Sarah Bristow is the founder of Growing Grounded, a health and wellness practice leading individuals and teams to develop a strong foundation for professional and personal growth. She specializes in Yoga, Mindfulness, and Meditation as a way of life. A Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Sarah has 300 hours of yoga teacher training experience, and holds a Master of Arts in Teaching. Sarah's creative approach emphasizes whole body wellness and she helps clients of all ages practice this as a way of life.
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Website: www.GrowingGrounded.org
Instagram: @growing_grounded
Blog: https://www.growinggrounded.org/blog
Most Influential Person
My mom.
Effect on Emotions
I am a very emotional person and there is no hiding that and I think if anything, mindfulness has made me realize that that's okay. You know, the more we shove our emotions down in our pocket, it's a funny thing that we do as a society.
We tend to shove things aside and not address them and they come back later. If we can just be transparent with them, we can be open about it, we can have that difficult conversation, it typically is better in the end.
Thoughts on Breathing
I think we forget how good it feels to just fill up our lungs with breath and exhale completely. I think of every breath when I'm being mindful and intentional as just a mini cleanse, with new fresh air and then blow it out and make room for the new.
I think that's a metaphor for everything we do in life. We have to make space for new things, new opportunities, new relationships, and sometimes it's easy. It's as easy as just committing to saying, I'm going to be done with that. Exhale. Let it go.
Suggested Resources
Book: The Mindfulness Revolution: Leading Psychologists, Scientists, Artists, and Meditation Teachers on the Power of Mindfulness in Daily Life by Barry Boyce
Book: Find Your Animal Side: Yoga Guide and Coloring Book by Veronica McDaniel and Sarah Bristow
App: n/a
Bullying Story
Allowing kids to become more aware and take that little bit of space before they react [is a good thing]. If a child can breathe a little bit before they react or before they say something, I think that's a huge lesson itself.
I had a little girl one time; a third grader who I was working with and she was so sweet and we connected from the start. She got locked in a bathroom at the soccer field one time. Her mom realized what had happened and got her out and she was fine. When the mom opened the door, she was smiling and her mom said, what did you do in here? And she said, Oh, I held out my hand and I did starfish breath.
And so she had just sat there breathing while tracing her hands, which is something I taught her very early on. So here she was locked in a bathroom and rather than crying her eyes out and panicking, she connected with her breath.
That's another one of those stories that I'll never forget that she used mindfulness when she needed it the most.
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