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We’re thrilled to share that Angelina Manriquez, one of our Indigenous Initiative trainees, recently published her third book, Me! A Mind-Body Awareness Book for Kids.

Meet Angelina Manriquez

Angelina’s story is one of resilience, self-discovery, and empowerment. Through our Indigenous Initiative, she completed our Professional Training Program (PTP) and Advanced Training Program (ATP), where she deepened her understanding of the connections between trauma, the body, and healing. She shares that these trainings helped her grasp how a “chaotic mind” affects the body’s internal organs and how it impaired her ability to think and create.

When PTSD and dietary challenges threatened her health, Angelina turned to the mind-body skills she learned from PTP and ATP. By integrating these practices into her daily life, she realigned her physical and emotional well-being, ultimately completing her third children’s book. The knowledge and emotional awareness she gained allowed her to continue her creative work and deepen her relationship with herself.

About Me! A Mind-Body Awareness Book for Kids

Me! A Mind-Body Awareness Book for Kids explores the healing potential of self-awareness and self-care for adolescents. The book reflects the principles Angelina learned during her mind-body journey and introduces young readers to the power of mindfulness, body awareness, and emotional connection. Several techniques that Angelina learned from our trainings can be found in the book, including Soft-Belly Breathing, body tapping, and other mindfulness meditation practices.  

About CMBM’s Indigenous Initiative

Our Indigenous Initiative is a grant-funded program that supports Indigenous communities across the U.S. through mind-body medicine training, certification opportunities, and ongoing community-based healing work. Guided by Indigenous elders and in collaboration with tribal communities, our approach integrates traditional healing with evidence-based practices. Since 2008, we have partnered with over 30 tribal nations, training more than 800 Indigenous leaders, medical professionals, and educators to bring healing tools to their communities.

Angelina’s journey exemplifies the profound impact of our work—supporting individuals as they heal, grow, and give back to their communities. We congratulate her on this accomplishment and look forward to continuing to follow her journey. 

Learn more about Angelina’s work and purchase her book.

Watch Angelina read her first book, Breath Friends Forever on YouTube.

This week, Certified Alumni Alicia Jaramillo, LMHC and Lauren Ouellette unveiled Cross Creek School’s new mindfulness classroom, the “Find Your Center: Mindfulness Zen Room.” Our Founder and CEO James S. Gordon, MD and Chief Operating Officer Randi Mitev, MA joined them in Broward County, FL to celebrate!

In 2018, community leaders in Broward County invited us to bring hope and healing to students, faculty, and community members experiencing mass trauma after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Through our collaboration with Broward County Public Schools, the Children’s Services Council of Broward County, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, we were able to share our model with educators across the county.

Our work has flourished in Broward County since we first began our engagement six years ago. Since 2018, 650 Broward peer counselors, teachers, parents, and community service providers have completed our Professional and Advanced Training Programs (PTP and ATP), including Certified Alumni Alicia Jaramillo, LMHC and Lauren Ouellette.

After meeting in ATP, School Counseling Director Alicia and Lauren, a Cross Creek Teacher, began a collaboration to bring this work to their students at Cross Creek School, many of whom have lived through significant trauma and continue to experience emotional and/or behavioral disorders. In 2021, Alicia and Lauren began leading Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) at their school.

While students and staff benefited greatly from their initial MBSGs, school leadership encouraged Alicia to seek funding and expand her trauma healing project. She set her sights on creating a permanent mind-body classroom for their students, one that could amplify and complement the calming impact of mind-body skills. In 2022, Alicia applied for and received an astonishing four grants from nonprofit organizations who saw the value of her work.

This past week, Cross Creek School unveiled the “Find Your Center: Mindfulness Zen Room,” a comfortable space for students to unwind, process, breathe, and practice mind-body medicine. Over the last year and a half, Alicia outfitted the space with plush seating, soft lighting, and other sensory aids to foster a sense of calm. She also worked with an artist to create t-shirts, bracelets, and water bottles that remind her students to practice mindfulness and deep breathing. In this space, she and Lauren will also continue their weekly “Mindfulness Monday” sessions for school staff.

After completing our training and certification programs, our Certified Alumni are equipped with the tools they need to create cultures of wellness in their communities, organizations, and systems around the world. We’re inspired by the efforts of Alicia and Lauren to bring mind-body medicine to their students, and are eager to see the transformative impact of their work.

I just attended the VISN 8 led virtual PTP. The word that comes to me is “proud” with a lot of love mixed in. For the first five years of this program, each PTP group has been co-facilitated by a group of VISN faculty whom we had trained working with Kathy Farah, MD and me, as Clinical Co-Leads. This year, however, each of the 4 mind-body skills groups was led solo. And our VISN 8 faculty rose to the occasion.

This is a team that says “yes” to anything that is asked of them. They are so grateful for Michelle Winslow’s leadership and the entire team is dedicated, committed, enthusiastic. If you ask them, they will tell you that, “CMBM is the best thing that ever happened to them”. They know their own lives have changed… And they know that the lives of their colleagues and the veterans they serve have also been transformed.

The training began on Monday morning, the 12th of August. Dr. Gordon was able to be present at the beginning and lead the group of 38 participants in their first introduction to soft belly breathing. Having Jim show up is always very special to them, like returning to the source of their inspiration. The participants covered the professional landscape, from nurses, to social workers, to program managers, to dietitians and psychologists. Some were attending from other VISNs across the United States.

There were the usual highs and challenges that happen in any of our trainings. Unique to this group were 3 participants from Puerto Rico, experiencing power outages and hospital lockdowns due to the impact of Hurricane Ernesto. One new solo facilitator, Ashley Rush, had a Spanish speaking group member who required an interpreter. Another group member graciously stepped in to interpret. At one point, Ashley asked this group member to simply share in Spanish – which she did and was able to convey her feelings to the rest of the group. This is a testament to the fact that our work is universal; we don’t always understand the language, but we understand the heart.

And David Strickler, another one of our faculty facilitators, had a family emergency and was not able to attend his last group. So Shilpa Shukla, a pharmacist, who had given two of the lectures, stepped in to lead on his behalf and was welcomed with open arms.

The admin team, led by Michelle Winslow and Cherise Paulk, made the training run seamlessly. Our faculty this round included Gloria Gomez, Kellie McGruder-Miller, Ashley Rush and David Strickler. While they also gave lectures, other faculty stepped in to give a few of the presentations: Natasha Hll, Tonya Lewis, Lisa Martin, Adam Phillips, Aneisha Powell, Stacey Cuebas-Fragoso and Ileana Alexander. We also had two interns, Dee Hurtubise and Joseph Lingerfelt, who have mentors and are providing supervision to new facilitators running groups at the VA. They are on track to become faculty for one of the future trainings.

My participation, I have to say, was a little bittersweet. While it was always our intention to empower VISN8 to build a leadership team and to eventually take over leading the trainings and supervision, Kathy and I will miss working so often and closely with these folks whom we feel are our family.

CMBM will however continue to lead the certification process providing trainees in abbreviated (learning groups), working with the papers and on, “intensive” certification ATP.

And a shout out to all those CMBM staff and faculty who have already joined us in providing supervision and training to this amazing crew. They remember you and speak of you. They hear your voices and always feel your ongoing support.

I found myself a little teary during our last faculty meeting… a feeling of love, of loss, of triumph. Like a proud mom.

The beginning of the school year is approaching, and with it, new sources of stress for kids and parents alike. Brushing up on your mind-body medicine toolkit, however, can help you calm feelings of anxiety and help your body return to homeostasis and calm.

Here are three of our favorite guided practices that you can practice with the children in your life to promote self-care and wellbeing.

Soft Belly Breathing

Soft Belly is a simple yet powerful concentrative meditation technique that can help children and parents start the day with a sense of calm and focus.

To practice this meditation with your child, first find a comfortable seat, in a chair or on the floor. Place one hand on your belly and another on your chest. Then, slowly breathe in through your nose. Feel your belly fill with air. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then breathe out through your mouth, allowing your belly to fall. Repeat for 5-10 minutes, focusing on the sensation of the breath and the rise and fall of your body. Then notice any changes you might feel, physical or emotional.

Soft Belly helps calm our sympathetic nervous system and awaken our parasympathetic nervous system, making even stronger the connection between mind and body. They can also be performed anywhere big feelings might arise: before a test, big game, or performance.

Remind your child that, any time they feel feelings of anxiety, they can find comfort in Soft Belly breaths.

Guided Imagery

Life transitions, like starting a new school year, can make anyone anxious. Through guided imagery and harnessing our imaginations, we can help little ones visualize a positive start to their school year and reduce anxiety about new daily routines and/or environments.

To practice guided imagery, find a quiet, comfortable space where you and your child can sit or lie down. Instruct your child to close their eyes, then close yours before taking some shared deep breaths. Begin describing your child’s favorite calming scenario—maybe describe their favorite play-pretend world, or their favorite family member’s house. You might also try describing a classroom. Encourage your child to dive deep into this scene, imagining associated sights, sounds, smells, and feelings. After a few minutes, once you and your child are ready to exit, slowly guide them back into the real world.

Guided imagery can help your child create a safe space to come back to when feelings of nervousness or anxiety arise.

Shaking and Dancing

Shaking and Dancing is an expressive meditation that can help children and parents release pent-up stress, anxiety, and hard feelings through disruptive effort and playful, free movement.

To practice Shaking and Dancing, put on your child’s favorite upbeat music. Encourage your child to mimic your stance: feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Begin shaking your arms, legs, head. After a few minutes, begin dancing in whatever way your body wants. Continue for a couple of minutes, then return to stillness and notice the change in sensation.

Shaking and Dancing can help us feel a powerful emotional release. It can also introduce playfulness into otherwise tense or stressful situations, like starting at a new school or making new friends. Shaking and Dancing is most fun to do in a group, so get the entire family to get together and dance.

Interested in learning more about how to use mind-body approaches with kids and teens? As part our Advanced Training Program in Mind-Body Medicine, we offer a Children and Teens Track. Already completed our Advanced Training Program via the Adult Track? Check out our Children and Teens Workshop!

We’re excited to share an insightful article written by one of our Faculty on the Environmental Physiotherapy Association: “The Intersection of Climate Change, Mind-Body Medicine, Mental Health, and Physiotherapy.”

In his blog post, Matt Erb, PT explores the critical connections between climate change, mental health, and mind-body medicine. He also emphasizes the importance of community-based programs like ours in changing public health outcomes and as effective disaster responses.

Learn more on EnvironmentalPhysio.com.