Jeff Harding, Beverage Director, Waverly Inn, (New York City, USA)

Years in the Industry:
Over 25 years bartending in downtown NYC, managing all over. Then the wine world, mainly at Waverly Inn in New York City.

My Biggest Challenge to Wellness:
We all have alcohol around us all the time, and it’s just too easy to escape the stress or emotional strife by having a drink (or more). Ostensibly it’s to relax, but often we’re escaping the issue that is not resolved. So that issue will probably come up again.
 
After a long time meditating now, I notice that my fuse is longer when something inevitably happens at work that is anger-making. I think if you have anger or fear and anxiety inside (who doesn’t?) and you expend energy suppressing it, when something small happens you are quicker to explode. I’ve found that a morning practice where you address these emotions lets you access them and open the steam valve in the privacy of your home. That way it takes much more to light the fuse later in the day. I definitely don’t always succeed.

How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
It’s taken a LONG time to learn the importance of exercise, even just for a half hour walk each day. I’m trying lately to do that without my phone which is VERY hard. 
 
After a couple of years I have also developed a very regular regime of mediation via Headspace. (I like the directed meditations, I could never just do it on my own.) Also ETF tapping has helped me tremendously with personal growth, anger management, learning about myself, professional growth and development, self-esteem and achieving goals. 
 
Tapping is the main way I’ve learning to access these emotions I mentioned. It somehow allows your body to stay calm – it does this by connecting the meridians used in Chinese medicine – so that you are able to process ancient hurts or issues that you couldn’t handle at the time. Sometimes it’s just to identify why exactly you are stressed out or why some situation makes you angry. It’s sorta meditative, but the prompts by the app and localizing where in your body you feel an emotion are really great at helping work through it. 

You can connect with Jeff on Instagram @jeffharding and Twitter @jeffharding or online at http://www.thisis.wine/