Welcome to the Ombrella Blog!

Welcome! I’m Michel and I’m so grateful that you are here. I hope that reading my story will spark something in you to connect with me. My goal is to help you, regardless of age, reconnect to your center using spiritual practices such as yoga, the labyrinth, mindfulness, meditation, and reiki.

In 2011, I was an elementary teacher in a Christian school for children with special needs, a committed church goer, and a new yogi. On the outside, I appeared whole, happy, and healthy.

But on the inside, Sunday mornings were devoid of much meaning and Sunday nights were just plain depressing.

Thankfully, I lived one block away from a wonderful yoga studio and that year I got to unroll my mat there multiple times a week!

Now, the first several times I stepped onto a yoga mat I barely had time to get into a pose correctly enough before it was time to flow to another pose (which isn’t too far from my experience when I started attending church as an adult). But then I got the hang of it. And when I did, I encountered God.

At the end of that school year I answered God’s call to help people, regardless of age, reconnect to their center, realize their highest self, and ultimately remember who they are. I became a Registered Yoga Teacher for both adults and children, created Story and Stretch: Narrative Yoga for Kids and Liturgical Yoga and started teaching at churches, schools, studios, conferences, and retreats.

My first book, Story and Stretch: A Guide to Teaching Kids Yoga Using Seasonal Stories, was published May 2016, a second book using Biblical stories is coming out this winter, followed by children’s yoga storybooks for the different seasons of the church year.

I am also a Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator and Reiki practitioner.

Whether I get the opportunity to work with you one-on-one or with a group (large or small) at your church or school know that I promise to do so with energy, imagination, intelligence, and love.