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A Journey to Yourself That Leads You to Everyone and Everything

Dec 2, 2019


By Brenda Fagan, Senior MCS Student New Orleans, LA

I’ve been an occupational therapist for 16 years working primarily with older adults in clinical practice and managing rehabilitation professionals. Over the years my work became more and more centered around mindfulness practices and coaching both with the patients and families I served and the staff that worked for me. I found the most joy in my work when I was using these approaches and decided to look for opportunities to hone my skills. I was thrilled to find the Mindfulness Coaching School in the list of ICF-approved schools. For the past two years I’ve been taking classes, learning and growing and being supported by an incredible community. MCS is so much more than a coaching school, it’s a journey to yourself that leads you to everyone and everything.

Over the summer I took the last three classes I need for my ACC and Mindfulness, Wellness and Somatic Coach credentials: Body ElectricWhere Mind Goes, Qi Goes and The Dynamic Trio: EMDR, Positive Psychology and Somatic Coaching. I experienced these classes at a time when I was away from my home city working in a nursing home at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I was immersed in practices of somatic awareness, energy flow and expansiveness. Through each class I got to explore with my fellow classmates the many ways there are to feel the connection to your body that is always present, how to be still and listen to the wisdom it has to offer and how to use my learned skills with clients to help lead them to themselves, their truth, their highest excitement.

I used what I was learning with the patients and staff I worked with every day at the nursing home where life seems very out of body and control. I hiked to the top of mountain peaks and the bottom of redwood groves practicing Qi Gong every day and drawing from the power of nature that surrounded me. The energy, stillness and absolute truth that exists in the silence of the woods and mountain tops combined with the coaching skills I was learning and practicing in class and with my homework partners has given me more than I could ever have imagined. Thank you to my classmates, my homework partners, Ann-Marie and the Mindfulness Coaching School for being on this incredible journey with me.

And this is just the beginning…

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Ann-Marie is a master of opening people’s minds to seeing the benefits of the use of positive language to better deal with real life situations at work and at home.
Viola Naust
Right Speech with Meg [Hess, PCC, D. Min] is a wonderful class. I am grateful for the many communication tools I learned throughout the course. Meg as an instructor brings uplifting energy to the class, keeping the discussions engaging and memorable
Cassandra CabreraStudent CoachBoynton Beach, FL
Ann-Marie was so open and honest. She was extremely patient and I look forward to more classes with her. She embodies the true spirit of a coach as she pushes you towards your own personal goals, while managing to teach you to focus on the client’s goal as well. Kudos to her and her team!
Sparkle C. BuntyonStudent CoachHermitage, TN
Great starting point for anyone who would like to see how coaching works and how to stretch yourself to achieve more!
Srdjan VukcevicFounder and CEO, Blue CoachPodgorica, Montenegro
This course [Skillful Means] is life changing personally and professionally. Skills are not only learned, but internalized so that the coach can be an effective listener. I would highly recommend this to any coach — experienced or a beginner.
Sandy Wright, M.A.Student CoachFayetteville, AR
Body Electric is great for those that are looking to challenge the automatic responses and default ways of thinking and being. Realizing that the conversation with the body has a different vibration and that it doesn’t always speak quickly is so valuable. Our bodies are a wealth of comfort and wisdom. This class provides tools for starting that dialogue with yourself and with others.
Alicia UpchurchStudent CoachBrooklyn, New York
It was a different type of MCS class and yet one of the most powerful ones. All classes were filled with practice, real time coaching and wisdom that can be applied in everyday life. This class is for coaches and people who want to develop their communication skills, empathy, listen deeply and speak skilfully. It’s also a class to learn a compassionate approach towards yourself, others and life in general. Read more
Zsanett Czifrus, Mindfulness Student Coach, Former Business Consultant
S-T-R-E-T-C-H! Becoming The Incredible Coach You Truly Are was amazing; a must do class for anyone wanting to become a coach or anyone who is already a coach and needs to feel refreshed and revitalized by the possibilities of coaching and the difference the practice can make. I would thoroughly recommend this course, it is not for the fainthearted, you need to be all in – but it’s hard not to be when it’s delivered with such passion and commitment by Ann-Marie, and all your colleagues and peers are so invested. A total life experience, eye opening, breath taking and consciousness deepening. This is a course I will come back to again and repeat!
Alison CallanPrincipal Consultant and Coach3C Coaching
Right Speech is about listening with our whole beings. This class is about more than communication… it is about being in the world fully alive! Thank you!  
Christy Endicott, MSW, LICSWPsychotherapist, Wellness/Mindfulness Life Coach
As a result of taking this class (Skillful Means), I have newfound confidence about my ability to coach and a greater appreciation for the experience of being coached. The structure of breaking down the 26 Core Competencies into eight classes was perfect for honing my skills and learning to dance in the moment.  
Laurie CunninghamProfessional writer & coach-in-training