Looking for the Camp Begin website? Click here. Wondering how students & teachers benefit from the curriculum? Continue reading! What makes Camp Begin special? Our Teachers. 2017 is our inaugural year at Camp Begin, Madison's newest mindful youth camp. We are thrilled to be able to provide this holistic educational opportunity in Madison from qualified instructors. Our camp teachers are certified in schools or clinical settings, and some are master music teachers from colleges and universities around the area. What does that mean for you? It means that the people who are going to be spending a full week or more with your kids are 1) experts in their field and 2) just as excited about what they'll be teaching as you are. Where does the passion and excitement come from? Need. As a teacher myself, I understand why 50% of us quit after the first five years in the profession. It is a highly stressful job that requires incredible patience, foresight and compassion. I teach Physical Education, a "speciality" in schools, and I myself cannot imagine being a classroom teacher. Seeing what classroom teachers endure on a daily basis is alarming. Some experience large amounts of discrimination, get yelled at, hit, scratched, spit on, or have objects thrown at them. All of them are required to make quick decisions that have the capability of affecting a child on a large scale, have benchmarks to meet, meetings to attend during their "planning" and/or lunch time, are required to abide by far too many rules to meet a child's needs and above all don't receive enough support for what they do. Teachers are totally stressed out and often struggle taking care of themselves because such a big focus in their life is keeping their students from falling a part... not to mention having the energy to attend to their own families needs if they are moms (these are the true superhero's of society). Reading Mindful.org's article on "When Teachers Get Mindfulness Training, Student's Win," puts this all into perspective. We need more professional workshops on mindfulness to de-stress and understand why the breath is such an integral part of our body's wellness. When teachers get a taste of this, we crave it, and because we are educators at our core, we pass it on to our students. That is where I think the beauty lives in Camp Begin. The people on board to provide this education for your kids don't just believe in it, we live and breathe it every day because research shows WE NEED IT. The fun part for us is that we don't have adequate time to teach mindfulness, yoga, art and play all day at school. There are guidelines and standards to adhere to. Teaching at Camp Begin will be play for our instructor team, and let us all live out our passion. Hooray! Open Enrollment is Live at CampBegin.comAre you interested in registering your child or children for Camp Begin? Please visit www.campbegin.com for additional information. Currently we are at 1/2 capacity for camper enrollment. Prices will be increasing April 1 so please take advantage of our March Madness special to save! Register by March 31 to benefit from our lowest price of the year. Questions? Email info@hikeandheal.com
Leash in hand, gate closed, feet forward, heart ready. Inhale, belly ribs chest. Exhale out. Inhale, belly ribs chest. Exhale out. One last time. Inhale, belly ribs chest. Ahhhhh. The breath, prana, life force surrounds tranquil spaces of green. It transcends time, supporting moments of turbulence and wraps around chests of anxiety. Gratitude fills lungs longing for more. These moments of natural beauty pass too quickly so I stop. I stop. I pause. I stop again. Curiosity creeps into every new vision. Every new Sound. The Smells. The Feelings. Ears perk, head cocks. I'm not alone. Hawks & cranes are back. Solo today they send messages of independence. "Stand strong on your own two feet." I come to an overlook, ready with person made platforms. Supine, I look up ready to day dream. When did I last cloud search? Breathing deeply again, gracious of the stillness, I feel a friend lay beside me looking out at the world. Beauty in everything. Rows of questions stagger before me, passing slowly like a memory wheel. Layers upon layers move over one another building bridges of light for attentive gazers. La Luna to the left, migrating geese to the right. the universe & the earth seamlessly flying together. Reluctantly I bring my knees to my chest & rock up. A few sun salutations later it's time to move on. Saeku & I find fallen oaks to walk across, thick strong trunks sturdy for climbing. As exposed root systems collide, I notice synapses of wisdom once passing through loquacious fungi hanging like a broken spider web. Habitats for organisms we can't see. Messengers spanning centuries, I bow in respect. I lay my hands to feel their support. Broken oaks with roots & vines enveloping from the midline. Barkless some stand barely living, sprouting new tiny buds. This place is where I thrive. Where I feel needed. Where everything serves a purpose. Describing something so superb feels like I'm discounting its authentic voice. Yet most walk fast. Some barely notice an 1/8 of what I did here. So I stop again. I listen to Cooper & Crane. I stand strong on my own two feet. Facing forward. Leash in hand, heart heavy & ready. I turn around often to see where I came from. Smile & turn back again. Breathing in, belly ribs chest, breathing out sighing heavy. Slow down. Being here. Right now. An hour later walking through Walmart, a kind worker asks, "are you really as happy as you look?"
"Yes, I just went for a nice hike." "Huh?" He smiles back puzzled & pleased. "Well, you smile from within. That's a great quality." "Thank you." For making my day I should have said. Nature speaks to our soul and invigorates a sense of warmth & compassion that creates a stammering sense of kindness. It carries through. I have yet to experience a day outside that I don't feel a sense of gratitude. Whether it's for the sun, moon, stars, wind, snow, sights, sounds, smells or people playing a game. This earth is here. We are here. For me, there needn't be much more than that. In my most authentic voice, this is why I hike & heal. As much as I can. Every single day. When I don't, I am not me. I am a spiritual being living a physical existence. I am the universe & earth seamlessly flying together as one. I hike to become whole. -Moira
Space is limited. Sign-up today to guarantee your spot at the $35 pre-registration price. Trouble with the registration link? If the link takes you to the general Mind-Body site, you need to search for The Fit. Then click "continue without logging in." E V E N T D E S C R I P T I O N Learn about the science of sound healing while experiencing the rejuvenating benefits of vinyasa flow yoga, which will be followed by a simple kundalini style centering exercise. We will conclude with a "Gong Bath," which is a beautiful sensory experience where the vibrations from the gong simply 'bath,' wash, or travel over and around one's body. About the Yoga Participants can expect a detoxifying vinyasa style yoga practice facilitated by poses that promote balance and stimulate the cleansing of the adrenals and organ systems. Yoga will be led by the amazing Kellie Kaddatz, who owns Karma Flow Fitness and uses The Fit on Monroe Street to host donation-based yoga classes. The words donation and yoga are often hard to find in Madison, WI with so many big studios nowadays so definitely take some time to check out Kellie's website and view her class schedule. About the Centering The kundalini style centering experience will help set healthy intentions including an introduction to pranayama breathwork, mantras, and simple hand mudras. About the Gong Meditation The finale of the workshop will be when one's body enters a profound meditative, theta-wave brain state, which will be induced by a live 45 minute performance of the ancient Tibetan gong. Both the centering and the gong meditation will be led by Elizabeth ("Beth") Kiser. Click on her name to get more information about the great work she's doing in and around Madison for youth and adults. Gong Classes Currently, Hike & Heal Wellness is promoting & co-leading a seven-week sound healing meditation series with Beth, who collaborates as our Music Therapist. The classes take place at 7:15pm on Tuesday's until February 28th at The Fit on Monroe. The Yoga & Gong Workshop described above is the culminating experience to our gong series. It will provide class attendees with an additional opportunity that compliments and builds upon what we do in the 1-hour classes. Click here for more information on sound healing classes. L O C A T I O N The Fit 1709 Monroe Street Space is limited. Sign-up today to guarantee your spot at the $35 pre-registration price.
Trouble with the registration link? If the link takes you to the general Mind-Body site, you need to search for The Fit. Then click "continue without logging in." The wait is over! Camp Begin Registration is up and running at www.campbegin.com. Here you'll find all of the information you'll need to make a good decision about whether or not this mindful youth camp meets the needs of your family. We have scholarship options, payment flex plans (you choose to make 1, 2 or 4 installments) and an easy online registration platform that is secure through Stripe/Paypal and takes less than 5 minutes to fill out.
What you need to know: Our goal isn't to create another new option for Madison - trust us, Madison already has its fair share of summer day camp options. Our goal is to provide a quality education for kids with experienced & passionate teachers at an affordable rate. We aim to teach superb content that is wellness based and will affect your ENTIRE family, not just the camper attending. Camp Begin's motto is to "Be Me," allowing each individual to truly live out their passions and execute their talents. What to look forward to: We will be disseminating more information about Camp Begin's Fine Art Series which will be directed and run by Elizabeth Kiser. She is thrilled to offer instruction on strings, percussion, singing, as well as composition in art and nature. This is an extremely new and exciting opportunity for young musicians and artists in the Madison area. Look for details in the coming weeks! Need more details? Head to the camp website now!
Wow! Time is flying and life continues to motivate me to push forward. I am inspired by the contributions made thus far and encouraged by conversations that have sprung up from parents & grandparents of future campers, from colleagues who want to live out their passion and from my supportive friends and family. I feel lifted up and extraordinarily grateful. Your donations thus far have made it possible to send eight kids to a week of Camp Begin at absolutely no cost to their family. They will receive a rich education in mindfulness, yoga, play and creative arts while reaping the many benefits of prolonged exposure to nature.
It is my hope that you will continue to help spread the word about my mission to create a more mindful, nature-driven generation through Camp Begin. To help motivate you, I've put together some prize packages. For every incentive level you meet, you'll be rewarded with gifts to encourage your own self-care. How It Works
Refer as many friends as you can on social media when logged into your Indiegogo profile. When their contributions add up to any of the incentive levels you see in the picture ($500, $1000, $2000, $4000), you will be awarded the prize!
When you are logged into your account and use Indiegogo’s share tools to send a tweet, for example, the link in the tweet includes YOUR unique ID. Then, when Potential Backer A reads the tweet and clicks through the link to contribute, you are recognized as helping bring in the amount contributed by Potential Backer A. What You Need To Do
1) Log into your Indiegogo account.
**This is the MOST IMPORTANT step, otherwise your unique ID won’t be attached to any resulting contributions or visits. 2) Once logged in, click here and use any of the sharing icons you see on our page! You can share Camp Begin's page via Twitter, Facebook or email. Our short URL is: https://igg.me/at/campbegin With only 13 days left, this is the last big push! Thank you again for your contributions thus far. Let's see if we can get to $10,000 before the New Year! Happy Holidays to all of you. Sending you huge amounts of love. Breathing With Gratitude, Moira Farrell Founder/Owner of Hike and Heal Wellness Creator of Camp Begin Dearest Friends, Family, Colleagues & Fans of Hike & Heal, Tomorrow is the big day! And I need your help to change lives. Whether my parents intended to or not, they raised a child with big eyes and huge aspirations. Somewhere in my gene pool, the dreamer DNA clung on and here we are. One never knows what their child is going to do when they get older, but the hope is that they find something that makes them happy. I can tell you for certain that there isn't anything that brings me more joy than getting people (especially kids) to explore, laugh & grow in our outdoor world. We become more compassionate towards those around us, we practice mindfulness naturally, our creativity soars, our breath deepens, stress levels drop, our problem solving brain turns on and, in my opinion, we are our best selves. Whether you hike/walk, garden, enjoy outdoor sports, have the luxury to enjoy the cabin life, or otherwise, you know this to be true. Hike & Heal Wellness, LLC is in its infancy. This business is driven by nature and uses collaborative minds to help facilitate personal growth through eastern and western based wellness practices rooted in robust research. In addition to offering adult retreats, workshops and classes, Hike & Heal's biggest contribution to the community will be Camp Begin. This will be a youth summer day camp instructed by certified teachers who also have training in and the passion to disseminate the practices of yoga, mindfulness, the creative arts and nature education. As our world becomes more reactionary day after day, Camp Begin participants will have the tools to 1) cope with life's ups and downs 2) respond with empathy and 3) spread kindness within their communities. By helping today you will be creating: 1) scholarships for kids who NEED this experience to enhance their life. Teachers will handpick students in their classrooms who NEED help in self-regulation and in building social, emotional learning skills. They will prompt parents to fill out an application for the scholarship YOU helped build! 2) honorarium funds for teachers which will help supplement the cost of paying for quality educators. There are far too many summer camps run by high school and college aged instructors. While it's great to provide jobs for a younger generation, I truly believe our world needs to invest more in our current educational workforce. Most WI teachers work a second job to afford to live. I know I do! Unfortunately, finding something in my field that extends my passion for teaching and pays well is hard to come by. It is for all of us WI teachers. Your donation will fill this need! 3) a community fund to help contribute to local conversation projects (i.e. WDNR). Your donation will help continue to preserve Wisconsin's state & county parks, conserving more green space for us all to benefit from.
The Plan
Tomorrow I'll be sending out another notification with a link to the crowdfunding campaign and ways you can easily share the information within your own personal networks. If you are someone commiting today, you'll get a personal email with that amount included as well as a note of gratitude from yours truly. :) THANK YOU in advance for your support! The dreamer in me says that tomorrow will be a day to celebrate... for my life dreams coming true, for a camp that will change lives, and if you're a family member of mine, you know that December 5th means even more to us. "Celebrate we will, for life is sweet but short for certain." -DMB Sending so much love to all of you, Moira Farrell Follow Hike & Heal Wellness on Social Media Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google+ Take a look ahead at what is coming this summer to Madison, WI at www.campbegin.com Join us as Hike & Heal Wellness comes together with Breathe for Change, a nonprofit that hosts the ONLY 200-hour yoga certification specifically designed for educators. As B4C graduates themselves, Beth Kiser & Moira Farrell are thrilled to be able to work with such an amazingly gifted group of people to get this impactful youth camp off and running in its infancy year. Breathe for Change graduates will be the instructors as well as a few other educators from MMSD that excel in nature education, art therapy and mindfulness. Every morning adult instructors, middle schoolers and elementary youth will come together for community building through breathing games, adventure education & yoga instruction. The majority of time spent at camp will be in small group learning pods, where age a-likes will grow, explore and create together. Location is centrally located for ease of access at Glenwood Moravian Community Church. It's within walking distance to Wingra Boats, Glenwood Park & the UW Arboretum. There will be a limit to 20 students per week in each age group in the first year with hopes to expand. A limited number of scholarships will be available through application starting February 1, 2017. This will serve as a new day camp (Monday - Friday) in the Madison area to help promote self-regulation skills, emotional literacy, social justice & curb nature deficiencies that so many of our youth now have in our technologically driven society. 4K - 2nd graders will become Jedi Masters by the end of their week through focused social-emotional learning curriculum tied to the fad of Start Wars. 3rd, 4th & 5th graders will explore nature through the creative arts, and end with a culminating garden project. 6th, 7th & 8th graders will learn leadership skills for a more successful life and use hip hop poetry to express how they feel about social justice themes brought up during our specially designed adventure education programming. We need your help getting this off the ground - tell everyone! If you or anyone you know would like to donate to help launch Camp Begin, or sponsor a child, please email info@hikeandheal.com to initiate the process. Who is excited?!?!?! Stay tuned for more details!
Who Benefits?You! Your friends and family when you begin to practice more mindfulness in your daily life.
All proceeds will go to scholarships for our upcoming youth summer camp! Introducing "BreAthe for BEGINnings," a youth wellness camp where kids learn to breathe, explore, grow, and invent through the arts and nature programming. We are thrilled about this new project!! More info coming soon! |
AuthorHi, Moira here. When I'm not playing with my dogs, listening to music, enjoying nature or being with my friends/family, I'm probably writing. Read these blogs for wellness opportunities we offer at Hike & Heal, ones I know that are awesome or just some tidbits about living a healthier life. Archives
December 2023
|