Meet M+M’s First Conscious Collaborator: Meredith Nordhem of Be Well Yoga Lifestyle

I’ve always believed in the power of collaboration and connecting with like-minded individuals, groups + brands as a way to spread the larger message of mindfulness. That’s why I decided to launch a new collaboration campaign in 2015, teaming up with fellow conscious and creative types to help inspire mindfulness and soulfulness in people around the world.

So who is M+M’s very first Conscious Collaborator? That would be Meredith Nordhem of Be Well Yoga Lifestyle. I discovered Meredith many months ago while reading one of her wonderfully written stories on MindBodyGreen, and knew immediately that she was just the kind of person I was looking for to connect and collaborate with.

Meredith is a longtime yoga practitioner, contributing writer for MindBodyGreen + The Huffington Post, lover of nature + adventure, and soon-to-be-certified yoga teacher through Kathryn Budig & Gina Caputo’s Aim True: Integrated Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training.

Not only was I inspired by all that Meredith does, but I was also drawn to her mission to "ignite the feel good in others through radical recipes, easeful yoga + meditation & straight talkin' healthy lifestyle tips"—a mission she accomplishes through her website, www.bewellyogalifestyle.com. (Check her out on Instagram at @mere_jane, Twitter at @bwyogalifestyle, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/bewellyogalifestyle, too.) 

And because Meredith is such a wonderful writer, I thought it would be fun to have her interview me, the founder of Mala and Mantra, about the brand and our connection to the yoga community. Check it out: 

Meredith Nordhem (MN): Why is it important to you to introduce M+M to the yoga community? How do you see meditation + yoga going hand in hand?

Judith Perez Compton (JPC): When I first created Mala and Mantra, I wanted to cater to three core audiences: the yoga, wellness, and spa communities. I felt that these three communities would be most receptive to the larger message behind the M+M brand—that of mindfulness, self-enlightenment, wellness, and empowerment. 

I see meditation and yoga as an integrated practice, as it is for myself when I practice every morning. Meditation is how I center myself through my breathing to create self-awareness, and yoga is how I integrate my breathing and body together. When I combine the two, I achieve a mind-body-spirit connection, which is what I think many people are searching for in their everyday lives.

 MN:  What's one feeling you hope people experience when they wear their M+M malas + jewelry?

JPC: Mindfulness, which essentially is self-awareness in the present moment, without judgment.

MN: How can integrating malas and consciously created jewelry, like the kind M+M make, into one's yoga + meditation practice enhance their overall wellness experience?

JPC: Mala beads, in particular, are a traditional meditation tool used to help keep focus and count mantras while meditation, so I think their connection to meditation is very real and powerful. I use my beads every day to meditate and stay centered, and I carry them with and on me throughout the day to help embody the properties of the particular gemstone or wood malas I’m wearing.

I think mala beads and other conscious jewelry can be very useful when practicing yoga, too, because they keep you grounded. They keep you focused on the present moment, on everything going on in your body instead of outside of it, and I think that’s one of the wonderful things about yoga in general.

MN: If M+M were a yoga pose, which pose would she be and why?

JPC: The Prayer Pose, because mala beads are used for meditation or prayer. They also symbolize the mantra Namaste, which translates to "The divine light in me honors the divine light in you." It’s one of my favorites. 

MN: What can us yoga lovers expect next from M+M?

JPC: Lots of new things are definitely coming your way in 2015!  New collections launching this Spring + Summer 2015 include our Lariats + Layers Collection, the “I Am Me” Collection, our Crafted For a Cause Collection, and our much-anticipated Yoga Mala Collection, along with exciting introductions to our vetted  Conscious and Creative Collaborators (and so much more)!

Don’t forget to learn more about Meredith Nordhem—visit her website at www.bewellyogalifestyle.com. And stay tuned for more Conscious + Creative Collaborators to come!

Namaste,

JPC