The OHMazing® Way with Beth Reese, PhD

Melissa Smith-Wilkinson on Embodied Parenting, Mindful Communication, and the Yoga of Self Study

Episode Summary

“When I asked my son what was the one thing he would say would be important for me to share, he said, ‘mom, it all comes down to empathy.’” ~Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, E-RYT Join The OHMazing® Way podcast creator, producer and host, Beth Reese, PhD, E-RYT, RCYT, and guest Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, 500 E-RYT, in a conversation about choosing to have an intervention with one of her sons, embodied parenting that includes empathy, modeling behavior, and mindful communication. In the first half, Beth shares a brief mindfulness practice for getting grounded. Next, Melissa authentically shares her journey as a parent with her son’s behavioral challenges paired with new insight into the importance of embodying what we want to see in our children. In the second half of our conversation, Melissa offers practical and mindful communication skills with others along with the benefits of finding our own authentic voice or true north. “In taking a nonjudgmental observation of parenting, of where the corners turn, and I think, ok, you can introduce something, but guess what? You have to do it over and over and over and over and over again and not just verbally… I (as the parent) have to embody it.” ~Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, E-RYT Connect with Melissa: Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, 500 E-RYT Pranavayoga.studio melissa@pranavayoga.studio Facebook community group for movement and yoga teachers (Restorative and Sustainable Yoga): https://www.facebook.com/groups/MelissaSmithRestorativeYoga/ Instagram Retreats: Experience the Northern Lights in Iceland, March 2020 Connect with Beth: Email: elizabeth@yoginos.com Web: www.yoginos.com Cell: +1 361 563 7448 Facebook: personal: www.facebook.com/elizreese Facebook: Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®: www.facebook.com/yoginos/ Instagram: yoginosyogaforyouth: www.instagram.com/yoginosyogaforyouth Twitter: @yoginos: twitter.com/Yoginos LinkedIn: Beth Reese, PhD

Episode Notes

“Going forward I’ve got to start with me, and what I want to see in my kiddos as healthy functioning adults, (I need to) see in myself. Period.” ~Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, E-RYT

Join The OHMazing® Way podcast creator, producer and host, Beth Reese, PhD, E-RYT, RCYT, and guest Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, 500 E-RYT, in a conversation about choosing to have an intervention with one of her sons, embodied parenting that includes empathy, modeling behavior, and mindful communication. In the first half, Beth shares a brief mindfulness practice for getting grounded. Next, Melissa authentically shares her journey as a parent with her son’s behavioral challenges paired with new insight into the importance of embodying what we want to see in our children. In the second half of our conversation, Melissa offers practical and mindful communication skills with others along with the benefits of finding our own authentic voice or true north.

“When you take a way all the social media, all the stuff, how do we equip our kids with this self-regulation? We can give them all these tools, and if they don’t understand that inside of them there is this inherent perfection, this moral compass that’s already inside of them—and inside of me… so that I should be making all of these choices based on that true north.” ~Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, E-RYT

Based on Melissa’s experiences, she offers these insights into creating mindful communication with you and your family that includes Reflective Listening, Taking Space, and I feel statements. She also describes the four components of Reflective and Nonviolent Communication process:

• Observations - How your perceptual observations and the observations of others — the neutral facts — provide a foundation to know what are we talking about — and eliminate confusion about the particular stimulus in any given situation or interaction;
• Feelings - The information our body and mind give us regarding whether our values and needs are fulfilled in a given interaction. They provide a powerful point of connection to help us understand another's experience, or communicate our own;
• Needs - Universal Human Needs also known as core human motivators; when you distill any conflict to the level of Universal Human Needs, now people can see each others' humanity which begins the healing and reconciliation process and provides a solid foundation for win-win solutions;
• Requests - Taking responsibility for what we actually want by expressing a request rather than a demand. Hearing another's request as such, and knowing that we still have choice.

I feel statements come from Marshal Rosenberg’s non-violent communication: https://www.nonviolentcommunication.com

More on Brené: video on empathy/sympathy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

Resources for parents:

Mindfulness based wilderness therapy camp: Open Sky Wilderness https://www.openskywilderness.com

Resource for understanding the sutras (my fav book and mentor, Nicolai Bachman): http://www.sanskritsounds.com

Sutra book:
https://www.amazon.com/Path-Yoga-Sutras-Practical-Guide/dp/1604074299/ref=sr_1_2?crid=7NPLGOU7NGO6&keywords=nicolai+bachman&qid=1556974234&s=gateway&sprefix=nicolai%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-2

Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, 500 E-RYT is a Yoga Alliance E-RYT® 500 in Yoga Therapeutics. Restorative, Gentle and Sustainable Yoga Teacher Trainer. She leads International retreats, Alzheimer's and other Dementias Caregiver Advocate, and is a Mindfulness in Schools Educator. A native Texan, Melissa lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her son, Drew, and offers workshops and classes in their Santa Fe Pranava Yoga Studio with her husband, Richard. She also leads retreats for Caregivers of Alzheimer's in Texas, Alberta, and Santa Fe. Her teaching style lends itself toward mindful, slow sustainable asana with for strength, injury prevention, and restoration. Her for desire is for students to connect and deeply listen within, integrating their own intuition into daily life. Melissa’s retreats are truly a yoga adventure and uniquely bring students on a transformative journey that has a lasting impact. Friends, yoga, food and adventure — and you. www.PranavaYoga.Studio to start your journey now.

Connect with Melissa:
Melissa Smith-Wilkinson, 500 E-RYT
Pranavayoga.studio
melissa@pranavayoga.studio
Facebook community group for movement and yoga teachers (Restorative and Sustainable Yoga): https://www.facebook.com/groups/MelissaSmithRestorativeYoga/
Instagram
Retreats: Experience the Northern Lights in Iceland, March 2020

Connect with Beth:
Email: elizabeth@yoginos.com
Web: www.yoginos.com
Cell: +1 361 563 7448
Facebook: personal: www.facebook.com/elizreese
Facebook: Yogiños: Yoga for Youth®: www.facebook.com/yoginos/
Instagram: yoginosyogaforyouth: www.instagram.com/yoginosyogaforyouth
Twitter: @yoginos: twitter.com/Yoginos
LinkedIn: Beth Reese, PhD