The ABA Conference in Melbourne Australia is June 9 and 10

I recently celebrated 12 years in the IBA community and 4 years holding space as the president of The Australian BodyTalk Association Inc. (ABA), a position that has deeply enriched me and provided many opportunities for learning. Historically, one of my most favorite events on our calendar for BodyTalk in Australia is our national Conference... not to be confused with the IBA Members Conference in Australia happening in a couple years' time.
 
We typically host our national Conference in Queensland, close to the beach somewhere, but this year we decided to hold it in one of our most diverse, cultured, artistic and flamboyant cities, Melbourne--a favorite to many and more centrally located. We found a wonderful location within the Melbourne Tullamarine airport precinct that gives us everything we could possibly need. I hope that many people see what an opportunity this is and jump on board.
 
The ABA regularly has "round table meetings," and last year we asked the community for thoughts about the theme for conference. One of our members, Elaine Nivison, felt that "Refresh, Retrain and Refocus" felt good and that it encapsulated so much of what we as members are often doing, asking for, or needing. The idea was such a huge hit with everyone, we unanimously decided to roll with it and that has become our theme for 2018, and it has allowed us to have diversity in our presenters and what they are offering.
 
REFRESH - RETRAIN - REFOCUS
 
This event is very special to me for a number of reasons...
 
I know deeply that when I show up and "plug into the matrix" to support it, that it is not only important to the health of the community itself but it also helps me enormously in my own personal goals, directions and especially my business matrix. I always see some elements of huge growth after attending an event like this.


[John in attendance at a previous ABA Conference with BAT and CBP Kym Haynes in the background.] 

This year, one of the things that I'm looking forward to the most is the opportunity to immerse myself in areas that I have no knowledge of, such as Laughter Yoga, but know I will learn so much from. Merv Neal is going to be sharing with us the science of LY which we will all be able to take back into our personal lives and clinical practices. That is so exciting!
 
One thing we know for sure is that we all love coming together and reconnecting. I personally enjoy meeting all the new people who have come into our community over the past few years, especially the newer ones who are fresh out of an Access or Fundamentals course; you can still feel and see how excited they are ... they have the BodyTalk bug!
 
And it is healing to me connecting with all the people who have been such an important part of the community for many years. They remind me what a privilege it is to be practicing this system with animals and people all over the world.
 
We are so lucky that the ABA is in a position to financially subsidize part of this conference, making it very affordable for everyone.
 
It happens every conference:
 
One of the reasons why we as participants come is to REFRESH our skills, our knowledge base, refresh the matrix, and refresh our passions and drives for our dreams and goals.
 
We RETRAIN in things that are going to enrich our personal lives, our clinics, and our clients. We know that we lock things in deeper, understand them with deeper clarity, and know ourselves better with retraining.
 
And we REFOCUS on our personal and collective purpose!
 
We have such a diverse range of speakers coming this year that can satisfy everyone's taste buds no matter what your level of training or background story. Many of our speakers are recipients of BodyTalk and are eager to spend time with us all not only as presenters but also as participants.
 
There is one thing I see time and time again--the want to connect and the need to know that you belong to something bigger than your own personal clinic or office space. That's why we see so many people coming together at these events, because connecting, reconnecting, building on friendships, and forging new ones can breathe fresh air into your life and set your passion meter on fire!
 
I sure do hope that as many of you within and outside of Australia are able to join us. We have spaces available right now. Come and join us, you are most welcome!
 
~ Jacquie McIntyre
 
Information and registration available here: http://www.australianbodytalkassociation.com/australian-bodytalk-conference
Please note that by attending the ABA Conference you will receive 16 CEU credits with the IBA.