About Lynette Mitchell. I have been involved in many things in my life, having always been drawn to expressing love, connecting with nature, self growth, extroverted, loving being involved in groups and contributing towards growing and learning, for my self and others. I love life more and more as each year passes. I do my best to look after my physical body and avoid being lazy. I go to exercise classes each week, walk the dog most nights and do yoga several times a week.
Being drawn to learning and seeking to understand about life, some of the things I have been involved in and studied are Numerology, Astrology, Touch For Health, Qi Going Healing, Hatha Yoga and Philosophy, Tai Chai, Shiatsu (Chinese massage), Reiki II, Melchizedek Reiki II, Crystal Healing. Bonsais, breeding rabbits, guinea pigs and for many years various birds.
Artistically I have painted in oils, watercolours, acrylics, done pottery, sculpture, nature/animals pencil drawing, Zentangles, now doing Zentangle Doodling. For years I learnt modern art, made mandalas.
I have been led during my life and was asked to be a secretary for the Maroondah Business Association (4 years) and Knox Ratepayers, on the committee of Laughter Clubs Victoria Inc. for a few years, being very involved in it, all because largely of my willingness to help and express myself and having a strength with computer skills.
I worked as a secretary after leaving my first husband for many years, much in law to senior partners and at Monash University. For a long time I also did temporary secretarial work, I loved that, the variety and challenge. A strength is an eye for detail and applying myself with courage to challenges in my life.
My Introduction to Laughter Yoga
My life took a positive turn when I attended a Laughter Yoga workshop with Dr Kataria, the Indian Physician who is the founder of the community laughter club movement in 2005. Straight away I trained to lead a laughter club and started it at the Boronia Arboretum. After a couple of years, people were still not attending and I was loath to give it away, because in my heart of hearts, I absolutely believed in the idea of helping people to laugh and have a lighter approach to the heaviness that exists in the world.
I started leading the Ferntree Gully Laughter Club in 2005 and about ten years later, my good husband, backstop and support, John joined me. He said that he felt sorry for me because people were not coming. Before becoming involved with the laughter club, John was introverted and would not even talk to strangers, which is quite the opposite to nowadays.
I felt a strong need to train so that I would be able to train people to lead laughter also and inn 2012 I did Laughter Yoga training, becoming an International Laughter Yoga Teacher, being trained by Sebastien Gendry and Merv Neal taught me the business dynamics so that I was qualified and confident to expand out professionally.
Diploma in Holistic Living Counselling and Certificate IV in Mentor and Life Coaching
In 2010 I qualified with a Diploma of Holistic Living Counselling and that year also completed a Certificate IV in Mentor and Life Coaching.
I did not run with it fully, as I felt to continue my studies to be a Mentor and Life Coach.
With a strong background in personal growth, I now easily combine the essence of my training when facilitating Laughter Yoga classes, including a short Mindful Meditation in public sessions. I find people love it, having a need to wind down, let go of stress and hopefully the small sharings that I do may seed the desire to self support with breathing and meditation, if not to do regular laughter as well. It may help people to be somewhat transformed with a brighter outlook in their individual lives.
John and the Fish Shop
John and I have been married for thirty-eight years and are active seniors, keeping fit walking, two exercise classes per week and I still practice Hatha Yoga regularly and have done so all my life. I love gardening, nature, cooking and drawing. When we felt disillusioned with our separate work, we fell into one night buying Blackburn Aquarium. John went to buy some blood worms, I came straight from my work at Monash University, we felt excited to do it, despite knowing very little, having only kept fish for six months. We shook hands and bought the shop. It was a learn on the job time for a while. We would unpack the fish and let go the ones we could identify, leaving several bags of fish till the end, taking a guess at what they must end up being.
We ran the shop, together with our daughter, sister and friend helping, as well as brilliant young staff. It was a satisfying and yet demanding time of our lives. We bred fish and served customers with full hearts. Later on we also bought the Knox Aquarium, John set up the fish tanks, as it was run down to nothing, as was Blackburn Aquarium also taking next to nothing when we took it over.
Gerald the previous aquarium owner was involved with EDAS, Eastern District Aquarium Society, which we continued on the tradition. We loved that part of our lives and John learnt from Jim Greenwood, a local vet interested in aquatic creatures, taught him how to use a microscope. John would take a skin scraping of the fish, cut the smallest sliver of a gill and examine under the microscope. He was amazing, cutting glass handles for customers, changing diaphragms and all sorts of necessary things. It was such a great time.
My Heart Health
After 13 years, I developed and AF and cardiomyopathy, had blood clots and it felt like time to slow down. We were lucky enough to be able to sell the shop. It was after some time that I then was drawn to what I do now, the laughter and personal growth. By the way, I taught hatha yoga for a couple of years towards the end of my first marriage and my heart has been in continuing yoga and meditation all of my life, since discovering it at the age of 16.
Time for Bunnies and Bonsais
I felt always drawn to bonsai plants and felt that I wanted to grow them when I got old. Well for quite a while I was breeding 27 rabbits and some guinea pigs, did not have the physical energy for it all, and so sold them and started with bonsais. Once again I got completely into something and one turned into 150. When water restrictions came in, slowly it felt like a good idea to sell them and now I still have a lot of plants and only a couple of bonsai plants left.
This is funny writing this, rather like review of my life, I must copy this and put it into my ‘death journal’ where I collect some information for when I die. I got into African Violet plants and orchids. The lounge room was filled with the African Violets, I loved learning how to care for them and propagate and did sell them all and have no house plants for a while. Now yes, have quite a nice collection of indoor plants, keeping it nicely manageable.
Obviously, I throw myself into things and stick it out for long after perhaps I could have done better to move on sooner. I am like a bulldog and elephant, being persistent and having a good memory. Ha ha. What do you reckon about all that?
My mottos are twofold, ‘never ever give up’, ‘tolerance, kindness and patience’, to others and oneself.
Qualifications
- Certified International Laughter Yoga Teacher with Dr Kataria School of Laughter Yoga
- Diploma in Holistic Living Counselling
- Certificate IV in Mentoring and Life Coaching
- Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training
- Qi Gong Healing
- Crystal Healing
- Touch For Health
Below is a sample of my art, these have been given to family and friends, excepting the elephant, which is available for purchasing. I have been involved with drawing and painting of acrylics, mandalas, oils, watercolour, pencils, Zentangles and now doodling art.
