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Victoria Yoffie

Victoria's Fav Challenge

Hope isn’t just positive thinking. Hope inspires action. Research shows that hope propels people into a problem-solving mindset. Problem solving can manifest through personal research, raising awareness or fundraising, creating a plan of action, or simply moving forward with purpose. This mindset lends itself to a “can do” attitude.

Victoria Yoffie

As an integrative therapist with over fifteen years of experience, I’ve witnessed how small changes yield big results! Commit to a healthier, simpler, and more inspired life. Challenge yourself in all the Yoffie Life disciplines—nutrition, cooking, simplicity, self-realization and self-discovery, relationships, and fitness—to achieve YOUR Yoffie Life!

Begin your wellness journey with one challenge today.

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Meet the Experts

Blaine Arin
Rebecca Baer
Sara Bartels
Courtney Bauer
Carine Bonnist
Candle Cafe Team
Dmitry R. Choklin
Patricia Consolazio
Nikki Croes
Christina Curtis
Jessica Decker
Dina D'Alessandro
Corinne Dietiker
Mariana Dineen
Maya Feller
Gina Flores
Judith Fujimura
Marissa Hubbard
Mary Wallace Jaensch
Jason Kolinsky
Diane L. MacDonald
Patricia Maples
Leah Matthews
Mike McGuire
Amy Schnelle Molina
Bonnie Ndoci
Collin Ranf
Jacqueline Pirtle
Ola Robbins
Lisa Rome
Stephanie Severe
Peggy Shelly
Alyssa Slanksy
Stephanie Sutherland
Angela Tilger
Marcie West
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Blaine Arin, Health-supportive Chef | Simmer

I bring good food and good health to the same plate. A natural-foods chef and teacher, I open people to the delicious possibilities of a plant-based diet. My passion is for cooking for energy and health challenges.
  1. Supplements are not substitutes—rely on real food for your nutrients.
  2. To improve your eating, focus on adding a variety of vegetables, beans, and whole grains to your plate instead of dieting away the “bad foods.”
  3. Make the most of your time in the kitchen by multiplying your healthy recipes—you must have healthy food choices in your home if you intend to eat for your health!
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Rebecca Baer, Nutritionist | Satisfy

In my private practice, I counsel clients concerning their dietary needs and create customized nutrition plans to fit each person's individual lifestyle. I help clients overcome weight and medical issues as well as aid in the development of their healthy lifestyles. Nutrition education for children and their parents as well as adults is the cornerstone of my practice and my professional mission. I am passionate about sharing my knowledge of the positive and negative effects of food in relation to the body with my clients and the Yoffie Life community. www.baernutrition.com 
  1. Always get in your fruits and vegetables! Think of your body like a plant—in order to survive, plants need water and sunlight. Our water and sunlight are fruits and vegetables.
  2. Losing weight and maintaining weight comes from a balanced diet. Cutting out whole groups of food, starving yourself, or swearing off foods is a surefire way to fail. Balance is key!
  3. To be the best you, incorporate good food, effective exercise, and sufficient sleep into your life. If any of those are missing, then your whole body will be out of whack and only partially functioning. So remember to eat, get moving, and get a good night’s sleep.
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Sara N. Bartels, RD, CDN, MAPP | Satisfy

I love the uniqueness of people. When I think about how many different human beings have lived, worked, loved, and parented throughout time, I am amazed. There have been so many unique points of view, different skills, and wisdoms that have shaped and progressed the world. My goal is to help people understand and develop their unique approach to growing in health.

My formal education and life’s experience has helped me develop skills to support people in their journey to achieve overall well-being. As a registered dietitian who has completed her masters in applied positive psychology (the science of mental well-being) at the University of Pennsylvania under the founder of the field, Dr. Martin Seligman, I have made it my goal to be a continual student of positive health behavior change. With eight years of research experience in nutrition education, my current research and work is based on combining the scholastic fields of positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, education, dietetics, and food science. My wellness-consulting approach aims to build on the areas in which people are already doing well and helps to develop skills in areas that need support by drawing on an individual's character strengths, learning style, and individual social and lifestyle differences. My goal is to help people thrive by supporting both physical and mental well-being.

  1. The words that you choose to use in life are extremely important. In creating health goals, use words like start, continue, support, increase, enhance, and develop the majority of the time. Avoid making goals that use the terms stop, decrease, avoid, dodge, and prevent.
  2. Eat 1/2 cup of beans per day. Consuming beans is of great benefit to your physical well-being. As a great source of fiber, protein, and complex carbs, they are the universal food for all eating patterns. They keep you feeling satisfied and help to support a healthy digestive system. If you have an issue with the result of eating beans, please contact me for information on the “bean escalation project.”
  3. Read Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. A very powerful book, whether it would be for you, your family, or your employees. Think about applying a Growth Mindset to your health.
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Courtney Bauer, Soul Expert | Soul

I grew up as the child who saw the sky a few shades different than the common eye. For a while, I described the colors just as they appeared, but over time, I learned it was much easier to describe it like everyone else. The same would be true for things I smelled, heard, touched, and tasted. What I know now as heightened sensibilities, back then, made me "weird" or even "crazy."

I spent many years struggling to be "normal" when what I truly longed for was to be valued and understood for my style of sensing the world. In response to this desire for "be-longing" I created a Mind + Body Curriculum devoted to the cultivation of the senses as gateways for daily self-care and sacred connection. It is my passion and calling to help others fall in love with the art of conscious living as a unique expression of their soul.

Each month I hope to inspire practical insights for the celebration of the Mind, Body, and Soul, mindful musings to motivate positive change, and intuitive wisdom and action-oriented skills for getting in touch with what moves YOU!

www.studioanya.com 
  1. Take a Moment: One day at a time can feel too short or too long depending on the day. After all, time is a relative concept, and life happens in a succession of moments. Get good at noticing more moments. Again and again and little by little, get in touch with the moment by checking in with your body. Being present in the moment doesn't take long and is the ultimate shortcut to experience life more fully.
  2. Live the Questions: Go light on the top-down mandates that fail to take into consideration the feelings of the body. Maintain a fresh perspective and well-honed receptivity to life's daily lessons by interviewing the body (which does not lie). Ask strategic questions that allow for feeling-based responses. Build trust and intimacy with "things" like bones, muscles, and organs. Stay curious, listen attentively—do not force answers. Always seek to understand, and wisdom will be the earned reward.
  3. Cherish the Breath: “Just breathe” is a good start, but what does that really mean? Take a moment to live the question. What is your relationship with the phrase "Just breathe"? Don't get stuck pontificating this phrase in your head. Keep it personal. Go to the direct source of wisdom on the subject—your body! Come to know the magic of the breath firsthand. Find out for yourself why to "just breathe" is, perhaps, the first if not the only step needed to answer even the most puzzling questions. In the process, you may also find the breath to be a most cherished ally that's been there all along.
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Carine Bonnist, ND | Spark

As a Naturopathic Doctor (ND), I help guide my patients toward optimal wellness, whether that means maintenance and prevention or addressing chronic ailments. We work together to determine the source of disease through a comprehensive intake and the indicated physical exams and lab tests. As no two people are the same, I practice individualized medicine to provide my patients with a customized treatment approach that focuses heavily on diet and lifestyle modifications, but also includes the use of botanicals, nutraceuticals, homeopathics, bodywork, and pharmaceuticals. My favorite part of being an ND is getting to really know my patients and establish a relationship in which we can work together to achieve their optimal physical and emotional well-being. I feel privileged every day to do what I do.

Dr. Bonnist is currently practicing at Shalva Clinic in Westport, CT.

  1. Health requires balance, love, and real food.
  2. Self-love, family, and friends are your best medicine.
  3. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on a food label, do not eat it.
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Candle Cafe Team | Simmer

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Dmitry R. Choklin, PT, DPT, CSCS, CKTP | Sweat

My doctorate in physical therapy from Stony Brook University enables me to apply my unique brand of therapeutic movement to the rehab setting. I believe that learning how to eliminate compensations through appropriate muscle engagement allows those in pain to live a pain-free life. Healing truly occurs when a patient both understands their own body and applies that understanding to their daily activities. My greatest joy is the look on a patient’s face when they tell me they are pain-free for the first time in months. These successes fuel my passion to teach you how your body works, and set you free to enjoy your life!
  1. Educate yourself about the pain you experience in your body.
  2. To address pain and discomfort, consider lifestyle changes such as conditioning your whole body in addition to focusing on specific muscular weaknesses.
  3. If pain persists, seek the help of a physical therapist to review your movement patterns and identify weaknesses and imbalances.
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Patricia Consolazio | Spark

It is said that parenthood should come with a guide. Consider that one of the most important jobs has no job description—in guiding, teaching, and shaping tomorrow’s leaders, we are left to wing it! Since entering motherhood in 1992, I’ve utilized a blend of lessons learned along the parenting journey to guide me. These lessons came from personal experience, family and friends (shoutout to Mom), intuition, common sense, resourcefulness, and love; but some of the biggest takeaways also came from desperation, accidental discovery, failure, and loss. I realized some of the best lessons are sitting and waiting in the most ordinary situations and in the crevices of life’s rockiest terrain.

Google wasn’t a thing in the 1990s, so we were forced to find other resources through which to make informed decisions that would benefit our children. Fast forward to today: As a mother and stepmother to five children ages 6 to 25, I’ve grown from young mom to old(er!) mom and realize that both of these mothers come with their own gifts. Raising children today with my husband and partner, with the retrospective knowledge that comes from having already raised children, is an opportunity that presents some interesting insights. I’m privileged to share these insights as they translate to effective parenting tricks and philosophies, many of which center around mindfulness. It’s my hope to help guide others to feel more “in control at the mast” in their own uncharted parenting journeys. It isn’t a perfect ride, ever, but it can be a profoundly rewarding experience when you let it take you where it will.

  1. Doing our best with thought and care leaves no place for guilt or regret (this forgiving philosophy applies to everything in life; not just parenting).
  2. Even if you pay attention, they will grow up quickly, but being in the moment once a day with your child means you’ll never ask when it happened; rather, you’ll have gratefully witnessed the evolution.
  3. Some of the best gifts we can give children are love, faith, and wings. Teaching children by caring example to love themselves and others, do for themselves and others, learn, work, play, live, and love with passion, and believe in something greater than ourselves—these are some things that can build strong, vibrant, and sustainable wings.
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Nikki Croes, Personal Chef and Nutrition Coach | Simmer

I believe that “food changes everything.” It’s what gives us the energy and strength to experience our limitless potential. As a personal chef and nutrition coach, it’s my mission to help busy people fuel their lives one delicious bite at a time.

Having trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, my focus is on creating nutritious, mouthwatering, (mostly) plant-based meals for my clients and their families. The recipes, tips, and stories I share aim to inspire your personal health and wellness revolution—and help you put real, good food back on the table.

  1. Healthy food doesn’t have to be bland, boring, or brown. Experiment with fresh produce, vibrant greens, and lots of herbs and spices.
  2. A good-quality olive oil makes all the difference. Look for varieties that are “organic” and “first cold pressed.”
  3. Eat in accordance with the seasons—Mother Nature knows best!
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Christina Curtis, MA, LMFT | Spark

I’m a very relational person. I think I was a relational kid and a precocious one—understanding pretty early on that this is it: we only get one life. So where was I going to direct my energy? I believe that, essentially, life is only as satisfying, only as worthwhile as the quality of our relationships. Something that is often said about the therapist/client relationship is: “it’s the relationship that heals.” It’s not about the therapist's philosophical framework, or even about their training, really. It’s about the therapist’s ability to create an atmosphere of trust, one where the client feels nurtured and accepted. It’s the relationship that heals, and it’s the same outside of the therapy office, of course! We are social animals and our self-definition, our ability to be happy and successful, depends upon our ability to connect deeply and meaningfully with others. A natural starting place is in the marital relationship. I see couples across the spectrum—I do a great deal of premarital counseling and also see couples of all ages who have been together longer. It’s a privilege to be involved in work where I help clients feel closer to their partner, and parents feel closer to their children, where I can teach people to resolve conflicts in a healthy ways. I truly believe that the marriage (and thus the family) is the foundation for the whole community. If families are functioning in a healthy, respectful way with each other, the society as a whole is strengthened.

www.midtownmarriageandfamilytherapy.com 

  1. Avoid cynicism at all costs: in your relationship, with friends, in your work, in the world.
  2. Avoid ambivalence at all costs: live, love, get hurt. Experience joy, make mistakes . . . just don’t sit on the fence all your life.
  3. Cultivate patience and kindness and compassion with your partner. All in good time, a nurturing attitude will reward you.
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Jessica Decker, MBA, Professional Organizer | Simplify

As a professional organizer, my passion is helping people create order and live a better life. My happiest moments are when I see stress leave a client’s face as a result of one of our sessions.

A special part of my profession is developing meaningful relationships with my clients—learning their personal and family history and watching their future develop into one that is organized, happier, and healthier. I am honored that clients open themselves and their homes to me, and work with me to develop systems that add ease to their life. I never judge a client’s level of disorganization; I only feel grateful that they care enough to reach out to me and are ready to change their life.

  1. You have to be ready to embrace change to be organized.
  2. You can’t hide things in a closet. They will always come back to haunt you.
  3. Organization a process and a way of life; it doesn’t happen overnight.
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Dina R. D’Alessandro, Healthful Lifestyle Coach | Satisfy

For over thirty years, I have been obsessed with food, cooking, and nutrition, but my professional career shot off in a different direction soon after I graduated college when I became a meeting planner and project manager. About nine years ago, as a hobby, I started coaching people in reaching their personal and professional goals, and in early 2013, I decided to formally pursue a master of science in nutrition and officially combine these passions and skills of mine into the DishWithDina programs to focus specifically on healthful lifestyle habits.

I am committed to helping people embrace and develop new relationships with food, whether that means incorporating a different way of eating into their normal routines, establishing better at-home cooking and meal-planning skills, or shopping smarter in their local supermarkets.

What I continue to learn is that everybody is different. There is no one diet, fitness regimen, daily routine, or productivity program that suits everyone. My hope is to share with the Yoffie Life community useful challenges and information––and to develop a mutually beneficial relationship.

dishwithdina.com 
  1. To fend off impulsive eating, prepare a weekly meal plan and do your best to stick to it.
  2. Don't eat anything without knowing exactly what's in it first.
  3. You have way more power as a consumer than you think.
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Corinne Dietiker, Well-being and Development Professional | Soul

I discovered yoga by accident, literally. I then had the opportunity to explore different yoga styles with teachers around the world, as I worked in international community development efforts in Africa, Asia, and Europe. I eventually certified as a yoga and mindfulness teacher (595 Yoga Alliance hours), offering various styles to people ranging in age from 3 to 82, in several languages, to many cultural groups in different places, including on a sailboat, in studios, and at refugee camps.

I love to adapt my sessions to the unique situation and needs of my fellow yogis. My goal is to teach yoga, but even more so to share ideas that integrate a little peace, love, lightness, and wellbeing in daily life. I aim to use my skills, teachings, and experiences to support others in their life journey. As it is your life journey, it is important to me that you decide where you wish to travel— you are worth it.

  1. Love. Love yourself. Be love. Feel it. Then share it. It grows. Within you, and around you. And the best part: it comes back to you.
  2. Keep being well. Keep doing what makes you happy. Keep sharing good vibes. Keep smiling. Keep breathing consciously. Keep exercising. Keep eating well.
  3. Peace, please. Take a moment to connect with yourself. Find your inner peace. It’s the biggest gift you can give yourself and to others. Inner peace contributes to world peace.
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Mariana Dinnen, MS, RD | Satisfy

Nutrition is the foundation of a healthier and happier life, and as a registered dietitian, I feel blessed to help guide people on their path to health and happiness. Everything starts with choosing delicious and nutritious foods to nurture your body, mind, and soul. I believe in a whole-person approach to nutrition, and my mission is to provide the support, tools, and resources to help you be the most nutritious, healthiest, productive, happiest, fun, and beautiful you.

  1. Forget about counting calories. Nutrition does not have to be that complicated; focus on eating real and wholesome foods.
  2. Plan ahead. Lack of time can get in the way of eating well-balanced meals, but twenty minutes of meal planning once a week can help your life run smoothly and ensure you eat nutritiously.
  3. Love yourself. The best way to achieve a healthy lifestyle is with self-love, self-confidence, and self-acceptance.
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Gina Flores, CA, CST, LMT | Simplify

As a Certified Aromatherapy Health Practitioner, Certified CranioSacral Therapist, and Licensed Massage Therapist, my work always takes a holistic approach to health and healing. We humans have very intelligent bodies with an inner wisdom. Every single cell, and every single system, in our bodies is directly related to and has conversations with one another. Finding and maintaining health, as well as overcoming “dis-ease”is about these “internal conversations.”

My role as a therapist is facilitator and educator. My clients find relief from pain, both physical and emotional, through the use of these multidimensional therapeutic modalities. I love teaching my clients about their wondrous bodies, and through this anatomical knowledge they learn to access a plethora of information to assist their obtaining “ease”and well-being. I guide them through rehabilitative exercise, diet, and lifestyle changes as well.

I am dedicated to helping you become your best, and look forward to sharing my love and passion with this community.

www.essentialbodywisdom.com 
  1. There is an extraordinary ability of self-healing within the human body; trust, honor, and support that ability.
  2. There is a biology to our belief systems.
  3. Mainstream healthcare of the future will include new paradigms that focus on the whole bodyand not the “parts.”
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Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, CLC | Satisfy

I am a registered dietitian nutritionist with a certification in lactation counseling.
I see clients for pre- and postnatal nutrition, family nutrition, and medical nutrition therapy. I am adjunct faculty at New York University in the department of Nutrition Foods Studies and Public Health.

I believe that good nutrition starts from the ground up! In my practice I work from a holistic perspective. I focus on the individual or family, and work to create a nutrition prescription that is both realistic and sustainable to help my patients achieve their nutrition-related goals while improving their health outcomes.

  1. Good nutrition is more than protein, fats, and carbs. A healthful balanced diet is based on real food with recognizable names.
  2. What you eat can inform the quality and duration of your life!
  3. Cook! Learn to cook and love it!
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Judith L. Beebe, MA, LMFT | Spark

People and their relationships are my passion. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, working with couples, parents and children, teens, and young adults. Many of my clients come to the Judy Cares office to explore a mood problem, and to find out how their mood affects their relationships, and how their relationships affect their mood. Others are facing critical transitions or major stresses, and want to build strong, nourishing relationships that can withstand stress.

Most people believe that their sexuality is an important part of their identity and their relationship, but few realize that their sexuality can add life and deep meaning to their day-to-day lives in a holistic way, and that their day-to-day lives have a huge impact on their sexuality. I'm passionate about helping couples experience this life-giving connectedness between their sexuality and their day-to-day lives. I also help couples talk through and address sexual roadblocks and problems that they encounter together.

judycares.com
  1. Remember that you are sexual, regardless of your age or relationship status.
  2. Accept and nurture your body every day.
  3. Every day, find at least one reason to value yourself as a person, and to value someone you love.
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Marissa Hubbard, Wellness Chef | Simmer

As a wellness chef at a health-foods market and a personal chef to some very wonderful people, I take great joy in providing tasty and wholesome food to others.

I chose the path of cooking for health and wellness because I genuinely want to help people along their healing paths. I believe no person must sacrifice enjoying their meals in order to treat their body well, and I am here to share some of my favorite healthful recipes that pack a nutritional punch and taste as good as they are for you!

I also love to be in nature—hiking, swimming, going for a long run, and gardening. For me, exercise and sunshine go hand in hand with eating for wellness. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a good cookie!

  1. To feel your best, include whole, unprocessed foods, straight from the earth, in your everyday diet.
  2. Get outside every day, feel the sun, go for a walk, and enjoy the outdoors.
  3. Take time to appreciate what you have in life, including each and every meal.
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Mary Wallace Jaensch, Chief Design Officer, Last Big Gig | Simplify

Many people dream and desire to design career opportunities and options that let them do what they want to do, the way that they want to do it, with the people with whom they want to do it. The challenge is how to connect passions and dreams with skills and capabilities to design and build tangible, pragmatic career possibilities. Helping design amazing professional options is my purpose. After a long career working with Fortune 100 companies, innovating and creating new ideas to grow their businesses, I am using my experience, proven innovation and change tools, and love for new solutions to support people seeking new options and opportunities within their own careers. It often takes stepping off the proven path and creating something brand-new; it takes the willingness to rediscover your own passions and desires. And it is usually exciting and fun.
  1. Take a breath, a moment to listen to your heart about what is meaningful to you.
  2. Write a new ending to the career story that you have written so far.
  3. Let go of a few “shoulds” to make room for a few new possibilities.
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Jason M. Kolinsky, CFP® | Simplify

I am an investment advisor representative with Kolinsky Wealth Management, LLC (KWM), SEC-registered investment advisor, and life and health insurance producer and chief compliance officer for Kolinsky Financial Group, Inc. I joined the firm in 2007 and am a registered representative and a registered principal with American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. I obtained my Certified Financial Planner™ certification in 2012.

At KWM, I focus on financial planning strategies and wealth management solutions for businesses and individuals. I am also the practice leader for the Retirement Consulting Division, which focuses on providing fiduciary investment guidance to plan sponsors and participants of qualified retirement plans.

My professional memberships include Top of the Table at the Million Dollar Round Table and the Financial Planning Association. I oserve as treasurer of both the Ramsey (NJ) Chamber of Commerce and Rockland Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependence. I hold a B.S. in business administration (finance concentration) from Ramapo College of New Jersey, and reside with my wife Carolynn in Ramsey, NJ.

Advisory Services offered through Kolinsky Wealth Management, LLC an independent Registered Investment Advisor, Securities offered through American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC, Kolinsky Wealth Management, LLC is not affiliated with American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.® owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

This material is for informational purposes only. Neither Kolinsky Wealth, APFS nor its Representatives provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal or accounting professional before making any decisions.

  1. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Create a financial plan for yourself and your family. This plan should have clearly defined goals that can be tracked over time. Just having a financial plan in place puts you ahead of 75 percent of the population!e (A recent study by Charles Schwab found that only 1 in 4 people have a written plan).
  2. Track your expenses by creating a budget. Understanding where your money is being spent is crucial to achieving financial freedom. Start by setting up an Excel spreadsheet or downloading a personal finance app such as MINT to track expenses. Monitor your budget month to month so you maintain awareness of your spending habits.
  3. Save for your future. A general rule of thumb is that you should save 15 to 20 percent of your annual income for retirement.
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Diane L. MacDonald, Med, NLP CP, RYT 200 | Spark

For the twenty-five years of my adult working life, I have been a small business owner and consultant as well as a woman passionate about health, wellness, challenging the norms, and searching to find meaning and satisfaction in my life and my work. I have experienced many occupations—mother, teacher, consultant, business owner, yoga practitioner, lover, friend, wife, and now a single woman. I have uncovered in my journey a sense of personal empowerment and fulfillment generated through self-examination, vulnerability, and harnessing a deep awareness of my authentic self. The road is not always smooth, but even in those difficult moments, these tools have supported me to continue moving forward and have led me to transform my work in the world. My commitment is to inspire women to unleash their personal power, drive through external and internal obstacles, connect to their authentic soul, and move consistently toward the discovery of their vision and purpose.
  1. Be willing to be 100 percent responsible for your actions, your communications, and your life.
  2. Live not with expectation but with intention, and trust that the right path will unfold.
  3. Be bold, be vulnerable, be authentic, and take time every day to love and acknowledge the beautiful and amazing woman you are.
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Patricia Maples, ERYT, CMT | Sweat

I am honored to be a part of Yoffie Life and so very grateful to do what I enjoy as a profession. A phrase I use often when discussing the human body is “glorious machine” because that is how I experience and see our physical form. Our bodies are our vehicles, for better or worse. They allow us to navigate the outside world, and they are the repositories of our vast inner terrain. It is through our physical bodies that we begin to access all the possibilities life offers. My goal is to assist you in understanding and conditioning your body so that you may experience your life via a finely tuned instrument, an instrument tuned to your personal frequency. I draw from multiple methods and lineages, but my purpose is always to help you, to the best of your abilities, find efficiency and balance in movement and structure.
  1. Know your body.
  2. Locate your center.
  3. Move with consciousness (for this, many thanks to Alison West).
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Leah Matthews, NASM-CPT, RYT, PMA, PN, TYM | Simplify

I have always been a mover and I have always been an explorer. I love hearing my parents recall the nights I would sneak out of my crib as a toddler. Hours after being put to bed, I’d crawl into the living room to greet them with a grin from ear to ear. My mother would think, "Did we forget to put up the gate?” or “Did I leave the bars on the crib down?" No such luck. The gate between the dining room and the kitchen was up. The bars on the crib were in place. Somehow I managed to crawl (I couldn’t even walk yet) over both, literally! After those surprise visits, nothing shocked my parents when it came to me. I competed in gymnastics, dozens upon dozens of dance recitals, and was even hit by a car twice, virtually unscathed. I was always moving and always stronger than I seemed. It is no surprise that I would pursue a career in fitness.

I love to train! I love getting my ass kicked! Feeling my heart race! Gasping for air because I've conquered a challenge. Catching a wave, that beautiful moment of freedom after dozens of fails! Hopping off a ski lift and making it down the trail even though I'm terrified of heights! Taking in an amazing view after a seriously buggy, bristly-ass hike! But even more so, I love to watch another person become stronger, faster, slimmer, or more mobile right before my eyes. I love knowing that the work we do together has a positive benefit in their lives. My clients and I WORK HARD. But we have a lot of fun doing it! Finding that perfect balance between hard work and fun is very important because life is hard. Life takes work! Life takes strength, diligence, endurance, and direction. I firmly believe that the necessary qualities one needs to build and maintain a happy and successful life can be cultivated within a great fitness regime.

http://leahmatthewstraining.com 
  1. Respecting your body and self-respect are virtually the same thing.
  2. Food is fuel—what you put in affects energetic output.
  3. "If you don't have 'enough time' to meditate you need to reorganize your schedule." - Lady Ruth, Jivamukti Yoga School
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Mike McGuire, Style Maven | Simplify

Fashion is transformational; the way we style ourselves can have a major impact on how we feel about ourselves and the way others perceive us. When I get dressed in the morning, I ask myself what role I want to play in the world that day, and which aspects of my personality I would like to highlight through my sartorial choices. Utilizing my experience as a stylist, design assistant, and fashion week regular, it is my goal to help others discover fashion as a tool for self-discovery, creative expression, and personal and professional advancement.
  1. Seek inspiration. Go on Instagram, watch movies, and flip through magazines, taking note every time you see someone whose style you like. Use their style as inspiration when creating looks of your own, and make adjustments to suit your body, lifestyle, and personality.
  2. Choose quality over quantity. We are more likely to discard cheap, mass-produced items than expensive ones. Rather than spend your money on a wardrobe of disposable clothing, invest in a few timeless, high-quality garments that will last you for years to come.
  3. Be true to yourself. Great style isn’t about accumulating a wardrobe of designer clothes or blindly following the latest trends; it’s about authenticity. Experiment with different silhouettes, patterns, textures, and accessories, and choose what makes you feel like yourself—your best self.
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Amy Schnelle Molina, Chef | Simmer

A natural-food chef and recipe writer based in New York, I am guided by the belief that eating healthfully and deliciously are not mutually exclusive! My passion for teaching is focused on my love for helping individuals overcome any kitchen intimidation. As an animal lover and the granddaughter of potato farmers, I have a culinary ideology deeply rooted in the use of seasonal and ethically raised ingredients that support local farmers.
  1. No meal is complete without leafy greens—this includes breakfast!
  2. Nourish yourself with a wide variety of foods throughout the week.
  3. Eat mindfully—unplug the TV, hide your phone, and enjoy your meal.
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Bonnie Ndoci, LE | Simplify

After putting myself through school to follow my passion for skincare, and years of studying and developing an expertise in my field, I opened Facials by Bonnie to offer custom-tailored treatments and self-care routines to address the needs of individual clients. While some subscribe to a one-size-fits-all approach toward skincare, I remain steadfast in the belief that skincare is personal.

I am passionate about educating you, the Yoffie Life community, on your personal skincare needs and how to implement your self-designed skincare routine. I am dedicated to continually learning and evolving in the skincare industry, always striving to perfect my craft, and bringing you the best and most advanced skincare information available.

  1. Determine your skin type and make skin-related decisions accordingly.
  2. Remove your makeup every night before you go to sleep. Your skin will thank you.
  3. Apply SPF every day, 365 days a year.
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Collin Ranf, RYT 500 | Sweat

I am a mountain man from Montana. I chop wood, fly fish, and hunt. I am an artist in New York City. I dance, meditate, and practice yoga. I am a teacher. I teach yoga, Pilates, and relaxation techniques. All of these parts of me shape the lens through which I see the world. I encourage people to integrate their whole selves, all parts of their being, into their wellness practices. I emphasize alignment, breath work, and body education in my teaching and coaching. Each day I challenge myself to find more beauty and to love my life more fully than the last. I believe that simple shifts in practice and perspective can change your life and your world.
  1. Integrate physical activity into your daily routine.
  2. Be aware of your posture.
  3. Know how to access your core strength.
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Jacqueline Pirtle, Best-selling Author of 365 Days of Happiness | Soul

Jacqueline Pirtle has been leading life-changing workshops, talks, and private sessions since 2006. Her passion for “sprinkling happiness” and being “high for life” shines through in all of her work as an energy healer and mindfulness and happiness coach. She is the best-selling author of 365 Days of Happiness, a step-by-step guide to being happy. Sign up at www.freakyhealer.com to instantly receive a free copy of the book’s introduction. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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Ola Robbins, MPhil | Soul

I spent most of my childhood in Placitas, New Mexico, with an artist mother who taught me to recognize the beauty in the forms, objects, and people that surround us daily. But it wasn’t until my first art history course in college—Revolution in the Arts—that I discovered that by analyzing art I could learn about religion, psychology, philosophy, literature, etc. That course set me on a path to pursue my PhD in art history, teach art history at the college level, and research and write about art, as well as interview and feature artists for a local newspaper. In all of my endeavors, I aim to inspire people to look critically at the world around them, and to use art as a tool to understand the interconnectedness of human experiences throughout time.

My passion for all that art ushers into our lives can only be surpassed by the joy of introducing my beautiful and spirited little girl to the wonders of the world. She continually teaches me to examine things as if I’m seeing them for the first time—a lesson that I bring to my students when they’re assessing a work of art. I aspire to show my family, friends, and students that studying art teaches us more about the world we live in and ourselves. That I’m broadening the minds of others and, indeed, speaking to their souls, assures me that I’m living my life to the fullest.

  1. Always examine art and everything around you from a variety of perspectives.
  2. Take the time to discover your own creative impulses.
  3. When visiting a new city, always visit the local art museum to understand its soul.
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Lisa Rome | Simplify

I’m inspired by the brilliance and beauty of the natural world, along with an acute awareness of the delicate balance it requires and the current manmade dangers facing environmental and human health. I am called by an eagerness to simplify and translate the big picture of sustainability into bite-size pieces with everyday actions. So much of sustainability is misunderstood and miscommunicated, and I hope to change the conversation about the environment by looking for real solutions instead of surface methods that further contribute to the problems.

I am committed to helping others understand their own everyday impact on the planet, and how they can transform personal and organizational daily practices to contribute to healing themselves and the planet. Our health is inextricably linked to the nourishment provided by the earth, whereas our industrial consumerist society operates from a conflicting mindset; many of our health imbalances arise from imbalance with nature. I love working with individuals and conscious organizations that care about making the world a better place for all.

I earned her master’s in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University, a Buddhist-inspired contemplative education with a focus on inner and systems transformation.

  1. Go outside. The solutions you seek will organically emerge in connection with nature
  2. Slow down. Doing less will give you more of what’s most important, both personally and globally
  3. Enjoy what you have. Buy what you need. Skip the extra stuff.
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Stephanie Severe, NASM Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist & Qoya Instructor | Sweat

When I exercise, I feel like I've come home. I land in my body each and every time, and reconnect with myself. This realization came after I graduated from high school and has stuck with me, grown in various ways, and guided me both personally and professionally.

My biggest desires in my work are to share this relationship—which is available to all of us—with my clients, who are seeking a deeper and more positive connection with their bodies and fitness. I believe the possibility is always there, although slightly different for each of us, and once acknowledged we can create the changes in our health and wellness practices that will carry us through our lifetimes.

  1. Listen to what your body is truly asking.
  2. You'll never regret moving your body. Take every opportunity you can to move.
  3. Search for the joy in your movement choices, and let go of the ones that don't feel good.
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Peggy Shelly, Home Cook | Simmer

I started to appreciate the benefits of cooking for myself when I was in graduate school—money was tight, and a girl can have only so many dinners of grilled cheese sandwiches and Campbell’s tomato soup. Once I decided to cook for myself, I had the support of the many talented cooks and bakers in my family, and to round out my skills, formal cooking classes. It is these years of learning, along with a strong belief that cooking is the best way to manage your wallet and your waistline, that inspire my recipes.
  1. The best quality ingredients, simply prepared, are the foundation of all great meals.
  2. A big batch of soup made on a Sunday afternoon, along with bunches of salad greens, will carry you through many a busy work night.
  3. Everything tastes better when seasoned to taste—so taste your food often as you cook and trust your palate!
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Alyssa Slansky, MA, LMFT | Spark

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist with a private practice focusing on couples, families and individual adults, teens, and children. My goal is to help people navigate their way toward creating healthy, fulfilling quality relationships in life.

My clients often come to me facing the most difficult challenges of their lives. I value their trust in me, and am honored to be a support for them as they embark on their journey toward awareness and healing. I strive to create an environment that encourages self-exploration and personal growth.

I continue to learn so much from my clients, as I watch them grow and cultivate more meaningful, substantial relationships. I look forward to being able to impart some of the lessons I have learned here in the Yoffie Life community

  1. Be mindful of each moment you are given—each moment is a gift.
  2. Learn to be comfortable spending time alone. Being kind to yourself allows you to be kind to others.
  3. Be open to changing your perspective. Change is what makes progress possible.
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Stephanie Sutherland, RYT 500, Pilates Teacher and Bodyworker | Soul

Having grown up in the Catskill Mountains of New York, I treasure the healing power of being in nature, and how doing so connects your mind and spirit to something greater. Being a dancer since the age of three enhanced this union, as I learned how it felt to be fully present and in control of my body. In my core being, I believe we are all happiest when we feel this sense of presence and life in our bodies, and are connected to some greater good outside of ourselves. To me, this is health and well-being, and my yearning to help others discover this within themselves has led me to study meditation, yoga, Pilates, massage therapy, Reiki and energy work, and integrative movement therapy. I feel honored to help people slow down, breathe, de-stress, heal, strengthen, and connect back with themselves. When we feel calm and centered within, we are better people to each other and this world.
  1. Consider your actions. Be kind to yourself, others, living creatures and non-living things, and all that is in this world. In the end, what we do for others matters the most and leaves the biggest impact.
  2. Listen. We can learn so much from this humble act.
  3. Find your happiness. Seek out people and experiences that fill you with life, make you smile, laugh, feel inspired, and feel the most alive.
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Angela Tilger, RT(R)M | Spark

I'm a (single) mom with a gypsy soul and a bad case of wanderlust. Travel and exploration are favorite pastimes of our family. It makes my heart so happy to share new places, experiences, and cultures with my boys. We are currently working our way through all 50 states and they have already collected several stamps in their passports! I see life, love, and happiness as a journey rather than a destination and I am always seeking balance; practice rather than perfection. I love learning new things and have recently taken up skateboarding, surfing, and sailing as we continue to embrace our coastal Florida lifestyle. I am passionate about health and wellness, particularly in the lives of women. I have been called to encourage others to step into their power, find their purpose and to live their best lives be it through my day job as a Mammogram Technologist or through my passion projects as a student/practitioner of yoga, meditation, and spirituality. I truly enjoy inspiring others while sharing my own inspirations, struggles, and triumphs as we learn together to care for our mind, body, and soul and to live our best lives.

www.mommyoverboard.com

  1. Love Yourself! We’ve heard it countless time, but it remains an absolute truth- you can’t pour from an empty cup. Loving and caring for yourself, your health and your wellbeing is the only way that you will be able to effectively care for your loved ones.
  2. Take Fearless Action! Do not live a life of regret; take risks and go all in with your full heart. Telling the Universe what you expect from it is the first step to reaching your goals and turning your dreams into reality.
  3. Forgive Yourself! No one gets through life without making mistakes. Rather than focusing on the missteps, become obsessively grateful for each day, each opportunity, and each breath and watch how your world begins to change before your eyes.
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Marcie Anne West, Holistic Health Coach, Elementary School Teacher | Spark

As an elementary school teacher, I guide children in their educational and personal development. Maximizing a child’s ability to thrive in my classroom, and in the future, requires me to investigate and meet their individual needs. Early in my career I determined that children need extra support in building their self-esteem and improving their physical health.

My passion in meeting this goal led me to pursue training in holistic health counseling and yoga for children. This education made me realize it is not simply what a child eats that defines his or her overall health. A child’s self-esteem and personal growth are directly linked to how they treat their body and how they imagine the world sees them. It is my goal to build the confidence of children and increase their respect for themselves. I work daily to provide academic and emotional support and to educate parents on how they can support their child’s educational and physical wellness. My goal is to teach parents that with small changes in perspective and approach, guiding their children toward holistic wellness is attainable.

  1. Encourage your child’s individuality.
  2. Be a consistent model of good physical health and positive behavior.
  3. Hug your child daily . . . it goes further than you might think.
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