Meet Michelle
Meet Michelle Weil
My passion is helping people foster positive change. I have a Master's degree in biology and a decade of experience working in holistic health as a nutritionist and therapeutic yoga teacher focused on anxiety, burnout, and health recovery. This set the foundation for my transition into sleep coaching following my own insomnia recovery. I trained with my teacher Dr. Daniel Erichsen of The Sleep Coach School to become a certified sleep coach so I could help people just like you.
Our purpose
My goal with The Hopeful Mind is to help as many people as possible overcome insomnia and get their lives back.
Like many of you, I struggled with insomnia for years. It was the hardest time of my life. I tried everything to sleep again but nothing stuck. I did yoga and sleep hypnosis. I took sleep aids, supplements, and cut out caffeine and sugar. I tried cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (twice) and worked on resolving past trauma. I was so desperate I even took a DNA test to look for hidden clues. Read my insomnia story.
No one understood what I was going through. Many well intentioned doctors and practitioners couldn’t make any sense of it. I was told it could be neurological, hormonal, or that I was depressed. Nobody could tell me WHY I wasn’t sleeping and why my mind and body no longer felt like my own.
I started to get my life back when I discovered why insomnia happens and how we can get stuck. I also learned how we break that cycle. Once I recovered, I decided to become a sleep coach to help others since I knew firsthand how hard it was to access support. Most importantly, I knew that people didn’t need to keep suffering. What is a sleep coach?
Ending the cycle of insomnia
My “Aha” moment came when I learned that insomnia isn’t really about sleep. I discovered that the fear and anxiety I felt weren’t just symptoms of my insomnia, they were fuelling it. This changed everything.
I discovered how our brains can create what we experience in our bodies. And how we can harness the way our brain and body learns (neuroplasticity) to help support recovery. This new understanding changed the way I viewed and approached insomnia. It was the beginning of my recovery process – I knew I no longer had to stay stuck in the fear-insomnia cycle.
How I can help
I work with people all over the world who are struggling with insomnia. People who feel stuck, broken, and exhausted. People who have struggled anywhere from a few weeks to decades. You may think that recovery isn’t possible for you, or that you’ve tried everything. I did too. I understand the pain of this struggle. I also understand the path out. I’ve walked it myself and have helped light the way for others ever since.
Everyday, I strive to become the kind of coach I wish I had during my struggle. I partner with my clients to provide support, education, and the tools to make recovery possible. You don’t have to go it alone – I got you.
Want to learn more about working with a sleep coach?
Here are a few additional resources to help you in your recovery. What is a sleep coach? and what is insomnia?