More About Me 

Hello! I'm so glad you're here. I'm Maria McNeal. I am a former elementary school teacher of ten years, and honestly, a lot of what I've learned about life and love and being fully human came from my many days with five to nine-year-olds inside the walls of my classroom. I learned patience, flexibility, compassion, how to really love another, and how to cultivate a non-reactive inner calm during even the most frustrating moments. Also, kids are awesome and hilarious and naturally mindful - they live in the moment, feel their feelings, tell you exactly how it is, and explore their world with a sense of wonder so beautiful, it often brings me to tears (to be fair though, I'm a crier). 

I transitioned out of the elementary classroom in 2021, shortly before I became a mother to my own lovely daughter. I'm also a wife, sister, daughter, friend, yogi, plant mom, lover of nature walks, and avid reader.

My projects, including my mindfulness podcast, children's book, and kids' yoga/meditation & mindfulness classes are born out of my own personal determination to practice being fully awake in my life after many years of autopilot, self-defeating behaviors, and when I got really quiet, a feeling that things just weren't quite right. Meditation and mindfulness practices allow me to slow down, take care of myself, calm my body and my mind when I get caught up in fear or anxiety, see my patterns and idiosyncrasies with humor and compassion, and move through tough moments with greater clarity. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. You're not either? Great. Welcome to being human.