Michelle C

Ester Nicholson, author of Soul Recovery - 12 Keys to Healing Dependence is a teacher, healer, recording artist and former-addict who brings her incredible journey of transformation to a practical curriculum-addressing the causes and effects of dependence as they occur in contemporary living. Ms. Nicholson infuses the 12-Step process with added spiritual concepts and teachings that transform the treatment of dependence, addiction, crisis living and suffering- through her articles, seminars, soul-nurturing music and riveting keynote speaking appearances. A gifted vocal artist in her own right, Nicholson's musical career includes tours with Rod Stewart and Bette Midler-and appearances on such television shows as Oprah, The Tonight Show, The View, Good Morning America and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Soul Recovery Ester Nicholson survived the ravages of addiction to discover something truly extraordinary: How to transform dependence into power. Her Soul Recovery teaching is one that speaks not only to those who have faced dependence to drugs or alcohol, but is applicable for anyone who has lost connection with their spiritual "center" and finds themselves experiencing outsized fear, compulsive behavior or a deep sense of unworthiness-or in Ester's words: a "disconnection from the Soul within." Soul Recovery lives at the nexus of the 12 Steps of Recovery and oft-considered "spiritual" concepts and practices including: meditation, life transforming inner child and forgiveness work, and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or "Tapping". "The intersection between a spiritual sense of wholeness and the accountability of the 12-Step process is where the rubber meets the road, and where true and permanent healing can take place," Ester recently said in an interview. Ester's story of addiction and recovery was recently aired in a 30-minute feature presentation on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Her appearance on Super Soul Sunday's "In Deep Shift" clearly touched a nerve for those who are looking for answers to the challenges of dependence-related behaviors and the scourge of addiction. "We are collectively standing at a »recovery moment in our history-with challenges that face us on so many levels. As a people, as businesses, as educators and as organizations, we are at a point where we need to re-think, re-tool and re-engineer our future. For me, that suggests a basis in straight talk, back-to-our-roots thinking, and embracing a future that is consistent with foundational principles common to all of us." - Ester Nicholson

I am a professional competitive cyclist and a two-time Master's National Champion for road racing. I continue to train as an elite athlete and provide nutritional periodization plans to compliment training periodization plans. My professional passion is for helping people gain essential knowledge for promoting optimal health outcomes throughout the lifespan. Additionally, my desire is to help people put this knowledge into practice through behavior change strategies that take an ecological approach and address the cultural econiche, as well as the biological econiche. The end result of such endeavors should result in a proactive pursuit of compressed morbidity where life and wellness is fully realized and functional for most of the human life span, thus compressing the years of degenerative disease to the final stages of the life span. My personal passions include enjoying physical movement of many forms, the beauty of nature, and good foods.

I'm an experienced Leadership Consultant and Trainer, Speaker, Executive and Life Coach and author with 30+ years experience in developing leadership potential and empowerment, supporting people at individual or organizational level to develop confidence, leadership and people skills; empowering them to see themselves as the solution. I've also founded Recovering Workaholics. A serious ski accident in 1983, forced me to use a wheelchair. As the Head Teacher (Principle)of a large school I was unable to access most classrooms. I had to look at the bigger picture and develop innovative ways to motivate and engage staff so that they were self reliant, understood how to deliver excellence and take responsibility for their own performance. The approach was successful in maximizing both personal development and leadership potential. It's also why in the 20 years of leading the school, it was acknowledged as one of Ofsted's "Best Schools" twice and included on the HMI honours list as one of England's most successful schools and had a string of quality and kite marks. The approaches have proved just as successful in a wide range of business settings. Books include "Kick Start Your Career", "Manage Your Staff More Effectively" and "Chariots On Fire". www.ginagardinerassociates.co.uk www.recoveringworkaholics.com