Testimonials

I was so moved by your talk yesterday. I know, from talking to people afterwards that many said they got so much out of your talk and thought you were fantastic.

You have a natural gift for speaking. You had great content which you were able to convey easily by weaving in personal stories and showing us incredible visuals.  And you also had the emotional piece. You spoke from the heart."

~ ~ Melany Cohen

Sara Gilman is a passionate and dynamic speaker who has the ability to educate and captivate audiences. She combines her clinical expertise with poignant case studies and heartwarming accounts of the human condition. Her presentations touch people's hearts while simultaneously expanding their knowledge. She teaches practical skills that the audience can walk away with and use in their every day lives."

- - Susan Writer, MA, Psychotherapist and Educator

Hi Sara,

I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how grateful I am for your help this year.  Like most people, I’ve been reflecting on 2011 and, of course, my bike accident was a big event. I am in the midst of training for our cross-country trip next year, doing about 200 miles a week, and I know I wouldn’t be out there logging so many miles without your expert guidance.  So, I wanted to say thank you.  In fact, I want to say THANKS TONS!  And best wishes for a super excellent 2012!

Warm regards,

~ ~ Barbara G.

Barbara’s story:

In February 2011, I started training for the California Triple Crown challenge (completing three double-century bicycle rides in one calendar year) after finishing well in the Stagecoach Century in January and the 100 mile Tour de Palm Springs on February 12.  I was out for a quick, easy 70-mile ride on February 20 and had done about 12 miles.  At about 8:00 a.m., I was headed south on Harbor Island Drive where San Diego borders National City.  The next thing I remember, I woke up in the back of an ambulance with an EMT trying to start an IV in the crook of my elbow.  According to witnesses, my tire had slid on some wet railroad tracks (it had drizzled a bit that morning), got lodged in the gully between the metal rail and the pavement, and I was flung off my bike.  I landed mainly on my right side, hitting my head so hard I lost consciousness.  Two people who saw me fall carried me and my bike to the side of the road; a police officer happened by and called an ambulance.  At the hospital, I was diagnosed with a Grade III concussion.  Luckily, my physical injuries were minor: I had some road rash on my face, arm, and knee, and my right hip was deeply bruised.

After a three-week rest, I wanted to get back on my bike.  My husband and I went to the bike path from Imperial Beach up the Silver Strand---we did only 12 miles.  I felt off-balance and a little shaky but not too bad.  The next weekend, we went for a short ride on the road, and I noticed that my legs stopped pedaling when I crossed over railroad tracks or uneven pavement.  I also started feeling a little uneasy when I saw big cracks in the road.  I continued to go on weekly rides with my husband, but my anxiety spread to where I was now feeling nervous and fearful for a majority of the ride and my legs stopped pedaling when I encountered small cracks in the asphalt, bits of trash like pine needles or fast-food wrappers, and, ultimately, shadows of things like telephone poles. I experienced shortness of breath and an overall tightness with the anxiety. I felt confused and frustrated. I was trying to ‘shake it off’ but it didn’t seem to be working. I have always been able to shake off things in the past, why not now?  Finally, my mental state deteriorated so much that I broke down at a coffee shop in Mission Valley and had to wait for my husband to finish the ride and come back to get me in our car.  If I was ever to ride again, I knew I needed professional help.  The “gut it out and pretend nothing’s wrong” approach wasn’t working.

Sara Gilman was referred to me as someone who, as a triathlete, would understand how important it was for me to be able to ride again.  I met with her in April, and knew immediately that she got how crucial it was for me to regain my confidence on the bike.  Over the next few weeks, she used a variety of techniques, including HeartMath techniques and the spookily efficient EMDR. With her help my brain was able to process the accident and all of the earlier events that were being triggered from this incident.  We met about a dozen times over the next few months; I started riding my bike again after three meetings, with much less fear.  By the time I was “cured,” I was up to 100 miles a week and my husband and I began training for a ride across the country in 2012.  I don’t think I would have achieved the same results, as quickly, with any other therapist.  Sara’s unique perspective as an athlete and a therapist helped me get where I am today, and I am exceedingly grateful.

Sara,

As long time cyclist, fitness instructor and fitness enthusiast, I have performed literally thousands of workouts, logging tens of thousands of miles and NONE of the workouts, indoor or outdoor trainings have been as effective as the mindfulness and peak performance trainings administered by Sara Gilman.

While there is no replacement for doing the physical workouts, there is no doubt in my mind that you can not access your full athletic potential without developing and accessing your inner most mental and spiritual abilities. For many of us we simply do not have the inherent skills or posses the knowledge to unleash our inner-champions. Also, many of us carry a heavy load of hard-wired impediments in the form of fears, anxieties, and self-doubts, into our trainings and competitions. The training and guidance I received from Sara helped me so much! She helped eliminate many of the training day and more importantly event day performance anxieties, and fears that limited my athletic abilities.

For example:

I had significant performance hampering anxieties related to riding in pace lines and fast moving packs that were rooted in being involved in previous traumatic bike crashes. The training helped me eliminate those fears and anxious feelings to where I no longer fear riding in fast moving packs or in pace lines.

I improved my ability to corner my bike at speeds I was not able to obtain no matter what I did. We discovered what was blocking me was a stored childhood memory of a bike crash while cornering. My internal guidance system had created a ‘hesitation’ which was simply trying to protect me, yet it was preventing me from reaching my true potential.

The training and techniques have also helped me on race day, where before I was always a bundle of nerves and had great difficulty focusing my mind on the task at hand, and often let my nerves and noisy mind cloud and rule my performance. Now on race day the nerves are quiet and so is my mind. I’m calmly focused on the task at hand. This has over the years given me the ability to stay in the moment when the race heats up, to have the intuitive ability to make the right choice during crucial race moments, and to be present and real with myself when circumstances are not optimal or challenging. These techniques have helped me improve my abilities, achieve my goals and even win a race or two.

All of the training and techniques have manifested in a comfort and freedom that I never experienced previous to working with Sara. She has a unique skill set that is perfectly in tune for the performance athlete, she has a depth of understanding and compassion for the challenges faced by many athletes and fitness enthusiasts on the physical, mental and spiritual level. For me, Sara Gilman along with her wisdom, knowledge, and mindful training methods are my secret weapon not only on the race course but in my life.

~ ~ Byron