Richie is a wild animal. Let’s just start with that.

An Ivy league educated, former professional athlete who lives a life of positive rebellion. When his peers graduated swapping caps and gowns for shirts and ties, Richie moved to Europe. He spent the next 3 years living in France and Italy playing professional ice hockey, his final season as a member of the Italian National Team, and powered by plants, meditation and bodyweight exercises (Yes, professional athletes can succeed like this). This wasn’t his first experience competing at an international level. Richie was the captain of the United States National Ice Hockey Under-18 Team for two seasons before attending Brown University where he graduated with degree’s in Economics and Political Science.

In 2016, at the end of his athletic career, Richie began life as a serial social entrepreneur. He has since founded 3 companies, become a published author, poet, podcast guest, and corporate speaker, received praise as a brand strategist, creative director, and idea generator, all the while emerging as a wellness expert training and coaching business executives, Grammy-nominated recording artists, and peers. Richie’s philosophy is one advocating for life beyond food and exercise, one that addresses stress, routine, habits, sleep, happiness, financial stability, relationships and more.

Richie is not focused on what he calls “binge wellness” or methods designed to “hack” wellness, he is working with individuals and groups to achieve a wellness routine that they can access every day, no matter where they are. Wellness for life.

Though I have always dreamed big, I believed that my success is dependent on others. Everything has changed when I came to Israel for the first time. This country’s energy and diversity impressed me and changed my worldview. Now I know that dreams can become goals, and if I want to achieve something I have to believe in myself.

5 years later I live in Tal Aviv, the most energetic place in the world. I start my big project Move On Together Israeli Was, which promotes Israeli movement and dance culture. Its goal is to bring people together and fight prejudice using universal tools such as movement. I also start my job in a medical startup where I’ll work on improving the digital healthcare system.

I work hard and sometimes I’m overwhelmed but everyday I’m excited with my life and I go to sleep happy.

I believe that life is too short to spend on meaningless things. Live your life the way you want! “Haval Al Hazman”!

*Haval al haznam – (a waste of time), is used in Israeli slang to describe something so good/ delicious/ beautiful, you just have to experience it without hesitation.

For Scare Your Soul, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and do a photography boudoir shoot.

I would never in a million years do one but I entered a contest to be a pin up model for a local photographer that wanted to get real women to be models for their upcoming Chicago Pin Up magazine.  So I was chosen to be one of their pin up models.  This was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I felt honored that they chose me and scared that now I really had to do this photo shoot. There was no turning back and since I was their model, I had to do whatever they needed for the look they were going for.  I hate it when people take pictures of me, I have always been so self critical of all of my pictures done by photographers starting as young as grade school.  I always feel so vulnerable in front of a camera because I don’t know what the photographer sees, can they see all my flaws and insecurities?  Selfies never bothered me because I can control what I see but I can’t control what the photographer sees.  I always feel naked and exposed.

So this was my chance to overcome that fear and just dive into those insecurities that I feel about myself.

At first, I was so very nervous and crazy scared to do this photo shoot.  There were many times that I tried to talk myself out of it.  But I wanted to do this scare your soul challenge to prove to myself that I can do something scary and be a better person from the experience. And you know what… I felt like a bad ass, I felt bold and strong, and even though I am going to expose this picture to the world, it is ok because I know the picture will reflect the inner beauty and strength that I was feeling.

Michelle is a yoga teacher in Cleveland, Ohio with a passion and enthusiasm for mindfulness in all that we do. Michelle became a SYS Ambassador because she believes in the power of courageous acts to propel us forward in life. Her motto, “we learn, we do better,” inspires her to commit to a life of permanent expansion and that motto aligns full circle with the mission of SYS. Her advice when you are stuck, “Get your body moving – try something new – and the mind will follow.” Her favorite SYS moment to date was sky-diving.

Who am I?  In the words of the great Nisargadatta Maharaj, “I AM”….without any adjectives, without any finite labels or boundary edges. I am BEYOND THE LIMITATIONS OF MY BODY & MIND.

I AM LIMITLESS!

While I do have glimpses of this limitless experience, I often define myself by the limited labels life has given me or I’ve given to myself. First and foremost I’m a spiritual being having an earthly, human experience!

I’m a WOMAN, YOGA PRACTITIONER, YOGA TEACHER, ACTRESS, SINGER, HARMONIUM PLAYING FRIEND, ENTREPRENEURIAL WIFE, MOM, DAUGHTER, JUGGLER OF LIFE JUST LIKE YOU.

I’m a sugar addict in recovery who falls off the wagon often and who loves sautéd spinach & kale with garlic, olive oil & lemon!

I’m often found facing my fears by teaching yoga and leading the JIVASARA YOGA TEACHER TRAINING program that honors both the JIVAMUKTI & ANUSARA YOGA methods. I’m the creator of mantra mixed Indu Aromatherapy that was born out of my desire to heal anxiety, sadness & suffering. The newest thing “scaring my soul” is becoming a certified XCHANGE GUIDE.

Used for unlocking full potential in groups, XCHANGE is a scientifically based approach that employs the art of facilitating conversations with appreciative inquiry.

Let’s create psychological safety, so we can face our fears together and uncover who we really are which is limitless love itself!

Marnitask.com Indulotion.com

A few years ago, I made the courageous decision to pursue passions and interests regardless of what anyone thought.  This also meant I had to scrap my previous vision about how my life was going to turn out.

I realized that personal connection ignites the fire within my soul and brings purpose to my life. In addition, I found that throwing myself into new experiences brought me great joy. I was not born to simply move through the stages of life unaware and unmindful of all the small moments, the opportunities and the experiences life can offer.

A few years ago, I discovered Scare Your Soul and have been participating in many of their challenges and experiences since then. What do I find courageous? Showing up to something new (an event, a workout, a restaurant, a new destination) by myself. Although it can be uncomfortable at times, I’d rather go by myself and experience it than stay home and miss out.