Andres Gonzales is the co-founder of the Holistic Life Foundation and for the past 16 years, he has taught yoga to diverse populations around the world ranging from Baltimore City public schools to mental health facilities. He has also partnered with John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health and the Penn State’s Prevention Research Center on a Stress and Relaxation Study. This week, Andres Gonzales shares a breathing meditation to help you activate your vagus nerve and enter a state of relaxation.

This week, Ni-Cheng Liang leads us in a 4-7-8 breath practice to release stagnant air and find calm. Ni-Cheng is a pulmonary physician, podcast host, and mindfulness teacher. In the early days of the pandemic, she recruited eight medical colleagues from across the United States to create the Mindful Healthcare Collective, which offers free online mindfulness sessions to healthcare workers, with topics including basic breath awareness, mindful eating, and even anti-racism work. 

Susan Bauer-Wu shares a guided mindfulness practice to help you cultivate the patience to ride the waves of change. Susan Bauer-Wu, a researcher, scholar, teacher, and trained nurse, turned to meditation to help her develop both a peaceful mind and heart. Now, as president of the Mind & Life Institute, she integrates her scientific and clinical background with the wisdom of mindfulness to better understand the mind and help heal the world in its current divisive state.

This week, Tovi Scruggs-Hussein leads us in a practice to explore integrity, inspiration, and purpose with compassion. Tovi is an author, educator, and leadership coach, as well as one of the powerful women of the mindfulness movement featured in the August issue of Mindful magazine. Her 17 years as a high school principal showed her that overworked and under-supported teachers were burning out, while students suffered as a result. Now she teaches leaders to reach their full professional potential—which in turn helps those they lead reach their full potential. 

Ruth King offers a guided meditation practice from her heart to yours. Ruth is a teacher, author, founder of the Mindful of Race Institute, and featured in the August issue of Mindful magazine as one of the powerful women of the mindfulness movement. In this first episode of 12 Minute Meditation, she invites us to savor stillness and feel deeply into the ways our lives are interconnected. “May we remember that we belong to each other.”

If you find it difficult to pause and grieve, begin this meditation practice to connect with the natural rhythm of rest. This practice is a refuge from the ever-present social and political chaos in society. Experience the sacred healing that comes with resting in awareness

Show notes: Meditation by Rashid Hughes.

Rashid Hughes is the co-founder of the Heart Refuge Mindfulness Community, a mindfulness community in Washington, DC that is dedicated to inspiring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to live with love and courage.

Mindfulness allows us to create space between ourselves and our emotions. In this space, we can find stability and cultivate resilience. As you go through this guided practice, you can begin to see how emotions are like hurricanes and recognize the qualities and impermanence of your stormiest emotions.

Show notes: Meditation by Scott Rogers.

Scott Rogers integrates neuroscience research into the efficacy of mindfulness training programs in high-stress professions and has written numerous articles and authored various books on mindfulness.

This engaging meditation uses the energy and imagery of the wind to foster inner connection and emotional regulation. Follow the guided practice and join your child on a mindful adventure.

Show notes: Meditation by Heather Hawk Feinberg. 

Heather Hawk Feinberg is a mother, counselor, writer, music-maker, educator, and spiritual guide. In 2016 she founded Mindful Kids, a non profit organization that creates pioneering resources for social emotional awakening.

Our hearts break, but our hearts also heal. The thread that pulls us from heartbreak to healing is love, says Judy Lief in this practice for working with grief.