A decade ago I met Vladimir Vasiliev in a forest in Canada.
At that time I had just gone through a very difficult time in business.
I was under a lot of stress and had experienced what I now realise was a panic attack.
Coming off the back of that time I decided to invest my time and money in a week long experience in the Canadian Forest on a Systema Course with Vladimir Vasiliev.
Shortly after arriving I was sat on a log looking out across a lake.
I had not met Vladimir at this point.
He was walking across a clearing with someone else when he looked across at me.
He took the time to walk over and ask me if I was ok.
I said, 'Yes, I am fine thanks.'
He said, 'You look tense and stressed.'
I had no idea.
I didn't even know that I was stressed or tense.
It baffled me that he could see that in me from a distance.
It also humbled and intrigued me that he had the compassion to come across to a stranger, one of a hundred or more people, many of whom he knew well to enquire after my wellbeing.
More importantly I had no idea that my tension and stress was something that I could control and manage.
That week changed my life.
My health improved dramatically and has continued to improve.
The direction of my life also changed.
Now I get the huge privilege of being able to share what I learned, and what I continue to learn, with other people.
Over the years I have taken those teachings and developed a simple but effective program that I know works.