Inspired by: Sally Kellett, Founder Mirosuna
Sally Kellett is a professional meditation teacher, certified sound meditation practitioner and founder of Mirosuna. After experiencing the real, tangible benefits of mindfulness herself without giving up hours of her day to meditate, Sally now teaches others how to bring meditation and mindfulness in their lives. She created Mirosuna, meaning ‘the perfect moment to create space for change’, to offer a wellbeing hub for the busy professionals who need to truly recharge.
Sally, you are a professional meditation teacher and a certified sound meditation practitioner. What was the catalyst behind your path towards meditation?
Before founding Mirosuna, I worked in the full throttle corporate world of tech and sales. I made great money, but a few years in, realised that everyone around me, including myself felt empty and lonely.
I had practiced mindfulness since my teens, as well as Zen Buddhism for many years, and I wanted to return to my roots and re-connect to a more mindful way of life.
So, feeling that emptiness, I decided to do something about it!
In 2019, after quitting a corporate job and before starting another, I set out on a pilgrimage to Truc Lam Monastery in Vietnam to experience nun life. For almost two weeks, I studied alongside 70 nuns, and spent fourteen-hour days meditating, participating in chanting ceremonies, and in mindfulness practices…
That was the catalyst to reconnecting to meditation and mindfulness, and I haven’t looked back!
How did your path towards meditation turn into the creation of Mirosuna?
I am so passionate about teaching people how to practice mindfulness and help them on their journey as I am on my own. It was a lifelong dream to open a wellness hub where people could come together to learn and engage in mindfulness practices, and Mirosuna opened earlier this year.
You created Mirosuna with the intention of sharing tools and techniques for lasting mindfulness. Could you please share with us one of your favourite meditation exercises for our Yes Queen community?
It’s a complete myth that you need to be surrounded by fluffy cushions and sparkling crystals in order to practice mindfulness. In fact, some of the best times to practice are when you’re stuck in traffic, doing the dishes, or when in the shower. So here’s a simple tip for practicing mindfulness in the shower:
- Transform the shower experience by slowing everything down. Rather than rushing through the process, move slowly – counting to 30 when you wash your face, and focusing on what is happening in the shower instead of in your head.
They key, when doing anything, is to simply focus on the task at hand, and staying present in the current moment.
Do you have any advice for how our Yes Queens can implement the concept of Mindfulness in their day to day lives?
Again, mindfulness can be practised on the run, whether in the car, at the gym, or when ironing. Here are some tips for finding mindfulness in the everyday:
When doing the dishes, single your focus on simply doing them. By holding a single point of focus, other thoughts melt away, giving the mind a relaxing, refreshing break.
- Sitting in traffic jams. Rather than spend this time 24/7 on the phone (and arriving to work absolutely wired), download Audible and swap out calls for insightful books instead. Focus solely on the e-book, instead of on answering multiple client calls while in the car.
- When Grocery Shopping. Write out a list of exactly what you need and take time to focus on working you way methodically through the list. Don’t get distracted by extra purchases or shiny packaging, but be mindful of only buying the things that you need.
- Chopping the veggies - commit to not looking at your phone and not getting distracted by a million different thoughts. Simply focus on chopping the veggies. Don’t suddenly stop to check your phone and then start reply to messages or emails. Stay focused, even if it’s just peeling and cutting the carrots and beans for 2 minutes!
- When paying a bill – simply focus on paying that one bill. Don’t stress about other bills, get sidetracked by emails, or start worrying about the money going in or out of your account. Stop all other thoughts, and pay that one bill.
- When gardening. For me, I choose gardening as my activity. Every morning when I wake up, after getting ready, I will sweep the leaves, water my garden, observe the growth of every plant in my veggie patch. It’s not only soothing to be amongst nature, but the time spent purely focused on the garden is the perfect way to start the day in a relaxing way.
Challenge yourself to make every opportunity one for practice – mindfulness can always be practiced no matter what you are doing. Always ask yourself, how can I be practicing more mindfulness in this moment? The more you contemplate this question, the more you will naturally find yourself practicing mindfulness
I know that turning your passion into your own business can both be exciting but it is also a big risk. How did you know that Mirosuna was the right business for you to build and how did you overcome hurdles that popped up along the way?
Mirosuna was the right business for me because it truly is my passion.
You know it’s really hard having a business, especially when mixed with your passion but every single time one of my clients tell me how I have changed their life, I just feel like EVERYTHING is so worth my while and how incredibly lucky I am to be able to help people.
The biggest hurdle so far has been navigating Covid, like so many others have had to do. Words cannot express how challenging the last few months have been for me because of this experience!
I’ve overcome the situation by being flexible – taking the business online and delivering meditation and mindfulness classes via platforms like Zoom and Facebook.
Business is about constantly rolling with the punches, and adapting to changes, and Covid has delivered that lesson like never before!
Do you have any advice for Yes Queens who are starting their own business/have their own business?
Humans have one universal wish, and that is to be happy. However somewhere along the way, society and life distracts us and tells us how to live instead of letting us live how we truly want to. In doing so, we have forgotten our innate pursuit of happiness – perhaps the most important journey and destination in our lives.
Always choose happiness, learn how to master it. Start now, don’t wait to be happy.
If you’re starting your own business, choose something that makes you happy and makes you excited to get out of bed each day. That’s the absolute key to success!
What is your most important piece of advice for our Yes Queens to turn their dreams into a reality?
Stay focused on your own path. Don’t focus on what your competition is doing – run your own race, always celebrate your achievements (big and small) and work hard but find time for balance. Burnout can happen to the best of us, so its essential to take time out for self-care, especially during the early stages of trying to set up a business, or turn a dream into a reality.
Workplace bullying can have detrimental effects on a person’s mental wellbeing and self worth. Do you have any advice for our Yes Queens who are either currently in a toxic workplace?
Unfortunately this is something that does and can happen to anyone. This can impact different people on different levels however if it is chronic, ongoing or unresolved, it can really start to make us question ourselves on whether we really are good enough. Bullying breeds self-doubt, anxiety and stress which leads to an impact on our sleep quality, our social behaviour and feeling small.
All this then changes how we show up in this world, losing our vibrant and positive selves.
As stuck as you may feel in the situation, it is really important to identify a path forward or out. It is going to be detrimental to ones’ physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health if we do not make a change. The change can be a physical one or it can also be internal – to change the way we perceive and resolve the situation within ourselves. Getting the right support is very important and spending time ‘being’ as opposed to ‘doing’ is vital so that you can tap into the reflection capability of your brain, to come up with new ways forward.
The effects of workplace bullying can last for years, what advice can you offer our Yes Queen audience who are on their own journey of healing and are trying to move on?
For those that have been affected by bullying and have found it difficult to resolve the trauma or damage left behind, there are ways that you can resolve it.
Trauma and scars are stored in our mind, body and spirit and therefore requires a holistic way of working through it. At Mirosuna, we help people move through this through movement, meditation, breathwork and sound. We welcome those affected, to come in and experience this unique way of healing.