We go deep into flow, but we also explore its lesser-known counterpart: the clutch state, where you perform your best despite pressure rather than by floating into the zone. Along the way, we get into the neurochemistry behind flow, why leaders need to protect their decision-making bandwidth, and how far your nervous system actually extends beyond your body. This conversation blends hard science with ancient wisdom in a way that riffing off each other in a way where we lost track of time.

5 Key Takeaways

1. Flow follows focus - it doesn't come first.

Nikhil breaks the myth that you meditate or relax your way into flow. There's always a "ramp-up" period of discomfort and mental noise first. Flow arrives afterward, in a state neuroscientists call transient hypofrontality - when the inner voice in your brain finally goes quiet.

2. Flow isn't the only peak performance state - meet "clutch."

When pressure is high and you need to perform right now, flow isn't the goal. Clutch state is. Short, intense, and intentional - think the last quarter of a game or the final minute of a big pitch. It's an under-researched area Nikhil is actively studying.

3. The five neurotransmitters behind flow.

Dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin, anandamide, and endorphins all need to align for flow to happen. Nikhil unpacks what each one contributes, and why flow is only sustainable for about 90 minutes before your brain needs genuine recovery.

4. Attention architecture: why leaders need to protect their decision-making bandwidth.

The average leader makes 35,000–60,000 decisions a day. Nikhil explains why high performers like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg simplified everyday choices (like their wardrobe) to preserve mental capacity for the decisions that actually matter.

5. Your nervous system doesn't stop at your skin.

Drawing on the theory of social conformity, Nikhil explains that your nervous system extends roughly three metres beyond your body, which is part of why the people closest to you shape your habits and state so strongly. He ties this into the quantum physics observer effect and the idea that we're active creators of our own reality.

Connect with Nikhil and learn more from on: LinkedIn | NikhilRughani.com | ShotOfCopy.com

If you are a coach who would like to learn about becoming an ANZCAL accredited coach, contact us here: www.anzcal.org | LinkedIn | Instagram

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. A once-in-recorded-history astrological event is happening now — Four outer planets (Neptune, Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter) are aligning at 4 degrees in their respective signs simultaneously. French astrologer André Barbeau predicted this configuration would change the trajectory of humanity — and it's just beginning, with effects through to 2029.
2. Mercury retrograde in Cancer runs almost the entire month (until July 23) — an invitation to pause, feel, and respond from the body rather than the head. Old emotional patterns and stories may resurface — use them as a chance to assess what's still yours to carry.
3. The North Node sits in Gate 55 — the gate Ra Uru Hu identified as central to humanity's next evolutionary shift — pointing toward the 2027 Cross of Planning transition, where the emotional centre begins to function as sovereign navigation rather than reactive patterning.
4. On July 26, the nodal axis shifts — astrologically moving from Pisces/Virgo into Aquarius/Leo, and in Human Design from Gate 55/59 into Gate 30/29. The invitation deepens: release over-commitment made from obligation or fear, and move toward what genuinely lights you up.
5. July's overarching theme is intuition, self-trust and authentic expression — the month asks us to stop waiting for permission and recognise that authenticity is the permission. As Chey put it: "Stop waiting for permission — authenticity is the permission."

If you would like to connect with Chey for an chart reading, you can message her on Instagram - Two Moons

If you would like to learn more about your Human Design head to www.samanthahannah.co.nz

If you're a coach who like to join ANZCAL, we'd love to hear from you. Head to www.anzcal.org

What I love most about Michelle's approach is how she brings this into the heart of leadership coaching - helping high performers regulate their nervous systems, clear what's blocking them, and step into high-pressure moments with real confidence. If you've ever wanted to understand the neuroscience behind why some people thrive under pressure and others freeze, this one's for you.

5 Key Points

1. Havening works by creating delta wave states through soothing touch.

Three specific touch points — the face, upper arms, and palms — activate specialised skin receptors that shift the brain into delta wave state, the same state associated with deep sleep. This heightened neuroplasticity creates the conditions to release trauma encoding and re-encode new, resourceful states. It can be done in any moment, including discreetly in public, making it a genuinely accessible self-regulation tool.

2. Trauma encoding is at the root of much of what blocks high-performing leaders.

Michelle found consistently through leadership coaching that anxiety, imposter syndrome, and performance fears often trace back to earlier distressing experiences — frequently from school — that have been encoded in the brain as threat responses. Havening depotentiates that encoding, clearing the path for genuine growth rather than managing symptoms indefinitely.

3. A regulated coach or leader regulates the people around them.

Co-regulation is not soft language — it's neuroscience. Gallup research shows a person's direct leader accounts for 70% of their engagement at work. When leaders are dysregulated, their teams feel it and mirror it. When coaches are dysregulated, their clients feel that too. Self-regulation is not a personal luxury; it's a professional responsibility.

4. Havening and NLP combine to create rapid, deep-level state change.

Michelle has developed her own confidence-encoding process that layers Havening touch with NLP visualisation — anchoring peak performance states into the nervous system in a single session. She uses it to prepare clients for job interviews, high-stakes presentations, and critical conversations, with results she describes as immediate and lasting.

5. Investing in your own development is non-negotiable at master level.

Every year without exception, Michelle allocates significant resources to her own learning. She began her career technically-focused and emotionally closed. Every modality she now brings to clients — NLP, Havening, trauma-informed coaching — she first put herself through. Her breadth isn't a collection of credentials; it's a lived practice of becoming.

If you would like to get in touch with Michelle, you can find her here: website | Linkedin

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. June is a turning point — from reflection to action. The first half of 2026 has been about planting seeds and gathering information. June marks the shift into making decisions, backing yourself, and moving forward with what you've been quietly preparing for.
2. Lead from the heart, not just the head. With Mercury and Venus both in Cancer, June is calling for decisions that are felt, not just analysed. For coaches, this means creating space for emotionally honest, intuitive conversations — with clients and with yourself.
3. Uranus in Gemini is disrupting old mental patterns. For the first time since the 1940s, Uranus enters Gemini — bringing sudden insight, unexpected opportunities, and an invitation to release mental frameworks you've outgrown but are still clinging to.
4. Chiron entering Taurus begins a collective healing journey around worth. On June 19, an eight-year healing cycle begins around self-value, resources, and what truly sustains us. Expect themes of worthiness, scarcity, and redefining success to surface — in your clients and in yourself.
5. Jupiter enters Leo on June 29 — it's time to shine. After a year of emotional processing in Cancer, Jupiter's move into Leo is a cosmic green light for courageous self-expression, visibility, and joy. For coaches, this is the energy to launch, pitch, begin new client relationships, and step forward — not from pressure, but from genuine readiness.

If you would like to learn more from Chey, and have your chart read, you can message her on her instagram - Under Two Moons

Are you a coach wanting to stand out in the world? Becoming accredited gives you the edge! To learn more about ANZCAL and how to become an Accreditated ANZCAL coach, head to www.anzcal.org

From there, the conversation weaves through the power of the subconscious mind, what it really means to practise what you preach, how to build a coaching business that grows with you, and why helping children understand their own minds might be one of the most important things we can do for the world. Expect honesty, humour, a touch of magic, and more than a few moments that will make you stop and think.

5 Key Takeaways

1. Your 'why' will find you - often through hardship. Sara didn't plan a career in hypnotherapy. It found her in a hospital room, watching her son Jake take his medication for the first time after a single session, and thinking, I need to learn how to do that. Purpose rarely arrives on schedule.
2. The subconscious mind is always running the show. Whether it's a fear response, a habit, or a deeply held belief - so much of how we think, feel, and behave is driven by the unconscious. Understanding this is the first step to real, lasting change, for coaches, clients, and children alike.
3. You don't need a niche to start. Sara's advice to new coaches: stop waiting until you've found the perfect niche. Start seeing people. Your niche will reveal itself through the work, just as working with children emerged naturally for Sara through her own lived experience.
4. Coaching and hypnotherapy together are greater than the sum of their parts. When Sara added coaching to her hypnotherapy practice, she describes it as finding "the missing piece", the combination created a solution-focused, forward-paced way of working with people that neither modality could achieve alone.
5. Helping children understand their minds is a gift to the whole world. Sara's vision goes beyond individual sessions - she believes that equipping children with tools to calm their nervous systems, build confidence, and trust themselves creates a generation able to share their unique gifts. Her book 52 Ways to Help Your Child Grow Their Confidence and Happiness is a practical starting point for coaches, parents, and therapists working with children aged 5–12.

If would like to learn more from Sara, connect with her and buy her book, visit her website https://mindgarden.co.nz You'll be able to find all her services and social media here too.

If you're a coach interested in becoming an Accredited Coach with ANZCAL, head to our website www.anzcal.org We'd love to connect with you.

Lindsey shares her remarkable journey from high-performing marketer in London to identity-led leadership coach in New Zealand, including the pivotal life moments that shaped who she is today. Together, Sam and Lindsey explore why so many leaders and coaches are struggling right now, what it really means to lead from your identity rather than from expectation, and how Lindsey's True North certification pathway is equipping coaches to make a deeper, more lasting impact in a rapidly changing world.

Whether you're new to coaching or a seasoned practitioner, this episode will challenge you to stop performing success - and start living it.

5 KEY POINTS FROM THE SHOW

1. Identity as the anchor - Lindsey explains why identity-led leadership gives people something to hold onto in volatile times, contrasting it with performance-led systems that can lead to burnout, misalignment, and loss of self.
2. The True North Identity System - A structured four-pillar methodology (Resilience, Space, Power, Resilience) designed to help individuals, teams, and organisations align who they are with how they lead, decide, and act.
3. A certification pathway for coaches — True North offers three progressive levels aligned with ANZCAL's certification structure: Life & Leadership, Business and Organisations.
4. Embrace the messy middle - Lindsey shares candidly about the trial, error, and pivots it took to build Turas - and why getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is a non-negotiable part of coaching and entrepreneurship.
5. Resilience is a must-have, not a nice-to-have - With over 40% of the global workforce facing burnout, Lindsey makes the case that resilience is now a core leadership capability - and that it's most powerful when built from your own identity, not borrowed from someone else's playbook.

You can contact Lindsey on her website www.turas.co.nz. You'll find all her social media handles and contact forms here as well.

If you are interested in becoming an Accredited Coach with ANZCAL head to our website www.anzcal.org We'd love to connect with you.

In this episode, Sam and Chey explore how to navigate the uncertainty, heightened emotions, and rapid movement of April while staying grounded in your inner wisdom, your values, and your role as a coach.

This is a month of becoming, where clarity unfolds through action, not before it.

Chey’s Astrology Highlights

1. Endings + Beginnings (Pisces New Moon → Aries Equinox)

We are standing between worlds, releasing the old while not yet fully seeing the new. This creates a sense of uncertainty, but also a powerful transformation.

2. Identity, Compassion & Spiritual Activation

With strong Aries energy and Neptune present, April invites a deeper connection to self, leading with courage, while grounding in compassion, intuition, and conscious action.

3. Embracing Uncertainty & Taking Action Anyway

Clarity may not come first. This month asks you to trust yourself, take aligned steps forward, and allow the path to unfold as you move.

Sam’s Human Design Highlights

1. Let Go of Old Patterns & Step Forward Anyway

April carries a strong theme of releasing what no longer serves, even if you don’t feel fully “ready.” Growth happens through action, not perfection.

2. Lead Without Control — Trust Your Inner Wisdom

This is a time to soften control, avoid micromanaging outcomes, and instead lead from trust - both in yourself and in your clients’ ability to find their own answers.

3. Care, Community & Sustainable Leadership

A strong focus on nurturing yourself and others emerges. Balancing giving with self-care, setting boundaries, and leading in a way that is both supportive and sustainable.

If you would like to get in touch with Chey for an Astrology reading, you can message her on Instagram - www.instagram.com/undertwomoons

Chey also has a Substack where you can stay in touch with her Astrology. www.substack.com/@undertwomoons.

Becoming an ANZCAL accredited coach is about more than a credential; it’s a commitment to excellence, growth, and meaningful connection.

It’s for coaches who are curious, who continuously refine their skills, who care deeply about how they hold space, and who value being part of a supportive, professional coaching community.

If you’re ready to grow with integrity, deepen your impact, and step confidently into the coach you’re capable of becoming, contact ANZCAL today at www.anzcal.org. We’d love to help you reach your potential. Follow us:

Facebook | Instagram

It’s for coaches who are curious, who continuously refine their skills, who care deeply about how they hold space, and who value being part of a supportive, professional coaching community.

If you’re ready to grow with integrity, deepen your impact, and step confidently into the coach you’re capable of becoming, contact ANZCAL today at www.anzcal.org. We’d love to help you reach your potential. Follow us:

Facebook | Instagram

The Love of Coaching — Episode with Dr Suzanne Henwood

This episode is a powerful, honest, and deeply human conversation with Dr Suzanne Henwood — Master Coach, neuroscientist, author, and one of the boldest thinkers shaping the future of coaching.

Suzanne invites us to slow down, question old models, and reconnect with what it truly means to serve people well.

5 Key Points from the Podcast

1. Suzanne’s journey into coaching began long before she ever called herself a coach. As an academic and Associate Professor in Health and Social Sciences, she spent years studying how people learn and grow in real work environments. What she saw, again and again, was a disconnect between theory, systems, and the lived human experience. Coaching became her way of doing the work differently; more honestly, ethically, and humanely.
2. Suzanne openly owns her love of neuroscience and behavioural psychology, but what makes her work so powerful is why she uses it. Her science is not about optimisation or performance at all costs; it’s about understanding suffering, stress, trauma, and adaptation so people can feel safer in their bodies and lives. Her knowledge is always in service of compassion.
3. One of the most emotional threads in the episode is Suzanne’s reflection on spending years trying to fit into boxes she was never meant to occupy. The moment she realised that “fitting in would be a nightmare” was liberating. From that point on, she chose integrity over approval, standing out over compliance, and service over status, a choice that now defines her coaching philosophy.
4. Suzanne speaks candidly about why traditional, linear, head-based, goal-only coaching models are no longer enough. Clients today are overwhelmed, anxious, and navigating complexity on every level. Coaching’s moment to shine is now, but only if coaches are willing to work with the whole human system, not just the thinking mind.
5. Perhaps the most moving message of the episode is Suzanne’s belief that coaching is, at its core, about creating a space where people can be real. Not fixed. Not managed. Not rushed. A place of safety, dignity, and truth. For Suzanne, this is not a technique; it’s an ethical responsibility, and the deepest form of service a coach can offer.

This episode is an invitation to remember why coaching exists, not to control, dominate, or perfect people, but to walk alongside them as they come home to themselves.

Want to connect with Dr Suzanne Henwood

w. https://www.suzannehenwood.com/

Jody is an ANZCAL Certified Professional Coach, an NLP Coach Practitioner, and a Certified Professional and Pastoral Supervisor through Morling College. With training grounded in globally recognised coaching standards and advanced coaching techniques, Jody brings both professional rigour and deep humanity to his work.

But if you ask Jody about his coaching philosophy, he won’t start with a framework or a model.

Instead, he might tell you a story about a small diner in Tokyo.

In the Netflix series Midnight Diner, the owner simply says:

“I make whatever customers ask for, as long as I have the ingredients.”

The diner is simple, quiet, and unassuming. People arrive late at night carrying stories, questions, and pieces of their lives. The cook - known only as Master - listens deeply, asks the occasional question, and somehow, through that presence, something meaningful unfolds.

For Jody, coaching works much the same way.

It’s not about the coach becoming the centre of the story.

It’s about creating a space where people feel heard, where deeper meaning emerges, and where insight quietly takes shape.

Like the Midnight Diner, Jody’s coaching space is one where people arrive as they are, and leave feeling nourished, understood, and often seeing their path forward more clearly.

Today we’re exploring how coaches can listen more deeply, honour the stories behind the words, and rediscover the quiet power of presence in coaching.

5 Key Highlights from the podcast

1. Great coaches are often shaped by great coaches - Jody traces his passion for developing people back to a coach he had growing up. This coach believed in him, inspired him to perform beyond his perceived ability, and showed him the power of encouragement. That early experience planted the seed for Jody’s lifelong desire to invest in others.
2. Coaching is about seeing the person, not just the task - Through his work in teaching, leadership development, and mentoring, Jody discovered that directive leadership only goes so far. Coaching takes a longer view of the person, helping individuals grow in awareness, confidence, and capability rather than simply telling them what to do.
3. Deep listening reveals the real story - One of Jody’s central coaching beliefs is that clients often arrive with a surface-level issue, but through patient listening and thoughtful questions, deeper meaning emerges. True coaching happens when the coach listens without judgment and allows the client’s story to unfold.
4. The coach should never be the centre of the story - Jody emphasises that the gift of coaching is presence. Like the “Master” in the Midnight Diner metaphor he shares, a coach creates a space where people feel heard and understood. The coach guides the conversation but allows the client to remain the central character of their own journey.
5. Coaching is about creating a space where people belong - At its heart, Jody’s work is about building a community where people feel welcomed, supported, and empowered. Just like the diner in his metaphor, coaching becomes a place where people can arrive as they are, explore their story, and leave with greater clarity and confidence about their next steps.

Learn more from Jody

w - www.kubolifecoaching.com.au

- Diner for the Soul: expresses the Kubo Life Coaching vibe and philosophy

http://eepurl.com/jb1odY

Power of words - The story of the English professor Jody shared in the podcast

http://eepurl.com/i-b7GY

Find a comfortable, quiet place to listen and enjoy.

We explore it all through the lens of Astrology and Human Design - not as prediction tools, but as frameworks for awareness, alignment, and empowered choice.

Key points of our conversation this month:

• The Year of the Fire Horse (2026) and what this rising momentum means for leadership and courage.
• A powerful February astrology update, with long-anticipated shifts finally landing.
• The idea that the concept of time itself is changing, and how that impacts our sense of urgency and growth.
• The upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse in Virgo. Inviting refinement, discernment, and nervous system awareness.
• The tension between knowledge vs wisdom, and why embodiment matters more than information right now.
• With strong Air and Fire dominance, the reminder that coaches must regulate before they lead. The coach as anchor is more important than ever.

And from Sam, we dive into:

• The movement of the North and South Nodes in March, and how this impacts community dynamics and collective direction.
• Key Sun Gate Transits throughout March in Human Design, and what themes are activated.
• The dominant energetic frequency of the month: tribal evolution - upgrading how we support one another while still honouring individual sovereignty.

If you would like to get in touch with Chey for an Astrology reading, you can message her on Instagram - www.instagram.com/undertwomoons

Chey also has a Substack where you can stay in touch with her Astrology. www.substack.com/@undertwomoons.

Becoming an ANZCAL accredited coach is about more than a credential; it’s a commitment to excellence, growth, and meaningful connection.

It’s for coaches who are curious, who continuously refine their skills, who care deeply about how they hold space, and who value being part of a supportive, professional coaching community.

If you’re ready to grow with integrity, deepen your impact, and step confidently into the coach you’re capable of becoming, contact ANZCAL today at www.anzcal.org. We’d love to help you reach your potential. Follow us:

Facebook | Instagram

In this powerful and deeply reflective episode, Samantha Hannah sits down with Ed Lester, founder of NZ Life Coaching and one of the early pioneers of the coaching profession in Aotearoa.

With over 40 years of learning, teaching, and guiding change-makers, Ed shares timeless wisdom about mastery, uniqueness, and why coaching has the power to shape the future quietly.

• Ed didn’t plan a career in coaching. His journey began with a single, life-changing experience that opened his awareness to what was possible beyond conditioning. That awakening led him into hypnotherapy, NLP, and eventually coaching — driven by curiosity rather than career strategy.
• At the heart of Ed’s philosophy is a powerful truth — people don’t need fixing. They need to be remembered. Coaching, for Ed, is about reconnecting people with who they already are, rather than repairing what they think is wrong.
• Ed teaches that each person carries a unique inner design — a source code that determines how they learn, lead, create, and thrive. When people live out of alignment with that code, life feels heavy. When they align with it, clarity, flow, and impact naturally follow.
• Despite decades in the industry, Ed rejects the idea that mastery means having all the answers. True mastery, he believes, is humility, curiosity, and a willingness to remain a student. Each level of growth is not an endpoint, but a new beginning.
• Ed reminds us that coaching is one of the most powerful leverage points for change. The shifts created in one person ripple outward — into families, workplaces, communities, and future generations. Coaches don’t just change lives; they quietly shape the world.

Connect with Ed at NZ Life Coaching

Personal website: https://edlester.com

NZ Life Coaching: https://nzlifecoaching.com

E. courses@nzlifecoaching.com or 0800 768368

Becoming an ANZCAL accredited coach is about more than a credential; it’s a commitment to excellence, growth, and meaningful connection.

It’s for coaches who are curious, who continuously refine their skills, who care deeply about how they hold space, and who value being part of a supportive, professional coaching community.

If you’re ready to grow with integrity, deepen your impact, and step confidently into the coach you’re capable of becoming, contact ANZCAL today at www.anzcal.org. We’d love to help you reach your potential. Follow us:

Facebook | Instagram

In this opening episode of The Love of Coaching, host Samantha Hannah, Master Trainer Coach and Director of ANZCAL, shares the heart behind the podcast, her personal coaching journey, and why coaching matters now more than ever.

This episode is an invitation to reconnect with the purpose, responsibility, and deep fulfilment that come from coaching, no matter where or how you practise it.

It’s for coaches who are curious, who continuously refine their skills, who care deeply about how they hold space, and who value being part of a supportive, professional coaching community.

If you’re ready to grow with integrity, deepen your impact, and step confidently into the coach you’re capable of becoming, contact ANZCAL today at www.anzcal.org. We’d love to help you reach your potential. Follow us:

Facebook | Instagram

5 Highlights from the Podcast

In this deeply insightful and heartfelt conversation, Jo Green, Master Coach, hypnotherapist, and IFS practitioner, shares her personal journey into coaching and the powerful philosophy that underpins her work today.

Jo speaks candidly about anxiety, nervous system regulation, inner freedom, and why coaching — when done with curiosity and compassion — can be truly life-changing.

• Jo’s journey began through her own lived experience of anxiety, depression, and feeling disconnected, despite living what looked like a “dream life” from the outside. Her personal healing became the catalyst for her work as a coach.
• Through corporate coaching roles, life and health coaching, hypnotherapy, and eventually Internal Family Systems (IFS), Jo shifted from a life driven by fear and survival into one grounded in balance, self-trust, and authenticity.
• One of Jo’s core beliefs and lived truths is that clients already hold their own answers. Coaching, for Jo, is about walking alongside people and helping them reconnect to their inner wisdom, not fixing or rescuing.
• Jo beautifully explains IFS as a way of understanding and working with the different “parts” of ourselves, with the reminder that there are no bad parts. Through curiosity and compassion, we can move from being parts-led to self-led.
• Mastery, for Jo, is not an endpoint; it’s an ongoing commitment to learning, self-reflection, and alignment. She encourages coaches to define success on their own terms, rather than chasing hustle culture or comparison.

This episode is a powerful reminder that coaching is not just about techniques, it’s about embodiment, inner freedom, and the courage to truly know yourself.

Connect with Jo Green

Website: https://www.jogreen.co.nz/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jo_green_the_mind_coach/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jogreenthemindcoach