Creative Wellness offers an arts based approach to stress reduction, self-expression, personal growth and well-being.
Life Source Writing™ uniquely combines mindfulness, relaxation, reflective journaling, inquiry and gratitude for an integrated, holistic, creative journaling experience that can change your life, your thinking and your health.
Life Source Writing™ offers you a 5-step journaling method that brings together the transformational power of writing + life coaching + healing methods for your clarity, renewal, stress release, growth and success.
The Creative Wellness formula: powerful questions + writing for yourself = inspiration + well-being from the inside out.
What’s it like to work with me?
I value inspiring, supporting, and teaching individuals to achieve health, wellness and fulfillment by design, versus default. I bring a creative, reflective, empowering, soulful and fun approach to personal growth and wellness.
You can expect the following results and experiences when we work together….
Expected Results
As an individual, when we work together, you can expect your well-being, happiness and self-discovery to be a true priority.
You and the meaningful work that you do will be honoured and acknowledged helping you align with what is positive, healthy and inspiring in your life and work. You will gain clarity and commitment towards greater self-care (mind, body, heart and spirit) leading to less stress and more personal and professional satisfaction. You will feel inspired, supported and renewed while creating ways to sustain this positive energy and work-life balance/blend – while learning how to integrate and embrace Life Source Writing™ as your reflective wellness practice!
“Remember, you are not writing to create literature; build an archive; justify your existence; leave a memoir; or entertain, amuse, placate, or pacify an audience (although these often result). You are writing to expand your perspectives, to create openings in your life, to advance the action in your personal story, to glimpse a different picture of yourself. You are writing to gain power.”
~ Laura Cerwinskie, author of Writing As a Healing Art
Here is what Cristine has to say about working together:
“As helping professionals we focus our energy on advocating for others, often forgetting about ourselves. Lynda understands the importance of nurturing the nurturer and offers an invaluable service. My coaching with Lynda is an investment in my own wellness. As a result of my coaching with Lynda I am finding that I am able to create space for ‘being’ in the midst of all of the ‘doing’.”
Cristine Urquhart, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker, Consultant, Trainer
As an organization, I will offer your staff positive learning and growth opportunites that enhance their resiliency and well-being through a care for the caregiver approach.
Here is what Dave had to say:
“In 2000, Lynda Monk came to my office and we talked on bringing her in on a trial basis to offer training courses related to how stress affected not only fire fighters but their families. Having sat through these presentations before and at first going in with a pre-conceived notion that it wouldn’t be of any use to me, I knew that it might be a hard sell to the fire fighters. That first session we had 25 fire fighters present. Three hours later, they were all sold on her approach to the issue and looked forward to her next sessions. We now run at least one session per year utilizing Creative Wellness and they are one of the highest attended training courses. Lynda Monk is very approachable, likeable and down-to-earth. She can communicate readily at any level, thus my fire fighters really appreciate her sessions.”
Dave Enfield
Fire Chief/Emergency
Program Coordinator
Saltspring Fire/Rescue
Guiding Beliefs and Values
Through supporting many individuals and organizations towards greater work-life balance, health and wellness, I have discovered some guiding beliefs and values that influence and inform my approach to working together with you…
Self-care is not optional if you are going to thrive and be healthy while working in high stress, high caring and often high trauma circumstances. Self-care (that includes some form of self-reflection and true relaxation), has to be foundational, the place one arrives to over and over again to replenish, rest and renew as a helper, a caregiver, a change agent and as a human being.
Your health is your wealth – sometimes the stress and pressure of helping and serving others can lead to burnout and exhaustion. For anyone who is or has felt this way, you know that nothing is more valuable than your own sense of health, vitality and well-being and that sometimes you need support and new tools to help you achieve your optimal self-care, personal growth and wellness in the midst of it all.
Bring your whole self to your whole life – a whole self approach to wellness involves your mind, body, heart and spirit. From this place, you feel integrated, whole, nurtured and connected. This resonance and well-being can positively touch all parts of your life and work.
Resiliency is born in optimism and positive regard. Individuals and organizations alike are most resilient when facing high stress in the presence of a high level of positive regard for self, each other, and the work being done. Combine positive regard with an overall sense of optimism and you have a winning combination for resiliency and wellness.
People want more of the good stuff. I believe people want the best for their lives and work. They want to feel good about who they are and what they do. They want a sense of meaning and purpose and joy. They want a little ebb and flow, some breathing space here and there. They want to be appreciated and recognized for the good stuff they do.
My Approach
When you are looking for a coach, a facilitator, or a speaker, there are lots of people to choose from. What makes me unique?
Above all else, I honour and understand the work of helping and healing professionals. Having worked as child welfare social worker, a counselor, a crisis intervention worker, a suicide prevention specialist and a medical social worker in the emergency department and intensive care unit of a hospital, I have a first hand experience of managing stress in these high pressured circumstances.
It is challenging to witness both human suffering and human resiliency at such high rates while still holding onto what feels good, safe, optimistic and inspiring in your work and life. I understand and acknowledge this complexity and help you cultivate what is replenishing and motivating inside this professional paradox.
I work from a strengths-based perspective. I help you connect with your inner resource, wisdom and strength. I ask positive and powerful questions: What’s working? What are you most proud of? How have you dealt with challenges in the past? What dreams are calling you? What parts of your self-care do you feel good about? If you knew you could not fail, what would you do next?
One size does not fit all. There are many paths to greater well-being and multiple ways to manage stress, and take care of yourself. I specialize in teaching people how to use Life Source Writing™ – a holistic journaling method for wellness and professional/personal growth. This is not for everyone – you need to know yourself and your preferences. I also invite people to be curious and see what part of this Creative Wellness approach might work for them - how can you make this your own? What’s possible here?
Inspiration and motivation are core ingredients for growth and change. What motivates you? I spend time cultivating space for you to feel grounded, at ease, curious, energized and open to multiple sources of inspiration and motivation as you take action towards what matters most in your life and work through exploring Life Source Writing™ as a powerful and transformational tool for your ongoing journey of self-actualization!
Bring a sense of excellence and competency - I am a life long learner and I commit to regular, ongoing professional development in service to being the best coach, facilitator, writer and speaker I can be. My work stands on both years of experience as well as thousands of hours of training. I commit to bringing you quality, competent, evidence based and ethical service. Your 100% satisfaction is extremely important to me!
Practice what I preach. I work hard to keep self-care and the ever shifting sense of work-life balance up front in my daily life. As the mother of two young sons, a wife, and a serial entrepreneur (I am also a partner in our family business – http://www.oceansidecottages.com) - each day has its own unique juggling act. Self-care is not static but rather dynamic for each of us and I do my very best to prioritize my well-being, happiness and health. I live what I teach others – you should know that I write for myself each day as a health, wellness and personal growth practice, just like others might do yoga, or meditate, or eat a vegan diet…I write! I do this because I know it works as a tool for managing stress, increasing health and aligning with my vitality, clarity, energy, truth, creativity, and passions AND I know it can do this for you too!
Now that you have a better idea of the results you can expect by working with me as well as something about my guiding beliefs, values and approach to working together, please explore the coaching programs, retreats, speaking services and products I offer to support your writing for wellness journey.
