You Hold the Magic Key!

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket but into your own.” Unknown

I'm delighted to share this wonderful quote that my friend Rita Ross shared with me on a recent sunny day at the park. As you may know, Rita is the Creator of imaginative

Pocket People; authentic, one of a kind, lovely dolls. They remind us of the "Beatitudes" or Be-attitudes connecting us to our enlightened nature as follows; Be beautiful, Be brilliant, and Be bold.

Since the magic key is already in your pocket, what come's next are easy to follow heart steps on how to Activate it.

123 Easy As Pie ♡♡♡

Step 1. Pixie Pause... Whooshhh… Slowly exhaling... to reach inner stillness.

Step 2. Look inward, visualize your mind calm like water… Then, deeply~ Inhale~ Pure Love which waters your roots of learning to trust and love yourself.

Step 3. Long Breath Out…Ahhhh ->tighten-up the core to lighten-up ->spreading your heart wings to embrace your innate key to activate your happiness and peace.

Now; take it with you one mindful breath at a time.

Thank you profusely for allowing us to share this inspirational recipe with you...143♡

Make, Bake and Decorate at the FunZen Bakery

"Words are like a recipe's ingredients for me." ~ Nicola Karesh, Author

One of my favorite things about the FunZen Bakery is that parents and kids--in fact anyone--can benefit from picking up our sweet treats to restore character and build confidence. However, our recipes aren’t locked away in a secret treasure chest. We love sharing everything on our menu…along with their very special ingredients and simple instructions for preparation.

You just need to Make, Bake and Decorate.

Make: up your mind to engage and take action.
Bake: to maintain the heat of your concentration power.
Decorate: and magically create your day, your way.

Today’s special treat will be a revitalizing exercise I call the “Morning Glory Cupcake.”

At its very heart, the "Morning Glory Cupcake" gives us special nourishment for the soul that has at its core an expression near to my heart: “Go within or Go without.”

This short maxim basically means that when you look inward towards stillness, you will find your life lesson. Ignoring the inner stillness, and focusing on the storm around you, can cause you to miss out on a blessing. An incident that happened recently led to my stepping inside the FunZen Bakery to use this inspirational recipe myself.

Earlier this year, I received a tweet from a man who expressed disapproval with the idea of FunZen when I used it in conjunction with the Heraclitus quote, "Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play."

The man wasn't’ buying it. He firmly stated that, to him, "FunZen was just New Age mumbo jumbo..." At first, reading his tweet didn't’ just catch me off-guard; it stung me. My initial reaction was to feel insulted… But I took a mindful breath and centered and refocused myself. My inner samurai girl went from reactive to reflective as I reminded myself to choose to detach from negativity. I recalled my life lessons and past teachings which made his words empower me with self-love rather than hurt me emotionally. Getting mad would serve no purpose. I re-tweeted the man and explained that FunZen came from the mouth of a babe, my daughter Grace at 5 years old. It was her name for the breathing and centering exercises that we still practice together everyday.

After telling him about the origins of FunZen, the man said that he now had a new-found respect for it, and acknowledged its usefulness. By not sinking to his level of antagonism, I was able to bring him onboard. It was like a breath of fresh air to see my fellow tweep now shift his perspective. And by going within, and listening to my heart, I was able to make art and communicate with compassion when things seemed to be falling apart. It’s something we can all do: Rather than be reactive when life throws you a curve ball, use your spiritual perspective to gain insight and learn from the issue at hand.

Truly, you can reach the sweet spot of "blessed aha's" with an instant understanding when you are able to see a situation with new eyes. I see this all the time through the eyes of my daughter. FunZen has emerged as a professional tool for Grace as she continues to work as a voice-over artist, and it consistently ignites brilliant performances from within her.

There are many of these exercises on the menu here at the FunZen Bakery, and over time I will be sharing them with you. Some of the centering exercises that have worked like a charm to enable Grace to activate a happy-calm state of concentration are "The Miracle Diamond Lemon Bars,” “Mermaid Starfish Cookies” and “Angel food Cupcakes.”

In future blogs, we'll be serving up more "you-nique ingredients for the Magic of Mindful Living. I will detail each of these exercises (and many more!) so that others may gain the inner peace, courage and confidence that come from using them. At 12 years of age, Grace continues to use these "cool tools" while incorporating FunZen into her everyday life.

Now, let's roll up our sleeves, and take a mindful breath, as I offer you today’s special of the day from the FunZen Bakery--the “Morning Glory Cupcake.”

I find that it’s a holistic tune-up in the morning to start your day…or anytime you need some inspirational “food for thought.” It's all good. It's organic.

The Morning Glory Cupcake

Follow your heart in 3 quick steps as you Make, Bake and Decorate:

Make: Whooshhh… Slowly exhale, quieting down from within. Now, pixie pause.

Bake: Look inward, visualize still water… Then, intently inhale inspiration.

Decorate: Slowly exhale… Ahhhh… Listen to your seawind breathing. Here’s where insights arise out of the stillness and the golden sound of silence.

Repeat as needed…

You can now tune in to the wisdom that always resides in your heart, enabling you to turn any obstacle into a learning opportunity. Thank you for joining us and engaging in today’s FunZen Bakery’s interactive recipe. We’re always here to Make, Bake and Decorate delicious little nuggets of fresh insights.

P.S. Look at the photo above, and guess who said this. "I have been teaching the art of fine baking for a long time!” Hint: She's a domestic goddess media mogul. Yes, kudos to Martha Stewart.

Tasting The Magic Of Mindfulness

Inspirational Recipe Quote: "I am learning to be a good parent to myself (inner child). Shakti Gawain

Through the years, I’ve helped children alleviate the everyday stress, frustration and anxieties they face in order to help nurture their confidence and self-esteem. I do this with spiritual exercises that quiet their young minds, calm and center their bodies and help them navigate skillfully through emotional storms. I developed these inspirational and healing recipes with my 12- year-old daughter Grace.

We call it FunZen.

(Original Sprinkles Cupcakes right)

FunZen draws from the Buddhist concept of mindfulness,which is the ability to tune into the present moment to achieve nonjudgmental observation through coming home to the body's senses. My intention is to help kids of all ages,healers,parents,performers, teachers, and therapists, face the challenges of the 21st Century by cultivating their inner resilience and quiet strength. From my Zen Calendar; Lily Tomlin reminds us that "We are all in this together, by ourselves."

Many of my FunZen centering techniques were refined and tested when I was introduced to young Jani Schofield in early 2007. At that time, Jani was 5 years old, and newly diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia.

You may have heard of Jani. Her story went national after a series of articles in the Los Angeles Times in the summer of 2009 led to an appearance by Jani and her parents, Michael and Susan, on the Oprah Winfrey Show in October of last year. Jani’s problems are well-documented. She would have bouts of wild and vivid hallucinations that were often coupled with violent temper tantrums that her doctors attempted to control with a potent mix of anti-psychotic medications.

The other part of their treatment was to keep Jani constantly engaged with different activities in the hopes that would mediate her sometimes destructive impulses. Michael and Susan Schofield believed daughter Jani slipped into hallucinations and became delusional if she wasn’t constantly stimulated.

When I first met Jani, her parents were interested in seeing if meditation could be used as a tool for helping their daughter rather than the constant use of medication. It became my mission to help Jani find a bit of zenergized happy-calm in the zoo of life. Please understand, I have respect for the Western use of medication and the bio chemical aspect of Jani's treatment. I saw firsthand how drugs helped stabilize Jani’s frenetic energy and curb her psychosis. With her medication, Jani appeared able to follow the activities of daily living.

But, I also noted that Jani’s joyful spirit would vanish in a drug-induced haze when she needed more meds to handle her "out of control" behavior. That’s when I came to appreciate that medication is only one part of an approach to treating childhood mental illness.

Enter FunZen.

My goal in introducing Jani to FunZen meditation was to use it as a complement to her medical treatment in the hopes that gradually, over time she would require less drugs. At the heart of my FunZen exercises are mindful breathing techniques that when practiced correctly, help to alleviate stress and enable a child to find zenergized calm and peace in whatever storm they may be navigating. One FunZen exercise we used is something I call “The Miracle Diamond for Breath Alignment.” To employ this technique, I had Jani stand upright, focus inwardly, and slowly exhale with a long whoosh. Then, I asked her to slowly inhale, thinking of something sweet and calming, like the smell of lavender; ahhhhh (long breath out). After repeating this process slowly, and imagining the stress melting like heat applied to snow, Jani would begin to feel tall, light, firm in her diamond core…and zenergized!

Naturally, FunZen can used by any child that is feeling stressed. These spiritual exercises and mindfulness techniques will become second nature as you practice them and gain momentum by zenergizing the mind-body connection.

Jani proved to be very receptive to FunZen and showed great potential as a student. Her parents and I noticed the benefits of the spiritual exercises right away. Jani’s attention span increased, improving her ability to focus and we could see an overall sense of comfort and joy in her when she was in a peaceful surrounding. It was only when Jani was constantly busy; that is, following the Western approach as a human "doing" rather than the Eastern approach as a human "being in balance," that she appeared to lose touch with her heart's compass of inner wisdom. This Eastern Zen approach of using meditation to bring about dramatic change in behavior has been chronicled by many scholars. In Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa’s book "Meditation as Medicine" he states that by meditating we are "activating the healing force within us."

After working with Jani Schofield for more than two years, I’ve come to believe that Jani's spirit of pure being is not touched by her mental illness. This became very clear to my daughter Grace and I one day as we watched Jani listen to music by the Beatles and Michael Jackson. The tunes Jani enjoyed so much clearly had a meditative effect on her, and she was at peace as she

sung along.

Meditation techniques are ageless. They have been written about since the beginning of time. However, most of the focus has been on its use by adults. The success I’ve had using FunZen meditation techniques like Mindfulness to bring a clear mind, peaceful heart in stressful situations to Jani Schofield (and, for that matter, to my own daughter Grace) shows that children can embrace and use meditation too.

Most importantly, meditation and tools like Lori Lite's StressFreeKids breathing can be an effective complement to standard Western medical treatment employed by those suffering from mental disorders like childhood schizophrenia, autism or anxiety ADD, ADHD. It is a holistic alternative to heavy medication and constant engagement. I saw it help Jani Schofield, and I believe that other special needs children or any child can benefit from FunZen as well.

***************

Michiko Rolek is a life coach and the author of Mental Fitness, a unique book that offers workouts for the mind, body and soul for peak performance available at Amazon She is now dedicated to helping children and serving the spirit of humanity with "ubuntu" (kindness) to exercise mindfulness, relieve stress, and shine from within through the use of her FunZen inspirational recipes. For more information stay tuned in at The FunZen Bakery where "Talk does not bake the cupcakes, Walking the talk does."

How To Be So Blessed & Destressed! Interview with Lori Lite

"Stressed is desserts spelled backwards." Unknown

We are serving up spiritual dessert at the FunZen Bakery with Lori Lite, Zentrepreneur Mom, Author and Founder of Stress Free Kids and ABC's Shark Tank Winner. Stress Management Expert, Author Brian Luke Seaward Ph.D says "With stress now as American as apple pie...,everyone, kids too, must deal with stress and changing your attitude toward it is the best way of coping."

Grace and I are delighted to share a fun Q & A Interview with Lori presenting some of her Magical Tools: To Educate, Empower, and Inspire kids and the kid in all of us to Release Stress, Relaxercise, and Refresh from Top to Toe.


Here's 3's a Charm Interview Teasers to Zenjoy!


1. Find out how to breathe away stress and feel blessed~in one simple breath.


2. Discover how Lori used her Stress Free Techniques before swimming with the sharks.


3. Find out why we call Lori the sweet Dreamzzz Fairy.


Visit Stress Free Kids and check out Lori's Indigo Dreams Collection of Books and CD's that Rock! Also, Meet, Greet and Tweet with her.



Pixie Pause Pointer: Blowing a zen KISS means Keep It So Simple, (Short, Sweet and to
the point) Smiling in the present moment; Centered and stress free like a deeply rooted wisdom tree.

Getting here and now into the present moment doesn't take more time, it's a micro-shift (1000 milliseconds in a second) of mindfulness. Just imagine blowing your pinwheel (long breath out) and instantly note feeling empowered and zenergized from your center, its that simple. MUAH OX Go and twirl with Kendra @pinwheelgirl to continue feeling so blessed :)


Just sayin; Cool Tools you'll use found at Stress Free Kids and The FunZen Bakery can be used by any child that is feeling stressed, facing ADD, ADHD, Anger issues, Anxiety, Autism, and everyday modern life. Simply put, We are here to help you and your kids activate self-healing and empowerment mindfully. Remember "Ohana" means family where no one is forgotten...Sharing in the spirit of generosity "Ubuntu" makes us a human family.

Please spread the word and share with your friends, Thank you. We Love you. FunZen Girls OX

Remember; It's not just Zen. It's FunZen and Dr Seuss says "Fun is good."


p.s. Re. anyone needing foolproof hi tech angel support (like me) for leaving a comment just scroll to name/url, url is optional include your website, twitter, facebook & leave comment, Thx :)

East Meets West And Struggles To Find Its Balance

UPDATE SPRING 2011: New Picture of us and the Schofield Kids

Grace Holding Her Pocket Person

@ZenMommie with @PocketPeople

Jani With Her Pocket People



The working definition of balance is an even distribution of weight on each side of a vertical axis; stability and harmony. Balance cannot be forced in any way. Harmony is based on relaxation, the sweet science of beingness. In Zen we have a saying "A drop of knowledge is better than a sea of force." In working with the Schofields, I attempted to bring this eastern concept of "The Law of Least Effort" into their western thinking that medication and constant engagement of doing is the only approach.

We introduced FunZen to the Schofields in early 2007. They were inspired in sharing meditation as a tool to help Jani after she was diagnosed with Childhood Schizophrenia. It became my mission to help Jani find a bit of zenergized happy-calm in the zoo of life. It was at this time that I learned that the whole family, except baby Bodhi was on some form of medication. Besides Jani's meds, both parents were also on anti-depressant and anti anxiety medication. Michael and Susan openly discussed being on meds on Oprah. I've always admired their honesty and willingness to look at the best of east meets west in treatment options.

I have respect for the western medication and in this case, the bio-chemical aspect of Jani's treatment. We saw first hand how the drugs helped stabilize her frenetic energy and curb her psychosis. With the medication, Jani appeared able to follow most of her activities of daily living. We also noted her joyful spirit vanish in a drug induced haze when she needed more meds to handle her "out of control" behavior.

But the medication is only one part of the story. We introduced Jani to FunZen meditation as a compliment to her treatment in the hope that gradually over time she would require less medication. From direct experience, I resonate with Dharma Singh Khalsa MD's book "Meditation as Medicine" in it he states that by meditating we are "activating the healing force within us." Jani was very receptive and showed great potential as a student. We noticed the benefits of the spiritual exercises right away. Her attention span increased, improving her ability to focus and we could see an overall sense of comfort and joy in her when she was in a peaceful surrounding.

I am passionate about this important mission because I witnessed mental illness and suicide in my own family growing up. And I am grateful for the power of meditation and its alchemy that under pressure we can transform a chunk of coal into a miracle diamond. I truly believe that medication, by itself, without meditation can prevent us from finding balance in the dance of life. It saddens me that the Schofield parents have discontinued the FunZen meditation. Jani's mother Susan always seemed passionate about the idea of FunZen. Currently, both parents appear to agree that the medication, by itself, is their best treatment plan.

As seen on Oprah and documented in the L.A. Times articles, Michael and Susan repeatedly express the intention to keep Jani constantly "Engaged". There is an intense fear that she will slip into hallucinations and become delusional if she isn't constantly stimulated. In turn, they appear to become overwhelmed and exhausted as they mindlessly struggle to keep Jani busy.

When I was with Jani, my pure intent was to keep her mindfully zen-gaged. In the previous blog, I mentioned how we activated FunZen mindful moments with her. One of her favorite ways to ground her spirit and feel roots is by hugging the green earth and spreading her wings to kiss the pink sky. Jani was learning to follow her Heart's Compass home to the precious present and demonstrate this zen perspective to ground her spirit and calm the buzz.

I feel that Jani's spirit of pure being is not touched by her mental illness. This became very clear to Grace and I when she listened to music like the Beatles and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and loved to sing along. The nurturing quality of FunZen helped her feel safe, protected, and loved as it does for others as well. It was only when she was constantly busy in the western approach as a human "doing" rather than the eastern human "being in balance", that she appeared to lose touch with her heart's compass of inner wisdom.

Due to sensory overload, Jani often would put up a fight and was unwilling to calm down. Getting her to come home to her senses became a game that I called "Playing Smart When Things Are Falling Apart". The tool we used is "Zengaging Stillness" which I demonstrated to help stabilize Jani in the center of the storm. In order to reach stillness there is no magic pill. It requires skill. The good news is this skill mastery called Centering can be taught to Parents, Teachers, and Kids including special needs children. All it takes is setting your intention to be zenergized calm, centered, empowered and free. Aikido Master, Tom Crum reminds us "Centering doesn't take time, it's a choice and takes intention."

A magic charm that Jani fondly repeated with apparent understanding is the mantra "It takes Teamwork for the Dreams of a Child to work." I feel that our part in this teamwork was forever altered with The Oprah Show. When it was announced that The Schofields would be on Oprah, Grace and I were asked if we could accompany the family to Chicago. The main idea was that we were there to help Jani handle flying to Chicago and to keep her happy-calm and in their words "Engaged". Beyond that, nothing else was ever mentioned or discussed. I never really thought about it until my beloved student, Al McKay aka lil Bear simply asked "are you going to be on the show?"

Grace said that she could see us on Oprah sharing a FunZen minute with Jani, A micro meditation to help her center her spinning tea cup mind. Out of the blue, Oprah was coming to interview Jani. And we were asked less than 24 hrs. earlier if they could do it at our house. We agreed, and got to cleaning in the spirit of Feng Shui. Everything from this point on began spinning madly out of control. Our teamwork became seriously challenged when I asked Susan about sharing FunZen and my work with Jani. I was informed that the segment was strictly human interest and the emphasis would focus solely on the tragedy of Jani's mental illness.

It was obvious that the Schofields wanted to focus on the problem and did not want to mention any possible solutions. Oprah arrived at our house on a Sunday, August 23, 2009 and I was basically told I would not be involved. The shoot ended on a sour note. Oprah decided to leave because of Jani's resistance and no one could deal with her not to mention I was asked to watch adorable baby Bodhi and stay out of the way.

After everyone left, my husband Ron, returned home from work and voiced his concerns that Oprah was in our house and not only did I not get a picture with her, I was not even introduced. This caused Michael Schofield to openly share his thoughts, feeling that he was betrayed by my husband. How could we even consider being mentioned or get a picture with Oprah. We were like all the others just wanting to get a piece of their media story and that we were not taking the severity of Jani's problem seriously.

This is where my compassionate spiritual muscle got stronger. I apologized profusely for even asking to share my work that it might actually help Jani and others like her. I walk in Gratitude, celebrating the spirit by activating Deepak Chopra's enlightening words, "...you are on a two fold path, to eliminate darkness and to bring on the light." The purity of my intention to help Jani go within rather than go without self-love, comfort and joy has remained constant. Even to this day, even after her parents decided to discontinue FunZen; and the best of east meets west, we send them love and wish them godspeed.

I am grateful that I can share my viewing point in this blog, honoring what is right in principle, not who is right in ego. We taught Jani a Hawaiin self healing heart song that she knows by heart. It is called Ho'oponopono. It goes like this... "I love you, I'm sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you." This verbal charm of light were the last words we shared together.

My closing thoughts on Team Spirit for the Dream to Work is found in my American Zen Coach, John Wooden's wise words "It's amazing how much we can accomplish when no one care's who gets the credit."

A Big Thank You to my Twitter family for helping me clarify team spirit and what it means to nurture your artist child and fly the plan like a pilot of your life. Lovely Rita @pocketpeople stood out in Deepak's @deepakchopra stream of illuminating tweets. I contacted her to meet the enchanting Pocket People at Starbucks in Santa Monica. I bought a couple of them and invited Rita to share her Ubuntu (generous spirit) and some of The Pocketopia friends with Jani. She was delighted and loved them and appeared to enjoy meeting Rita Ross. Kirs @kssrogers brought 143 (I love you) to my attention again. She remembered 143 from our previous blog where we shared Jani's FunZen spiritual exercises. Kirs tweets help me return to the light of love to nourish my roots and wings. @Marielhemingway I'm in awe of Mariel's living example of grounding her spirit in nature's playground and sharing her loving free spirit with her tweets. Thx Jodi @JRavenHawk for the purity of your intent to honor taking care of our HOME (heaven here on mother earth).

When Mariel tweeted looking for her beloved dog "Bindu" and mentioned @jenuinehealing I connected-up immediately with Jenuine. She respectfully tuned into my great grandpa's Sokei-an Sasaki's roshi spirit; and sensed my open playfulness of a child or beginner's zen mind. We were on the same music page about seeing our dogs as guardian angels of being. On New Years Eve 12/31/09 The Heal Thyself Visualization she suggested to emotionally release the residue from the Schofields helped me tremendously. Jenuine suggested "firming up my boundaries" and in my words to parent my inner child. After using her energy healing technique to activate her brilliant images I was Spellbound at how much relief I felt instantly. I've continued to apply her message of helping us heal ourselves with renewed zenergy. Mastin @TheDailyLove Thx for Everyday Aha Candy to taste the sweet surrender of finally loving yourself (FLY) which compliments @Lissarankin reminding me to drop kick my inner critic while working my mojo in the inner dojo of learning self love... @NarinderSingh Thx for your humble spirit and making me LOL =)

Last few shoutouts to Love Out Loud to twitter family of friends and non followers who have been Cheerleaders for my soul. Bestselling Author, Dan Millman @pwDan has always been there for me as a peaceful warrior mentor. Once he quoted Barbara Rasp who said ''The lessons are simple; the student is complicated." to guide me by the side. Dan graciously shared the inspired idea "Cheerleader for the soul". Ageless Al Denney has been my Head Coach for the Soul; I honor his timeless message of "Become one with the Force of Nature." I love asking him questions about his unique meeting with Albert Einstein when he was in pre med school. @AnneMerrem Anne in Germany Thx ox for being my original cheerleader for the soul. Agape (Love), Blessings & Gratitude to Terry Crowe Miller my gorgeous sorority sister at the Dr. Seuss-Preuss House and Gratitude to happily married Jim Lynch to Debbie who received the first Black Belt for the Soul. Waterlily (Kristen) and Sunflower (Terri) my Black Belt for the Soul girls (inner dojo circle) helped me ground the spirit of zen mommies learning to be cheerleaders for one another, no matter what... @Lisa_FM Thx for sharing Zen Mommie and Me talk radio FunZen minutes and for empowering me to join twitter. Noelle @velvetpony original zenmommie let peace begin with me in mommie with kokoro,@ZenMommy Thx for helping us treasure Om in Mommy and then some Muah OX @micknsk Thx for your ubuntu spirit of One Love, Ti amo xo
@stressfreekids my Shark Tank Zentrepreneur Lori Lite Thx for sending us awesome books like "Angry Octopus" and CDs Thx Dr.Marcia Sirota @rcinstitute for Compassionate-clarity Warriorette tweets Ben @drbenlo Thx for sharing Mental Fitness and your solid i.e. of empowerment; Playing to win from within...@spoilednattyyah Thx Natalie for Goethe's quote; Love does not dominate; it cultivates...@CharmsOfLight Thx Caryl for sharing your healing gemstones of light and beauty. Your gems remind me of my celebrity jewelry designer days; where I cultivated in each design "everybody has star magic". @Marcome Thx for Musical Kisses OX to feel embraced by the moment and uplifted. Author, Mentor, Helen Fleder my Ballerina Muse, I could listen for hours about your stories dancing with George Balanchine & Martha Graham. Thx profusely for sharing The Miracle Diamond a secret dancers posture tool to stay upright on pointe no matter who you are or where you are.

Dion & Mel Jackson A big Thank you for being there and believing in me from the root source, I love you.
My Head Cheerleader, Grace (daughter), @MelonRolek hi-tech angel support who rocks my world with her 143 floetry ARTitude. When you called our spiritual martial arts "FunZen" you opened the door for others to brighten their inner light and become confident; quietly brilliant...Thank you 143 4 (I love you more) Thx so much (sister) I love you Yuriko Robinson ox
Much Love and Thx to my pal Bill Braunstein for helping flesh out "FunZen" storyboard for Playhouse Disney "The best is yet to come." Loon (Kiki) my Yin Yang girl Thx for sharing I believe I can fly; Pie in the sky moments...Celebrated Author Gary Quinn, Thx profusely for your coaching expertise and Life Coach Certification for Living In The Spiritual Zone. Mahalo, Kathee Lee Kitami my Aloha sister-friend; Keep singing and seeing "Thru the Eyes Of Love." Aloha, Celebrated Author Joe Vitale, Mahalo for sharing "Zero Limits" and Ho' oponopono divine alchemy.
Ron Rolek (husband), Thank you for being my diamond polisher, I love you no matter what...

In the spirit of Ohana is Family where no one is forgotten or left behind; sending a Gratitude Wave of Aloha and Blessings to all those seen and unseen drawing the bigger circle of Compassion to Love, Live and Laugh Out Loud.

Biography

My gorgeous student and lovely friend, Author Machel Shull (twitter) and I 

Michiko Jane Rolek, also known as lil mama, is an Author, Teacher, Lecturer and Life Coach. In Japanese, her name michiko "beautiful, wise child." She was born into a famous Zen lineage. Her great grandfather, Sokei-an Sasaki, read more... was the 1st Zen Master to make his home in America. Her first book "Mental Fitness" was published in 1996 by Weatherhill, the same company that also published Sokei-an Sasaki's "The Zen Eye" and Shunryu Suzuki's zen classic "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind". Legendary poet, singer/songwriter, and zen monk Leonard Cohen wrote the foreword. She was told by Weatherhill that her book was like an organic cookbook to help people "taste zen".

Her mind-body & soul fitness program, The Centered Stretch, was born out of her work at Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox in 1992 and to this day helps people to experience the yogic bliss of less stress, more zenergy and centered control. Her life changing ideas and self empowerment program known as "Black Belt for the Soul" was featured on NBC's Emmy winning Reality Show "Starting Over". Her well attended lecture series "Yoga Off the Mat" at California Institute Of Technology offered a Holistic or Zen Tune-up Kit using Yoga Tools like Inspired Breath and Posture Awareness to relax, reduce stress and stay focused.

Her celebrity clientele includes: Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach, Phil Jackson, Champion Surfer, Kelly Slater read more... music legends; Stevie Wonder, Al McKay (EWF), Berry Gordy and Joe Sample, and Hollywood celebrities and directors such as Robby Benson, Peter Bogdanovich, Pamela Anderson, Jim Carrey, Lauren Holly, Bill and Kristen Bellamy, Tyra Banks, The Pink Lady Jackie Goldberg, Disney actress 
Ryan Newman. 

With the help of her young daughter Grace, Michiko continues to design and develop the work with her Spiritual Martial Arts program for children known as FunZen read more... It helps kids learn to bring their A game of Attitude with Altitude. They have fun learning to laser focus their minds to gain courage and confidence to shift from a worrier to a warrior.

While working with Jani Schofield read more... a seven-year-old girl living with childhood Schizophrenia, Oprah Winfrey accepted the invitation to Michiko's house to cover Jani's Journey. Her FunZen Bakery blog was created at this time to share her compassionate, playful and practical voice of teaching kids FunZen and parents to be Mindful. Click here for Oprah link. ♥

In Praise of Mental Fitness and Black Belt for the Soul;

An Inspirational Recipe To Work Your Mojo at the Inner Dojo

"What a delightful book Michiko Rolek has written. It is so very important to breathe every day! Thank you for helping me to simplify my life in a joyful way.

Louise L. Hay

Author of You Can Heal Your Life and Empowering Women

"Mental Fitness and Black Belt for the Soul are perfect gifts for anyone seeking a clear mind and a peaceful heart. They offer the perfect inner workout for helping people realize their true potential."

Robin Crow, Author of Jump And The Net Will Appear, Owner, Dark Horse Recording Studios

"Mental Fitness is a Blessing on all levels! In simple yet profound language you learn to reach inner peace through staying centered and through sacred breath. It is an excellent guide to Mindfulness."

Denise Linn

Author of Sacred Space and Feng Shui for the Soul

"Michiko J. Rolek has produced a gem of a book as bright and clear and simple as a diamond. Her exercises and spare explanations take you immediately to the important tasks, the key thoughts. Yet ironically, the precision of her writing also produces a sense of spaciousness, so rare in today's rushing, crowded world. Mental Fitness is a marvelous, simple blueprint for attaining unified consciousness."

Penney Peirce

Author of The Intuitive Way:

A Guide to Living from Inner Wisdom and Frequency The Power of Personal Vibration

"Mental Fitness is a highly useful guide to inner peace. I've read it, love it and highly recommend it."

Richard Carlson

Author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"In a sea of self-help word play and abstract concepts , it's a pleasure to find Mental Fitness, Michiko Rolek's mind-body manual covering practical basics of breath and attention to help us stay centered and grounded in a challenged world."

Dan Millman

Author of Everyday Enlightenment and Way of the Peaceful Warrior

...We spend so much time chasing our blessings, we forget to use the one we have. In Mental Fitness, Michiko Rolek teaches us how to use what we have in order to achieve more of what we want. What a blessing!"

Iyanla Vanzant

Author of "In the Meantime and One Day My Soul Just Opened Up


"Michiko Rolek's Mental Fitness delivers all it promises, beginning with its premise that centering through meditation is the foundation of true physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual fitness. Those who sincerely apply Michiko's step by step process cannot help but arrive at the threshold of their own inner beauty, strength and transformation."

Dr. Michael Beckwith
Founder & Senior Minister, Agape International Center of Truth

"The words and exercises contained between the first and last page of Mental Fitness, by Michiko J. Rolek, Heal when put into action by the person who reads and uses them."

Dr. O.C. Smith
City of Angels Church of Religious Science

"With a unique style, voice and point of view, Michiko shows us how to live a life of beauty and integrity with powerful and potent results."

Marcia Wieder- Author, America's Dream Coach

Making Your Dreams Come True, Doing Less and Having More

"Michiko takes complicated exercises and makes them simple and satisfying. Flow with her and get a Black Belt for your Soul."

Michael Fowler

Aikido Multiple Black Belt

What Bruce Lee is to the martial arts, M.J. Rolek is to what she teaches. When you earn your Black Belt for the Soul, you've earned it from a master.

Hyland Church, Musician

"Most meditation teachers use too may words. Michiko's work, Mental Fitness, is an invitation into the Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. She uses as few words as possible to point to the moon. She really is a teacher through osmosis, presence and direct transmission."

Lorin Roche, Ph.D
Author of Meditation Made Easy

"I am not a scientist, physicist or anything other than a performer who tries to brighten the world with positive work, so I cannot tell anyone why OxyZen became a part of my life; my work and my workouts. It may seem like an endorsement without merit, but what better endorsement than to say that I just "felt so much better" when I would drink the water known as OxyZen. I am very thankful that in a world that is inundated with products of promise, this is a simple product that came to my attention without hype and has made me...feel good. I am proud to say that I enjoy OxyZen. I am also proud to say that this endorsement would be counterfeit if I had financial gains attached- I don't! I just want to spread the word.  I wish and hope the people I know and love could experience it also.  Sincerely.

Robby Benson

Actor, Director, Educator, Singer


"Michiko Rolek helped me find my inner core, which has enabled me to succeed in my dreams. Her wisdom can establish a wonderful foundation for the future you are hoping to attain. If you are lucky, you will be able to work with Michiko. Many want to learn meditation. But if you don't have a teacher to direct your path, you will never learn. Michiko teaches fundamental breathing principles with exercises that are easy to learn, apply and weave into your day. I am so lucky to work with her spirit and light as a guiding force." 

Machel Shull
Author, and Photo Journalist

"Michiko, Thank you for all your knowledge and for teaching me to remember all mine that matters."

Pamela Anderson, Actress

"Mental Fitness is the ancient knowledge of the Zen Masters crystalized and applied to daily life."

Steven Heine, Author of White Collar Zen