Sandy Hook, Kids Yoga and Meditation 101... Oh My!

Happy Monday! Happy First Day of Autumn! Fall is my favorite time of year… The weather is cooler, the air is crisp and its means my birthday is right around the corner!  With my birthday being right around the corner, I’ve spent A LOT of time reflecting on this past year and what changes I want to make for the new year. One of the things I realized was I’ve lost of sense of who I truly am… This is normal though… We all go through cycles within our lives. In realizing this though I vowed to myself I was going to go back to my roots! My marine science roots that is! My hair color is all natural, thank you very much!

In keeping this promise to myself I was able to make a dream of my come true and was offered a position with NJ Sea Grant. For those not familiar with NJ Sea Grant their mission is to promote the wise use of New Jersey’s marine and coastal resources through research, education, and outreach.  But I digress… This isn’t anything I’m going to get financially rich off and I’m 100% fine with that… As I’m not doing this for the money, I’m doing it for love.  

This past weekend was my first weekend with Sea Grant co-leading a Boy Scout Merit Badge and all I can say is… I was KID IN A CANDY STORE! It felt amazing to get back in the water and teach the kids how to seine and how to do the vegetation surveys. It was music to my ears when I heard “Michelle, what is this?” only to respond with… “What do you think it is?” or “What does it look like?” or actually telling them what it is… Only to hear “Oh WOW! COOL!”.  It gave me great joy to watch these boys in the lab.. learning, exploring, and having fun with science. This to me is what learning is all about! This to me how kids TRULY learn and part of the reason why I could no longer be in a traditional classroom any longer. I left Sandy Hook on Saturday afternoon with the HUGEST smile on my face and felt a way I haven’t felt in YEARS! My soul had been restored! Little did I know the restoring of the soul weekend had JUST BEGUN!

From Boy Scouts, sand, fish and science too… girls, yoga, and being a kid again. Yup! Sunday morning I woke up and taught my first kids yoga class at Joyful Living Center.  It felt great to be a kid again! We hopped around the room as lost little frogs trying to make our way back to pond and asking all the animals we saw along the way for help. We belly laughed , we sang, and the girls learned they are strong! They certainly were all smiles when they left and honestly didn’t want the class to end. I kinda didn’t want the fun to end either. Once again, I left with a huge smile on my face and feeling at peace. The restoring of my soul was continuing…

From kids yoga, it was kicking off my Meditation 101 workshop!  Over the next 7 days I will be leading a workshop on how to meditate, the benefits of meditations, and leading daily guided meditations. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this and am nervous as anything… Thankfully, the workshop is off to a wonderful start… thanks to a little meditating the nerves have subsided and I’m really looking forward to sharing my knowledge on this topic with others.  While this workshop is currently closed, I will be offering another free online  meditation workshop in November to help with the stress of the holidays. You can register for Holiday Meditation Workshop at http://bit.ly/MichelleMeditation101

What I realized during this soul restoring weekend is…  I have so many gifts,  so much knowledge to share and absolutely LOVE being able to teach so many people so many different things.  When I said I wanted to go back to my roots I thought it meant my marine science roots… Little did I know, I would be going back to my informal education roots and sharing all the knowledge I’ve been blessed with. Get ready… because I’m going to be doing a WHOLE LOT of knowledge which I'm going to be sharing. What to learn something, simply ask and I'll be happy to do a workshop or video training on it.

Keep Smiling,

Michelle

PS ~ I’ll be teaching a free clean eating for all you single ladies starting Oct. 5th Email me at motivationbymichelle@gmail.com for info.

Meditation 101

Meditation helps you to grow your own intuitive faculty. It becomes very clear what is going to fulfill you, what is going to help you flower. – Osho

Let’s be honest... Life can get a little crazy at times. We live in a society with daily demands and move at a hectic pace which often leave us feeling stressed, overworked, tired and even unhappy. Meditation is a simple, effective and convenient way to calm your busy mind, relax your body, become grounded and find inner peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life.

For 7 days, I will teach you what Buddhist monks have known for centuries. I will share with you how meditation has changed my life for better and why it's part of my daily routine. Each day I will guide you through a meditation (you can sit or recline in any comfortable position which will allow you to stay awake during practice) to help achieve a calm mind and spirit. It's the perfect way to introduce yourself to meditation and gain a sense of peace!

Please signup online at bit.ly/Meditation101Registration to reserve your space.

2015 Groups

With the new year only a few days away, its time for reflection on 2014 and planning for 2015. I've been busy planning, mapping and well manifesting, I'm also busy packing. So I will keep this short, I have A LOT in store for 2015 and will share all of it with you in detail later on this week, today I wanted to take a moment to let you know I'm here for you. I have fitness groups, clean eating groups, personal development groups and a meditation prayer group starting in January and throughout the year. It you would like to take part in a January group please complete the application below. 

Fitness and Clean Eat Group Application Form

Personal Development Group Application Form

Meditation Group Form

2015 is going to be EPIC is SO many ways!! 

Keep Smiling, 
Michelle 

Tuesday's Tool ~ Ego Eradicator

One of my favorite meditations is the Kundalini Ego Eradicator, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, for 3-5 minutes. Here is a breakdown which will allow you to  practice at home. I highly recommend creating  a 40 day practice out of this to see the best results!

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                                                        Ego Eradicator

TIME: 1-5 minutes

POSTURE: Sit in Easy Pose.
MUDRA: Raise your arms to 60 degrees. Curl the fingertips onto the pads at the base of the finder. Plug thumbs into the sky as if you are plugging your thumb outside of your aura so your ego can be released out. 

EYES: Eyes are closed and your focus should be above your head.

BREATHE OF FIRE:

1. Set the intention that you are going to allow yourself to release your ego from your aura. Allow the blocks your ego sets up for you, in your mind, to be released. 
2. Sitting up tall, with a straight spine, hands placed on knees in open palm mudra and your eyes closed, start by feeling your belly expand with each inhale and contract with each exhale.
3. Breath of Fire is powered from the navel point (solar plexus) and the diaphragm is used to pump the navel in and out with each exhale and inhale, respectively.
4. Now, open the mouth and pant like a dog through to understand the diaphragm pattern. Once you have a rhythm, close your mouth and breathe through your nostrils. Now you are doing it!
5. Quicken the pace of the inhale and exhale, but keep them equal. There is a quick inhale and quick exhale with no pause between them at the rate of approximately 2-3 cycles per second.
6. Begin practicing for 1-3 minutes at a time. When done correctly, your chest will remain relaxed and slightly lifted and your hands, feet, face and abdomen will also be relaxed.

Please Note: If you feel dizzy, giddy, or light headed, slow down your pace and ensure both the inhale and exhale are of equal duration. Breath of Fire should not be done when menstruating or pregnant women, or children younger than 16.

TO END: Inhale, hold the breathe and touch the thumb tips together over the head. Exhale and release the thumbs down and relax. 

Envision the energy that you are releasing to go through your thumbs. Repeat 2x and extend all your fingers and create an arch of light around your body. Set the intention that you are clearing your aura space and only allowing love, light and positivity to enter and exit your being. 

{Originally Published on DoYouYoga.Com}

Mindfulness

More and more we are hearing people myself included say "Be in the moment" or "Be present" but what heck does it really mean… It means to be grateful for the breathe you just took. To be aware of your surrounding and cherish what is happening in the here and now. Take a moment and think back to your Thanksgiving dinner last week and how many people at the table had their phone out. How many people took at picture of the table and posted it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumbler, Snapchat, Pinterest or where else social media has taken over our lives.  How many people where texting during dinner or as soon as dinner was over? I'm sure there was at least one person in everyone's family who had their phone out. This is because we live in a society of instant gratification and contact. We have forgotten how to appreciate the little things in life, such as a meal with out loved ones. We would rather talk to some through an electronic device then face to face. Sorry… I'm going off on a tangent here… back to mindfulness…

A great way to help you live a more mindful life is with mindfulness meditation. Since I brought mindful meditation into my life a few years ago the changes I've seen in myself and my life have been amazing. Below is a great info graph from Health Central which describes mindlessness meditation, the science behind meditation, which I personally find fascinating, and both the mental and physical benefits of meditation.

Tomorrow I will share with you one of my favorite Kundalini meditations for letting go of the ego.

Keep Smiling,
Michelle :-)

Gratitude

With Thanksgiving being on Thursday, the theme for this week is gratitude.

The "attitude of gratitude" is something we should be expressing year round not just around the holidays. When we are grateful, it makes us happier and more optimistic. Expressing gratitude also improve our lives, lets check how...

Gratitude attracts what we want. The universal law of attraction states we attract into our live the things we think about and focus on. Let's think about this for a second... since this true, wouldn't you want more of what you are thankful for? (I know what my answer is, and I think yours is the same). When we are aware of how blessed we truly  are and express gratitude for these blessing, we are putting more focus on what we want in our lives - and therefore, are attracting an abundance of those things into our lives. Looking for more financial abundance, instead of focusing of the lack on money you have be grateful for the money you do have. As you are paying your bills, say 'Thank you for allowing me to be able to pay this bill." even if you owe $1,000 and are only making a $30 payment, express the gratitude to be able to pay the bill. Find a penny on the ground, pick it up and say 'thank you for this gift of abundance." To you its only a penny, to the Universe you are expressing gratitude for a gift and before long you will be finding dollar bills or bigger.

Gratitude improves relationships. As kids we are taught manners and to say "thank you". We say thank people for gestures and gifts; however, how often do we thank those people in our lives we are most appreciative of?  Let them know! Let these people know how you feel about them. How appreciative you are for them. Something I started to do is instead of birthday cards, I send a Thank You card. Thanking them for their friendship and being a part of my life. What better gift can you give them the gift of gratitude.

Gratitude reduces negativity and helps us learn.  There is a bright side to EVERYTHING and its hard to negative when you are focusing on the things you are grateful for. Count your blessing and your mood will improve.  Be grateful for every situation - it is through these situation we are learning and growing as a person.

My gift to you this week is a Gratitude Mediation from Deepka Chopra to help you express more gratitude.