The Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Podcast

A conversation with Zabie Yamasaki.

Zabie Yamasaki is the Program Director of Trauma-Informed Yoga Programs at UCLA, and created a trauma-informed yoga program that’s being used at over 20 college campuses in the US. In this episode, David and Zabie discuss the difference between observing and absorbing adversity and stress in a leadership role; strategies to support self-regulation to best support others; and how the physiological triggers of trauma can be worked with skillfully in body-based contemplative practices.

A conversation with Shelly Tygielski.

This episode's guest is Shelly Tygielski, a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher, who's also deeply involved in offering trauma-informed mindfulness programs to communities who have been affected by gun violence and mass shootings in the US. In their conversation, David and Shelly discuss what Shelly’s learned in creating trauma-sensitive environments for those impacted by gun violence; What it means to be a “mindful first responder” and how to responsibly promote self-care; And the connection between mindfulness and social justice, specifically anti-gun violence organizing.

A conversation with Rebecca Crane.

This episode's guest is Rebecca Crane, a teacher passionate about mindfulness teacher competencies—particularly "who" we need to become in order to offer mindfulness to others. In the episode, David and Rebecca delve into the questions: What makes a mindfulness program a mindfulness program? Where does trauma fit into all this? And where is the field going?

Rebecca Crane PhD directs the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University and has played a leading role in developing its training and research programme since it was founded in 2001. She teaches and trains internationally in both Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Her research and publications focus on how the evidence on mindfulness-based interventions can be implemented with integrity into practice settings. She has written Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Distinctive Features 2017, co-authored Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with People at Risk of Suicide, 2017 and is a Principle Fellow with the Higher Education Academy.

A solo podcast by David Treleaven.

In this special podcast, as opposed to interviewing a particular leader in the field, David interviews, well... himself! After a brief opening practice he discusses: The way our own healing needs to be at the center of TSM; the reason David thinks of trauma as Winter in the seasonal cycle; and how mindfulness (and particular supplemental practices) can help us turn towards suffering with a greater capacity to heal it.

A conversation with Paula Ramírez.

In this episode, David interviews Paula Ramírez, a mindfulness teacher currently working with humanitarian workers and trauma survivors at the United Nations. Paula and David discuss her adaptations of mindful body scans when working with differently abled people, cultural adaptations Paula has made in offering mindfulness to displaced and traumatized communities, and self-care practices she engages in when offering Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness work.

A conversation with Daniel Rechtshaffen.

In this episode, David interviews Daniel Rechtshaffen, mindfulness educator and author of the book The Way of Mindful Education. They discuss the connection between mindfulness and ecology, being in right relationship with our natural environment, and the ethics of bringing mindfulness into different community settings.

A conversation with Jessica Morey and Charisse Minerva (iBme).

In this episode of the TSM podcast, David interviews Jessica Morey and Charisse Minerva, Guiding Teachers at Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme), a nonprofit organization that offers trauma-informed mindfulness programs to youth and their families. They discuss how mindfulness providers can embody principles of trauma-sensitive practice, the difference between secularization and secularity in mindfulness practice, and the role of nature and resilience in trauma-sensitive practice.

Charisse Minerva is a Board member at iBme, and has also worked with the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) and is Mindfulness Coordinator at Friends School of Virginia Beach. She has offered mindfulness in schools, festivals, at corporate offices, and in detention & treatment centers.

Jessica Morey is the Executive Director of iBme and a founding board member. She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), and before joining iBme worked in clean energy and climate policy and finance.

A conversation with Sam Himelstein.

In this episode of the TSM podcast, David interviews Sam Himelstein — a psychologist, educator, and author of the book Trauma-Informed Mindfulness with Teens (Norton, 2019). Sam details how he builds trust with youth when teaching mindfulness, and the most effective trauma-informed principles and practices he’s learned over the years.

Dr. Sam Himelstein is a licensed Psychologist who worked in the Alameda County Juvenile Hall. He founded the Center for Adolescent Studies and has written extensively on clinical work using mindfulness with young people. He’s author of A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Working with High-Risk Adolescents (Routledge, 2013) and Mindfulness-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents: A 12-Session Curriculum (Routledge, 2015). His forthcoming book, Trauma-Informed Mindfulness with Teens (Norton, 2019) will be available this fall.

A conversation with Rhonda Magee.

This month's guest is Rhonda Magee, a powerful teacher and thought-leader focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law, and social justice. Rhonda discusses racial justice as an aspect of living mindfully, and how to bring, in her words, "compassion together with truth telling." Rhonda is also author of the forthcoming book, "The Inner Work of Racial Justice" (Norton, 2019).

A conversation with Will Kabat-Zinn.

In this inaugural podcast, David sits down with meditation teacher Will Kabat-Zinn to discuss his thoughts and insights about trauma-sensitive mindfulness.

Will Kabat-Zinn has practiced Insight Meditation for over 15 years. He has taught mindfulness and meditation to diverse populations--neuroscientists at the Mind and Life Institute, incarcerated youth in NYC and Oakland, and business and technology leaders in Silicon Valley. He leads retreats regularly at Spirit Rock and at meditation centers around the country and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher's Council.