What motivated you to start this blog, Toni and Kim?
Loooong story! It will unfold all over this blog. But here’s the bulleted form:
- Back when Toni was a troubled teen seeking desperately to escape life, she took up rock climbing. It made me want to live. It also made me realize that when my body and my mind worked together, incredible things happen.
- Raising two children and having been a young mom, single mom, depressed mom, manic mom, suicidal mom, married mom, stepmom, divorced mom, fat mom, skinny mom, academic mom, hot mess mom, Toni eventually HAD to do something to show her kids that she wasn’t a total disaster. Thus, she began deeply studying mind/body tools to help her maintain her sanity. And by golly, the techniques she found WORKED!
- Toni became fascinated with PRESENCE, mindfulness techniques, Ayurveda, studying foods that heal the body and mind, yoga, Nia Technique, worldwide spiritual practices, tapping into what was TRUE for her, and giving herself the license to do what she needed to do to be happy and healthy. She got honest with herself, and she met and married my Kim. Kim and her daughter came to live with Toni’s girls and in Germany.
- Kim’s funny, witty, intelligent, creative, daughter decided to leave after a year of growing pains and living with us in Germany. It wasn’t easy. Sadly, a few years later, she took her life at the young age of 14.
- After noticing the sea of kids at the funeral that wore their pain and suffering on their sleeves, Kim and Toni decided that they had a duty to teach their daughters and Toni’s students 1. about the magic that they had within them, 2. how to stay mentally WELL, and 3. that ANYTHING is possible.
Because nothing else matters.
So Toni and Kim had this grand vision of one day healing the kids that hurt like Kelcy did. Shoot…like they did when they were that age. The thing that Toni realized, after taking her mindfulness practice to her 2nd grade students and seeing them teach their parents how the practice works, is that healing our kids starts with healing OURSELVES. If kids have good, happy and healthy adult role models in their lives, then they will know exactly what to do when the ol’ feeling of “doom and gloom” comes knocking on their door.
What’s your background?
Toni has been teaching in the elementary school setting for the past 19 years in New Mexico, Germany, and Japan. During that time she has taught both children and adults. Since her master’s degree is in educational technology, she has pretty strong feelings about the role of technology and what we are seeing in our youth today. In addition to teaching all elementary subjects, technology to teachers, English to speakers of other languages, Toni also became interested in teaching mindfulness to children since it made such a world of difference for her and her anxiety, ADHD, and clinical depression. Toni became a certified mindfulness educator. In addition, to this, she has practiced and taught the Nia Technique since 2010, and has earned her Blackbelt. Just this past year she graduated from Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Life Coach Training program, along with Corin Grillo’s Angel Alchemy Academy.
Kim has a background in being somewhat of a workplace chameleon. Her motto is, “This may suck for a little while, but it won’t stay that way.” She inspires Toni on a daily basis with her resiliency and willingness to adapt with change…even when it means the change will be incredibly painful. Born and raised in the Midwest, it truly is a wonder that Toni and Kim ever got together to begin with. After Kim’s daughter took her life, she also became intensely motivated to make an impact in the lives of those who are looking desperately to change their circumstances. As the wisest of the two, people often go to Kim with all issues concerning the heart, change, and overall transformation. In fact, it was the way that Kim and Toni ended up together!
Where can I connect with you?
You can email me at toni@mindbodyplayground.com. You can also find me on Facebook or Instagram. We have plans to work up to a YouTube channel, but we’re taking one thing at a time!
The Facebook Group is coming soon! It will be closed (so you will need to join it and be let in). It’s a place for us to connect. Feel free to ask me anything in there and I will be sure to get back to you!
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Looking for a little more in-depth info?
Feel free to check out this post: More About Toni and Kim.
