Meet Michelle
I am a personal and professional development coach as well as an energy medicine practitioner. I have always been self-motivated, inspired to achieve and stretch myself. After college, I was a highly-driven, successful international sales professional. On the outside, I was successful. Inside, it was a different story. Like a plant that's short of water, I was slowly wilting. Something had to give. So I took a very deliberate look at what was important to me. I made room in my life to be still for a change.
During quiet reflection, I realized success doesn't matter if it's sucking the life out of us. It was time to restore myself and live with vitalizing, self-defining moments. I needed to make choices guided by my values and what energized and fulfilled me. It was time to design my destiny.
This period of soul-searching led me to become a certified professional coach. I began coaching in 1998. My clients are wise, have high expectations of themselves and are no strangers to integrity and hard work. I serve heart-centered professionals, healers, and leaders - people who give of themselves every day, often times to a fault. Many come to coaching because their motivation has slowed, they may be questioning their current path and they want to get back to their best. We work together to reconnect to the core of what fulfills them, to make alive choices. We evaluate what they get to let go of for the sake of the big YES', the juicy results they want. I am honored to partner with my clients to positively design their destiny.
What else is important for you to know? I have had an intimate alliance with nature since birth. I'm that kid who never wanted to come indoors. I thrive by hiking in the woods, tending to my gardens and exploring the scenic river valley where I live. This deep appreciation for the wisdom, generosity, and beauty of nature and the earth inspires all of my work. I believe that a very similar innate wisdom, abundance, and beauty dwells in each human being. We can learn from nature how to navigate the constancy of change by paying attention to the seasons of our lives, being consistent in sustainable practices and honoring the present moment.
Is there more? Another part of my journey is my role as a Holistic Energy Medicine Practitioner. In my view, everything is alive. Trees, the land, rocks, water, you and me, alive with energy. Our personal energy is often the most over-looked, undervalued asset we have. In the quest for success and serving others, many of my clients have been addicted to overworking, over-giving and overdoing. Naturally it takes an energetic toll. I assist my clients to restore energy when reserves have been depleted or their energy system is simply out of balance. Our energy is one of our greatest resources and plays such a vital role in how we design our destiny. As a result of our work together, my clients learn how to honor and better manage this precious resource.
Custom Retreats
Shortly into my journey as coach, I noticed that my clients already had such full plates they were actually in need of a breather, a respite. I led my first retreat for professional women in 2004. It was loaded with time in nature and beautiful space for simply being. Watching that group was like witnessing a gorgeous bud blossoming before my very eyes. Transformation in a few short hours. I was on to something big. Important. Essential. Creating and leading custom retreats is work I love. There is something magical about a change of scene, space to just be, room to relax and catch our breath. The result? For my retreat guests, the clarity, the peace, the focus, the grace of inner wisdom returns. I know this to be true for private individuals as well as teams or groups who invest in retreat.
As a coach, as an energy medicine practitioner, as a retreat leader, my client's well-being is at the heart of the work we do. I am intent on getting the results my clients want and so much more. I am highly insightful and delight in helping clients discover truths about themselves, gems that may have lain hidden for years. I work with a positive, generative focus to cultivate and maximize strengths. I tap into natural wisdom for more of what's working and expanding what's possible. I am honored to share in the journey as we Design Your Destiny.