Meet Michelle Whiteley | Teacher of Integrated Living

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Whiteley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Looking back through old photos recently, I felt that sense of magic and awe I experienced when I first began waking up to my own truth and our mysterious world. The work I put into myself, the things I didn’t want to see—they turned out to be some of the most beautiful parts of my unfolding. And the more I unfolded, the more gifts revealed themselves.

In my very first bio back in 2016, I wrote: “This process is breathtakingly beautiful, and I have dedicated my life to it. It is the portion of life that I never knew was there, never knew I needed, has always been there, and has delivered me, to me. This life is in everyone; the work lies in quieting yourself enough to listen.” This still holds true for me today and a Plum Village monk, Brother Phap Huu, said it perfectly: “When you are given a “gift,” it is disrespectful to not share it with others.”

What should our readers know about your business?
How I chose this career is complicated. I grew up as the kid who couldn’t sit still. I could do 20 consecutive back-handsprings before I mastered multiplication. I was good at dancing but didn’t think being a professional dancer would be acceptable. In college, I fell in love with the artistic process; the choreography, the characters, collaborating with others. I felt privileged to have a career as a professional dancer.

When I retired from performing, the shift to teaching felt natural, still creative, just in a new form. I rarely plan my yoga and meditation classes. Each one is a completely unique improvisation. As I moved into one-on-one work, that same flow continued; showing up with presence, paying attention to what each person’s consciousness is asking for in the moment.

Creativity comes from creation. If consciousness is step one—awareness—then creation is step two, when something takes form or expression. This happens with how you brush your teeth, what you want for breakfast, the route you take to work, how you show up for a meeting, how you skip to the car. Creativity is how you show a client how to trust themself. I think that’s why I have so many certifications. It’s like needing more paint colors to make different shades of beautiful.

My personal mission reads: “In my connection across dimensions, I bring an invitation to others to heal through clarity and understanding of reality versus illusion, so that we may be in our truth, holding forward progression in the greater consciousness.”

Here’s what I know about consciousness—it’s intricate and personal in my one-on-one work, but even a moment of peace, even a slight smile that someone takes home with them, creates a ripple. That person’s behavior shifts. Their thoughts shift. A ripple begins moving through our interconnected consciousness.

Much of this work involves addressing energetic obstacles—the blocks in our system that feel solid and immovable. Think of a rock in the sand where ocean water flows around. The rock appears permanent, stopping the from moving through. But over time with each wave’s consistent return, the rock softens, reshapes, breaks down. Your nervous system knows this same rhythm. The obstacles we carry—trauma, protection patterns, stuck energy—aren’t meant to be forced or fought. They dissolve with patient presence, gentle attention, and the steady return of safety and regulation. What once felt like a barrier becomes integrated, and flow returns naturally.

This is the work that creates ripples. When someone learns to meet their own obstacles with this kind of presence, when they experience their nervous system finding regulation, that shift goes home with them. I close every class with a metta practice to remind us: the work we do on ourselves rolls off the mat and out the door. Our inner work touches our day, our encounters, our relationships. We’ve begun a ripple of forward movement in the greater consciousness.

However working on ourselves is risky. “Life itself is a risk!” We never know the outcome of any situation. There’s no owner’s manual for being human.

The best thing we can do? Live in a way that reduces suffering for others. Some people call this people-pleasing, but it’s wholly different. People-pleasing means ignoring your own wants and needs to accommodate others. What I’m talking about is finding your path of least resistance—honoring your own truth while navigating the reality that your karma is intertwined with everyone else. We all create ripples with our thoughts and actions—helpful or harmful. The practice becomes: how do I take care of myself and move in alignment with my own needs while staying aware of the ripples I create? When you find that path, it reduces negative karma coming back to you, it feels good in your system, it feels good for others, and it reduces suffering all around—which is the whole point.

I try to live without creating too much karma. Though sometimes you need to move on to avoid creating it, and sometimes you need to backtrack to heal past karma that needs attention. I can’t think of anything that isn’t risky in life except maybe ignoring growth and change within oneself. That seems riskiest of all. The universe will give it to you one way or another.

My karma and my biggest growth comes from my kids. Both of my kids come with unique challenges. My oldest, a high school senior, is gifted, on the spectrum, and has Tourette’s syndrome. My youngest, an eighth grader, is trans-masculine and processes emotions like a Zen master. They both carry big feelings and big ideas about how the world operates. Neither fits the mold of typical, and yet they’re both as normal as they come.

Each of their lives create a form & pattern as unique as ice fractals—no two exactly alike, each shaped by their specific nervous system, their stories & emotions, the particular way consciousness moves through them. What became clear to me early on is that honoring their individual experience of reality wasn’t optional, it was essential. Their unique patterns aren’t problems to fix; they’re the intricate design of who they are.

What impacted my kids most? Becoming their number one advocate for their unique life experiences. I love advocating for others when they’re vulnerable. I love being the support they need to advocate for themselves.

The most important factor about what I do is that it makes me happy. I’m ridiculously passionate about this work. I love energy, consciousness, how it moves, how it interacts, how it plays into our daily lives—all within the body. And then your energy gets to interact with others, nature, the world. You create a life every single day. The most important factor is that I get to help others. The byproduct? I get to enjoy my life.

Hafiz writes, “An awake heart is like a sky that pours light.” This is the foundation of my success—I show up with an awake heart. When you’re connected to your own truth, when your system is regulated and your consciousness is clear, that light naturally pours into your work, your presence, your interactions. You can’t fake this kind of presence, and you can’t sustain work like mine without it. The light I’ve cultivated within myself becomes the space I hold for others.
A couple weeks ago, several clients made big breakthroughs in one day. That night, practicing gratitude, I felt so grateful for this offering. This success comes because I can fully show up every day. I create my life each day, and that inevitably ripples onto my clients.

Your nervous system learns regulation through reflection. When you’re met with calm, your body begins to mirror that calm back to itself. Like the sky finding itself perfectly reflected in still water, the peace you encounter externally—in others, in nature, in safe spaces—reminds you of the peace that already lives within. The rainbow in the sky is the rainbow in your chakra system, the same spectrum of light, the same frequencies of energy, just expressed in different forms. What you witness outside reflects what lives inside; the external and internal are not separate but mirror expressions of the same wholeness.

But there were many times in my life that I could not see this and wanted to give up. It’s not in my design. I wish I had the ability to give up sometimes. As a teen, I had suicidal ideation and thought it would be lovely to continue on in some other dimension. I rarely get those thoughts anymore, but when I do, they tell me I need a break. I need REAL rest, the recharging kind, not the draining, numbing, scrolling kind.

When I feel like giving up, I remember who I am. One of my favorite perspective shifts that creates a felt shift within me is simply: Remember. Remember who you are. Remember the miracle of being alive, with breath and heart and body. Remember to look out the window, find nature, find beauty, find something to contemplate. Like Bette Midler’s song “From a Distance,” when we step back and see from a broader perspective, we find harmony and hope even amid struggle. To remember is to step outside yourself and listen for the voice of hope, the voice of peace.

Finding balance and changing of perspectives is part of this game of life. You can’t do life without going out of balance. Life becomes a game of adjusting weights, time, and energy to find it again, only to fall out again. As a dancer, I learned balance isn’t a fixed point. Watch a ballerina balance on one foot, she’s making thousands of micro-adjustments. The same is true with life. Find a flow that works for you and your loved ones—adaptable, adjustable, allowing you to be true to your own wants and needs for both work and life.

My life and my work are the same. I live my work. My work is a byproduct of my life. I actively expand my understanding and grow spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically in every moment. Why is work separate from life? What if life was work and work was life? What would change? Maybe it would actually make life and/or work sustainable.

Happiness is an underlining for both. For me my happiness lives easily in nature, dancing, babies, old couples holding hands, early morning walks, sunsets, watching an underdog succeed. But the harder answer is that happiness is everyone’s natural state of being. Think of a time you were happy—you were probably on vacation or feeling relaxed, carefree, connected. When we remove stress, the to-dos, the anxiety, happiness is always there underneath to greet us. So to say something external makes me happy isn’t quite true. Happiness lives within. The external thing is simply a reminder to remember.

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches a breath practice where one step asks you to enjoy the breath, enjoy the moment. When I put this into practice, it was life-changing. I could be present with my breath, with a calm mind, listening to my emotions as a mindfulness practice. But could I enjoy this moment? Could I enjoy the tree, the birds, the breeze, this bug? His practice of enjoying the moment opened my world. I didn’t need mantras or exercise or journaling, I just needed to look out and find tiny moments to enjoy my reality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
-Hiking in Evergreen -Paddle boarding in Lake Dillon
-The Denver Art Museum
-Trattoria Stella in the Highlands
-Stella’s Coffee Haus on South Pearl St.
-Pedicure at Magic Nails
-Little Man Ice Cream

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
1. My family has been with me through the thick and thin. 2. Thich Nhat Hanh and his monastery Plum Village has reawakened, validated, and enforced my own experiences.
3. Bonnie Buddin, Reiki Master, & Spiritual Mom – You always believed in me.
4. Sri Shambhavananda and Shambhavananda Yoga Ashrams for providing a secure and solid foundation for me to grow from.

Website: www.michellewhiteley.com

Image Credits
Heather Gray Photography Free Wix Images: Serene Water Lily