Mindfulness Matters
Finally, A Science-Based Mindfulness Training That Changes Lives in 8 Weeks!
Discover How Mindfulness Can Create Drastically Positive Shifts in Your Physical and Mental Health.
Play the video to hear a message from me about Mindfulness Matters.
Research
Research has shown that people who are more mindful are generally happier and report less anxiety, symptoms of depression, anger, and worries. A higher degree of mindfulness is also associated with reduced stress and increased gratitude, hope, and vitality. People are more inclined to interact with others and with life’s challenges in a positive way.
Developing life skills and strategies is crucial in coping with the ever-increasing demands and rigorous expectations of modern living. Without a solid road map, levels of stress and feelings of overwhelm can have a negative impact on physical and mental well-being. According to the American Psychological Association stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.
The American Institute of Stress reports around 77 percent of people in the U.S. show some physical signs of stress in their everyday life.
As the human species adapts to an unprecedented surge of innovation and technology, the mind has emerged as a repository of thoughts and feelings. Uncontrollable, and constant thinking is a permanent feature of the modern mind. And because most of these thoughts tend to be about negative events in the past or worrying about what may or may not happen in the future, they prevent us from enjoying the here and now. A walk in the park or an evening out with friends inevitably falls prey to the constant distractions of the mind.
Mindfulness practices thereby interrupt habitual patterns of thinking and create a different relationship with thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It offers a different way of relating to reality and cultivates a more balanced relationship with one’s self.
Freedom To Choose
Thoughts create emotions and feelings like fear, anxiety, and sadness. By acknowledging our emotions we can experience them as a temporary state, something that comes and goes. In this way, we become the ‘observer’ of our inner state, rather than identifying and becoming completely lost in the content of thoughts and feelings. As the observer, we decide whether to become entangled in the automatic tendencies of thoughts and feelings or to experience their transient nature. Mindfulness, therefore, offers an opportunity to pause and choose a response. And in that response lies our growth and freedom.
So If Practicing Mindfulness Holds Such Powerful Potential For Our Well-being, Why Aren’t We All Doing It Every Day?
The reason is that we often need more guidance and support than simply downloading an app. We need to better understand the underlying processes and research behind mindfulness.
My new program Mindfulness Matters is designed to walk you through everything you need to fully understand mindfulness and experience the profound effects it can have on your life.
In this training, you will benefit from:
- One deep-dive into a specific element of mindfulness per session
- Information and practice integrated with research and evidence
- Small, informal practices that help weave mindfulness into your daily routine
- An examination of mindfulness in the broader context of life and how we
perceive things - Understanding the foundation of psychological processes that mindfulness rests upon
- A detailed handbook with worksheets and homework
- The ability to ask me anything
This program is perfect for you if:
- You’re curious about mindfulness and want to commit to developing a practice
- You’ve tried meditation or mindfulness before, and it didn’t work out
- You want to know the nuts and bolts behind the practice and approach it in a science-based way
- You experience anxiety, stress, or trouble sleeping
- You want to improve your mental health and well-being
- You want to live more mindfully and feel more alive and present
Program Outline
Mindfulness Matters
Session 1: Introduction,
Attention and The Now
Session 2: Automaticity
Session 3: Judgment
Session 4: Acceptance
Session 5: Goals
Session 6: Compassion
Session 7: The Ego
Session 8: Integration
I offer Mindfulness Matters as a one-on-one or Live Group Coaching Program. The program is divided into 8, 1-hourly sessions. This is a journey that you and I will take together and you will be fully supported.
Bio
I believe that Mindfulness Coaching requires experience, knowledge, and a wide range of effective and well-developed communication skills. As a Coach, I aspire to live up to these standards by delivering training that is both impactful, and transformational.
Hi, I’m Michelle Williams, Mindfulness Coach and Facilitator.
I fell in love with Mindfulness almost 2 decades ago and incorporate the principles daily into my own life. With a background in the caring industry, I am passionate about helping people acquire life skills and new learning to live a joyful, meaningful life to the max!
My professional values can be summed up as follows:
COMMITMENT. I am committed to ensuring that you receive value as well as practical and usable life skills.
HUMAN DIGNITY. I have a deep sense of humanity and a sincere desire to help you succeed. Clients are my ultimate priority which reflects in the safe, caring, and non-judgmental space I create in my Coaching Practice.
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. These define who I am at my core. My word is my bond and you will always experience congruence between my words and actions. I adhere to the ICF Code of Ethics in all interactions.
On a Personal Note
My greatest achievement and what I am most proud of is being a mum to my two adult children, Andre’ and Sharna. There’s nothing more rewarding than watching your kids go off into the world well-grounded and with a degree of decency and goodness that would make any mama extremely proud.
Although I grew up in a dysfunctional and somewhat broken home, I was able to overcome the hurt and chaos of my past. I made different choices and took a different path from the trajectory of my childhood, and of course, it yielded different outcomes. I am a living testimony of breaking the cycle, healing, and using practices such as Mindfulness to create rich and rewarding life experiences.
Some of my favorite things include cycling, reading, working out, trying out healthy recipes, daily singing, and dancing, and yes, I sometimes use a hairbrush as a mic! I enjoy philosophical debates, hanging out with friends, and a regular dose of the simple things in life like long walks in nature, Saturdays on Chicago’s lakefront, flowers and the smell of aromatic candles.
I am thoroughly down-to-earth, hopelessly in love with my work, and care deeply about people and making a difference in the world. Cultivating a rich inner life is important to me and includes practices of profound gratitude, sincere kindness, self-love, learning, nurturing my creative spirit, and being proactive about my physical and mental health.
Summary of Qualifications/Education
Personal Transformation Coaching Program (distinction), Animas Centre for Coaching, U.K. August 2013.
Professional Health Coach, Health Coach Training, July 2014 (U.S)
Clinical Foundations in Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1: February 2018, Level 2: February 2018 (U.S)
Trained Gottman 7 Principles Educator, March 2018 (U.S)
Relationship Coach, Relationship Coaching Institute, August 2019. (U.S)
Infidelity Recovery Coach, March 2020 (U.S)
Mindfulness Training, November 2021 – Positive Psychology.com
What Others Are Saying
“It has helped me see and understand my helpful and unhelpful habitual ways of thinking and behaving, which in turn has helped me respond differently, more kindly and compassionately to myself, others, and life’s challenges.”
― Karen Liebenguth, coach, mindfulness trainer
“When we commit ourselves to paying attention in an open way, without falling prey to our own likes and dislikes, opinions and prejudices, projections and expectations, new possibilities open up and we have a chance to free ourselves from the straitjacket of unconsciousness.”
― Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
“Learning about mindfulness taught me what equanimity means, and that’s something I knew that I needed in my life. Now, I’m able to sit with my emotion and turn toward it and accept it. I can see my emotion as a leaf that’s gently floating down a stream past me. Knowing that my negative emotion will eventually pass allows me to embrace it without trying to resist what I’m experiencing in that very moment.”
― Chris Boutté,
When and How To Join
Mindfulness Matters is an 8-Week live online Coaching Program that is facilitated via Zoom. The sessions run for 1 hour and dive deeply into each component of the program in 8 separate bite-sized pieces. Homework and other communication is delivered by email but I am open to individual support as and when required during the process. You’ll find my contact information below.
As a trained professional, my priority is always your care and safety. The delicate nature of mental health requires that all participants are pre-screened before beginning the program. Although Neuroscience documents thousands of research studies that support the benefits of Mindfulness, THE PRACTICE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.
MANDATORY PRE-SCREENING
Mindfulness can induce feelings of negativity, anxiety and bring unprocessed trauma and blocked material to the surface. For some people their mental state may actually be worsened or clinical issues intensified.
The pre-screening takes the form of a 20 minute Intake Session with me over the telephone. It is also an opportunity to ask questions and assess your personal readiness and commitment to the program.
Please click the button below to schedule an Intake Session.
FAQ
How long does the program take to complete?
This is an on going 8-week program. Individual Mindfulness Coaching may start right away according to availability.
What is the format of Mindfulness Matters?
1-hour sessions are delivered live, via Zoom. Participants may join Mindfulness Matters Group Session or one-on-one Personal Mindfulness Coaching. Email is the main means of communication.
How much time do I need to complete the homework exercises? What will that look like?
This training requires about 15–30 minutes a day and is most effective when done at home. Different types of exercises include formal meditation and more informal daily practices.
I’ve tried Mindfulness before and I’m not very good at it. How do I know that this program will be different?
At its core, mindfulness is about starting over again and again. Even if you feel like you’re not making ‘progress,’ if you have patience and try to practice regularly to the best of your ability, your efforts will pay off. In this program, we’ll approach Mindfulness in a way that addresses all of the common stumbling blocks, and you’ll be free to share your specific concerns so we can troubleshoot them together.
Are the resources in Mindfulness Matters based on scientific evidence?
Yes. Over 3,000 peer-reviewed research studies have validated the benefits of Mindfulness,
and we have made sure that everything in this program is underpinned by rigorous science and references.
What is the cost?
All PRICES ARE IN U.S DOLLARS
Group Sessions: $499 per person (minimum participants: 6)
One-on-one Coaching: $2,000
Payment must be made in advance of the program.
The payment methods listed on your website don’t work for me. Are there alternatives?
Please contact me at michelle@yourtimetoshine.life and we can discuss alternative options.
I have another question! Can I reach out?
Of course! Please feel free to email michelle@yourtimetoshine.life and we can chat!
Choose You!
Practicing Mindfulness is the life-affirming choice you make to experience life fully. By signing up today you unequivocally choose yourself… and that is always ok.
Click below to schedule your pre-screening session.