About Michelle Metta

In addition to being a certified life coach (CLC), spiritual coach (CSC), meditation teacher, mindful schools educator and yoga instructor, I have a bachelor’s degree in secondary education (B.Ed) and have taught a broad range of subjects including English, Drama, Yoga and Mindfulness to adolescents at risk as well as teens with special needs. Presently, I’m deepening my practice and study of Buddhism through a Dharma Training Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Centre in Woodacre, California. When I’m not engaged in the above activities, I enjoy reading, writing, sketching, forest bathing and travelling.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved and been intrigued by people. Despite being born with a progressive life-threatening disease known as Cystic Fibrosis (CF) that affects my lungs, pancreas, kidneys, liver and intestine, I was an outgoing, happy-go-lucky, gregarious kid. Since childhood, I’ve been fond of meeting, conversing with and learning about others – connecting with my fellow human beings on a deep, soul level and hearing their stories, challenges and aspirations has always inspired as well as sparked unimaginable joy in me. I’m awestruck by the sheer strength, capacity and beauty of the human spirit, and I love uplifting as well as empowering others to recognize and step-into the astonishing radiance of their own being.

While my story is filled with grim, unsightly and even shocking illness, trauma, destruction and despair, it’s also imbued with magnificent healing, transformation, serenity and grace. Not only did philosophy, psychology, spirituality, self-development and meditation save my life, but also they taught me how to transform suffering into rich, fertile soil for the seeds of awakening to grow and bloom in.

Ablaze with a fervent desire to help others, I pursued a teaching career during my early twenties. As a result of my own troubled, delinquent youth, I aspired to guide, nurture and support other struggling teens. Cultivating meaningful relationships with, as well as fostering resilience, confidence, kindness, empathy and morality in, adolescents became my sole passion and my purpose in life. A series of unrelenting and severe lung infections, followed by a near-death experience, however, eventually forced me to step away from my dream job. Arguing with reality was no longer an option: It was either teaching or my life. As my doctor and CF specialist plainly put it, working in a school environment is hazardous for my health since it exposes me to a whole slew of germs which – over the long run – decreases my lung function and longevity.

Although the teaching door abruptly slammed shut and I was forced to say goodbye to my beloved students, staff and career, I knew The Universe had other plans for me and a new door would eventually appear. After months of grieving, surrendering, praying and meditating, I felt a gentle excitement simmering deep in my core. It grew stronger and more impassioned until every fibre of my being was burning with intense clarity and purpose. Suddenly, every thought, word, action and event leading up to this point became crystal clear, and I realized teaching had actually been training for my next assignment. What had initially attracted me to education – my true calling – wasn’t academics or even actual teaching for that matter but rather discovering, as well as unleashing the potential in, others through unconditional love, support, non-judgement, compassionate awareness and wisdom. The Universe had shaken me to awaken me, as my strengths, skills, passion and life experience was now required beyond the classroom. While my time as a secondary teacher was short-lived, it was an incredible, heartwarming, gratifying and memorable leg of my journey. My next destination, however, was the transformative realm of coaching.