By Michele Deluca
Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS — Can life altering changes really take place from the comfort of an armchair? One Niagara Falls psychologist believes they can. Especially if there is a laptop within reach.
Dr. Mindy Scime has created a six-week online program to help people achieve their goals, and she has personal experience with the concepts she teaches. Several years ago she re-created her life by stepping in the direction of her dreams and today she is living those dreams even more successfully than she could have ever imagined. The tagline for her class is: “Pursue Your Passion in Your PJ's (even if you aren't quite sure what it is!)” and it seems to be working for those who participate.
Maureen Remus, a 28-year-old college student from Kenmore is nearing the end of her six-week online class, and said that while she hasn’t made huge changes in her life, “I’m continually thinking about it now and I’m aware of what I want to do.”
Scime, who last year opened Living Wellness of Niagara and the Tree of Life Yoga Center in a building at 1517 Main St., is starting a new series of classes on Jan. 14. The course, which can be taken from the comfort of an armchair, costs $60. (More information can be obtained at treeoflifeyogastudio.org.) Scime, who now see a full slate of patients and also teaches yoga classes in an adjacent studio several times a week, set aside a few quiet moments recently to explain how her new online classes evolved.
QUESTION: So, you made all your dreams come true. Was it hard to do?
ANSWER: Really, it was much easier than I thought it would be to literally transform my whole life in a very shot time ... less than two years. I figured if I could do it anybody could do it.
Q: What were you doing before you starting moving towards your dreams?
A: I was working at the University of Buffalo as a psychologist. I had just been offered a big promotion which I had accepted. But, you know when you just know in your gut it’s just not the right thing for you? I call it the “looks good on paper,” where everything looks great but it just doesn’t feel great. I’d sit in my office and daydream about teaching yoga.
Q: You told me everything changed for you when you went to a yoga retreat. What happened?
A: I went to a yoga retreat with a teacher named Kimberly Wilson. She’s all about creativity and introspection ... While there I just had this feeling that I couldn’t go on not honoring my dreams.
Q: So, we’re sitting here in your beautiful Main Street building where you counsel patients and teach yoga. Is this your dream?
A: It’s exactly as I imagined it, if not better. I thought there would be a lot of struggle and it would be hard. Certainly there’s been some challenges but it was much easier than I thought it would be.
Q: So how did you come up with this online class?
A: A lot of it came from just drawing on my own experience and I wanted to share that with people. I knew that accountability would be important. That’s when I designed the e-course. I have a private blog where I post the different modules and the participants post in the comment section.
Q: What do the participants do?
A: There are six modules. The first thing we do is all about reconnecting within. We set our intention. Then there are journal prompts and practices such as deep breathing as well as what I call “dream work.”
Q: Is the program just for women?
A: It’s not aimed specifically at women but I have all women in it right now. Women seem drawn to what I do. Once in a while we get a brave man.
Q: And how is it going for this class?
A: So far I’m getting good feedback. People are identifying specific goals and action steps.
Q: And now that you are doing the class, what are you dreaming about?
A: I just want everyone I see around me to be loving their life as much as I love mine.
Contact reporter Michele DeLuca at 282-2311, ext. 2263 or via e-mail at michele.deluca@niagara-gazette.com
.
