I'm María del Mar.  Growing up, I had difficulty experiencing my emotions and after some trial and error, I eventually started bottling them up. Later in high school, I faced a challenge that ignited my interest in the mind-body-spirit connection and that led me on a journey of self-discovery.

 

Since then, I have been immersing myself in holistic wellness practices. I'm passionate about sharing tools that have worked for me and I'm constantly exploring new ones. Over the years, I've worked with kids and adults across different educational settings teaching kindergarten, English, kundalini yoga, and SEL to families and kids. I currently share social-emotional and self-empowerment skills with children, offer consulting services/develop curricula for different centers, and am also an SEL research and development coordinator for an organization in New Jersey.  In my classes, I focus on creating an environment where students feel comfortable and safe to open up to new topics and where they can learn while having fun. My background is in communication studies, kundalini yoga, and ​transpersonal psychology. I incorporate these practices in the sessions through the use of body consciousness, music, breath work, and other techniques that highlight self-expression.  Some of my deep interests include alternative education methods, the development of our human potential, nature, and writing.

 

My intention with these classes is to give kids the tools that I believe are integral life skills, so they can understand themselves and navigate their human experience in a better-prepared and more constructive way.

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