Mindful Parenting in a Messy World with Michelle Gale

Michelle interviews the inspiring Lynn Johnson. Lynn is a visionary entrepreneur, speaker, girl advocate, and Co-Founder/CEO of Spotlight: Girls – a certified B Corp that inspires, educates, and activates girls & women to take center stage. A multi-media platform and summer camp, Spotlight: Girls gives girls the skills to step into their light and become the leaders we’ve all been waiting for.  In 2016, Lynn raised over $300,000 in capital to grow her business and prepare to franchise Go Girls! ™ - their popular summer camp - nationally.  A sought-after speaker and facilitator, her work has been recognized by Ashoka Changemakers, SheEO, and ICA Fund Good Jobs. Lynn is the very first recipient of the Force for Good Fund, an accelerator focused on women/people-of-color entrepreneurs growing best-for-the world businesses. Most recently, she became the winner of SheKnows Media’s #ThePitch – a platform and video series launched to elevate, connect and coach female entrepreneurs. Lynn works as a coach for Jenny Kassan Consulting and serves on the National Advisory Board of Teaching Artists Guild, the Board of Directors of the How Kids Learn Foundation, and the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women.  She and her wife and co-founder, Allison Kenny, live and work in Oakland, CA with their yappy dogs and squirrely Go Girl!, playing theater games at the dinner table and fighting to see who can be the bossiest.

Join us as Michelle chat’s with Aaron and Megan Schiller about their epic adventure traveling across the United States for three months in an Airstream trailer with their two daughters. Megan and Aaron Schiller are the hosts of Muse & The Catalyst, a podcast about getting inspired and taking action to create the life of your dreams. Megan is the founder of The Art Pantry, a design studio specializing in children's creative play spaces. Aaron is a life coach who works with parents focused on their personal, spiritual, and professional growth. They are the parents of two girls, ages 9 and 5, and live in Mill Valley, California.

Listen in as Dayna Abraham, Author of the new book The Superkids Activity Guide To Conquering Every Day shares her philosophy on how parents can help empower their children. Be ready to flip your views and see how a child’s struggles and differences  can help them grow. Dayna is full of practical tips and offers a ton of free resources on her Website and Facebook Groups. Dayna is the mother to three totally awesome superkids who inspire her every day to be the best grown-up sidekick they could ask for. When she’s not helping her kids conquer the world, she keeps busy by writing at lemonlimeadventures.com, writing books like Sensory Processing 101, STEAM Kids, and Learn and Play with LEGO®, and drinking lots of coffee. As a little girl, she wished grown-ups and other kids saw her as a superkid, so now she’s made it her mission to inspire kids like you to love who they are and embrace their differences.      

Join Julie and Michelle as they discuss the importance and sacredness of mother’s connecting to their purpose. We also discuss how Julie’s quest has brought her closer to social justice work and you can listen in to her podcast with Nicole Lee about Courageous Conversation about Race here. During our conversation she also mentioned a podcast she recorded with her son Ryan and you can listen to that here. Mother’s Quest Founder, Julie Neale honors both the magic and the mess of parenthood and believes our children challenge us to grow into our best selves. She is on a mission to live a truly E.P.I.C. life and, through her example, inspire her children to do the same. Her “for-purpose” venture, Mother’s Quest, provides inspiration, coaching and community so other mothers can live their E.P.I.C. lives.  

First and foremost a parent, Annmarie has spent the past 18 years perfecting the art of parenting imperfectly in balance with the rest of her life. Annmarie believes that the most valuable tool we have is presence. She guides parents, educators, and children to cultivate presence and unconditional love in all areas of their lives. She lives in Chicago with her partner and their blended family of five children.   You can learn more about Annmarie at bringithome.me

Parents can be some of the guiltiest people on the planet! Join Mark and Michelle as they explore ways to get to know and quiet the inner critic.   Mark Coleman has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1984. He is a Spirit Rock Meditation Teacher and has been teaching Insight meditation retreats since 1997. He also leads wilderness meditation retreats from Alaska to Peru, integrating mindfulness meditation with nature. He is author of Awake in the Wild: Mindfulness in Nature as a Path of Self-Discovery. AND Make peace with your mind - how mindfulness and compassion can help free you from the inner critic -  Mark is a life-coach and mindfulness consultant to corporations. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast and passionate about combining the forces of meditation, silence and nature.   You can learn more about Mark and all of his programs at www.markcoleman.org  

Christine Carter, Ph.D., is a sociologist and the author of The Sweet Spot: How to Accomplish More by Doing Less (2017) and Raising Happiness (2011). Drawing on the latest scientific research on positivity, productivity, and elite performance, Carter demonstrates a sweet paradox: by doing less we can actually accomplish more. A sought-after speaker and coach, Dr. Carter also teaches online classes and writes an award-winning blog, which is frequently syndicated on Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Psychology Today, and Greater Good. She is a sociologist and senior fellow at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center.

Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is the President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a scientist at the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, and a licensed clinical psychologist. Cassandra wrote the book Mindful Motherhood: Practical Tools for Staying Sane During Pregnancy and Your Child’s First Year back in 2006. The online course to support this book can be found at www.mindfulmotherhood.org

Join Michelle Gale and Andrew Newman as they explore why and how the last twenty minutes of the day between parent and child can be such a special time. Andrew loves all things creative and spiritual. He has been training and working in healing and community building for many years. You can find Andrew and the Conscious Bedtime Story Club here. He would love to hear from you!

Join Michelle Gale and George Taylor as they explore the parent child relationship through the lens of mindfulness and authentic communication. George Taylor has taught the Ten Practices to thousands of couples in his twenty-five year career as a Marriage and Family Therapist. He has had a long interest in create more love and awareness in relationships, including his own. You can learn more about George and his book A Path for Couples here.

Join Michelle as she explores the ups and downs of sibling relationships with Cecilia and Jason Hilkey.   Cecilia Hilkey, MA and Jason Hilkey have worked professionally with children and families for 20 years. They’ve taught parents and educators to use compassionate methods to talk to kids, worked with children with special needs, and even taught together in the same preschool classroom. They founded Happily Family to respond to the needs of parents and teachers who wanted access to current research about the brain, and more communication tools to use with the kids in their lives. Their popular blog, classes and conferences touch the lives of tens of thousands of people each week.  

Ali Smith co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001, where he currently serves as Executive Director.  He has over 15 years of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness to diverse populations. Through his work at the Holistic Life Foundation he has helped develop and pilot yoga and mindfulness programs at public and private schools, drug treatment centers, juvenile detention centers, mental crisis facilities, and retreat centers, nationally and internationally.  Ali has authored a series of children’s books, and co-authored several yoga and mindfulness based curriculum’s, as well as developed numerous workshops and training’s.  His work with the Holistic Life Foundation has been featured on Making a Difference on the NBC Nightly News as well as Mindful Magazine, Yoga Journal, and many other publications. You can learn more about Ali and the Holistic Life Foundation here.

Ashanti Branch is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ever Forward Club, a nonprofit committed to supporting young men of color in middle and high school by providing them with save, brave communities that build character and transform lives.   The Ever Forward Club’s work was featured in the documentary titled ‘The Masks We Live In” which follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America’s narrow definition of masculinity. Ashanti is a sought after speaker and leads workshops for all youth of all ages and from a broad range of communities. He is on a mission to change the way that students interact with their education and the way schools interact with students. You can learn more about Ashanti’s work here.

The Mindful Parenting in a Messy World podcast with Michelle Gale is for parents who long to be meaningfully connected to themselves and their children, even as the demands and complexities of modern life are accelerated. Our intent is to share a collection of supportive conversations, meditations, and nuggets of practical wisdom to help you embrace the parenting journey as your greatest potential for growth. www.michellegale.com We all know that mindfulness in parenting is important, but in this interview Michelle shares strategies that even the busiest, most distracted parent can use to put mindfulness into place in their family. She talks about how to be mindful even when your child is having a tantrum or a melt down, or when we are triggered. She also shares candidly about the importance of having compassion and gentleness for ourselves, and that kids don’t need “perfect parents”. You can find a video of her podcast here and learn more about Happily Family here.  

The Mindful Parenting in a Messy World podcast with Michelle Gale is for parents who long to be meaningfully connected to themselves and their children, even as the demands and complexities of modern life are accelerated. Our intent is to share a collection of supportive conversations, meditations, and nuggets of practical wisdom to help you embrace the parenting journey as your greatest potential for growth. www.michellegale.com Join Michelle as she explores the practice of Loving Kindness through the principles of Sharon’s new book Real Love, The Art of Mindful Connection.  Sharon is the founder of the Insight Meditation Society, the author of ten books and a sought after speaker who travels the world teaching mindfulness, loving-kindness, and compassion.