Reflections + Muses

July 8, 2023

July 18, 2022

Welcome to Kindfulness Collective! (Formally, Kindfulness Kids.)

Kindfulness Collective evolved from my personal mindfulness journey. Once I developed a foundation of personal mindfulness practices, I saw how they not only changed my life but the environment I created around me.

As an elementary teacher, how I showed up every day affected the culture and climate of my classroom and my relationships with the school community. As I reflected on my values, I wasn't always showing up how I wanted to. Once I became intentional, the transformation began. I loved it, and so did my students and parents. Thus, the creation of Kindfulness Kids.

As I shifted into educational administration at the start of the pandemic, my school put all these wonderful resources and interventions to support all students. But what about the adults serving our students? Their teachers? Their families?

Life is challenging. We can't pour from an empty cup. Yet teachers and families have an incredible responsibility to the young people in their lives. So how do we put on our oxygen masks first so we can continue showing up for not only them, but for ourselves? You don't become an educator or a parent for a paycheck.

So what helps us to keep showing up, working through the mud, and growing and thriving with joy? I don't have all the answers... and as one of my muses, Deepak Chopra says "If you live the question, life will move you into the answers."

I hope the Kindfulness Collective fills you with love, kindness, self-compassion, connection, and inspiration.

With love and kindness, Nicole

July 5, 2020

About two years ago... right after my last post, things clicked for me. I felt my trajectory change to the direction where I have been focusing my energy. That's what this journey is about, right? Being able to live your true self with integrity. 

The short version is while reading Brené Brown's Dare to Lead recently, I identified my top two values- compassion and curiosity (1). The long version is how I know these two are it. I mean to pick only two, when there are so many things important in our life. When it comes down to it, I care and want to see progress in things that bring me joy.

When I first began teaching in 2007, I gravitated toward yoga. After taking a variety of classes, I leaned into Hatha yoga. I mean over Vinyasa... this was the perfect and easy way to "exercise!" In our culture, it's essential to dread Monday's and this is what I looked forward to to end my day. Class was slow and finished with some drops of lavender (or orange) on my temples during savasana. I was winning! 

It wasn't until around 2014, when I began taking yoga again that I realized what I was experiencing was more self-care than exercise. I disliked hot-yoga and Vinyasa, but I fell in love with Bikram and Yin. Weren't they the same? I enjoyed the slow and intentional movement while focusing on breath. I was there for me and no one else. 

What really made a difference was when I found a yoga studio that used the Sutras and Mantras as part of every practice (2). The instructor would chant "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bahvantu"  which translates to “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.” (3).

As I learned more about yoga, it's not just about "exercise", but about a way of living. In 2018, I decided to begin my path towards yoga teacher certification, it was suggested I read How Yoga Works (4). The mindset of how you move on the mat is how you move in life. 

Now how does this all tie together?

As an educator, I took on a lot of stress. I realized how important it was for me to take on routines of self-care. For me, this looks like knowing when to stop working and focus on what fuels me back up: yoga, meditation, reading, and spending time with my family. I noticed a significant shift in how I was showing up at work, how I internalized the stress, and how it improved my communication and relationships. 

As for my values, it was tough to pick two. But I found that solid values branch further beyond just one word. Compassion embodies kindness, love, and understanding. Traits which I need to have for my students, families, colleagues, neighbors and self. Curiosity at first seemed limited but with further exploration it made sense. I've always been a curious person which instills my love of learning in workshops, books, and in nature. It is what I want to pass along to students- to always question, wonder, and follow their interests. Curiosity also supports the way I lead by contributing to personal and professional. I am a reflective person. I like to consider ways on how something can be improved and to collaborate with others. It supports my self-care, mental health, and how I learn about others. 

These all tie together Kindfulness Kids philosphies on self, learning, and culture. 

Reflect:

• What are your values?

• What does self-care look like for you?

• What are the two common threads to how you live your life in and out of the classroom? Check out the Dare to Lead Hub resources to support this.

Resources: 

1. Dare to Lead Hub

2. 10 Beginner Yoga FAQs Answered- Yoga Journal

3. What is the meaning of Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu?

4. How Yoga Works, by Geshe Michael Roach

With love & kindness, Nicole

July 28, 2018

Today is the Blood Moon Lunar eclipse. It is the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century. New moons are a symbol of a fresh start and with it being a total lunar eclipse, it intensifies and brings about significant change. Today is also the day I turned in my letter of resignation to the only school district I have ever worked for. The only school that I have grown with personally and professionally for over a decade.

These two events happening today were just a coincidence as I had no idea about this phenomenon until it was brought to my attention by a dear friend and mentor earlier today. In an article by Elaine Bartlett she said that today is the end of the Galactic Year and it’s the year of the “Yellow Crystal Seed” and we have been given a chance to put our energy out into the world this past year and cultivate “seeds” which would manifest toward year-end.

This past year, I have made many decisions in which I have previously been indecisive about to finally pave a path for where I want the future of my career to go. With that, I have also made personal decisions to create space for those changes. In the past year, I moved grade levels for a new perspective and learning experience; I began and finished my children’s yoga and mindfulness certification; and I also began an ed leadership program that will lead me to principal certification. I feel that I have become more confident in my goals which have helped me find a stronger sense of my purpose and to lead a life that is true and authentic toward those aspirations not only in my career endeavors but how I truly want to live my life and affect those relationships with family, friends, and the community around me.

For my first Kindfulness Kids blog post, I wanted to write about the milestones that had brought me to where I am today. The big things that I realize have created the shifts in my life. This past year has brought on many changes, but it didn’t begin there. I have been working on creating this for over 5 years. So the news (to me) that today is the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse is actually a nice touch to this process of reflection.

In February 2012, I created my first (and last) blog post on WordPress. I wrote about how I was overwhelmed with life and how I wanted to live in a world where “less is more”. I wanted to write and create something. I hoped to inspire others. In February 2012, I planted the seed that I was ready to move forward. But, I  still went through 2012 with tons of stress, anxiety, and overworked myself with 3 jobs and completing a Masters. Little did I know that moving forward would require not only small changes but major shifts. Then, in Spring of 2013, I went through some personal life changes that hijacked what I thought was the trajectory of my life. My life became a whirlwind of emotions. I was shocked, sad, and angry, but also relieved. I later realized that what I sent into the universe the previous year was my question and this shift was the answer. What I also realized is that it wasn’t a process I needed to blog about. It was a process that I had to fully immerse myself in, experience, and grow from. So far, it’s taken me 5+ years to feel like I have come to the place where in February 2012 I actually wrote that “I hope to embark on a renewed journey of self-discovery and focus in my life. I think in order to become successful, you need to immerse yourself in things you enjoy by being true to yourself and your aura will follow.”

So, you know how when you go on interviews or others ask you, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?” Well, it’s been 5 years. This wasn’t my vision. This wasn’t the picture that I had in my head. But I couldn’t be happier. Me being happy doesn’t mean that it has been an easy road. It means that I recognize happiness is a choice I make daily. What I learned is “less is more” by being present and that success is really living a life of happiness.

On that one and only blog post, I added one of my favorite pictures from one of my favorite places because gravitated to the beauty of it, except the characters had no meaning to me… Since then, I have researched it and the symbolism of it hit home and it has been key to the understanding of my process and the purpose of my journey. Below is the picture I posted of a recreated Chinese coin-shaped water basin on that first blog post. 

It is traditionally used to rinse hands before entering the sacred space in Shinto and Buddhism, such as a tea house of visiting deities. What is interesting about this basin, is that the characters alone from left to right (clockwise) read “arrow”, “five”, “short-tailed bird”.  The last character on the bottom has no meaning on its own. But when each character is read in combination with the center square, it roughly translates to “I only know contentment” or “I am content with what I have.”

So in hindsight, I believe 5 years ago, I planted the seed to find balance and contentment in my life. To also think that the notion that an arrow symbolizes movement forward, a short-tailed bird, such as a dove, can symbolize peace… and, well, the number five…? Maybe 5 years?! I’m one for symbolism and signs. This past year really solidified how much I have learned about myself and how much I still need to learn. But with that, I have learned how to stay true and authentic to myself and how to be okay with where I am on that journey. I have learned that staying present doesn’t mean staying stagnant. In being present, there is the ability to move forward by making present moment choices and decisions. These decisions have led to these past few weeks of being the time where I have started harvesting all of the thoughts and efforts I have tended to over the years, especially this past one. I still have much to share about my journey and how it has brought me to mindfulness, personal and professional growth, and the creation of Kindfulness Kids. I look forward to continuing to share this journey with you and now with you having this community be a part of your journey.

With love & kindness, Nicole