicians’ efforts are to focus their attention on the problem while balancing or remove an obstruction to the body’s energy system. This influences them to combine EFT with other procedures. Other kinds of healing bring better and speedier results when combined with EFT.

Hypnotherapists use EFT while their patients are in trance and ask them to tap on the specific acupoints to intensify the core emotion that causes the problem. This allows the patients to eliminate and neutralize this emotion faster and use their own intuition for healing. By attaining emotional freedom, they return to a natural state of balance and strength. The combination of EFT and hypnosis likewise helps patients boost their confidence and good traits.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) works even better when EFT is infused. With the movements of the eyes, the emotional charge associated with a traumatic experience is easily accessed. However, many patients with risk of destabilization or suicide are not ready for EMDR right away. For better supervision and support, they must make some progress in areas such as tolerating their emotions first. This is where the tapping sessions of EFT come in.

Acupuncture and EFT go by the same principles. They both tackle the meridian acupoints and the flow of energy through the body. However, they differ in the manner of application. While acupuncture uses needles, EFT involves tapping of the fingers. It takes many years for acupuncturists to master their field, and they must be properly licensed. For this, acupuncture cannot be self-administered like the EFT. This is likewise the reason why acupuncturists teach EFT to their patients for home use.

Massage therapists merge it into their job. Working hands-on with the human body in pain, they can feel whether there is an openness or resistance to unwinding the muscular tension. When resistance is felt, they stop massaging and shift to EFT tapping. Once they resume the massage work, the muscles are more loose as compared how it was prior to the tapping.

Making a fear disappear with Reiki, the practitioner positions his hand over the patient in the Distance symbol. This sends Reiki back to the time when the fear first occurred and became a problem. The patient then regresses and changes the past based on how he wanted it to be then and on how he perceives the situation will occur if it happened now. When the patient’s memories get intense and vivid, he diverts to EFT tapping. Then he leads the patient to a pretense, which will let the patient find his real identity resurfacing.

Medical doctors and healing practitioners of all sorts incorporate EFT with the psychotherapeutic alternative cure that they carry out. Emotional Freedom Technique is so versatile that it can complement other procedures grounded by the similar theories and methodology. They are compatible with each other because they share the common goal of freeing the energy system from negative emotions that block the balance of the human body.

Emotional freedom technique eft is a modern, powerful, easy and secure energy

The PMP exam is not your average high school examination where you can cram like crazy, feign failure of physical fitness on the day of the exam, and cross your fingers your teacher will swallow your Oscar-worthy performance hook, line and sinker. In short order, you have to prepare most rigorously for the PMP exam.

After all, passing this Professional Management Institute-administered examination is not just one more gem in your crown of achievements. You can cash in on your credentials with juicier job opportunities, for one thing. However, age, health, and lifestyle demands can get in the way of preparation and concentration. You need these brain boosters to get your brain power back on track while you enjoy doing them.

Love, Love, Love

Literally, that is. When you feel like slacking off on your review, you should make love to your wife or girlfriend. You have to be warned though: great monogamous sex is still the best mood booster.

And when you mood is better, you feel better, you concentrate better, you memorize better and you understand better. Now, if only you will not fall asleep after all that horizontal ballroom dancing because your PMP exam review materials are waiting for you to caress them, too.

Also, you can love your body by doing simple exercises in between reading and answering your review materials. When you exercise, you improve blood circulation throughout your body, thereby increasing blood flow to your brain. You can just stand up, touch your toes, and do jumping jacks for a few minutes to get your brain juices flowing again.

Furthermore, a hug, a kiss, a few encouraging words to family members and friends to show you care for them is good for your exam preparation. You have to tap into your support system to ensure that you keep your sanity in the midst of it all.

Think, Think, Think

But not negative thoughts. You have to stay positive for most of the times you are preparing for the PMP exam. Remember that what we think, we become. The key is in controlling your thoughts towards the things you desire, visualizing those things clearly in your mind and taking inspired action towards the attainment of your goals.

To achieve a positive state of mind, you have to surround yourself with positive people. You should be around family and friends who will make you laugh and relax, think positive thoughts, share the same interests and understand your PMP exam preparation for what it is - very important to your career but secondary to your personal life.

That being said, you need to avoid people who do nothing but complain about the unfairness of life. You can get depressed and discouraged just listening to them whine.

Eat, Eat, Eat

Just don’t overdo it. You have to eat to keep up your energy. However, don’t eat everything in sight and take the book-under-the-pillow to extremes by turning it into a PMBOK-eating exercise.

Keep these tips in mind when choosing what foods to eat: 1) keep unhealthy fats off your plate; 2) go for dark-colored fruits and vegetables especially spinach and broccoli; 3) eat plenty of fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines; and 4) chow down on whole grains like brown rice and whole-wheat pasta.

When you have enough love from your family and friends, have positive thoughts and have eaten healthy, you can be sure to ace your PMP exam. Now, buckle down and achieve another feather to your cap!

With Threeo.ca, you will have the best PMP Course and PMP Exam Preparation from one of the most successful PMI Registered Education Provider for the PMP Exam . Visit them now!

Clinical Hypnosis is a procedure in which an individual is taught to enter a state of heightened focus, relaxation and suggestibility. This hypnotic trance state becomes the basis for alleviating or resolving medical and psychological symptoms, as well as enhancing performance and creativity. However, for many people hypnosis conjures up images of zombie-like states where you are under the control of someone else (a “Svengali”), or of a stage full of fools clucking like chickens. These images are understandable given how hypnosis is often portrayed by the media. As entertaining as these images may be, they also perpetuate myths and misconceptions that prevent many people from pursuing a treatment that can be a valuable clinical tool.

Myth #1: Hypnosis is an “unnatural state” of mind

Hypnosis is actually a natural trance state that almost anyone can relate to. Here are some familiar examples: becoming absorbed in a good book, day dreaming, driving a familiar route on a freeway but missing your exit because the mind was “somewhere else,” or watching a movie. Consider the movie example in more detail. The “reality” of a movie-going experience is sitting in a darkened room with several hundred strangers mesmerized by a flickering light on a silver screen. Yet if the acting, writing, and directing are captivating enough, the reality is suspended and whatever is being suggested (amusement, fear, sadness, etc) is what is experienced by the viewer. In this natural trance state you are in full control and could easily get up and walk away if you wanted to. Typically you leave only if what the movie is suggesting to you is not pleasing! All hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis. The hypnotist is only a guide in the process of teaching the individual to bring about the trance state readily.

Myth #2: Hypnosis is sleep

Although hypnosis can produce profound states of deep relaxation it is not sleep. The hypnotized subject is actually aware and in control at all times.

Myth#3: Only the weak minded or gullible people can be hypnotized

Virtually everyone can experience hypnosis. People appear to have greater or lesser natural hypnotic ability. Generally those with higher levels of intelligence, creativity, and “fantasy-prone” behavior (such as day dreaming or being easily absorbed in books and movies) make the best subjects. Typically it is fear and misunderstanding that hinder someone from reaching deeper levels of the trance state. The hypnotic process does not involve pitting the will of the hypnotist against the will of the subject. The hypnotist is merely the guide for teaching the subject how to produce and utilize the hypnotic trance state.

Myth#4: One could end up “stuck” in hypnosis

Because hypnosis is such a pleasant state, many are reluctant to terminate it. Similarly, we might wish that a soothing massage continues indefinitely. However, even if the hypnotist were to “command” remaining in hypnosis, or if he/she has left the room, the subject would either fall asleep, or more likely simply open his/her eyes and be wide awake.

Myth#5: Hypnosis can coerce one to engage in immoral or unethical acts

Any suggestion can be rejected in hypnosis, especially those that violate a person’s beliefs or morality. The hypnotic subject is actually in full control at all times and will not comply with anything against his or her will.

Myth#6: Hypnosis is like a truth serum

Because the individual is in full control, he or she can also to edit whatever is said to the hypnotist. Just as a psychotherapy client selects his/her own level of disclosure during psychotherapy, the hypnotized subject has the same options. Hypnosis is not admissible in a court of law because distortions and actual lying is possible.

Potential Benefits of Hypnosis:

· relaxation

· stress management

· help with depression, anxiety, and phobias

· improved sleep

· smoking cessation

· modification of other bad habits

· improved cognitive functioning

· enhanced athletic, sales, or academic performance

· increased self esteem

· pain management

· optimization of other mind/body connections

Daniel Galant, Ph.D., CHT, is a clinical psychologist at Practical Recovery alcohol addiction treatment, where he integrates hypnotherapy into the treatment of addiction and related problems.

If you are looking for some medical treatment and you found out that those medical cures were just so expensive that you cannot really afford it, the result would be finding an alternative remedy or treatment for the sickness.

Not every one of us has the strength to survive a tragic and depressing situation easily and no one has the power to clear up the negative emotions just with a blink of an eye. There is also not a single pill or tablet that would endure depression, most of the time people just either diverse their mind or thoughts to other things rather than think of the problems or there are also some who are being too entrenched on the difficult situation that made it hard for them to move on and face the situation with a clear and positive thinking and attitude.

Depression is a mood which is a result of a negative thinking – as soon as a person starts to experience a difficult situation there is a big possibility or chance that he will think about the situation over and over again resulting to emotional breakdown or depression. This is one of the most difficult emotions that a person can experience and it is also one of those emotional problems that is hard to heal; this is where Emotional Freedom Technique will come about.

Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT is an alternative medicine or let’s just say a psychotherapeutic medicine for different illnesses like depression, anxiety, addiction, and the likes. This technique is derived from the theory which stated that whatever imbalances in the human’s body energy system will affect the individual psychology of the person. For example, a person is currently in a difficult situation then it will result to negative emotions and thinking so the body will adjust to what you are feeling and thinking – resulting to a balance effect; this would only mean that whatever you are about to think or feel will also be felt by the body. This is what EFT is trying to heal, there are some tapping that would be needed to complete and make the technique as a remedy for different kinds of illness or negative feeling like depression.

EFT is actually considered as a needle-less way of acupuncture since it can be an alternative treatment but it is needle-less because it doesn’t require the use of needles in the process, it will only use some tapping on some parts of the body to help the treatment. It will only be a way of tapping the parts that would result to body’s relaxation and healing process.

The first advantage of using this technique is that it will not require the use of any medical equipment or any operations just to heal the illness that you have. You will not need to spend a lot of money to undergo some complicated and risky medical operations. You can also apply it by yourself just follow the instructions indicated on the manual or you can also ask some specialists to help you out. Another thing is that, the effects would be just after a few minutes so you don’t have to suffer from it at a long range of time – as soon as you applied the procedures rest assured you will be having the expected results in just few minutes.

If you are looking for eft to rejuvenate yourself and activate new sensations such as heightened abilities, rebalancing the physical and mental emotions for unlimited amounts of energy to be unlocked,do visit this for eft training and free eft Demos

Do you feel as though there are never enough hours in the day… that you get to the end of the week and wonder where the days have gone? Do you spend all your days running around, never seeming to have time to sit down… yet you get to the end of the evening and have difficulty working out what you have achieved? Do you start each day with good intentions, making lists of jobs to do… and still find that you have loads of things outstanding at the end of the day?

When we lead busy lives, trying to juggle work, families and keeping house, making time for ourselves falls even further down the list… after all, if we don’t feel we have time for all the things we HAVE to do, there is no chance of having time for the things we WANT to do… is there?

And of course, the more we struggle with those never ending lists, squeezing more and more into our days, the more tired we get, as our energy reserves run low. We are tired at the end of the day, yet sleep becomes difficult, or in some cases impossible, because we just can’t seem to switch off… and so when we get up the next day, we are beginning the day already tired and so the cycle begins again.

In order to bring yourself and your life back to a point of balance, you could try the following:

Keeping a family diary or calendar. Make sure there is enough space on each page to write down what you have to do. Add in your appointments, the kids’ sleepovers, when the library books need to be returned as well as school trips and family birthdays. Don’t agree to take anything else on until you know that there really is space in your diary for it.

Making shorter lists – long lists are daunting, and when we get to the end of the day without having crossed everything off, we feel a failure, knowing that we are starting tomorrow with half of today’s list as well as tomorrow’s list! Limit you list to just 6 or 7 items. Keep each item realistic…. “Paint the kitchen” may be on your list, but if it is accompanied by “clear the loft”, “dig the garden”, “take the car for a service” and “get the children to ballet, gym, scouts and piano lessons”, it becomes daunting, and almost bound to fail.

Stop working by 9pm – If you work until bedtime, your body and mind have no time to wind down, and sleep becomes of poor quality. Set yourself a time limit that allows you an hour or two before your bedtime to start the “relax and switch off” process.

Don’t be afraid to say ‘NO’. Very often we take on tasks simply because we don’t want to offend, or we don’t want to appear inadequate or unable. It is OK to say “No, I’m sorry, I don’t have time to do that for you today”, or “No, sorry, that doesn’t really appeal to me”. Don’t clutter up your precious time with jobs you don’t need to take on, and don’t use up your precious energy getting worked up about things that you have taken on that you wish you hadn’t.

Make a few moments for yourself – although it would be nice to have a day to yourself, or even just a free afternoon, we all know that is usually impractical. But just 20 or 30 minutes can make all the difference to the mind/body/life balance. Go for a walk, take a soak in the bath in the middle of the day, do some classic yoga stretches, or listen to a guided imagery recording to reduce those stress levels and provide you with the energy you need to make the most of your day.

Of course different things work for different people, and you may find that some of these suggestions work better for you than others. Introduce one of the above into your day at a time, and let it become a habit before introducing the next one. Enjoy taking control and reclaiming your time, and your energy.

Kimberley Mercer is a partners at Guided Imagery Downloads. Kimberley is a NLP practitioner, reflexologist and hypnotherapist.

Body image is often based on what society says we are supposed to look like, but in magazines, movies and on TV you will see everybody you don’t look like. Maybe you are somewhat overweight, underweight or have some other issue like adult acne or terminally bad hair days. Here are some tips, through the signs, on how to love your body and yourself exactly the way you are.

Aries: Aries tend to stay happiest while in motion. Their body’s strength uniquely affects the emotions of the Ram child. Regular exercise added to the day results in an astrological attitude of a child - exploring local creeks and back roads, they take the path less traveled by. Their sense of self and body image will stay positive whenever they are in a state of movement, exploration and independence. Rise above negative self-absorption with dance, yoga or just a nice walk down the local promenade to go shopping for a new pair of Nikes.

Taurus: Positive body image means you feel good in your own skin. Taurus expresses self love by indulging in some soft and pricey threads to wear and to surround themselves with in the home; velvety-smooth sofa pillows, blankets and throws. Taurus is ruled by Venus so they have a naturally intuitive understanding of how mind-altering the material of a garment can actually be to the psyche. Consignment and resale shops are hot now and many carry gently used yet luscious clothing at a third of the price, which works for Taurus who is always grounded in the budget department. Do not be hard on yourself if you don’t look like Jessica Biel or Beyonce. They don’t even look like that. Those magazine covers are all airbrushed - so go ahead and love every well-dressed inch of your BFA (Big Fat Ass).

Gemini: If you are born under the sign of the twins you are blessed with an ability to actually read! (You’d be surprised how many folks can’t sit still long enough to finish a book.) A Gemini with an imperfect body can always benefit from sharing their insights with their less literarily inclined friends. When a Gemini is helping someone else somehow - with an email, on the phone or sending a singing telegram - they are not thinking about the size of their own backsides. Ponder this meaty subject on your own.

Cancer: Cancerians must be aware to not eat as a way of shifting a challenging mood or forgetting that last boyfriend. You will create a cycle where you then obsess about that extra fat gathering around the back of your upper arms not to mention your beefy badonkadonk region. Make self-absorption work for you by being very nurturing toward yourself. Accept what you look like now and stop worrying about how you’ll never be taller or have a flat stomach. The average women is a size fourteen wishing she were a four. Lots of us are a heck of a lot bigger than that (Janette insisted on that comment since only her right thigh is a size 14.) Get over it. Take hot baths, drink yummy teas, hum to yourself happily in the shower. Don’t isolate. Find new friends who love your hiney exactly the way it is.

Leo: You exude self love but sometimes the inner you has a challenge with what you consider to be less than “perfect” looks. Or maybe you project that perfectionism onto your family member or loved one. Be aware that while it’s true that the most attractive signs of the zodiac get the best jobs, money and pick of romantic partners, the first person you must come to terms with is yourself. Accept any slight or not so slight imperfections like knock-knees, facial hairs or going bald. Relax. Put down that mirror, and smile that gorgeous smile for the world to enjoy.

Virgo: Your positive body image will blossom when you’re less anxious and that only happens when a Virgo learns to stop worrying and relax. Don’t be frightened of aging, or putting on a few pounds. You will survive and so will your body. Put down that perfectionism inner dragon that is either keeping you from the gym or not doing anything else but going to the gym. See the beauty of your own virgin self, before all the cross talk got in the way. Get a worry stone - rub it endlessly.

Libra: Your positive body image can be discovered in finding balance. Your assignment is to accept your body exactly the way it is - just give up trying to change it. There is a desire in the Libran to be all things to all people, including themselves. Know that, like everything else, your stomach in a bikini has its ups and downs. Emotions are naturally fluid - judgment really only last seconds if you acknowledge the thought or feeling, then let it go! Do not physically compare yourself to models in magazines or any of the cast members of Grey’s Anatomy.

Scorpio: Your positive body image can be found in the expression of your sensuality. Try combining lavender with vanilla and rub it behind your knees and ears. Like Aries, make your body feel good and you will feel better about it - even if you don’t look like Brad or Angelina. Languish in a Jacuzzi with floating, glowing flower lights (available at Target) or get a full body massage. If that doesn’t work, try noticing when you are comparing your backside to others and experiencing jealousy. Thank yourself for sharing and shake it off with a little polka dance. Find a sensual partner who doesn’t having hang-ups about their own bodies that they could project on you. (Cuz that’s a bummer.)

Sagittarius: Negative body image, self absorption and wishing you had the waistline of Jennifer Aniston can be tamed by studying the cultural and philosophical insanity behind today’s obsession in the media with the skinny babes. Know that this obsession is a mere societal trend and remember that back in the fifties Marilyn Monroe (a perfect size 14/16) was considered perfect. Share with others your insights into the Sophia Loren era vs. the Olson Twins era, and you will have others also laughing so hard that they too, forget to obsess about their reflection in the mirror or their BFAs (Big Fat Asses).

Capricorn: When you are not completely lost in your world of work, you may find yourself hating your thighs. Get over it. There are lots of other people that got over it on the Internet. It’s called the “Fatosphere.” Check it out. Get out amongst friends or go online and socialize. Have some fun. You can have a positive body image by starting to notice when you do feel good about your body, which is probably when you are remembering to breathe deep. (Stress is a major contributor to the blues and deep breathing is a great cure.). Love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). It wants to be loved just like the rest of you.

Aquarius: Accepting yourself and your body type exactly the way they are is something that comes natural to you. Of all the signs in the zodiac, you are the least pre-occupied by the size and shape of your body parts. If you do need a body image boost, go remind a sister or a brother what you already know - that physical looks and beauty are not based on what you see on TV or on the cover of Vogue. Explain to your poor, lost friends how you have embraced your own eccentric wardrobe, hair and possible quirky thinness. You know that the first step of change is acceptance. Go to the local mall and put up a banner which reads, “Love Your BFA (Big Fat Ass) and It Will Love You Back for a Lifetime.”

Pisces: Give, give, give, then give some more then stop. Your key to positive body image is to have healthy boundaries when it comes to your compassion for others. If it goes too far and you are taken advantage of then you will get down on yourself and mope about. Then you will pick on your butt in a pair of undersized jeans. Also, take care of your somewhat delicate health because you are not happy when you don’t feel well. Work out. Realize that we are all in this together, that most women would give up ten years of their life to be another body type - yes, that is a recent statistic from Fitness Magazine. Go out and turn your negative obsession about your looks into a positive celebration. That may mean finding some new friends who love your BFA (big fat ass) with all its luscious dimensions.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.

Laughter. What a cause. What a cure. We had to do it – create an empowering society of B-FABs (Beautiful Fat Ass Babes) that are fully committed to huge amounts of fun. The B-FAB movement has begun, and big fat belly laughs for one and all are our goal.

Laughter is critical to well being for a number of reasons. Without humor what would we do when we see big clown feet, squirting flower lapels, and big fat asses? Yes, BFAs (Big Fat Asses) are meant to be laughed at, especially when you are the owner and operator of that fine piece of equipment. If you let yourself think about it, isn’t it funny that for years the size of your ass in a pair of jeans has been running your life? Isn’t it funny in an airplane seat how you have to flap like a goose to get up out of your tiny coach seat from hell? Can we get a big guffaw for all the times you looked for just the perfect sweater to luxuriously drape over your bountiful backside only to find out that you may have just hidden your ass under so much fabric that you now resemble Omar the Tentmaker.

This is not a mixed message. This is our way of pushing home the fat point that being serious, sad and mad at the state of affairs in the rear is a gosh darn waste of time. Not only that, depression and misery over your beefy bod’ will only make you eat even more and be even less healthy. Let’s look at the facts; laughter actually does heal. Did you know, according to WebMD, that laughing heartily 100 times a day gives the same cardio results as working out for 20 minutes? Buy a joke book and ditch the treadmill for god sakes!

Here’s the deal - you can’t think and laugh at the same time. It’s like trying to keep your eyes open when you sneeze. The more you laugh, the more you want to. And if you are around other people laughing – it LL just keeps multiplying upon itself. (Sound contagious? It is.) When we laugh we give up our egos and see our own humanity and the humanity of others. Did you know there is even such a thing as laughter clubs?

What, you ask, is a laughter club? It’s a group of people who meet to laugh together, every week, in a public place. There is no formal structure - just an anchor laugher who orchestrates the event. A session might include simulated laughter and techniques mixed in with stretching and breathing. You can simulate laughter and still get the same good results in the body like a real laugh. (Great, now there’s something else we can fake.) Laughter Yoga is now a worldwide movement, bringing about attitudinal changes to help us all live in peace and harmony. There are now more than 1,300 laughter clubs in India, USA, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.

Hey, B-FAB’s, let’s unite! While the B-FAB Society isn’t exactly a laughter club we do think that there will be a heck of a lot of healthy laughter going on. What we are creating with the B-FAB Society is a self acceptance and self celebration society. Let’s laugh at our predicament and then let’s reinforce for each other how wonderful we are just exactly as we are – fat asses and all!

Let’s try this self-acceptance thing – self loathing didn’t work…what if this does? How about letting a big fat laugh rip about our wretched pasts? If you laugh, your ass will not blow away, we promise you. The news all around the world really sucks these days and it’s as if we’re afraid to be jovial selves. Hey, what if the cure for a new future could be found in giving up dieting and stopping all the complaining about our weight and the weight of the world for just a bit? Try it on. You don’t have to have a great sense of humor. Borrow your great aunt Sadie’s cacophonous laugh for the night, find some friends, BREATHE, laugh and call a B-FAB girlfriend to tell her how great she is.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.

“I’m tired of thin people telling me what to do,” is Janette’s new motto. Have you noticed how the thin people always have an opinion on what you should wear and whether you should feel comfortable in a locker room or at the beach? Our B-FAB (Beautiful Fat Ass Babe) friends don’t do that to us. They know that we will wear what we’re comfortable in and that it’s none of their business. Our B-FAB friends trust that we have a mirror and that we know what we look like. Dressing the B-FAB butt can be a fabulous experience if you can just stop criticizing yourself long enough to notice how good you can look.

Plus size clothing is now so much more available that it was back when we were little. There was a time when you could maybe catalogue order from Lane Bryant or Newport News but you couldn’t walk into a nice shop and find a gorgeously styled outfit that was cut for your body type. Now you can. There are chain stores galore – Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug Plus, Catherine’s, Chico’s. It is so much more comfortable for a B-FAB (Beautiful Fat Ass Babe) to go to a store where there is an abundance of things that will fit her. It’s wonderful to go into a store filled with women who look like she does instead of being the one lone fat girl hoping to find something in the Junior department at Macy’s.

We do, however, hold many plus size fashion manufactures criminally liable for some of the fabrics they try to foist on us. We’d like to be crystal clear here. Double-knit polyester doesn’t look good on anyone not even a S-FAB (Skinny Fat Ass Babe). There are size 8’s out there whose cellulite would defy the doubleknits they try to force us B-FABs into. Is this a conspiracy? Have the hard-body young-ones decided to flush the adipose carriers out in the open with this flammable synthetic we call “double-knit turquoise pants”. Don’t do this to yourself. There is no reason to look or feel that way. In summer, for god’s sake, try linen. It’s loose, light, cool and shows it’s own wrinkles instead of your dimples. Linen wrinkles in a way that works (unless you’re on Daytime TV wearing the horrifying outfit with the linen jacket that Janette chose when we taped the Tyra Banks show… sometimes we all make mistakes. There was a reason why that happened and if you come to our website and ask, we’ll tell you.)

If you happen to have a stomach that is kind of like a big jiggly bowling ball beneath your belt, it might not be the best choice to wear knit pants and a stretchy little t-shirt with a bare mid-riff. Since Janette won’t wear a bathing suit or form fitting clothes she has been questioned about whether or not she does, in truth, embrace her BFA (Big Fat Ass). If that’s what you think you may be missing the point of embracing your big fat ass. Embracing your BFA doesn’t mean that you convince yourself that you look like Jessica Simpson. It means that you recognize that there is a bias in this country that only calls thin beautiful. It means you find the beauty and the gifts in who you are as you are. Embracing your ass when it comes to fashion means that instead of wearing the fashions that look best on Paris Hilton that we choose things that are the most comfortable and flattering for us. It means choosing outfits that boost our confidence and remind us that we are actually NOT operating with a handicap. We can be as hot as anyone else. (Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, That girl America who is Ugly Betty. Lots of B-FAB are infiltrating the pop culture making more and more room for the rest of us.)

B-FAB’s look best in natural fabrics. Let’s face it – anyone looks best in natural fabrics. If you can afford to go up a notch from the chain stores to boutiques there are finally fashion lines that create gorgeous clothes with great styling and fabrics. FLAX, Cut Loose and Cynthia Ashby to name just a few. Luna Luz has a tie skirt that would make any B-FAB feel like a million bucks.

Do you know what clothing is for? It’s to make you feel good about yourself. It’s not about conforming your tastes to what the media has created. It’s about inhabiting our bodies with pride and finding the look that makes us feel like who we want to be. Let’s make it our mission to stand up and show that B-FABs are quite stunning just as we are. B-FAB power rules. Come join us.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.

Most of us, B-FAB or not, would be horrified at having to be naked in public. (A B-FAB is a Beautiful Fat Ass Babe and at this point with over 65% of Americans being overweight or obese, we now outnumber the Skinny Bitches.) There is something extremely primitive about that feeling of exposure. Who hasn’t had the nightmare where you are about to go on stage and suddenly you notice that you’re naked? Who hasn’t walked down the street for six blocks only to discover her skirt is tucked up in her panty hose on a day when she’s wearing her oldest and most horrifying underwear? These aren’t nice moments.

But as much as anyone has a horror of having to parade naked (except for those of you who love it who, in our opinion, are just plain odd. Nice, lovely people. But odd.), we think B-FABs have it worse. We have to live in our pop-culture dominated society that has chosen a bean pole to model acceptance and beauty while at the same time marketing us into being fat by way of fast food and very highly processed sugars and flours. And god only knows what the government is releasing into the air to make us fat to make us sick so the drug companies can make more money. (That came from Janette and no, she’s not mentally unstable.)

We often think it would be nicer to have been born, for example, as a cat. They sashay around with their tails up not giving a hoot who see’s what. Can you imagine a chimpanzee being embarrassed about their big red butts? Or a Doberman too delicate to lick the equipment? No, of course not. They go under the assumption that if it’s natural it’s alright. We go under the assumption that if we can’t reach the ideal body type – something similar to that of an 18 year old stripper - then we should hang our heads in shame.

Janette started doing a naked blog in protest. I bet you wonder how much she shows. Does she show you her dimpled thighs and her spillage? (Spillage is a classic BFA (Big Fat Ass) sign. If you sit down in your underwear and a generous amount of flab drapes over the side of the seat – you’re in the club.) Does Janette show off her back fat? Well for that you’d have to come to our website and see.

But our real point here is that, even if you don’t want to flap it out in the produce section of the Stop and Shop, we B-FABs shouldn’t have to be any more ashamed of our bodies than the thin people should be of theirs. When you think about it, there is probably less than 5% of the population that actually looks good naked. Most of us just look like headcheese or else we’re pale and goose bumpy like chicken skin. Sound like your legs when it’s cold? (We’re raising our hands and nodding.) So what. Does that make us any less wonderful than we are? Does that make us any less attractive to our boyfriends? No it does not.

We’re thinking of getting naked and running down the driveway. Janette has tried it before and estimates that her ass and thigh flab billow back about 4 feet behind her. It’s cool. She looks like a lava lamp. The bottom line is that, while you don’t have to flap out the cellulite and show the world, we really recommend getting to a place where we’re okay looking at ourselves. Stop comparing yourself to 22 year olds who have been professionally made-up and lit and air brushed and start being okay with just being human. Beauty comes in many shapes and sizes and has dimples in many more places than just the face.

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.