Life Coaching, Professional Women's Groups,
Organic Cooking Classes, and Inspiration
November 29

Professional Women's Group

There is one spot open in my professional women's group that meets on Wednesday nights. For more details, please see the info in the box below. You must contact me by the end of the weekend if you are interested. melissa@myheartdances.com or 917-689-6530

Cooking Classes

Due to the holidays, the last cooking class I am holding this year will be on December 7.

Meatless Meatloaf
Rosemary Caraway Sweet Potatoes
Mustard Green Stir Fry
Homemade Applesauce

These are really amazing dishes and terrific to make during the holidays. If you'd like to register, please contact me asap. For more details visit: http://www.myheartdances.com/services
/cook_class.htm

Women's Group: Live The Way You Really Want -
1 Spot Available in Wednesday Night Group

The Wednesday night women's group is going amazing. Every Wednesday we have a room filled with dynamic professional women discussing issues that go on in our internal and external worlds: from self-esteem and being assertive in our workplace and in relationships to the pursuit of a fulfilling social life and romantic relationships.

One of our wonderful women, a pastry chef, cannot continue with us in December because of all the holiday orders she has to fill. I will be interviewing for one more woman to join us. Below are more details. 917-689-6530

This is a woman's process group. We bring topics to that table that we are dealing with in our everyday life: Relationships, Career, Spirituality, Body Image.

We discuss things that are pressing on your mind. We bring up topics you hadn't thought about before.

The intention is to empower you to become more of what you really want to be in your life and personal interactions.

Small intimate group environment

• Individual attention
• Accountability, shared goals, and successes
• Build relationships and laugh
• Build body image and self-esteem, and develop clearer relationship and career goals
• Discuss topics that you are passionate about or that are perplexing you.
• Weekly meeting

The group is $75 per month. Month to Month commitment.

Call melissa@myheartdances.com or 917-689-6530 if you would like to discuss your interest.Thoughts on Traditional Dreams

Last week I was thinking about the movie Mona Lisa Smile. In the film, Julia Roberts plays an art professor, named Katherine Watson, at a prestigious women's college in the 1950's. Her female students are academically brilliant, but they have been socialized to prioritize learning how to become a good wife and to serve their future husband. Because this is their ultimate goal, the women do not aspire to do anything with their academic achievements, and professors are even expected to overlook students who miss classes after getting married.

Have a Dream

Katherine is an independent thinker and a feminist. When she is hired by the college, she goes outside of the curriculum in order to challenge the girls to think outside of the box - or rather, to think for themselves. Furthermore, she encourages the women to think about the possibilities life holds for them besides, or in addition to, marriage and a family. She really wants them to see that they can do anything they want.

What Does It Mean to Think Outside the Box?

Katherine takes strong interest in her student Joan (Julia Stiles), who has the credentials and some interest in going to law school. Katherine encourages Joan to apply, and Joan gets accepted into Harvard. In the end, Joan chooses not to go to school, and to follow the man she marries on his path. When Katherine finds out, she goes looking for Joan and finds her at home. She presses Joan as to why she is making this choice and continues to push her to think outside of the box and "do what she dreams of." Joan comes back and tells her that to be married and to have a family is what she dreams of, and she tells Katherine that it is her that is unable to think outside of the box.

"You stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't. To you a housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no depth, no intellect, no interests. You're the one who said I could do anything I wanted. This is what I want. "

Other students of Katherine's, primarily Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) who hated Katherine's ideas because Betty was afraid of admitting her own fears about life, ultimately did take Katherine's inspiration and chose to pursue a life of her own in New York City after graduation.

Sometimes the Dream is Traditional

I love the fact that this movie is very inspirational in the context of challenging women to go after their dreams and not assume they must fulfill traditional roles, but I loved it even more because of the often overlooked idea that sometimes doing the traditional thing is the dream - and that is beautiful and amazing too!

So this is just a reminder... to think about who you are and what you want... and to not let society... whether it be traditional, feminist, conservative, or radical, determine the path you should take in your life. You need to determine it.

Know yourself.

Coaching is available if you think you might not be on the right path.

Lots of love!

Melissa

Blog: www.myheartdances.blogspot.com

Private coaching, workshops, women's groups

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