Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom

Rodney Salomon and Mychal Mills
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Welcome to Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom, a podcast dedicated to empowering educators to bring mindfulness and emotional intelligence into every aspect of their teaching. Every episode offers a deep dive into practical strategies and transformative insights that help educators cultivate a calm and grounded presence, manage stress effectively, and inspire their students and colleagues. Our podcast is structured around three core themes—Embodiment, Transformation, and Awakening—that guide educators through a journey of self-discovery and professional growth. Each episode explores topics such as emotional regulation, resilience building, and trauma-informed practices, ensuring educators are well-equipped to create supportive and engaging learning environments. Konscious Educators is not just about enhancing classroom management but also about personal growth. We delve into shadow work, self-compassion, and restorative justice to help educators understand their own inner workings and those of their students, fostering a space where everyone can thrive. By focusing on heart coherence and the art of community building, our podcast empowers educators to transform their classrooms into havens of empathy, understanding, and connection. Whether you're an experienced teacher seeking to refresh your approach or a new educator looking for guidance, "Konscious Educators" offers the tools and inspiration needed to make a lasting impact in education. Join us as we navigate the challenges and joys of teaching, helping you to reignite your passion and prevent burnout. Our goal is to create a community of educators who are not only knowledgeable about best practices in mindfulness but are also passionate advocates for holistic education.

  1. JAN 1

    Embodied Wisdom & Ancestral Intelligence: Staying Human in an Accelerating World

    Episode Summary:   In this deeply grounding and expansive episode of Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom, KYDS co-founders Rodney and Mychal are joined by Lisa Brodrick of Ohana Rising, a globally respected educator, yoga teacher, and somatic practitioner whose work bridges education, nervous system regulation, embodiment, and ancestral wisdom. This conversation is for educators, parents, counselors, healers, coaches, and anyone serving children and communities who feels the weight of today's fast-moving world and is searching for ways to stay human, present, and connected. Together, they explore how embodiment, presence, and co-regulation are not add-ons to education, but essential FOUNDATIONS. Lisa shares powerful stories from her work in classrooms, healing spaces, and international community settings, including South Africa, where language barriers dissolved through presence, movement, and shared humanity. The episode dives into: How educators can remain grounded and regulated in high-stress environments Why children don't need more fixing; they need safe, embodied adults The difference between artificial intelligence and ancestral intelligence How nature, movement, and stillness reconnect us to our inner wisdom What it means to lead with discernment in the Age of Aquarius This is not a how-to episode, it's an invitation. An invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and remember that real change happens through presence, relationship, and trust. 💛 5 Key Takeaways 1. Presence Is the Real Curriculum Before any lesson plan, policy, or strategy, your energy communicates first. When educators are grounded, regulated, and present, children feel it—and respond to it. 2. Co-Regulation Creates Safety and Trust Children don't regulate themselves in isolation. Calm, embodied adults signal safety to the nervous system, making learning, connection, and growth possible. 3. Embodiment Over Instruction These tools aren't taught, they're caught. Movement, breath, and awareness help children access their inner resources without needing words or explanations. 4. Ancestral Intelligence Lives in the Body You don't need to know your full lineage to access ancestral wisdom. Nature, stillness, and embodied awareness reconnect us to the intelligence already within us. 5. Discernment Is Essential in a High-Tech World As technology accelerates, our responsibility is to stay human; modeling self-trust, connection, and conscious choice rather than control or disassociation.   Support the Work This podcast is part of a larger vision to build intentional community spaces, including the Konscious Community Center and the work of KYDS. As we enter the Giving Season, your support helps sustain: Youth programs Community circles Educational workshops This podcast and future wellness offerings   💛 Consider donating, sharing this episode, or leaving a review to help this message reach those who need it most. Give today at konscious.org   ↪️ Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj

    56 min

  2. 12/17/2025

    Light in the Dark - Caring for Your Mental Health During the Holiday Season

    Episode Summary:   As we move through the Holy Day season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and beyond, many of us experience a mix of light and shadow. While the world emphasizes gifts and gatherings, what we are often truly craving is connection, balance, and presence. In this episode of Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom, hosts Rodney Salomon and Mychal Mills explore how seasonal shifts, shorter days, less sunlight, disrupted routines, and heightened expectations, impact our mental and emotional well-being. Through grounded reflection, lived experience, and community wisdom, they discuss seasonal depression, the importance of adapting to nature's rhythms, and how mindful presence can help us navigate this time with greater clarity and care. Together, they unpack the difference between presence and presents, the role of gratitude, intentional community, and restorative rituals, and how educators, students, families, and community members can remain regulated and connected during the winter months. This conversation is both reflective and practical, offering tangible ways to support yourself and others during a season that can feel isolating for many. This episode is an invitation to slow down, turn inward, and remember: you are not alone, and even in darkness, light can be cultivated from within. 💛 5 Practices for Mental Wellness During the Holidays 1. Prioritize Light Seek natural sunlight when possible, take mindful walks outdoors, or explore supportive tools like red light therapy to nourish your body and mood during darker months.   2. Give Presence, Not Just Presents Offer your time, listening, eye contact, and authenticity. Presence regulates the nervous system more deeply than material gifts alone.   3. Create Restorative Rituals Simple daily practices such as lighting a candle, journaling gratitude, gentle movement, tea or coffee with intention, help restore internal rhythm and balance.   4. Connect with Intention Reach out for tea, walks, community gatherings, volunteering, or shared meals. Connection is medicine for the soul and essential for well-being.   5. Honor Your Inner Light Allow space for grief, joy, stillness, and reflection. Darkness is not something to avoid; it is often the place where transformation begins.   Support the Work This podcast is part of a larger vision to build intentional community spaces, including the Konscious Community Center and the work of KYDS. As we enter the Giving Season, your support helps sustain: Youth programs Community circles Educational workshops This podcast and future wellness offerings   💛 Consider donating, sharing this episode, or leaving a review to help this message reach those who need it most. Give today at konscious.org   ↪️ Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj

    36 min

  3. 12/01/2025

    Wisdom Across Generations: Drumming, Healing & the Heart of Community Education

    Episode Summary:   In this powerful intergenerational conversation, Rodney and Mychal sit down with elder, educator, community activist, drummer, and storyteller Brotha Ty Laws, affectionately known as a "living archive." Together, they explore how wisdom, rhythm, activism, and community care have shaped decades of work with youth and continue to inform the future of heart-centered education today. Brotha Ty reflects on his early experiences with racism, the spark of activism that began in childhood, and the elders who shaped his path. He shares stories of cultural preservation, African drumming, spiritual practice, youth empowerment, and the transformative moments he's witnessed through community-based learning. From his time supporting youth in Asbury Park to his work in detox centers and school classrooms, he offers a profound reminder that healing and education are inseparable. This episode is a call to educators, parents, and community builders to slow down, listen deeply, honor our elders, and stay rooted in practices that amplify connection; not distraction. Through humor, honesty, and soul-level storytelling, Brotha Ty teaches us what it means to pass wisdom forward while staying connected to the joy, curiosity, and energy of the younger generation. If you're an educator, youth worker, or someone passionate about the future of community wellbeing, this conversation will nourish your spirit and inspire your practice.   Key Takeaways: 1. Intergenerational Wisdom Is Essential for Community Transformation Brotha Ty reminds us that the bridge between elders and youth is sacred. When educators create space for storytelling, mentorship, and cultural memory, young people gain confidence, grounding, and identity; and elders stay connected, inspired, and alive with purpose. 2. Drumming Is More Than Music, It's Medicine African drumming can regulate the nervous system, elevate immune response, and create deep emotional release. In classrooms and community spaces, rhythm becomes a tool for co-regulation, expression, and collective healing. 3. Children Thrive When They Feel Seen & Valued Ignoring or dismissing young people creates disconnection, anger, and disruption. As Baba Ty shared, acknowledging youth—speaking, greeting, seeing them—is a simple act that protects dignity and nourishes belonging. 4. Creative Expression Is a Pathway to Wholeness Poetry, drumming, acting, gardening, and storytelling offer ways for the body and spirit to release energy, reconnect to intuition, and reawaken possibility. Educators and caregivers can bring these practices into learning environments to help youth access their full humanity. 5. The Future of Education Depends on Awareness, Presence, and Community In a world shaped by AI, distraction, and speed, the REAL power lies in embodiment, connection, and conscious community. Educators must choose practices that cultivate inner clarity, cultural grounding, and meaningful relationships to guide the next generation.   ↪️ Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj   ↪️ Sacred Next Steps   💜 Like, Subscribe & Share the Wisdom: If this episode sparked something in your spirit, support the movement—like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform. Help us spread heart-centered education far and wide. 🏫 Visit the Konscious Community Center: Come breathe, release, and reset with us. Join us for breathwork, sound healing, meditation, and more! Just knock. We'll open the door. 💌 Donate to Keep the Work Alive: Your donation fuels conscious programming, healing circles, youth leadership, and this podcast. Give today at konscious.org

    1 hr

  4. 10/31/2025

    Co-Designing Change: Building Community Solutions from the Inside Out

    Episode Summary:   This episode is not just a conversation, it's an invitation to practice transformation. Co-founders Rodney and Mychal reflect on their experience serving as part of New Jersey's Building Community Solutions Co-Design Team, a groundbreaking initiative that reimagines systems of care for youth and families. Together, they explore what it truly means to co-create solutions with — not for — the community. Through storytelling, grounded reflection, and embodied practice, they guide listeners to experience co-design from the inside out. This episode moves beyond theory and into the felt sense of collaboration, where lived experience becomes expertise, where policy meets humanity, and where healing becomes a collective act. You are invited to slow down, breathe, and imagine yourself in a circle surrounded by community members, educators, and caregivers co-creating a vision of care rooted in belonging, shared leadership, and trust. This isn't a discussion about reform; it's a lived practice in how transformation happens, through breath, presence, and courageous collaboration. Ultimately, this episode reminds us that real change begins within relationships, when we share power, honor lived truth, and center community wisdom. The future of care isn't built by systems alone, it's built in community.   Key Takeaways: 1. Co-design means creating with, not for. It's a shift from top-down decisions to shared creation, honoring the voices of those most impacted by the systems we aim to change. 2. Belonging is the foundation of transformation. When every person's story is valued and every voice is equal, change becomes relational, not transactional. 3. Embodiment is leadership. Transformation requires presence, checking in not only with the mind, but with the heart and body. 4. Safety and trust create the conditions for truth. Co-regulation allows us to build spaces of shared safety where vulnerability, listening, and honesty can exist. 5. Shared power = shared healing. When leadership is distributed, healing multiplies. Every person becomes both learner and teacher, reminding us that the solution is already among us.     🔗 Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj   ↪️ Sacred Next Steps   💜 Like, Subscribe & Share the Wisdom: If this episode sparked something in your spirit, support the movement—like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform. Help us spread heart-centered education far and wide. 🏫 Visit the Konscious Community Center: Come breathe, release, and reset with us. Join us for breathwork, sound healing, meditation, and more! Just knock. We'll open the door. 💌 Donate to Keep the Work Alive: Your donation fuels conscious programming, healing circles, youth leadership, and this podcast. Give today at konscious.org

    38 min

  5. 10/15/2025

    Healing the Heart of the Community: Konscious Leadership in Action at the Boys & Girls Club

    🎙️ Episode Summary In this powerful episode, our hosts Rodney and Mychal sit down with Douglas Eagles, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County, a leader who's redefining what it means to serve youth with compassion, authenticity, and heart. Together, they explore the journey of transforming an entire organization from the inside out, from surviving financial hardship to embodying a trauma-informed culture of love, curiosity, and healing. You'll hear how one leader's faith, humility, and vision are sparking a ripple effect of growth, resilience, and renewal across communities. This episode isn't just about leadership, it's about becoming the healing we wish to see in the world. Douglas shares how we can all create "more Destinys" — empowered young leaders who rise through love, awareness, and belonging — and reminds us that transformation starts within. But just when it seems the story reaches its peak, Douglas reveals one life-altering moment that changed how he leads forever... and it's something every heart-centered educator needs to hear. Tap in to discover how hope, humility, and heart can turn pain into purpose, and leadership into legacy.   🎧 Key Takeaways True transformation begins within. Before we can show up for others, we must first reconcile with our own trauma, self-awareness, and healing. Leadership starts in the heart. Trauma-informed care isn't a program, it's a way of being. Healing-centered leadership means cultivating a culture of compassion, curiosity, and belonging that touches every person in the organization. Community healing requires collaboration, not competition. When youth-serving organizations, schools, and communities come together, they create a powerful circle of support that uplifts everyone. Leadership is forged in crucibles, not comfort. The most defining leadership moments are born from struggle, and from the courage to keep showing up with hope, humility, and heart. Faith, gratitude, and presence are anchors of sustainable leadership. Whether it's through prayer, running, or mindful reflection, leaders must ground themselves daily to stay aligned with their purpose and values.   🔗 Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj       ↪️ Sacred Next Steps   💜 Like, Subscribe & Share the Wisdom: If this episode sparked something in your spirit, support the movement—like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform. Help us spread heart-centered education far and wide. 🏫 Visit the Konscious Community Center: Come breathe, release, and reset with us. Join us for breathwork, sound healing, meditation, and more! Just knock. We'll open the door. 💌 Donate to Keep the Work Alive: Your donation fuels conscious programming, healing circles, youth leadership, and this podcast. Give today at konscious.org

    50 min

  6. 10/01/2025

    Konscious Mentorship: Showing Up With Presence, Power & Purpose

    🎙️ Episode Summary Trauma has the power to rewire the brain. But mentorship? Mentorship has the power to rewire the outcome. In this deeply moving episode of Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom, Rodney and Mych unpack the profound impact that educators, youth workers, and mentors can have on a child's life. Through raw stories, practical frameworks, and lived experience, they reveal how presence, consistency, and compassion can change the trajectory of a young person who is carrying invisible burdens. You'll learn why one in two students will experience an adverse childhood experience (ACE) before age 17, and how that trauma shows up as behaviors in the classroom that are often misunderstood. More importantly, you'll hear how just one caring adult can be the buffer that helps a child rise above those experiences. Together, Rodney and Mych dive into: How your energy is louder than your words, and why regulation is more powerful than conversation. The ways your story becomes a survival guide for the youth who need proof that thriving is possible. The power of words in shaping a child's "inner wealth" every affirmation or criticism leaves a lasting imprint. Why creating a safe container starts with your own nervous system, and how educators can carry safety into the classroom. Practical tools like biofeedback, mindful breathing, and coherence practices that help children shift from chaos back into balance. But this episode isn't just theory. You'll hear the real-life stories of young people whose lives were altered because a mentor showed up consistently even when it seemed like nothing was changing. You'll feel the weight of what's at stake, but also the hope that lives in every connection we make. At its heart, this conversation is a reminder that teaching is not just about academics, it's emotional labor, but it's a labor of love. And when done with intention, it can transform not just students, but entire families and communities. If your energy, your story, your presence could shift the entire trajectory of a child's life, how will you choose to show up tomorrow? This isn't just another podcast episode. It's a call to remember the heart of why you do this work… and to step into the role of mentor with clarity, courage, and love.   🎧 Key Takeaways Trauma rewires the brain, but mentorship rewires the outcome. One caring adult can be the buffer that helps a young person rise above adversity and build new pathways toward resilience. Your story is more powerful than you realize. When educators and mentors embrace their own journey, that story can become the exact survival guide a young person needs to hold on. Presence and energy matter more than words. A regulated adult creates safety for a child. Your energy enters the room before your lesson plan ever does. Words shape a child's inner wealth. Every sentence is a deposit, are you investing in their strength, or in their self-doubt? Simple tools bring children back to balance. Practices like biofeedback, mindful breathing, and self-regulation exercises teach youth that calm is not just possible, it's a skill they can carry for life.   🔗 Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj        💡 Sacred Next Steps Like, Subscribe & Share the Wisdom If this episode sparked something in your spirit, support the movement—like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform. Help us spread heart-centered education far and wide. Just knock. We'll open the door. Visit the Konscious Community Center Come breathe, release, and reset with us. Join us for breathwork, sound healing, meditation, and more. Open: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays | 11am – 3pm Donate to Keep the Work Alive Your donation fuels conscious programming, healing circles, youth leadership, and this podcast. Give today at konscious.org

    43 min

  7. 09/15/2025

    Fierce Compassion & Joyful Light: Montessori, Konsciousness, and the Awakening of Education

    Episode Summary   In this episode of Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Podcast, Rodney and Mychal sit down with Deanna and Doreena, leaders at Monmouth Montessori Academy in Spring Lake Heights New Jersey, and graduates of the KYDS Konscious Educators program. The conversation centers on how educators can embody fierce compassion and joyful light to nurture both themselves and their students. With warmth and honesty, they reflect on how cultivating calm, presence, and resilience within allows educators to create environments of safety, trust, and belonging for children and families. This conversation is more than strategies; it's an invitation to see community as medicine. By intentionally nurturing supportive networks and embodying presence, educators can transform challenges into opportunities for growth and awakening. Whether you're a teacher, parent, or school leader, this episode will inspire you to cultivate peace within so you can ripple it outward. This dialogue also explores the deeper role of community in sustaining educators. Whether through conscious partnerships with parents, supportive colleagues, or their own personal practices, Deanna and Doreena illustrate how strong communities are intentionally created, not left to chance. Their stories reveal how educators can transform personal challenges into sources of strength and wisdom, awakening a vision of leadership rooted in love, compassion, and authenticity. Discover how Deanna and Doreena are modeling love, resilience, and connection in their work at Monmouth Montessori Academy, and how you can bring these same practices into your own classroom and community. 👉🏿 Visit Monmouth Montessori Academy on Instagram: @monmouthmontessoriacademy     Key Takeaways   Embodiment matters: When educators ground themselves through practices like breathwork and gratitude, they model regulation for students and create calmer classrooms. Community is medicine: Surrounding yourself with supportive, like-minded colleagues sustains joy and resilience in leadership. Parent partnerships are essential: Helping parents trust themselves, stay grounded, and deepen connection with their children strengthens the school-home bridge. Transformation grows from challenge: Crucible moments such as the COVID pandemic or career transitions can catalyze greater authenticity and confidence in leadership. Awakening is an ongoing practice: Educators have the power to project visions of peace, joy, and love that ripple outward into schools, families, and communities.   🔗 Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj       ↪️ Sacred Next Steps   💜 Like, Subscribe & Share the Wisdom: If this episode sparked something in your spirit, support the movement—like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform. Help us spread heart-centered education far and wide. 🏫 Visit the Konscious Community Center: Come breathe, release, and reset with us. Join us for breathwork, sound healing, meditation, and more! Just knock. We'll open the door. 💌 Donate to Keep the Work Alive: Your donation fuels conscious programming, healing circles, youth leadership, and this podcast. Give today at konscious.org

    54 min

  8. 09/02/2025

    Restorative Practices: Preserving the Soul of Our Youth

    Episode Summary   In this deeply moving episode of Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom, Rodney and Mychal guide us into the soul of restorative practices—reminding us that discipline is not about punishment, but about protection and restoration. Rather than labeling or excluding children for their mistakes, they call us to see discipline as an opportunity to safeguard the spirit of our youth while holding them accountable in ways that affirm their worth.   Restorative Practices: Preserving the Soul of Our Youth takes listeners beyond quick fixes and into a deeper conversation about what it truly means to discipline with love. Rodney and Mychal explore how restorative practices shift the focus from punishment to protection—preserving the uniqueness of every child while still holding them accountable for their choices.   Through frameworks like the Social Discipline Window, reflections on the role of shame, and practices like community circles, this episode equips educators and caregivers with tangible ways to balance structure with compassion. They speak on how reintegrative approaches to shame and accountability allow students to grow without losing their sense of self.   This episode is both a challenge and an invitation to educators, families, and communities: to preserve the uniqueness of every child, even in their struggle. At its core, it's a call to restore ourselves first, so we can show up for our youth with strong love, presence, and authenticity.   Key Takeaways   Restoration begins within: Educators must ground and regulate themselves before they can guide students through conflict. Relationships are the foundation: True discipline flows from connection, belonging, and authenticity. Community circles are powerful tools: They provide space for every voice to be heard, repair harm, and build trust. Shame must be reintegrative, not stigmatizing: Call out behavior without labeling or excluding the child. Balance control with care: High accountability paired with high support leads to restorative outcomes.   🔗 Keep the Energy Flowing We'd love to hear your reflections, stories, or questions. This conversation continues beyond the mic. 🌐 Website: konscious.org 📧 Email: info@konscious.org 📱 Instagram: @kyds_nj         ↪️ Sacred Next Steps   💜 Like, Subscribe & Share the Wisdom: If this episode sparked something in your spirit, support the movement—like, share, and subscribe on your favorite platform. Help us spread heart-centered education far and wide. 🏫 Visit the Konscious Community Center: Come breathe, release, and reset with us. Join us for breathwork, sound healing, meditation, and more! Just knock. We'll open the door. 💌 Donate to Keep the Work Alive: Your donation fuels conscious programming, healing circles, youth leadership, and this podcast. Give today at konscious.org

    45 min
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About

Welcome to Konscious Educators: The Heart-Centered Classroom, a podcast dedicated to empowering educators to bring mindfulness and emotional intelligence into every aspect of their teaching. Every episode offers a deep dive into practical strategies and transformative insights that help educators cultivate a calm and grounded presence, manage stress effectively, and inspire their students and colleagues. Our podcast is structured around three core themes—Embodiment, Transformation, and Awakening—that guide educators through a journey of self-discovery and professional growth. Each episode explores topics such as emotional regulation, resilience building, and trauma-informed practices, ensuring educators are well-equipped to create supportive and engaging learning environments. Konscious Educators is not just about enhancing classroom management but also about personal growth. We delve into shadow work, self-compassion, and restorative justice to help educators understand their own inner workings and those of their students, fostering a space where everyone can thrive. By focusing on heart coherence and the art of community building, our podcast empowers educators to transform their classrooms into havens of empathy, understanding, and connection. Whether you're an experienced teacher seeking to refresh your approach or a new educator looking for guidance, "Konscious Educators" offers the tools and inspiration needed to make a lasting impact in education. Join us as we navigate the challenges and joys of teaching, helping you to reignite your passion and prevent burnout. Our goal is to create a community of educators who are not only knowledgeable about best practices in mindfulness but are also passionate advocates for holistic education.

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