Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Angel Tootle.
Hi Ana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m a Miami native that has been passionate about health and wellness for most of my life. I got certified to teach Spinning in 2004 and taught clients a fun and upbeat way to improve their physical health for 16 years. Shortly thereafter, I also became a student of Body Talk, an energy-based healing modality.
Around 2010, I began an e-newsletter called Inner Universe reflecting the benefits of being proactive with our mental and physical health.
The market crash of 2009 catapulted me to begin my mediation journey and I’ve never looked back. Since then, I’ve been inspired to share all that I have learned as a result both by way of inspirational messages and techniques that have been game-changers in my practice.
As an undeniable foodie, I began Feel Good Foods in 2016 and still contribute 10% of the sale of my homemade pumpkin bread to Feeding South Florida to help end hunger in our local communities. On average, by the sale of my loaves of love, I help provide 360 meals per week to neighbors in need. That fills my heart in ways I can’t describe in words alone.
My Empower Hour mindfulness courses began at Lotus House where I taught formerly homeless women how to tap into the power within themselves to improve their lives. I also became certified in Laughter Yoga in 2018 in order to help people laugh their way to better health in a fun and silly way. KB Living Magazine reached out to me in 2019 and I began writing articles about the importance of employing a mindfulness practice in a world bracing for an unprecedented pandemic climate.
In 2020, I began Elevated, Inc. which is dedicated to teaching courses on mindfulness and meditation sharing all that I have learned and applied in my own journey. My classes went virtual with Cloud 9 World, a character-building program for schools all over the country, and I taught administrators how to reduce stress and increase joy in a pandemic world thirsty for that kind of relief.
I’ve been invited to speak at podcasts such as those given by Empowered Worth and Key Biscayne Stories in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
More recently, I began these meditation and mindfulness classes called Sunrise Gratitude at the Key Biscayne Beach Park just steps away from my home, and they are the closest experience to heaven on earth. They are intended to help the everyday person sharpen their mindfulness skills and demystify the notion that mediation is only for yogis. When we all take a proactive approach to our holistic health, we become a better version of ourselves and everybody wins, including our planet.
My goal is to teach these mindfulness and meditation classes around the world in breathtaking venues so that we can grow and expand our mindfulness journeys in long-lasting ways while enjoying the bounty Mother Nature has gifted us all. Everybody benefits when we pursue our dreams and desires.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it was not always a smooth road. When the market crash of 2009 affected our family’s finances this mother of three had to apply the practice of meditation after reading so much about it. Like learning to ride a bike for the first time, it’s a wobbly journey. You fall but you have to learn to get up and try again. And again. And again.
I had read so much about the benefits of mediation because I’ve always been an avid student of wellness and self-empowerment. For example, the first couple of times I went to a Spinning class in the late 90’s I thought I was going to throw up but had to find out what all the hype was about. Who knew I’d be certified to teach it only a few years later in 2004 for the next 16 years? Spinning is one of the most fun ways to practice fitness but the first couple of classes were very challenging, to say the least.
I approached mediation very similarly. I felt I was drowning due to the changes in our finances and wanted to find out for myself what all the hype was about and here I am teaching meditation and mindfulness just a few years later. Clearly, there’s a pattern here. Not surprising, I teach my students to show up in the face of fear and uncertainty. Nothing dissipates fear more than taking action. I am a firm believer that when you show up, the universe does, too. If you don’t meet the universe halfway, it is very difficult to receive the help you need.
The process is not always a smooth one especially when you commit to a practice of mindfulness, namely in the beginning. You have to get raw and real with yourself and you may not like what you see. But how are you to improve your life if you don’t take that honest inventory? Well, I wasn’t very pleased with all I was seeing in myself then and I knew the journey would be an arduous but productive one. And that indeed it was. Self-doubt and judgement gave way to a heightened intuition and a better trust in the power I harnessed already but never before acknowledged. Like Gabby Bernstein says, obstacles are just a redirection to the right path.
As you know, we’re big fans of Feel Good Foods dba Elevated. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
It’s no secret I am a foodie and in 2016, I got inspired to unite my passion for both food and ending hunger. That’s when Feel Good Foods and Thoughts, Inc. was born. The thought of local communities enduring hunger crushed me and I decided to do something about it. I began baking homemade pumpkin bread with semi-sweet chocolate chips and vowed to donate a portion of every loaf sold to Feeding South Florida to support our neighbors in need. To this day, I continue “baking a difference” in our community in a fun and delicious way. I sell them at the Key Biscayne Farmers Market on Saturdays, CIC Miami and to customers directly. People love my loaves and garner great satisfaction knowing that they, too, are helping people in need along the way. Although I am not ending hunger on a global scale, I know I am doing what I can to help fellow South Floridians facing hard times, and that alone makes me indescribably happy.
I know that feeding ourselves nourishing foods is vital to good health but so are our thoughts. In 2020, Feel Good Foods and Thoughts became Feel Good Foods, Inc. dba Elevated to address the mindfulness component of my business. Elevated is all about classes and courses that teach the everyday busy body how to incorporate mindfulness and meditation in a practical and doable way. I’ve received a lot of inspiration along my own journey and I know with every fiber of my being that those lessons, hard and happy as they may have been, are intended to be shared to help and uplift others. Like baking pumpkin bread to help end hunger, teaching these mindfulness techniques fulfills me in many amazing ways. I like to instruct students to have fun, to harness the power they already have within themselves, to trust their intuition, and to genuinely enjoy the blessings that are already present in their lives in order to attract even more.
To that end, the goal of Elevated is to host mindfulness and meditation retreats in breathtaking venues around our planet to squeeze the juice out of life in an uplifting way while enjoying Mother Nature’s bounty. I visualize these retreats including deep introspection of our wellness practices while also enjoying yoga, cooking, hiking, biking and infinite amounts of laughter. We live in a fast-paced world full of busy bodies that could use a little instruction on incorporating mindfulness in our everyday schedules while having some fun in the interim. These Elevated retreats are intended to have life-long effects that create a better version of ourselves. By participating in these unforgettable retreats, we are reminded how life can be extraordinary and the world is a better place as a result.
I am happy to share that we’ve already started these little retreats, if you will, in our own backyard here on an island off of downtown Miami where I live called Key Biscayne which is often referred to as Paradise Found. These classes are called Sunrise Gratitude and my partner in crime, Monica Campana, and I offer them at sunrise Friday mornings here at our local beach park. The venue is nothing short of magical as the orange sun rises over the blue ocean waves. I teach my 4-part recipe for mindfulness and the second half of the class hosts a different teacher and his/her modality every week so that attendees are engaged and exposed to new ways to improve their health and well-being. I guess you could say, Sunrise Gratitude is the first of many classes that are Elevated in paradise.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I give a huge portion of my success to Hay House Publishing. Why? Because over the last couple of decades, they have done everything possible to bring inspirational authors and speakers from all over the world in one forum. They have held everything from You Can Do it conferences to Hay House Radio shows where readers can call in to ask authors any question they’d like. Authors and presenters range anywhere from Dr. Wayne Dyer, Nancy Levin, Gabby Bernstein and Marianne Williams to name just a few. Of course, the late Louise Hay, founder of Hay House publishing herself, deserves the most credit as she created this amazing community for the rest of us to grow and prosper in our own journeys. My gratitude for her can be felt all the way where she is in heaven.
A couple of years ago, Hay House Radio gave way to an app that has limitless access to all Hay House audiobooks and authors including card decks and previous radio shows. For this busy body, it has been a godsend! When I am baking or driving, for example, I listen to chapter after chapter of my favorite authors’ books to keep my own self-empowerment journey on point and to garner ideas I can share with my clients.
In 2021, I joined the Hay House Writers Community to learn how to self-publish my own book and it has been phenomenal. Although I am far from having a completed manuscript, I continue to learn new ways to speak, write and promote my work. The community and support is incomparable and my appreciation for Hay House continues to grow.
Sherry Giusto was my first and best Spinning instructor many moons ago and the person who encouraged me to get certified to teach it. I am grateful for my favorite yoga instructor, Arbey, for sharing his beautiful outlook on life with us and the importance of expressing gratitude in our everyday lives. I appreciate Lotus House, a local women’s shelter, for allowing me to share my first mindfulness classes called Mind Spa with the amazing residents there. I am thankful for CIC Miami for hosting the sale of my homemade pumpkin bread both before and after the pandemic. I am thankful to Karmen Placensia for being such an extraordinary Laughter Yoga teacher and mentor. I also appreciate Jen Todd for bringing me on board the Evolve app so clients can have virtual access to my instruction. I am grateful to Monica Campana who asked me if I would be interested in hosting mediation and mindfulness classes on the beach called Sunrise Gratitude last year. Oh, yeah! The Key Biscayne Farmers Market, where I sell my loaves of love every Saturday, is also a gift from the heavens. I connect with my community of 35 years under the warm breezes and sunshine of our island paradise. I appreciate my customers and neighbors more than they will ever know.
I am infinitely grateful to my husband Clay and our three grown kids, Christian, Alexa and Patrick, and my parents, for their unwavering support of my ever-evolving journey. They have seen me fall and get up again. They have seen me thrive in my happiness for what I do while always holding me with the unconditional support and admiration only a close network of a family could give. Finally, I am grateful for the angels that whisper in my ear to follow my dreams and to listen to my higher wisdom. Behind it all, I know my maternal grandmother Tita is tirelessly working behind the scenes of it all.
Pricing:
- $10/loaf homemade pumpkin bread
- $20/Sunrise Gratitude Class – first class is free and if you bring a friend it’s only $10
- $99/hour webinar Mindfulness for the Everyday Person
- $49/hour Evolve app
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://anatootle.wixsite.com/feel-good
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anatootle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ana.tootle/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/anatootle
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/feelgoodkb/
Image Credits
Rick Gomez Photography Monica Campana
