Workshops

I offer workshops and presentations on a variety of topics and am delighted to create something new to address the unique needs of your group or organization. All the workshops I give include significant hands on experiences because I believe that we all learn best by doing. I am committed to designing every workshop and presentation so all participants go home with practical information that will have immediate relevance to their unique lives. I give extensive handouts to reinforce the information that has been given. I am delighted to offer anything from a short half hour presentation to an all day workshop.
Topics I speak on:

• Work life balance
• Food Sensitivities – identification of the offending food, strategies for successful diet change, plus extensive information on the “how to” of diet change.
• Multiple topics related to caregivers and the challenges they face.
• Multiple topics related to finding balance and hope in the face of chronic illness.
• Multiple topics related to parenting (My husband and I have raised 4 grown children and are now grandparents, as well!)
• Multiple topics where I teach coaching skills to parents, individuals, and organizations to improve their communication and connection.

Cost of workshops and presentations vary with the length and the size of the group. I also offer a limited number of free presentations and workshops to non profit organizations.
Please contact me clicking on this link.

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Coaching Plus Consulting

I offer a unique blend of coaching along with consultation from my experience as a nurse if clients request it.

All potential clients are offered a free, 1 hour sample coaching session and an opportunity to ask any questions that they might have. The format of my coaching is flexible as we work together to find the relationship and time commitment that works best for you. I coach both on the phone and in person and my usual schedule is a 1 hour coaching session 3 weeks a month. Telephone coaching enables me to work with people around the world which is one of the aspects of the job that I love.

I coach the whole life of my clients so no matter what issue, challenge, or dream you bring, we will talk about it in the context of all aspects of your life. It is amazing how often one small change in one area of your life can have a significant ripple affect into many other places.
Because it takes time to build a relationship and time to institute changes in life habits, I encourage a 3 month commitment from my clients. I do not hold to a hard and fast rule here but do encourage my clients to think carefully what would support long lasting, successful change.

We are a “quick fix” society but sustainable change often requires time and patience along with a willingness to take some risks, fail boldly and then try again. This is part of the journey and often offers opportunities for amazing learning and growth. It is worth the time.

For more information and to discuss my fees please email me.

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Successful Diet Change

Dynamic Choices offers a unique and individualized approach to dealing with food sensitivities. A brief summary is provided here but the complete program requires individual consultation with our professionals.

Important Elements of Successful Diet Change

• Consultation with a knowledgeable and supportive professional to help the client deal with the challenges of diet revision and to celebrate their successes
• Identification of individual signs and symptoms
• Identification of possible offending foods
• Knowledge of appropriate substitutes to replace foods being eliminated
• Knowledge of basic nutrition to ensure adequate intake of nutrients despite eliminated foods
• Identification of factors that will motivate the client and help them answer the question: “How do I change?”
• Development of an attitude of balance and an effort to deal with the diet changes as just part of the daily routine
• Recognition that diet alteration usually results in a grief reaction that follows a number of stages
• A patient and committed attitude that recognizes that change is often difficult and takes time to be incorporated into daily life
• Understanding that food sensitivities are influenced by many aspects of the client's life and that dealing with stress is crucial to the success of diet alteration

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Coping With a Chronic Illness

The diagnosis of a chronic illness often brings about a reaction of shock and confusion. Finding a way to move forward and find the help and support you need is often very difficult. Clarifying what really matters to you and using this as a basis for moving forward often makes the journey easier.
Consider these ideas as stepping stones to dealing with your feeling of being overwhelmed. If you work your way through each one, the path you want to take should become clearer. If you would like to explore these questions further to see how they might impact your life, please call me. I'd love to support you in your journey

Answer these questions and consider the answers:

• What is most important to you in your life? What do you value above all else?
• How much influence does stress play in your life? Are the symptoms of stress interfering with your ability to cope and to problem solve?
• How balanced is your life? Are you spending excessive time managing one piece at the expense of another?
• If you life is feeling unbalanced, what area would you most like to focus on now?
• How will focusing on this one part of your life help you cope with all the others aspects?
• What solution would move you closer in the direction of what really matters to you, help decrease your stress level, and bring more balance to your life?
• What solution do you know in your heart would be the best one to make?

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Signs and Symptoms of Stress

How much influence does stress play in your life?

• When you feel out of control and confused due to an unexpected challenge such as a chronic illness, you experience symptoms of stress. When you are unable to satisfy your longing for the things that really matter to you, you may become frustrated and discouraged.
• The symptoms of stress fall into 4 categories and can interfere significantly with your ability to cope. They may accentuate some of the symptoms of the disease you are already experiencing.

The four areas where we experience the symptoms of stress are:

• Behavioural symptoms: procrastination, withdrawal from friends and family, increase or decrease in appetite, decrease in energy, inability to sleep, low motivation to participate in normal activities of life or the use of drugs or alcohol to cope.
• Emotional symptoms: feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, irritability, low frustration level, excessive crying or angry outbursts.
• Mental symptoms: loss of motivation and concentration, decreased ability to complete daily tasks as your mind is consumed with worry and fear, decreased memory, reduced capacity for decision making, poor problem solving ability and loss of hope.
• Physical symptoms: excessive fatigue, physical weakness, headaches, lower back pain, muscle tension leading to tremors and spasms, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, increased respiratory rate, irritable bowel syndrome and digestive complaints.

List the symptoms that you have that you think might be related to stress.
The most important thing you can do to decrease your stress is to find a small step forward and to take it with courage and hope. Taking a conscious and positive action to deal with your situation is the single most important thing you can do to improve how you feel.

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Testimonials

Few people are lucky enough to have a mother as caring, supportive, and motivated as mine. One of the most important lessons I have learned from my Mom is the lesson of perseverance. My Mom has always believed that there is a solution and action plan that can match every challenge in life; she believes that we all have amazing, inherent gifts, and that the choices we make in life either stifle our talents or allow our true personalities to shine. So, when she was stuck with a screaming, emotional, tantrum-ridden two year old, there was no way that she was going to believe that that was truly who I was meant to be as a child. This is how my story begins. It begins with a mother who, despite other people's insistence that I was just a grumpy kid, discovered that the real reason for my behaviour was that I had food sensitivities to dairy, eggs, and paprika.
How did she cope with this daunting task? What I remember most was how she never let me feel left out. She brought me McDonald's on hot dog days in elementary school, baked me my own slice of birthday cake to bring to friends' birthday parties, and still makes me my own special pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. I know that she looks at me sometimes and wonders what that berserk two year old would look like now at the age of 28. It makes me sad to think that I would be such a different person today, and that my family would have lived through that stress alongside me. Mom, I am so blessed to have someone in my life who has always believed that I have amazing things to offer the world, and who has helped me learn and stay true to the values that enable me to be my authentic self today.

Cari

We met at the Temple Grandin workshop in January. I'm not sure if you remember me but I think of you often. You gave me your pizza crust recipe and I have it memorized by now. It is an awesome recipe and our son really likes it. The rest of our family enjoys it as well. Our son has been gluten-free for 2 months and the difference is amazing. He did not speak at all before we tried the diet and yesterday I had a 3-sentence conversation with him! My heart just soars.
I am so grateful I met you and had the opportunity to talk about diets. It is always such a gift when my higher power sends such a wonderful person such as yourself my way. Please keep in touch and remember the coffee pot is always on at our house.

K.G. ~ parent of a 9-year-old boy with autism

Our son was a hyperactive, skinny, 4-year old who ran all day and couldn't sit still. He said "No" to everything, had stomach aches all the time, and never slept through the night. As he got a little older, he developed severe asthma and was unable to participate in recess or PE at school. Marg listened to me and led me step by step through the process of identifying what foods were bothering him and how to substitute for them. I committed 150% to the process as I felt completely frustrated and hopeless.
Marg's help was like the sun peaking between the clouds on a stormy winter day! We persevered with the elimination primarily of dairy and gluten and the results were nothing short of incredible. Within 6 months, our son was a happy, pleasant, cooperative boy without stomach aches. His asthma continued to improve and he was able to join in all the fun at school. I still remember the day he came home elated that, for the first time, he was able to play at recess.
Our son is now a healthy, happy, successful 20-year old. I can't tell you what a difference Marg has made to our lives. There is no telling where our family would be today without her help.

LF

I always know there is a safe place for me when coaching with Marg. She has amazing strength and resilience that I can draw from, which has made her my guardian angel as our family overcomes food sensitivity issues. Marg has amazing intuition for what I need and want, when I want and need it. She shares her wisdom and experience unselfishly and helps find hope and love no matter what circumstances are playing out in my life. I am always at peace, and at the same time inspired, each and every time I talk to Marg.

Elena Verlee C.P.C.C.
Mom, Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, and certified life coach
www.connectthedotscoach.com
www.crossborderpr.com

Margaret has been a valuable resource and coach to several nursing leaders in the First Nations and Inuit Health branch of Health Canada this year. Her knowledge of nursing practice and experience, coupled with her skill as a coach and compassion as a human being have served a very challenging team well.

Juhree Zimmerman R.N., B.Sc.N., M.Ed., C.P.C.C.
Master Certified Coach
www.strategyforsynergy.com
... coaching leaders and relationships

Since I was little I have dealt with all kinds of stomach issues. When I would have an attack, we would always try and decide if this was the time to go to the hospital. Never really knowing what was wrong we tried to pass it off as anything we could. Lactose intolerant, irritable bowel, plain ol' gas, but nothing really seemed to fit the bill, or help. As I got older there were more symptoms appearing but I never thought of them as symptoms but just part of growing up. I was exhausted all the time as an 18-year old. I was itchy and had nightmares. 14 trips to the bathroom a day was about average. I even became more foul-mouthed, which was something I really did not like!
My mom was a client of Marg's and through a wonderful conversation, I feel like I was given a chance at a new life. Mom and I had our first phone call with Marg and both cried with joy. My sensitivity is dairy products, but it was making it hard to digest grains as well. For the first month I dropped all dairy and grains to give my body a fighting chance. Within 2 days, I already noticed significant changes. I even told my mom that I would love to hike a mountain! Marg gave me recipes to try and a book to read for more information specific to me. My husband, mom and dad helped support me immensely. I still am figuring out my exact diet, but I feel great. I have loads more energy and I don't miss the rest! I feel like a person who is full of life and ready to take on the day.
Marg has been such a blessing to me. She has made me realize that my story is important and that I can live with freedom and joy. She is very knowledgeable and is able to really work with you and give you the full support that you need. She has also become a dear friend to us. Thank you so much Marg!

Ashlyn Faber, 21 years old

This workshop really stirred my soul. Marg used fun exercises and created the time and space to get in touch with my inner self. This was inspiring and motivating.
Jennifer Foster, workshop participant
Marg puts you at ease straight away and any apprehension you feel about divulging your personal feelings and emotions is immediately quieted. Marg's thoughtful insight and ability to delve into any problems you be facing makes it harder for you to continue to ignore, yet makes it easier for you to tackle and try again tomorrow.
Monica, workshop participant
As my coach, Marg Evans has been a "mama bear" in her support of my dreams. She is unfailingly kind, caring, and insightful; she is passionate about helping me give my best to this world; and she can be tough on those inner voices that undermine me. Marg is a masterful coach and champion for anyone who is serious about living from their highest intentions.

Donaleen Saul
Writing Coach
Author of the book on life after suicide, "Did You Know I Would Miss You"
www.dsauljourney.com

As a Registered Nurse I thought I understood nutrition and its impact on the body. Not so! After listening to Marg Evans explain about food intolerances I learned a lot and realized that my son's symptoms fit right into what she was saying. I had a much healthier and happier son when dairy products were removed from his diet. Thank you so much Marg for your help with my son's diet and health and mine as well.

Margaret Kerr R.N., B.S.N.

Coaching is life changing! And coaching with someone like Marg is one of those opportunities that rarely come along in life. I see this gift as from God and honor and respect it as such. Marg is a unique individual who has chosen to live BIG in her life and then draws from that as she challenges me to not settle for anything small in my own life! I am not the same person after having worked with Marg as my Coach. Don't miss the opportunity!

Faye Webber C.P.C.C.
Certified Professional Life Coach
www.onwardcoaching.ca

I came to Marg looking to change my life. I had spent almost a decade of my life not living up to my true potential and I desperately wanted to make changes in my life with the help of a Life Coach.
Marg helped me open up my life and share things I never spoke about before; this was the first step in breaking through my personal barriers. From this step I learned so much about how and why I was living my life the way I was; because of my past and the disempowering beliefs I had.
Marg coached me each step of the way and helped me find my true self. I am very blessed and honored to have worked with an amazing Life Coach; you Marg were my angel of hope.

M.W.K.

I highly recommend Marg both personally and professionally to anyone looking for a coach. Her kind, warm heart and diverse personal and professional experiences, when coupled with her stellar coaching skills translated into a wonderful coaching experience for me as her client.

Kathy Santini C.P.C.C.
Certified Professional Life Coach
www.arbutuscoaching.com

I was diagnosed seven years ago with Systemic Lupus and have since been pursuing mainstream and alternative therapies to address the pain, fatigue, hormonal problems and mood disorders which seem to accompany most auto-immune diseases. Many sources I read suggested that identifying food sensitivities could be critical in managing or recovering from Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, and mood disorders so I came to Marg for help.
I found her to be experienced, intuitive, wise, resourceful and compassionate. Not only was she able to quickly pinpoint my food sensitivities (dairy!), I walked away with an arsenal of skills for how to successfully adapt my diet to help me stay off dairy and avoid creating new "rebound" food sensitivities.
It has been two months since I went "dairy-free" and my pain level is down, my energy and stamina are getting stronger and my mood is becoming more hopeful. These changes take time and I am deeply grateful for Marg's twenty years of expertise in this area as I continue to find the diet that will best support a full return to health.

MJ

Margaret Evans has been a recipient of a "Community Partner Award" from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. Marg has given countless hours of her time to raise funds for blood cancer research and patient service programs and to raise awareness of the unique needs of young adults diagnosed with cancer. Marg is perceptive about client needs and is well acquainted with the resources in the community and how to access those services for the benefit of others.

Sharon Paulse
Patients Services Manager
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, BC/Yukon Region

One of the most significant changes I made in my life as a result of coaching with Marg was changing my family's eating habits. Many symptoms and behaviours that had been problems for years with my children disappeared! After we were successful with the food sensitivities, I knew that the rest of my life was going to change—for the better!!
I can hardly imagine how alone in the world I felt, before meeting Margaret. I shared my soul with her and she showed me that I had wings in place to soar—And then I did!!

Tina Meyer, CPCC
West Coast Coaching
604 644 8077

Working with Marg has been a gift sent from God at a time when I was ready for change. Marg used humour, intuition and powerful questions to guide me to a future full of hope, light and joy. She believed in me, championed me and even got fierce with me, but always recognized me as a strong person with the answers to my own life. It has been a pleasure to be on this journey with Marg as both friend and coach.

Dianne Hutchinson R.N.
Registered nurse, life coach
diannehutch@shaw.ca

Marg, I want to thank you for taking the time to come to our University and working with our diverse group of staff.
Your workshop, "Balancing Your Busy Life - Proven Strategies to Have it Now" couldn't have come at a better time! We have been trying to juggle our busy professional lives with all of the other 'stuff' of our personal lives and we really needed a sounding board and a fresh perspective.
You designed a workshop to suit all of us, part reflective, part interactive and wholly meaningful. Everyone who participated really benefitted from your warm personality, and your challenging yet respectful questions which really got us thinking. More importantly, I believe that all of us are able to act differently, based on some new perspectives around our lives and the choices we make.
Thank you and I look forward to your coming to our University again!

Cathy Anderson
Educational Advisor, University of the Fraser Valley

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Our Commitment to Clients

• To hold you as being capable and resourceful and the best expert on your own life. I will ask you the questions that will help you find the solutions from within yourself.
• To honour the fact that you have many important relationships and many different aspects to your life. I will spend time getting to know you so we can create a powerful coaching alliance.
• To work with you to sort through the challenges that you are facing and help you figure out what you want to do to move forward with hope and support.
• To help you navigate the resources available to you related to any health challenges you are dealing with. I will support you to find the type of help that you identify as best suited to your needs.
• To offer advice in my role as a nurse consultant only in situations where you request this type of information.
• To help you explore different ways of looking at your situation and to challenge you to develop a new action plan to again move toward your dreams when you find yourself stuck, frustrated, and discouraged.
• To work with you to increase your awareness of the choices you are making in your life and help you decide if they are truly leading you to the kind of life you want. We will look at the power of "living by choice" and find ways to help you regain this power in areas of your life where it may have slipped away.
• To acknowledge and celebrate all the wonderful successes and failures that you have. I will challenge you to show the same love for yourself.
• To help you identify the values that you hold that are most important in helping your reach your goals. We'll explore how you live those values every day and find creative ways to change some old habits to get you where you want to go.
• To never pass judgment on your words or your behaviour but, instead, to be supportive and to believe in you, no matter what.
• To honour the importance of client confidentiality and to not share any of the information discussed between us with anyone else without your permission.

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About Margaret

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a nurse who looked after children and their families. I fulfilled my dream and graduated from the University of British Columbia School Nursing 5 years after finishing high school. I fell in love with a medical student in my final year and married him after graduation. We have been married 34 years and have raised 4 wonderful adult children. It is their pictures plus our daughter in law that are flashing on my website!

My nursing experience took me to a number of clinical settings but it was the time I spent in paediatric oncology and the intensive care nursery that I loved the most. I was inspired as I watched families face such huge adversity. It was a privilege to watch them find internal strength and resilience that they didn’t know they had. I was always struck by how important it was for both the patient and the family to feel supported and heard. I experienced, first hand, the power of touch, a kind word, a thoughtful cup of tea and a few minutes of undivided attentive listening. It was such an honour to witness their stories alongside them. It was this opportunity to listen deeply to their individual stories that I loved the most.

When I chose to leave my “paid” nursing career and stay home with our 4 children, I did it in honour and celebration of the things in life that meant the most to me. I was aware, even then, how important it was to make conscious choices and decisions that were in line with my values. I have never regretted my decision.

Along the pathway of 56 years of living, I have also faced personal challenge and adversity. I have had to adjust to the difficulties of a chronic illness that often gets in the way of what I want to do and I have faced the death of a number of family members. Our children were bothered by food sensitivities from a very young age which frequently offered challenges with no clear solutions. We all persevered and gradually discovered that diet changes made a huge difference and their health and behaviour was transformed. They are now healthy and thriving adults. (You can read my entire Journey of Hope by clicking on this link)

I have had the privilege of sharing this information with hundreds of other families over the last 25 years and helping them experience, as well, the power of addressing food sensitivities. Our 2 year old grandson and are children are living proof that it works!
As our kids left home and I had more time and space to imagine what the next page of my life might hold, I again returned to my love of supporting families. I re-certified my nursing credentials and am now able to call myself a Registered Nurse again. I am a member in good standing with the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia. I found the wonderful career of life coaching and completed all my training and international certification through the Coaches Training Institute. I am now a fully Certified Professional Coach. I am also a member of the International Coaches Federation.

It is now my privilege to support parents and families as they try to maximize the health and potential of their children. I get the opportunity to listen to their stories and help them to find the internal wisdom and strength that they often forget that they have. I enjoy the experience of helping mothers find meaning and balance in their day to day grind, children to find relief from some very debilitating symptoms, people with chronic illness to find new dreams and new hope and the opportunity to coach many young coaches as they, too, work to fulfill a dream and create a life they had only imagined was possible.

My life is amazing! I still struggle some days to find that elusive balance that allows me enough time to do all the things I love at a pace that is peaceful. I still have days where my joints hurt and my head aches and I have to adjust what I do. I am, however, committed to finding peace and joy as often as I can and encouraging others to do the same. I do my best to live fully in the moment and let go of the worry about tomorrow. I trust that tomorrow will unfold as it should and encourage myself to wait until then to see what it holds.

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