https://www.instagram.com/p/BhNGJT1FKGy/?taken-by=maggiedipasquale
What to do if you’ve been Hurt
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg4O6XIlmi8/?taken-by=maggiedipasquale
The Subtle Ways to be Sweetly Seen
✨Tried to write a blog, but came out easier as a video! What I’ve been working on lately with my students (and myself): The Subtle Ways to be Sweetly Seen✨
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be8r39CFgon/?taken-by=maggiedipasquale
I am in Awe & Why you Should be Too
I heard from a lot of girls that they had the back-to-school scaries and I felt it too. Getting into the swing of things can be difficult after break (and now a snow day).
So I decided to make a list of all the resources I had for girls to help make their transition easier, but it turned into a moment where I began to reflect on what I have created. It reminded me of when I used to choreograph for dance. I would hear music and be able to see how I wanted everyone to move in my mind. After months of practice, it was complete on stage. What was once in my head, had become something greater than myself with the help of others. It conjured awe and that’s what looking at my mentoring practice feels like for me. I am in awe.
Last spring while I finished up school, I started to babysit a precocious two year old. I would try (and fail) to define awe. When we would look at the clear New York City skyline from Hoboken, I’d try to convey awe in terms of wonder. One night we chased a big full moon. Awe in terms of vastness. How I wouldn’t see him for a week and by the next time I was over, he’d have all these new words in his vocabulary. Awe from being amazed. This is what I feel when I look at the girls I’ve mentored. The feeling of being blown away, largely thanks to all of you.
I encourage everyone to seek out moments of wonder, not only because it feels good, but studies have even found, “connections between the experience of awe and enhanced critical and creative thinking faculties, improved health, a sense of embeddedness into collective folds and an increase in pro-social behaviours such as kindness, self-sacrifice, co-operation and resource-sharing,” (Psychology Today).
Thank you for all the awe and wishing you a 2018 full of wonder.
How to Reflect on 2017
Last week, I held a Holiday HangIn in Hoboken where my students and I reflected on our milestones of 2017, shared what we are grateful for, and set intentions for 2018.
A fun way to look at all the different ways that the girls have grown is to use a blank calendar and fill it out with all the big (both positive and negative) milestones that have happened over the year. It would be fun to fill out one as a family!
Wishing everyone a happy healthy holiday! I’m so appreciative of all the girls that shared themselves with me this year. I am so lucky. We have new mentoring and yoga classes happening in January! Can’t wait to spend time with you in the new year!
Love,
Maggie
Everyone is Lying on Social Media and So Am I
Here’s a super personal one:
Everyone is lying on social media and so am I.
I always remind the girls I work with that people online only show you what they want you to see and I’m included in this. There are a million things I’m not sharing here. I haven’t shared that I was robbed a few weeks ago in my own building or that I have about zero holiday spirit since my grandparents passed away. Even now, I’m purposely leaving things out of my story both good and bad. With how easily it is to mindlessly scroll through social media, it’s important to remember that what we see isn’t the whole picture.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we share ourselves and how much time I spend online after reading statements from an interview Sean Parker, the onetime founding president of Facebook and co-founder of Napster, gave about social media:
“We need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever. And that’s going to get you to contribute more content, and that’s going to get you … more likes and comments… It’s a social-validation feedback loop … exactly the kind of thing that a hacker like myself would come up with, because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology… God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”
I am hypocritically posting publicly, but Parker’s comments made me think about how I don’t want to be addicted to the dopamine hits of “likes and comments” especially when the forum is inherently inauthentic. Why do I zone out of my own life to watch other people’s fake lives? I’m in my 20’s and struggle with this. Imagine the susceptibility of adolescents who are searching for identity and seeking the approval of peers during an incredibly transformative period of time. Of course, there are benefits to social media, but this is something that has shifted my online usage and that is something I want to share.
Good Vibes are Self Made
I wanted to share a story that I’ve used with my girls in my mentoring sessions. Recently, I saw a man with a shirt that said: Good Vibes Self Made and it inspired me! Sometimes I think we get really stuck in looking to things on the outside to make us feel good on the inside. We want the people and situations around us to change in order to make us feel better. Any emotion that you want to feel can be yours if you choose it. This can happen despite external circumstances because everyone is responsible for their own happiness. Good vibes are indeed are self made.
Need help raising your vibe? I got you!
- New yoga classes coming up in Ho-Ho-Kus and Hoboken
- Eating for Anxiety Talk with the Body Image Boutique
- Also as always would love to help your daughters feel confident in our one-on-ones!
Please feel free to reach out with any questions!!
The Secret to Raising Capable Kids
Even though much of my work is focused on mentoring teens, I spend just as much time speaking with moms. I hear about their hopes and worries for their girls. One common theme that’s popped up centers around raising capable kids. Everyone wants their daughters to be able to take care and advocate for themselves. It might seem backwards, but one of my secrets to raising capable kids is to let them fail.
I was given permission to share the following story:
I had a mom recently whose daughter was really excited and motivated to try out for the school play. The mom was concerned because her daughter didn’t have play experience before and the kids in the class could be particularly cruel. She wanted my advice about what to do. I suggested that if her daughter was excited and wanted to do it then she should let her. If she made the play it was a great learning experience. If she didn’t make the play it was a great learning experience.
Even though we want to, we can’t protect our kids from everything. We can guide them and help pick them up when they fall down. I think it’s important for girls to know that even when things don’t work out the way they hoped, they can learn and grow from experiences. Capable kids have the ability to trust themselves, which starts with their parents trusting them too.
Eclipse Ritual you can do (anytime) to let go of Stress
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From Stressed out to Zenned Out Q & A
Last week, I had a Q&A with Kids Yoga Daily. It was such a fun convo that I wanted to share! Hope you enjoy it!
Maggie DiPasquale, author of, “From StressedOut to Zenned Out: A wellness guide to mind, body, soul balance
KYD: Why did you decide to pen this book?
MD: I really wanted students to have resources to help them feel better, especially around managing stress. I run all these great groups and work with students one-on-one and wanted to give girls tools to have at home. Everyone is so stressed and I think we overlook how debilitating it is. You can’t be doing your best or working at full capacity if you’re stressed and anxious.
KYD: Who is the book aimed at?