Like most people, I began learning meditation during a challenging period in my life. I was utterly overwhelmed with running a business, being a single parent and selling my home. I was taking pain killers for chronic back pain and drinking myself to sleep most nights. I knew I needed something to not just help reduce the feelings of anxiety and overwhelm but to also prevent me from getting to that state in the first place. I had a friend who struggled with bipolar and alcoholism who meditated and encouraged me to try it. But when I tried to meditate, I couldn't sit still for more than 5 minutes or count to 10 breaths! I struggled to learn through an app or on my own, so I began researching teachers and studying mindfulness and meditation. I went on to complete training and qualifications in Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training, Guiding & Teaching Meditation, Mindfulness for Wellbeing & Peak Performance, and Corporate Mindfulness. Realising how beneficial these tools would be for kids, I also completed Connected Kids, Meditation Capsules, Inspired Kids Yoga, Calm Kids Coaching, and Youth Psychology and Counselling. I have been teaching mindfulness and meditation to adults, teens and kids since 207 after establishing Meditation Sunshine Coast. During that time, I moved home again, shut down my party business, opened and closed a meditation studio, managed events for high-profile speakers (including the Obamas), and lost that events job due to Covid. I may not have done all these things with complete grace, but I credit my ability to transition through all of it without falling apart or contemplating drowning in a bottle, to my meditation practice. It has not only made me feel calmer, more peaceful, and resilient, but it has also increased my clarity, creativity, productivity, and focus. It’s also given me the patience and compassion needed to look after two teens, a grandmother with dementia, two dogs and two cats! I enjoy bringing the practical applications of mindfulness and meditation to the home and the workplace, by educating others, and demonstrating the profound mental, emotional and physical benefits it can have in your day-to-day life. As well as offering workshops, retreats, programs, and online courses, I facilitate mindfulness meditation programs for Mindfulness Works Australia and run community classes as part of the council's Healthy Sunshine Coast Program. I am a member of the Australian Meditation Association and mindful.org and a Veriditas trained and certificated labyrinth facilitator. In 2021 I wrote my first book - Cultivating a Calm Mind available in audiobook, print, pdf, ebook and kindle format. In 2022 I launched Mindful Soul Adventures where I get to combine my event management skills with my passion for meditation and travel to create a unique retreat experiences for the mind, body and soul. You can listen to, watch or follow me on: Facebook - www.facebook.com/meditationsunshinecoast Instagram - www.instagram.com/meditationsunshinecoast Linked in www.linkedin.com/company/meditationsunshinecoast YouTube - www.youtube.com/@meditationsunshinecoast Insight timer app - https://insighttimer.com/michelleeckles Download the 30 Day Mindfulness Challenge PDF
