This week's story of connection welcomes friend and guest, Jon Macaskill, a former Navy SEAL turned mindfulness and meditation teacher.

In this inspiring episode, Jon shares his thoughts on resilience, mindfulness, and the importance of a strong and supportive community. Learn how to effectively redefine your relationship with stress and invite resilience into your life.

1. Jon shares his unique journey from serving in the Navy SEALs to becoming a mindfulness teacher, showing how one can redirect their lives through resilience and mindfulness

2. Practical advice on how to start your own mindfulness practice, with a focus on box breathing

3. An honest discussion on the high rates of male suicide, violence, and depression and how community could counteract these numbers

4. How traditional societal roles of men can limit their expression and cause mental strain, and the opportunity of vulnerability to foster emotional health

5. Insight on maintaining resilience in the face of life's discomfort and challenges

6. The poignant personal story of Jon's daughter's major surgery and the life lessons he gleaned from it, highlighting the importance of letting go

7. Jon's validation of having faith in oneself and gratitude as essential parts of resilience

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gL-OuQz0qRs

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelobrienpelotoncoaching

Websites: Executive Coaching and Speaking and Pause Breathe Reflect  and The Kintsugi Podcast

Sponsors: Pause Breathe Reflect Meditation and Gratitude App

To discover more about bringing mindfulness into your company or podcast sponsorship opportunities by emailing me at [email protected]  

If this episode sparked something within you, please download it and share it with a friend. 

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver, or lacquer, highlighting the cracks rather than hiding them. It embodies the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfection and teaches that breakage and repair are part of an object’s history, making it more valuable rather than less. Metaphorically, Kintsugi reminds us that our challenges, scars, and setbacks are not something to be ashamed of but can be embraced as a source of strength and transformation.

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Thanks for being here! I appreciate you! 

Let's celebrate our scars as golden symbols of resilience and strength. 

My name is Michael. I'm a husband, father, son, and friend. I'm also an executive coach, speaker, and meditation teacher, and I help people prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day and help them heal, grow, and develop more resilience. 

I'm not a doctor or therapist. But I have been through the “ringer,” as they say. I was involved in a cycling accident, and my trauma team doesn’t know how I survived. Along the way, I’ve tried it all to heal and in my podcast, I share what I’ve learned in hopes that something might help you. Plus, I want to create a connection with you so you’re not alone in your journey. You’ve got this!

If you feel you need more mental health support, please contact NAMI. This is a good place to start. If you have a question or comment, please reach out to [email protected]. 

With Whole Again: A Fresh Approach to Healing, Growth & Resilience after Physical Trauma through Kintsugi Wisdom, listeners explore resilience through personal stories of trauma, scars, and injury while learning to overcome imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism with self-compassion, self-love, and self-worth. Through insightful discussions on stress management, mindfulness practices, and digital wellness, the show offers practical tools like breathwork, grounding techniques, visualization, and daily affirmations for anxiety relief and stress relief. Inspired by the art of kintsugi, the podcast embraces healing as a process of transformation, encouraging a shift in perspective from worry and being overwhelmed to gratitude and personal growth. By exploring the mind-body connection, micro-dosing strategies for emotional well-being, and holistic approaches to self-care, this podcast empowers listeners to cultivate emotional resilience and live with greater balance and intention.