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Introduction and Guest Overview

Shilpa: Hi, Michelle. I am so happy that you are here. Before we get started, I thought I'd introduce you to my audience. Michelle, you describe yourself as a high vibe, holistic health and fitness coach, empowerment speaker, and two times best selling author. And you are on a mission to ignite millions of women in a revolution of bold, confident transformation, empowering them to lead with strength.

Shilpa: Purpose and passion. And you believe that the body's innate ability to heal and that true power comes from within. And after overcoming a severe back injury, you healed your body and mind from the inside out, integrating fitness, mindfulness, and self love. Your unique approach blends science and spirituality.

Shilpa: Using tools like [00:01:00] meditation, journaling, nourishing your body to help you reconnect with your true self. Now, without further ado, Michelle, I am so profoundly excited because we share so much in common. The meditation part really speaks to me. Being really true to your fitness regimen is something that I believe in.

Shilpa: And you and I also have another thing in common, which is I am magazine. Yeah. Yeah, okay, so without further ado, I'll go ahead and share a little bit about yourself. 

Michelle's Personal Journey

Michele: I am so excited to be here, Shilpa. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast. Um, you summed it up all in a nutshell. I am really, um, I am a holistic health and fitness coach, and I believe in the integration of body, mind, and spirit.

Michele: And spirit being just like a higher part of ourselves that desire to desire more where [00:02:00] we can tap into our purpose, right. And live true to our heart. Um, and I didn't always think this way. I really went through a very personal experience with a severe back injury after a car accident. Up to that point, I was, I was Taking care of myself through physical fitness, um, not realizing the power of my mind and what I would need to do in order to heal my body back to wholeness.

Michele: And so that is how it has all come about. My own personal experience has been such a powerful, um, teacher. 

Shilpa: Um, and I believe that that teacher has also helped you. Maybe even shift and expand into other areas of your life that you may not have known about a few years ago. 

Michele: Oh, a hundred percent. 

The Power of Fitness and Nutrition

Michele: You know, and I think too, back to my days when I was in my [00:03:00] twenties, early thirties, I really, I didn't know the first thing about fitness.

Michele: I was just, you know, you know, like every other person doing the thing and running around, you know, busy, busy with, um, having a small child, my daughter. Finishing school, you know, different things like that, having a job and career that this entire experience, uh, when I delved into fitness really was, it was actually a challenge that got me into it and it was just a personal challenge, really, that I was at a point in my life where I was reeling that realizing that I was feeling so drained, um, I was feeling so exhausted, fatigued, and I was having a lot of gut problems.

Michele: of health issues kind of creeping up, not to mention my mood. I just didn't have the energy and I was, you know, exhausted having those mid afternoon crashes. So I embarked on this challenge and realized, um, the [00:04:00] power of taking care of myself through fitness was, um, a transformation all in its own. And it was, you know, a, a blend of doing personal training with, um, very I'm going to call it clean eating or high vibe eating is another way I look at it.

Michele: The quality of, of the nutrition. Um, and then fitness became part of me. It just became a part of me. And it actually really became a therapy when my father passed away in my mid thirties. And then fast forward into my early forties, when I hit this, um, had this car accident, it really stopped me in my tracks.

Michele: It really. Maybe reflect on other areas of my life that potentially was feeding into, into this chaos, into the negativity. And this, this is what it was two, [00:05:00] two plus years after that accident, you know, I literally had the feet, my feet, you know, the rug I say, pulled out from under me because where I was such, um, I'm going to say probably in the best shape of my life.

Michele: To not being active for over two years really stopped me in my tracks to take a look at what else was going on in my life at that time. 

Overcoming Adversity

Michele: So it has really been, um, powerful in terms of reflecting, you know, not just on my physical self, but my relationships, my work, how I'm showing up in the world, the work, the work that I do.

Michele: It's really empowered me. My own personal experience has really empowered me to, to teach others. How they too can tap into their, their inner power and the [00:06:00] connection of mind and body is so powerful. 

Shilpa: It is. And you've, you've mentioned things about these anecdotal moments in your life that probably were catalysts for expansion on an inner level as well as outer.

Shilpa: Can you share where your life was at? When you, like maybe 20 years ago, perhaps in terms of a professional direction and personal growth. 

Michele: Um, previous to this about 20 years ago, you know, I dabbled in personal development, you know, I was always, I was determined to want to, you know, be my best self, but I was nowhere, nowhere into personal growth and development like I, like I have been the last five.

Michele: Five or six years. It's [00:07:00] incredible. Um, what has sort of, I say, tapped into my own heart. Just the these experiences, right? And being very, um, it's, it's like ignited. I love the word ignite because it truly has felt like that. It's really has ignited something within me to want to be more, to want to, um, serve more people to want to help.

Michele: Health care is such a part of my background as well, previous to being, um, a health and fitness coach. I've been into health care for over 30 years, so it's really, it's, it's a part of me that's quite innately ingrained. 

Shilpa: And it also looks like now, where you're at in life, you've Really have this amazing arc because you're taking the sum total of your [00:08:00] knowledge and experience and you now serve others in holistic fitness.

Michele: Yeah, it's so true, you know, and I reflect back to where I probably was at my lowest. And I, what I see in my life at that point in time was the worst point in my life. I would say, you know, we all have, I'm sure those moments where we think, Oh my gosh, can it get any worse? And it was at the time where my, my back injury occurred and I literally couldn't even support myself physically.

Michele: Um, but I think about that energy of what I was in at the time. It was, it was just chaos. I felt like I was in this vortex of negative self talk, feeling, you know, sorry for myself, not knowing, you know, Oh, I was trying to [00:09:00] control situation, not really listening to my, myself. Not, not listening to my body. My relationships were just, I was, you know, personally, I was not in a good head space.

Michele: And it feels, you know, everything kind of came together like that all at once. And it was just so heavy feeling 

Transforming Relationships

Shilpa: and how, how do you feel you are approaching relationships now that you've really had this opportunity of, um, many years of reflection? 

Michele: Yeah. Uh, great question. Relationships are so precious. And I think we can't show up in our relationship fully unless we are fully present in our own.

Michele: And so this has been, I, I look at my Injury, my experiences [00:10:00] have guided me to really open up to crack, crack myself open to allow myself to grow. And I realized that I needed to take responsibility for my actions. I was reacting all the time. I was very frustrated. I was angry. I was upset. So that was my world.

Michele: And so, you know, projecting things onto people was. Sort of what I was doing. And then once I realized that, and I, and I accepted responsibility for how I was showing up and I changed my own aura, my own energy. I became aware of what I was doing and accepted responsibility. It wasn't easy, but I was able to move forward and come from a different place of [00:11:00] not wanting to be.

Michele: in that control and in that negative energy anymore. And I was starting, you know, I showed up more in a positive way. I started to train myself of, um, all of, you know, becoming aware of where I was, um, feeling so frustrated. And I recognize that this frustration and anger was certainly, absolutely. I was in, I was in pain, but at the.

Michele: At the same time, I, I, through this whole experience, such painful experience, I was really using my, trying to use my pain to, to turn into my purpose. Right. 

Harnessing Inner Power

Michele: And so the energy that I started then to shift my energy, once I started to flip it and started to, um, take care of myself, like I gosh, every day, positive affirmations, like, it's like, it didn't try didn't transform [00:12:00] overnight.

Michele: But I did the work and the beautiful thing was the energy that I started to preserve and, and honor myself. It actually, it was like magic. It was like my, my immediate family, my kids, my husband, like everybody seemed to be more at ease. There was less stress. I had less stress, so it was quite impactful. Um, the changes that occurred and the opportunities that started to show up.

Shilpa: Your response is just so profound for me as well, because I so deeply resonate with those details you just mentioned. Because it feels subtle, like when you're going through it. The shift, because you're expanding, but it's so subtle that you may not even be cognizant. Like, am I, you sort of said it, [00:13:00] like, am I making a difference?

Shilpa: Like when I do the affirmations, is it doing anything? Right. 

Michele: And I learned, you know, I'm, I went through that as well, you know, in the beginning, that, and that, And that voice, right? The voice in the head starts to get loud because anytime we try, we would have learned, right? And is that anytime we try to up level and change that, that inner voice, the ego will start to get louder and louder and try to keep a small and, and fear shows up and fear is real.

Michele: And I got to a place where I was my own ship and facing my fear and doing it anyway, you know, it's, it's not without, um, fear, right? Like it just, I almost have no words for the experience because it is so, it is so [00:14:00] subtle, but once you start to notice, The magical moments that are happening around you be simply because you are shifting your thoughts.

Michele: You're shifting your energy. You're shifting your actions. That's where you realize you are taking your power back. That's where you start to feel more confident. Like, like there is another way. There is, there, there is a way out of this. And the more that I attuned. To myself, the more my body started to relax.

Michele: It is, was the wildest thing. My body, you know, from a, I'm all about science. 

The Role of Affirmations and Meditation

Michele: And of course I had my self like so much chaos, so much stress, so much pain that I was operating at such a high level of fight or flight, my adrenaline was always on every day, so physically my nervous system [00:15:00] in my body was And I was always on fire.

Michele: Like I was always at like, like ready to go, like ready to pounce mode. So it took me some time through those powerful affirmations to, and repetitively used them as a tool to settle my mind down, to settle my nervous system down and to lean into the power of. of using them as a, as a way to calm the nervous system.

Michele: You know, we read so much, there's so much out there about them, how they can be such a powerful tool. It is going into it with the belief that it can help you. If you're going into something like that, open minded or meditation, like you've said, and I love to meditate as well. I just find a sense of peace and calm that I never knew existed before that.

Shilpa: And there's a couple [00:16:00] of nuances that you mentioned that I really want us to explore. One of them is you mentioned on one hand, you've come through all of this pain and you feel like you are on fire. You like the word ignite and that your branding colors. Who you become is authentically reflecting that on a deep level, but it took fire.

Shilpa: Like you were saying earlier, absolutely to get through the fire. I mean, I know that sounds corny, but you 

Michele: get it. It's not like it is not. And I've literally, you know, it, yeah, my, my colors are red. I'm very passionate. Um, I'm a very passionate person. I'm, I'm bold. I want to be. In a way, though, that is authentic, right?

Michele: And the fiery is all about [00:17:00] empowerment. It's all about empowering and, um, empowering myself. 

The Power of Positive Thoughts

Michele: You know, when we speak positive thoughts to ourself, we feel good. We tap into those good feeling endorphins, those happy chemicals, natural chemicals that we all have. When we move our body, we release more of those good endorphins and we actually can move dense stuck energy, you know, so my branding, my colors, the words, the words that I use and how I'm showing up in my life is, it's just who I am.

Michele: It's who I am. And I'm here to ignite millions of listeners, millions of people around the world. To step into their true self, to live, um, step forward with boldness, live authentically. You know, we can have, I believe we can have and do anything we want. [00:18:00] It's, you know, simply tapping into, and it's not simple, but I say it in simple terms.

Michele: Tapping into the power of your mind. And taking a line to action steps that support those, even when it doesn't feel, um, believable, even when it doesn't feel real, now there's, I believe in this force, the universe supports us all the time. 

Mind-Body Connection

Michele: And

Shilpa: the process required faith and we've all been there, like you and I, between the two of us use the word subtle many times, it is subtle. Yet, I think in Western society often we think you're doing the physical work and that's the work, but that's not the work. 

Michele: Absolutely. And, [00:19:00] and we're, we're sort of trained, we're, we're, we're programmed that way to feel, to think that in order for something to be true, we have to see it, right?

Michele: We're programmed that way and that is the Western world. And while I'm all about. Science, they have a health care background. I truly believe that we have a whole aspect of ourself. We are not thinking about what's inside of us, um, from a, at a cellular level, the thoughts that we are thinking and think about it this way, is that, um, you know, we have a whole aspect of ourselves that we don't, we can't see.

Michele: It's, you know, it's our mind, of course, but But then our, our inner, innate, innate makeup, right, like at a very deep cellular level, our body holds stress, our body holds, um, tension, and our body [00:20:00] holds, you know, all the experience that we go through, whether it's our personal, through, through childhood experiences, as we get older, um, or painful experiences, be it those hurtful words or traumatic experiences being physical injuries and whatever the experience is, our body holds.

Michele: that information as well. And our mind is like that super computer. So we never ever forget it's always playing in the background. Right. 

Understanding Subconscious Patterns

Michele: And in fact, um, this was such a shocking stat when I realized it years ago, and when I was reminded of it, when I went through my personal dive, deep dive transport transformation, we forget these things that most of the things that we do are on, we are on autopilot.

Michele: Think about all the things you do every day like brush your teeth, brush your hair, like just take a step forward, you know, get off the chair, whatever it is, we're very [00:21:00] automatic. 90 percent of our thoughts that we think are subconscious. So that means we're not even aware of our thoughts and those thoughts are replaying over and over and over in our background.

Michele: So Um, that means only 10 percent of the things that, of the thoughts that we have, are we truly aware? So our body, you know, there's so much going on, um, without our awareness and the whole integration of mind, body, spirit, the whole philosophy of that mind, body connection is so powerful. And I feel like if we only focusing on physical fitness, we're forgetting a whole aspect of And so the work that I do with my clients.

Michele: has been, um, because of my own personal experience is I, if we are focusing only on the physical, we are, we are forgetting, we need to go deeper. We need to go into the root causes. So when clients come to me, [00:22:00] um, you not only just look at the symptoms they're experiencing, but we go deeper into, into the habits, into the mindset, into our programming, into what we, Our values, our beliefs that we hold to be true about ourselves so that we can get to the root causes to really, truly heal ourself so we can create that lasting change.

Shilpa: And it takes a while because you had mentioned something as a metaphor, and I've used that metaphor for myself. It's like, imagine a huge ship. In the ocean moving and you and I maybe have this dialogue, you're like, okay, here's our compass. Our inner work is telling us we need to go there, but we've been headed there.

Shilpa: It takes a while. 

Integrating Mind, Body, and Spirit

Shilpa: So to give yourself that grace, because sometimes, again, Western society, we want to see the results immediately. But if you're starting to change, it's subtle. 

Michele: Absolutely [00:23:00] subtle. Um, the best way for me to explain it most of the time are we, we operate from our head. Right, using our head, of course, right?

Michele: It's our, our brain, our intellect, intellectual, um, compass, right? Like it's intellectual, it's analyzing, it's planning, it's doing the thing. But if we're only operating from our head, we're forgetting a whole aspect of ourself. And. The whole aspect of ourself is where I teach people to really drop into our heart.

Michele: So that's where we can really, really, really tap into our intuitive side, into our part of our self, where we tap into our true joy, into our purpose, right? And Our intuition is our internal compass. [00:24:00] And I believe that the body, the body is always speaking to us in everything that we do. But we need to get quiet enough in order to hear the messages that our body is saying to us.

Michele: You know, and so for example, if, if our body is feeling tired, If we're feeling fatigued, if we're frustrated, it, that is going to harbor a certain energy within us, right? That's, that's, um, a heavier feeling if we're stressed all the time, right? Our body is going to hold the tension. Physically, our body will hold the tension, but our nervous system will not be operating.

Michele: a balance as well, right? So we really, really need to focus on that mind body connection. 

Energy Leaks and Self-Care

Michele: And we must ask ourself, you know, if we're operating from our [00:25:00] head most of the time, and we're feeling exhausted and frustrated, and maybe our world is chaotic, and that was me, that was me years ago, and still I find sometimes I, Because it's a pattern within me that can show up every now and again, it's important to pause and ask, you know, are we operating?

Michele: Are you operating from your mind, from your head? And, and if so, tap into your heart, right? It's simply, sometimes it can be as, as, um, a two minute quiet time with yourself. Right. But I had realized that operating from our head quickly zaps our energy. I call these energy leaks, right? Energy leaks are, are us feeling ourselves feeling like we have to do it all.

Michele: You know, um, As a, as a woman, I, I grew up, um, [00:26:00] well, and I have a career. And so I was like trying to juggle it all right. Like do the, and I'm a mom, so my beautiful children. And so I was trying to juggle it all, trying to keep everything afloat, you know, taking care of the kids, the house, they, um, do my work, you know, show up for all the things.

Michele: Um, and I also learned to, you know, and this probably resonates with some of our, Our listeners is like feeling that you have to do it all or or being afraid to say no, people pleasing, you know, those kind of things when really if we are constantly putting ourselves out there and constantly draining and things are draining our energy and we are not to to, to Um, taking care of ourselves in the form of any self care, self care, meaning quiet time for ourself, reading a book or walking in nature, whatever that looks can be different for everybody if we're [00:27:00] not carving out time for ourself and we're constantly giving our energy away.

Michele: We will be draining ourselves. We'll be leaking our energy. 

Energy Awareness Masterclass

Shilpa: And that's a good segue for us. You and I can maybe, um, share with the audience that you and I are going to be a part of a masterclass. Well, I'm hosting it and you're in it. Um, energy awareness. Um, and this is a idea that I, I had three, four years ago because I had been reflecting around COVID around this concept of energy.

Shilpa: And digging more into the science as well as the spirituality and understanding what we are, our thoughts and the energy around the thoughts and what we are physically and beyond. I think just what we don't see, [00:28:00] gaining greater awareness of that energy will help us not only manage life, but I would say thrive as a soul.

Michele: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think, you know, we also are, I am, I cannot wait for this masterclass. I mean, we, myself, I remember my own, you know, personal experiences, just trying to do it all and struggle and struggle and strife. And we don't have to live that way. Life gets to be easy. And, you know, it comes back though, to creating harmony and balance within ourself.

Michele: So we can move forward in life. Um, creating and experiencing happy, joyful moments and thriving. It's not just about surviving, right? We don't, we, we need to, um, raise the bar from just surviving and COVID [00:29:00] that's a, that affected us all. So that is, um, and then, and it can still be leaving lasting. Imprints within us, right?

Michele: So it's like, let's raise the bar. Let's step into that higher power. Let's learn how to take our power back. Let's learn how to harness our energy, how to take care of ourself so that we actually can Be more, be doing more of what we want to do. Right. And not just feeling like we have to, or should we need to, you know, we want to, um, embody, embody what we truly want, what we, what we truly desire.

Shilpa: Absolutely. And shifting our attitude towards it. I've noticed for myself in this exploration, if you will, of energy awareness, that. Each year I grow and expand a little bit more, and so hopefully the version of me now, Shilpa, will be even [00:30:00] more in tune with my higher self another year from now. Absolutely.

Michele: You can't not be, if you continue to strive that way. You know, um, I too feel very, very, Similar to what you're saying. In fact, I see this version and this is where I want to empower, um, all our listeners. It's like, you see your version as you are right now. If you have a desire within you to want to be more or go through, you have that call it that gut feeling, that intuitive sense that you know, you want more than it's about taking that aligned action step, but don't see yourself just at, okay.

Michele: One step above. See yourself. Like 10. 0 version, right? It may take you years, a few years to get there, but that's okay, right? It's like continual growing, continual learning. It's like, I always feel [00:31:00] too, the learning never ends. And once you tap into experiencing So much of this, right, is, it really, truly is, it really, truly does ignite your soul.

Michele: It really, truly, truly lights you up. If you want to experience that, it's almost like being bit by a bug. You want more. 

Shilpa: Yeah. 

Conclusion and Invitation

Shilpa: And, you know, just to conclude, what I would like to tell people that are listening or viewing this on YouTube is that I invite you, both of us, Michelle and I invite you because we.

Shilpa: You may or may not necessarily see yourself as a certain version of you. Perhaps you think this is just me, the way I am. But maybe if you have that inkling, like Michelle mentioned, that there's something in your heart that says, I can expand and be a different version and keep growing. It's true. And so when I see other people, even if my experience has been less than positive with them, I always think that's the version that will [00:32:00] continually evolve.

Shilpa: So I don't see, I see them as a soul. I see them as an expanding version. And so in that, on that note, uh, please come to our Energy Awareness Masterclass on November 11th, 1111 at 11am Pacific Standard Time. And both of us have workbooks that will be available or, um, you know, guides and other documents.

Shilpa: Resources. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and we will have it on replay so you can always access that particular masterclass again in the future. So I invite you, um, come on over. The registration will be in the show notes and, uh, Any, Michelle, do you have anything else to say? 

Michele: I would just say like, I, I'm so excited for this.

Michele: You know, I think too, that because we have so much in common, we are going to light this masterclass up. [00:33:00] Like there, it will be full of very tangible takeaways. You know, tips that you can implement immediately into your life, tools you can take and read and digest on your own. We're all about Shibboleth, Shibboleth and I are very much in, um, aligned with empowering others to help others to, to grow and uplevel.

Michele: So we can't wait. Can't wait for that day. 

Shilpa: Thank you, Michelle. And I will be talking to you probably very soon. 

Michele: I'm sure you will. 

Shilpa: Hey, and see you all at our masterclass. Thank you.