Find the Center

Taught by Michelle Long-Colclough

Parents have been trusting me with their children since I was twelve years old. Children can tell in about thirty seconds whether an adult actually sees them. That's the whole job — and it's the one thing I've never had to fake.

Through yoga and breath, I meet every child exactly where they are — and help them grow more centered, more connected, more aware of the strength they already carry.

Parents describe me as energetic, powerful, connecting. Children just see a safe place to land. They open up, they get excited, they want to be around me — because the energy I bring is childlike, but it carries a strength and a discipline that reaches something deep in them. I've been called the child whisperer, not only for the way I reach a child's inner world, but for the way I help parents see it too.

I hold space from love — never judgment, never fear. I celebrate who a child already is. I acknowledge them, validate them, and let them know they are seen, cared for, and encouraged, exactly as they are. And I keep it playful, because play is how children let you in.

Teenagers are their own art. Most of them arrive guarded — they'll tell you outright they don't want a therapist, they don't want another adult talking at them. They wonder why I am the way I am. But it doesn't take long. A few moments in, they feel how much I actually care, and the wall comes down. I've watched teens who swore they didn't want to talk end up in tears, finally saying where their pain lives.

From there, we work. We reset the body, steady the mind, and find power in the breath. They start to understand that who they are is not broken — it's perfectly made — and that everything can work out when they have the right tools and the right perspective. Teachers have told me they can see the shift: a student who starts valuing themselves shows up differently in the classroom and in their life. They stop searching outside themselves for permission to be okay, and they start looking within.

That playfulness is the doorway. The strength is what makes it stick.

Kindergarten through twelfth grade.

That's a wide range, and it's the point. Little ones need warmth and play. Teenagers need to be talked to like people — never handled. I've spent my career being one instructor your six-year-old adores and your sixteen-year-old actually respects.

Children arrive labeled difficult, defiant, too far gone. I have never once met a child who fit that description. I've met children nobody had slowed down for. Children are exceptional lie detectors, and they know the difference.

The body learns to steady itself. The mind learns to follow. And a child discovers they can come back to center any time they need to.

Where the experience comes from

Behavioral Coach, Bostrom Alternative Center — Phoenix Union High School District.

Regulation, de-escalation, accountability, conflict resolution.

Montessori Educator Support, Shaw Montessori — Phoenix Elementary District.

Four years of helping K-8 explore and master their gifts.

Divine Vision Center — Transformational Thought Training, Coaching, Teaching, and Inspiring.

Nearly two decades of human development practice. Developing proven methods and skills that get results.

Youth behavioral intervention — trauma-informed work in high-risk environments since 2016.

Juvenile Detention Officer, Pima County — crisis intervention and de-escalation.

Boys & Girls Club of Tucson — serving high-risk and gang-involved members through a federal OJJDP grant, alongside top-tier scholars, building preventative programming through milestones like Youth of the Year.

Twenty years. From a secure detention unit to a Montessori classroom to the yoga mat. Same child. Same belief.

Why this work

Every child already has what they need. My job is to help them find it and hand them the tools — breath, movement, attention, and language for what they feel.

That's what Find the Center teaches. It's how a child comes back to themselves.

Education & Teaching

Bachelor of General Studies, Social Behavior & Human Understanding — University of Arizona, 2022
Arizona Substitute Certificate, PreK–12 — valid through 2031; IVP Fingerprint Clearance current

Yoga & Breath

Registered Yoga Teacher (CYT-200) ×2 — Breathe For Change (Yoga Alliance RYS 200, 2025) and East+West Bali
Crisis Yoga — Yoga Connection (formerly Yoga Gangsters), 2012
SEL*F Facilitator — Breathe For Change, 2025 (CASEL-aligned)

Coaching & Human Development

Certified Transformational Life Coach — SWIHA (ACCET-accredited), 2008
21 Keys High Performance Teaching & Learning — Pacific Institute, 2011
EFT Level I — SWIHA, 2015

What Parents & Students Are Saying

I feel very fortunate that Michelle was there for my son during his difficult years in school, always giving him a balanced blend of compassion and discipline, encouraging him to live up to the greatness she saw within him.

— Parent

Ms. Michelle impacted me in so many ways as my coach. If I was upset, she'd calm me down with power questions and say, 'Don't let them get to you — you have to keep your power.'

— Former high school student

Coach Michelle is amazing. She is like the child whisperer.

— Parent

Ms. Michelle worked with me in 8th grade. She taught me right from wrong and how to carry myself. I embraced her words, and it helped me face what the real world is like. She impacted my life in ways nobody could imagine.

— Former 8th grade student

From Education Leaders

"Michelle is an inspirational leader with a unique talent for helping people discover their higher selves. I attended a number of her workshops and left feeling motivated to pursue my dreams and more confident about who I am. If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, you will not be disappointed."

— Lloyd Hopkins, Million Dollar Teacher Project

"Michelle shared her passion and gifts with the students of Hope Academy and left a lasting impact. She connected with and was able to tap into the minds of our youth. Her message was relevant and challenged our students to pursue their goals."

— Larry Ross, M.Ed., Director of Student Services, Hope Academy