Today we’d like to introduce you to Gi Indoccio.
Founder of Be Mindful with Gi and Graceful Awakenings, Gi is passionate about her work as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Board Certified Life Coach, and Reiki Master Teacher. She holds a Masters Degree in Applied Psychology and Counseling from Antioch University where she began her work 22 years ago as an integrative holistic counselor at Dover Star Institute in Hooksett, NH.
Gi is currently in training to be a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., author of Full Catastrophe Living, this program is in over 250 hospitals around the country and many more around the world supporting people with stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, alleviating stress related to medical conditions and much more.
As the story goes, Jon told the doctors at UMass Medical in the chronic pain unit to give him the patients that the medication was not working for. He thought that helping them work with these progressive set of mindfulness practices in a group format would help them develop the ability to see the pain more objectively and learn how to relate to it differently, so they would suffer less from it. Turns out he was right!
Since 1979, there has been a tremendous amount of research coming out of Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, UW-Madison and many more high-ranking institutions providing us the insight into how this approach is helpful and how it not only works but how it actually can change our neuroplasticity of our brains for the better.
After working as a psychotherapist for Seacoast Mental Health Center and Portsmouth High School, she decided to take a leap of faith and devote herself full time to her own practice. She was employed at Portsmouth Regional Hospital at the inpatient psychiatric facility, as a Group Clinician and Social Worker. Having experienced personal adversity in her own life; Gi knows the intrinsic value of psychotherapy and life coaching, as Gi continues to guide clients through their life transitions.
Dedicated to her own personal growth, she practices mindfulness as a daily part of her life, Gi is passionate about healing from the inside out. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. I invite you to try Mindfulness for 2-5 minutes a day!
Has it been a smooth road?
During the years of 1992-1995, a series of events left me in crisis. My mother, with whom I had a tumultuous relationship with passed away at 66 years old from emphysema caused by smoking.
At that same time, I was informed that I would never have children (which I wanted more than anything in my life). I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma (skin cancer). And, the demise of my 9-year marriage had begun, ending in divorce. These were some of the toughest years of my life. Lost and alone, I watched my life spiral out of control, as anxiety and panic ruled my mind. Immobilized and scared, I realized that I could not continue to live that way anymore; something had to shift.
As a matter of fact, sadly, I was the last one to realize how much in crisis I was. Yes, I had tried everything I could, from counseling (individual and couples), and workshops, to an 8-day retreat … but something was still missing. I became frozen like a deer in the headlights and developed “paralysis by analysis”. I could not get out of my own way.
On a trip flying home … I heard the flight attendant say “in the event of an emergency, please put on your oxygen mask before assisting others”. For some reason, it was as if I heard this phrase for the first time — it provided a tremendous amount of clarity. It was as if the flight attendant had singled me out and gave me an incredible insight. It was more than a metaphor to me; it was an epiphany. I felt like God was telling me what I needed to do for myself, “Put my own oxygen mask on first!”
In that exact moment, my eyes filled with tears of sadness, because I realized that I was not present in my own life. Where did I go? Had I lost myself in the process of trying to control everything? The answer came back loud and clear, “To gain control of your life, you must let go of control. Stay true to yourself, Gi, and all will fall into place.” Was this new awareness the key to my new positive perspective? The miracle I had hoped for?!
This is when I began to practice mindfulness.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Be Mindful with Gi includes mindfulness, life coaching and reiki! When we can prepare ourselves for life’s adversities by “Putting Our Own Oxygen Mask On First”, we can continue to move forward and regain our personal power and strength. We can then emerge into the competent, confident, congruent person we are choosing to become. It is a choice to make positive changes in our lives. Choose to be an Empowered You!
Mindfulness is being present at the moment, no matter what the moment brings – whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant. Relaxation is not the purpose of mindfulness. It is a positive side effect. Paying attention to the body at the moment and your breathing is the purpose of Mindfulness. By continuing a Mindful Practice on a regular basis, you decrease your distracted mind.
Once you acknowledge your distracting thoughts, emotions, feelings, and bodily sensations, you can ‘let them be’ in order to ‘let them go’ … and the distracting aspects of your life begin to dissipate because you have accepted them. Remembering that the moment you realize that you are no longer Mindful, You Are!
Using the Seven Attitudinal Factors: non-judging, patience, non-striving, trust, beginners mind, letting go and acceptance … you empower your Mindfulness Practice with these. Simply come back to your breath and body. Once you allow and make time for Mindfulness in your life — you have the power to create the life you truly want to live!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
My office is just outside of Portsmouth, NH in Newington, NH – about a 5-minute drive away. Being slightly outside of Portsmouth provides the opportunity to have clients and seminars in my office with easily available parking. It allows for the Portsmouth, as well as Greater New Hampshire and Southern Maine communities to utilize my services. It’s a great combination and minimizes the city complaint of paying for and finding parking when in a major New Hampshire metropolitan area. It’s really the best of all worlds.
Pricing:
- FREE online course: A Taste of Mindfulness www.BeMindfulWithGi.com
- $27 online course: Three Incredible Ways to Getting Unstuck www.BeMindfulWithGi.com
- $125 live course: Create Your Life Vision Board Workshop in Newington, NH www.BeMindfulWithGi.com
- $200 live course: Reiki I (and all other Reiki courses through Reiki Teacher Training, pricing varies per class)
- $250 live course: Holistic Business and Marketing: Training to Thrive
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 Shattuck Way Newington, NH 03801
- Website: https://www.bemindfulwithgi.com
- Phone: (603) 860-8645
- Email: gi@bemindfulwithgi.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeMindfulWithGi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GIndoccio
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