By Shawn McAndrew
I recently sat down (virtually) with Dr. Michelle Robin, chiropractor, Chief Wellness Officer, and founder of Your Wellness Connection located in Shawnee, Kansas. I have known of Dr. Robin for many years, but only have been following her health and wellness initiatives over the past couple of years. An inspiring leader, coach, and health practitioner, Dr. Robin is constantly thinking of and creating new ways to get people into shape – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Healthy Quadrinity
A Hoffman Process graduate from 1997, she knows full well the benefits of a healthy Quadrinity. Her energy and drive is infectious, and I was curious about what motivates her, and where she gets her inspiration and energy.
“When you clean out the inside noise, you find that’s really not the essence of who you were designed to be. There’s inspiration and energy there. It’s hard to hear your spirit when you’re dealing with the noise of your patterns.
“I think about Hoffman like a refrigerator. You have a dinner and you invite people. Maybe there are some people you don’t like, but you feel called to invite them, and they bring a salad dressing; a salad dressing that you don’t even like. But you keep it in your refrigerator, and every time you open the door, you see that salad dressing. You keep it because you don’t want to waste it.
“I think people keep things inside; they don’t let them go because of a fear of not knowing what else could be there, not having enough, or wasting. I believe that when people do things like the Hoffman Process, it cleans out the refrigerator. You have more space to breathe; more space to explore.
“I just listen to the nudge of what to do. I just have energy. I just listen. One of my coaches used to say to me, ‘Michelle, you have so much energy. If you’re not using it for good, you’re going to end up using it for bad.’”
Kindness and Gratitude
Dr. Robin has found many ways to use her energy for good. She is wrapping up her 31-day Kindness Campaign, and will soon be introducing 40 Days of Gratitude.
“The timing is fascinating. We’re going to start it and count backwards, so Day 40, Day 39, etc., and it will end on January 1, 2021. Oddly enough, my 20,000th day of living is on January 2nd.
“In thinking about this 40 Days of Gratitude, I started looking at my life chronologically and the people who have witnessed me. In 1966, my mom was my first teacher. My brother, my friends, Hoffman, the Ingrasci family, my minister who sent me to Hoffman – I typed up a chronological list with these people on it and how they are in my life.”
The structure of the 40 Days of Gratitude is such that Dr. Robin has chosen 40 quotes on gratitude, and she will interview each of the people on her list, asking them about a specific quote. Then she will discuss with each person what they mean to her and how they have affected her life. Watch for more information on her Small Changes – Big Shifts website or follow her on Facebook.
Small Changes and Big Shifts
One of the impressive things about Dr. Robin is the breadth of her work and the quality of her offerings. Along with Small Changes – Big Shifts and the Kindness Campaign, Dr. Robin offered Building Rhythm and Resilience shortly after COVID-19 hit the fan and sent most of us into lockdown. She brings an innate gift of listening to her work, which is especially important during a time when it seems to be in short supply in the world.
“There’s one life. I’m guessing that if most people were able to go back to the essence of being inside the womb of the mother that their spirit chose, they were probably listening.
“It’s just that all the other noise gets in the way, and that’s the crickets. I think Hoffman helps you get rid of the crickets. They show up again, but you have a memory. I remember the day I left (the Process), and the peace I had inside. Once you feel that, you can tap into it again. If you never feel it, you don’t know that it exists. That’s the magic of what Hoffman does. And I would want everyone to know that.”
“Let It Go, Frozen”
Considering that Dr. Robin did the Process 23 years ago, I wondered if there were any specific tools and/or practices that she continues to use.
“I would say no and yes. I use the Recycle tool when I’m spinning. I do Recycling a little bit all the time because I live with Crystal (Hoffman teacher Crystal Jenkins). She’ll say, ‘Let it go, Frozen.’ I would say probably the biggest tool I use, which I’m not sure if it’s a Hoffman tool, is ‘Let it go, Frozen.’”
With all that Dr. Robin is creating and offering to her clients and followers, my observation is that she is not only offering it, she is living it. She’s doing as she’s saying.
“That’s the gift of Hoffman – once you have felt the peace, you want everybody else to have that. And you don’t want to get very far from it.”
I Love Me
A quote by Dr. Robin on her website says, “You cannot heal the body without healing the heart.” I asked her what this quote means to her.
“That’s what I did at Hoffman, I healed my heart. I couldn’t even consider feeding myself right and exercising until I cleaned out my heart. I was eating to stop my pain. I thought I was working to stop my pain. When I started developing compassion for myself, and my mother and father, too, that helped me value myself enough.
“Hoffman doesn’t work overnight. You can have a clearing out overnight, but the Process takes time to really embody itself inside you.
“I love Me after Hoffman. I love me even more after 23 years of Hoffman.”
For more information about Dr. Robin and her various campaigns and offerings, visit https://www.drmichellerobin.com. There is plenty more energy and creativity she has to offer.
“In 2021, we have a goal of doing at least five campaigns – a sleep campaign, a campaign on environment, posture, and then do a couple talks a week virtually. I think we’ve had to say, ‘Okay, God, Universe. All we have is this moment. What’s the best way for me to spend it?’”