Mel Abbott Empower Therapies

01/02/2026

I had to postpone the one week Switch follow-up call because I got stranded in Waihi Beach during the storm with all 3 roads closed, so we finally did the call a week late. And the group are SMASHING IT!!!

One lady who attended for fatigue, migraines and anxiety said she was so happy to get out in the mountains again and get to the top of a trail that she hasn't been able to do for two years! She's also been staying up later, reading more and loved dancing in the rain at Ed Sheeran!

Another with long COVID said she has also enjoyed being more active again - biking, walking, going on a family trip. She finds it easy to Switch fatigue, but still sometimes finds it tricky Switching headaches, so I gave her some good pointers on how to Switch those better today.

Another said she was on a HIGH after the course finished, so she decided to stay that way ... and she has! She's been "switching like a crazy woman" so that her thoughts and mood feel great, and then her body feels great too.

Another attended for anxiety and low self-esteem. She has felt "back in my own skin" and was even looking forward to going back to work, feeling confident and ready for it. Unfortunately, she then caught COVID so is temporarily out of action, but she'll be back at work again soon!

A girl who attended for knee pain went to a full week of dance camp straight after the course and had no knee pain! She used to have so much pain at dance class that she would be in tears. Then she went skim boarding and camping in the weekend - no pain!

Another with PTSD said her chiropractor of 15 years was AMAZED to see how loose and flexible her back was this week. And she surprised herself with a wonderful 4-hour long chat with a family member who she has historically had big issues with.

And another woman with knee pain who could only walk 250 metres before Christmas is now walking 2.5 KM per day now! She said she can use The Switch to turn off pain as required, and her biggest realisation of the whole course was that it was all emotions tied up in her knee that were causing her pain. She has had SO MANY surgeries on this knee, but now she can stop and work on what it's really about.

That just leaves one group member who didn't attend the call today. She is struggling with anxiety still. I really encouraged her to attend, because attending is where you get inspired and get support and manage to move through a struggle patch, but unfortunately, she didn't choose to join us. Hopefully, she will reconnect with support from me soon.

So, I'm thrilled for 7 out of 8 people in this group - phenomenal results! And hopefully the 8th will be back on track soon.

Here is a photo of the floodwaters in Waihi Beach after the storm... the playground was completely underwater, so the kids could slide down the slide onto a boogie board and then shoot forward on that - lots of fun!

31/01/2026

Ceremonial shower seat throwing 😍🌻
What a dramatic contrast! This client used to have to sit on a special seat in the shower because she was too weak to stand. Just a few days after The Switch, she went on a ceremonial trip to the dump and threw her shower seat away! Thanks to Anneke, you can now watch her delightful ceremonial shower seat throwing moment on this movie. Only a few months later, she ran a half-marathon!

31/01/2026

I'm at a great concert and i see one of my clients dancing her heart out down in the crowd. Huge smile on my face watching someone who used to be so sick that she could barely leave her house. Now she's dancing at a big concert that runs for 7 hours, not a care in the world. Yay for The Switch!

29/01/2026

✨ New and updated courses coming up ✨

Learn more or sign up at empowertherapies.co.nz if you want to secure a space!

28/01/2026

We're delaying our next Switch Webinar Series until the 11th Feb, which means you've got a couple more weeks to sign up 🌻

We've seen such amazing progress through the webinar series and it's a great option for those who are a little more budget conscious or perhaps can't quite fathom doing the live intensive course.

Here's what the weekly structure looks like:

Week 1: Build your foundation by understanding the science of mind-body interaction and reframing barriers to recovery.

Week 2: Focus on your body’s amazing healing ability and learn techniques to calm the stress response.

Week 3: Master your thoughts and emotions using "The Quick Switch" to rewire neural pain pathways.

Week 4: Identify and reprogram limiting subconscious beliefs that may be holding your health back.

Week 5: Perform a "lifestyle spring-clean" to resolve environmental imbalances and support long-term well-being.

Week 6: Revisit your goals and learn how to maintain your progress while navigating future triggers.

If you want to know more:

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar

27/01/2026

Hi everyone, it's Jess here (Mel's Admin) and when Mel and I spoke yesterday she asked me about where I find my purpose. One of the things I spoke about was finding joy and playfulness in everyday situations. So I thought I'd share a bit more about why joy is so important on a journey to wellness and some of the science behind it.

Joy is basically high-performance fuel for your brain. When we experience joy, our brain becomes a chemist, whipping up a lil happy cocktail of neurotransmitters:

Dopamine: The reward chemical that keeps us motivated.
Serotonin: The mood stabiliser that helps us feel significant and calm.
Oxytocin: The "cuddle hormone" that strengthens our social bonds.
Endorphins: The natural painkillers that reduce stress and boost pleasure.

WHY YOUR BODY LOVES JOY
🌈 Heart Health: Joyful moments can lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
🌈 Immune Boost: High levels of positive emotions are linked to a stronger immune response.
🌈 Brain Plasticity: Joy helps the brain build new neural pathways, making you more creative and better at problem-solving.
🌈 Cortisol Flush: It actively lowers cortisol (the stress hormone), telling your nervous system it’s safe to relax.

Now, if you're experiencing chronic illness or anxiety it can feel really hard to find joy. Think of it as a muscle that needs to build up really slowly. Even if it's just something for 1 minute a day, it's important to really feel and notice the joy you feel (like watching a funny cat video or having a nice warm shower). So here's some ideas for you on inviting more joy into your life today (yes, even if it feels impossible):

☀️ Keep a happy journal and each night write down any small moments in your day you felt joy (even if it's a tiny amount - it's important to appreciate those if you're struggling to find it at all).
☀️ You might have seen the term "glimmers" across the internet - start hunting glimmers (which are tiny sparks of joy) like the smell of fresh coffee, a cozy jumper, or a green light when you're in a hurry.
☀️ Look for moments of "awe" like enjoying a sunset, a piece of art, or even a slow-motion video of nature. Awe expands our perspective and triggers an instant sense of well-being.
☀️ Smile & laugh (even if you're fake smiling it still triggers the same response in your brain as a real smile) - call a friend you can giggle with, try laughter yoga (a personal fave of mine!) or watch some funny videos. Your brain will thank you for the oxytocin boost!

Got any more ideas? We'd love to hear them! Hoping this inspires you to seek out some glimmers/joy in your day ❤

25/01/2026

How does what you eat affect your sleep? Here is some interesting research explaining what foods are great for a good nights sleep.

Read the blog here:

Still struggling to get that good night's sleep? Many factors contribute to tossing and turning at night, but have you considered what’s happening in your gut? The vagus nerve connects the brain and the gut, which means your brain is ‘talking’ to your gut and your gut is ‘talking’ to your ...

25/01/2026

One of my favourite recovery stories from Charlene:

"It’s been several days short of one year since I did your Next Steps to Recovery webinar here in Italy. At that time, I had had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for over four years. I had been to several doctors who tested for this and that among the myriad of symptoms that I was constantly having. At times I thought I was getting better during that time only to keep getting more tired, gaining weight, and adding more and more symptoms to the pot, and basically resigning myself to just getting worse until a friend of a friend mentioned that her daughter had been cured from CFS and did I want the information? Of course!!!

The very next day, she sent me the Empower Therapies website, and I immediately took the 2 hour Next Steps course. I could sense a huge difference the same day! I was very interested in taking the full Switch course, but now I wanted to travel to Auckland and take the course in person. My husband was also interested in participating in the course, saying that he believed he could also benefit from it."

Keep reading here:

Charlene is 74 and suffered from CFS. Read her wonderful story of recovery - big changes just from the Next Steps Webinar, and then completing her recovery with The Switch. She now does three dance classes per week!

23/01/2026

Trish was a live participant in The Switch Webinar Series. Unlike the other five participants, Trish is fully healthy and did the course for life enhancement. She chose to work on her binge eating and performance anxiety patterns. Watch these excerpts from her journey.

If you're interested in the Switch Webinar Series, check out more on the website or comment below and we can DM you some more info.

Trish was a live participant in The Switch Webinar Series. Unlike the other five participants, Trish is fully healthy and did the course for life enhancement...

23/01/2026

In case you missed it! Have you seen my new anxiety webinar yet? Comment 'CALM' below and we will send you the link to sign up 🙌

21/01/2026

Can't wait to kick off another group with the Switch Webinar Series next week! This is an amazing option to get your life back and also as a refresher for past Switch attendees.

We see fantastic results through this course and it's great for people who aren't able to attend the intensive course, but can easily fit in into any lifestyle in your own time.

DM us if you want to use it as a refresher and I can send you a discount code.

Sign up or learn more here:

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar

20/01/2026

Here is the final instalment of stories from last week's Switch live course...

A lady with severe anxiety had been so flustered in the lead-up to the course and on Day 1. She had a million questions because she didn't trust herself to take in any of the info (and all the anti-anxiety meds were making her memory recall worse and adding to her anxiety!). The change by Day 2 was HUGE though! She was calm throughout the whole course day, trusting that she was understanding the course, and she was the leader of the group in the body metaphors activity, solving not just her own list of metaphors but helping others who were stuck with their ones. In the last 15 minutes of Day 2, she suddenly looped back into her anxiety and complexity again - the change was drastic! However, she used The Switch throughout Day 3 and was totally back on track by Day 4 - spectacular improvements! Still more work to go, but she has the tools to keep putting it in place.

Another lady attended for adrenal fatigue, vertigo and anxiety. She was on form the whole way through the course, steadily doing the Switch practice and getting great resullts! The main thing she focussed on was the vertigo, since that bothered her the most. She was able to resolve this and go for a long walk with a steady balanced head! With the vertigo gone, the other issues started dropping away too. She said she was so inspired by the Deep Switch and just wanted to keep using it over and over to uncover such fascinating things that had been blocking her. She had a naturally good connection with her body wisdom, which made clearing out past issues very easy for her.

So that's all of the group! If you missed some ofthe other stories from this group, go to my main Empower Therapies page and you will see the other 2 posts over the last two days for another great dose of inspiration!

The next Switch course starts on Feb 10th and still has a couple of spaces left...

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar