Hello Mindful Seeker ~ I am grateful to connect with you today. Go, grab your tea as I share with you how I came to be a mindfulness meditation teacher. My career began in an elementary classroom. Several years later, I eased into local government, working as a City Clerk for almost 20 years. It was in 2015 that I found myself newly married for the second time and living in a new city. I had a driving commute to my job for the first time, my three daughters were in college an

There is no right way or wrong way to meditate. Meditation is resting your mind and your body. Whatever way you can find calm and rest is the right way to meditate. #mindfulway #meditatewithchantal #meditateanywhere #becalm #yougottherock #inspirewithin

Be patient and kind to yourself. Remember, mindfulness works like a muscle – it's a bicep curl for your brain. The more you work it, the stronger it gets. Making mindfulness a way of life, incorporating practices in your day will help you develop a more balanced life. #meditatewithchantal #mindfulway #mentalhealthawareness

I recently took a class called 'Rethinking Sugar' by Dr. Andrea Grayson. Here are some of the notes I took, in no particular order: sugar is a simple carbohydrate sugar is pleasurable - it can expand my pleasure moments sugar can broaden the ways I feel pleasure to increase the level of dopamine 74% of food in the supermarket have added sugar bad gut flora feeds on sugar and white flour damage from sugar happens metabolically sugar can't work off the calories - the damage goe

Many years ago, there were several studies done on parenting - was it better to have quality time, or was quantity time the winner? This question can be subjective because we live in a time of quantity. We have a lot of stuff and do many things, but we never have enough time. During the last couple of years, there seems to have been a shift. There are classes now on how to minimalize and reduce stuff, putting quality over quantity. Quality is a mindful word. Bringing quality

When was the last time you made an exuberant, spacious, kind, generous, exciting comment to - yourself? That long ago? Go on, say it now - I am unique, I am enough and ready to rock! #mindfulnessmatters #mindfulway #mindfulwords #when

Blind spots are unconscious impulses fueled by emotions and beliefs that create habit-building patterns in relationship to ourselves and others. When you begin to see each day as the same - you have blind spots. What can you do to see around, in, and through all things in your life? #meditateonthis #mindfulway

Look around you, take a deep breath, walk outside, start to notice who and what is there. Start to be open to doing things that you would not ordinarily do. Go to places that you would not ordinarily choose. Meet people you would not ordinarily meet. Connect with things that bring a spark of interest, without really knowing why. Notice all there is to notice and be surprised by all that innately unfolds. You are bringing a new dimension of light within life. #lifewithinlife #

One of the most important things we can do for ourselves right now is to remember how to breathe. To breathe means to use your belly and your lungs. Most people barely breathe, yet they think they are breathing just fine. It may be enough to stay alive, but your breath can bring you so much more. How you breathe is how you live. As you begin to breathe more fully and become consciously aware of your breath, your life can shift in amazing ways. Think about it - breathe big, l

We can all start to practice positive self-talk with one simple rule. Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Instead of starting your day out thinking - I look tired, I am fat, I hate my hair ... think about things you're grateful for in your life and encourage yourself. I am enough You are gonna rock today I've got you Just smile at yourself in the mirror Smile at someone else as you walk by #mindfulway #smile #smiletoday #mirrortalk #selftalk #

Your body was meant to move often, throughout the day. Each step you take leads you to somewhere. Start small and walk around the block or even to the corner and back. Feel your body respond to the movement as your lungs take in more air and your breathing deepens. Be kind and patient with yourself. By bringing the gift of mindfulness to a walk, we can increase the benefits. You can change your mind and restore focus. You can get out and smell the roses or other flowers Sever

Author Mary McCarthy writes, "Everyone continues to be interested in the quest for the self, but what you feel when you're older is that you really must make the self." McCarthy implies that this epic reorientation isn't likely until you've been on earth for at least four decades. Moving forward, your task isn't to find yourself but rather to create yourself. You don't want to wait around passively for life to show you who you are. You want to dig deep now and show life who y

A great benefit of meditation is when you bring awareness to your life stories. The stories are noticed during the dreaded "wandering mind," The meditation silence gets taken over by thought, and soon you are deep into a life story. The best way to drop the story is to S T O P, observe, and watch it all dissolve. Soon you are back to your focus. Give yourself time to honor the story and be kind to yourself. If the outcome wasn't what you had hoped, know you did the best you c

2020 will go down in the history books as the year that turned our lives upside down. The pandemic has changed the way we work, how we go to school, how we socialize, the way we drive, the way we shop, and so much more. Over 200,000 people have died from COVID. Circle around to mid-2021, and gosh, are we sick and tired of the mask and suddenly realizing we are not going back to the way things were. What hurts is the human divide and shaming we are experiencing now. One way y

Our body holds our life. Our body stores the wisdom and energy for living and growing. Our body also holds obstacles such as anxiety, trauma, painful experiences, and constructing habit patterns. The more we can make loving contact with the places in our body holding the stuck patterns, the greater our ability to allow for joy, wonder, and live authentically. #mindfulway #ourbeautifulbody #thebody

You begin by being open and a little vulnerable. You begin by being yourself and not falling into the trap of being something you are not. You begin by being unapologetically you. Only when we bring our authentic selves forward, do we experience what is truly in our highest interest with others. #mindfulway #unapologeticallyyou #thisislife #velnerableandfree

There is a lot that can be said in the space of silence. Silence is what makes breathwork and meditation practices so special. You learn that your body speaks to you with a language all its own. You learn that your mind typically wanders to events or places that were long ago. You learn to listen in the quiet spaces of the moment. All you need to do is listen. Come and learn the wisdom of listening. #listen #mindfulway #getoutandtry #yougotthis #quietofthemind

You can expect these “happy hormones” from a meditation: Dopamine. Also known as the “feel-good” hormone, dopamine is a hormone (and neurotransmitter) that’s an essential part of your brain’s reward system. Dopamine is associated with pleasurable sensations, along with learning, memory, motor system function, and more. Serotonin. This hormone (and neurotransmitter) helps regulate your mood as well as your sleep, appetite, digestion, learning ability, and memory. Oxytocin. Oft

Love always wins because it contains the light we seek and need to fuel our souls. Here is what Love versus Fear looks like: LOVE oneness unity service kindness love authenticity freedom consideration choice FEAR discrimination judgment attachment obligation negative opinion prejudice intolerance bigot inequitable Which of these feels good to you? Which words really resonate deep within? Be love. #belove #notfear #mindfulway #getoutandtry #mindfulnessmatters

Sometimes we might be scared by something we don't know about. So if that is your reason for not meditating, let me tell you a bit about meditation. Meditation is the time you take for yourself to bring about peace, calm, and balance. It is a time you set aside to look past the illusion of the hustle and busy day. It's a time to connect with yourself, on an intimate innate level, and experience the stillness that exists in every moment. By focusing on your breath you can lowe