Catching Z's: The Millennials Guide To Mindfulness

In a time where there is so much uncertainty and many reasons to be pessimistic about the future, Asha brings us a breath of fresh air and provides us insight that brings hope.  As a Black Woman, those things don't come easy but Asha puts in the internal work to be able to show up in a meaningful way for herself and for those around her.  Asha Tarry is an author, an award-winning community mental health advocate, psychotherapist, and certified life coach. As a treating provider, Asha has 20 years of experience providing evaluations, diagnoses, treatment, and life-enhancing skills to children, adults, families, and couples. We talk about:  A book by Arrianna huffington that got her into meditation How to know what to say no to How mindfulness can help with trauma Allowing awareness to be held in a safe place internally Asha’s experience of the current racial climate Power of doing the work yourself first How she has a positive outlook on life during COVID and the social injustice Why cynicism doesnt serve her

Ada Velonis is the Founder of Marmalade + Kindness. Born and raised in Melbourne, she has always had a passion for baking and cooking. Being of Greek descent, food has always played a prominent role in practicing her culture and shaping her identity. Her fondest food memories are those she spent learning traditional holiday recipes under the wing of her beloved grandmother. Inspired by her own experience, she decided to create Marmalade + Kindness as a way to share her food journey with loved ones in Australia, and to encourage others worldwide to practice ‘mindful cooking’.  We talk about: How her love of cooking came about What mindful cooking is all about and why everyone can do it Why cooking is therapeutic for her and can be for others How Marmalade + Kindness came to be Her mantra of "practice makes progress" Her mother allowing Ada to be herself which has helped her in adulthood The inward and outward experience of cooking Why cooking in the kitchen doesn't always have to be Zen! Her favorite meal  A

Andre is in tune with life in a very fascinating way.  He reached the milestone of 24,000 minutes meditated so I had to have him on the show to talk about his journey.  We chat about: Imitating Pop cultures version of meditation when he started How meditation has had a domino effect on his life "Metacognition of your own life's soundtrack" Recognizing the Unity of Humanity “Would a meditator do this?” How meditation influenced his decision making skills Meditation and it's utility during COVID-19 and the racial climate Much more!     Andre's Youtube channel Twitter Instagram

Janelle Christa is a Hollywood coach, actress, producer, and screenwriter, and creator of “conscious entertainment”. Having come from a history of affairs, divorce, and family dysfunction as well as a bi-polar diagnosis, she strongly believes that happiness is a choice. Janelle’s level of expertise sees her coaching celebrity clients and people from all walks of life seeking to bring fulfillment into their lives. Janelle is also a founder of conscious production company Le Murian Dreams. Her and I talked about:  The power of visualizations that got her into meditation How her adverse experiences caused her to dig deep into herself and turn her life around The power of tapping into your state of being How influential hope was in helping her turn her life around Why we should share our vulnerabilities Creating Conscious Media and movies  What being a member of the #zerofucksclub means to her Much more!   https://www.janellechrista.com/

Alex and I met through a couple of friends just over 2 months ago now.  I immediately felt his understanding of the world and the way that he articulated it was something special, so I had to have him on the podcast.  I know that you'll feel the same way after listening to our conversation.   We talk about:  His introduction to meditation How he got into Tai Chi How Tai Chi enhanced his meditation practice The power of letting go  An explanation of Tai Chi and the Water method Experiencing our physical body An elegant explanation of our existence on this planet How Tai Chi has helped him during Covid and the climate of racial injustice.  Much more!

Devon and Craig Hase are such genuine people and speak about the deep topics of Buddhist Dharma in a very accessible way.  They spread joy through their words and lighthearted nature and have recently published a book, "How Not To Be a Hot Mess" that captures so much of what makes them great to talk to, and offers a practical guide to living in today's world.   Devon's experience of unhappiness in college along with a Pema Chodron book that led her to meditation Craig's chaotic teen years that led him to meditation The difficulty of beginning a meditation practice for Craig Devon going to Spirit Rock in college and having a powerful experience there that made her want to continue diving in How Devon + Craig met  Being married to someone who also practices meditation Their current experience with an "urban" retreat How being on a retreat during the global pandemic is What they love about Dharma practice How their book "How Not To Be a Hot Mess" came to be How the chapters of their books are based on the Buddh

Stefanie was a joy to talk to.  She started meditating about 5 years ago and didn't maintain that consistently.  Recent events within her life have caused her to reconnect with her meditation practice and that just so happened to be in the middle of the current global pandemic.  We talked about:  Burnout in her first job caused her to turn to Meditation 5 years ago What drew her to meditation during times of personal hardship How being the child of an immigrant helped with her resilience Getting back into meditation 3 months ago Her self awareness and how she’s cultivated this How meditation has helped take ownership of her mind Meditation during the current pandemic Tips for beginning your meditation practice Creating a community around MYND Why it’s so important to have mental health resources accessible Stefanie's Twitter Mynd website Email Stefanie!

Miles has been on a couple of year long retreats and has found each of his experiences only further fuels his curiosity and wonder about his mind and the minds of others.  He speaks very deeply about the precious inner workings of life backed by close to 10 years of devotion to these practices.  We talk about:  Doing a 10 day vipassana reatreat prior to college Traveling to thailand to be ordained as a monk and how this was a profound milestone in his life Diving into a 2 month retreat with Alan Wallace after coming back from Thailand with the desire to keep his practice going What is Goenka?  How his practice continues to develop How true curiosity has helped his practice Ajahn Sucitto and how he taught Miles to pay attention to his intentions during meditation The feeling of just scratching the surface that continues each day Understanding everyone as individuals Monasteries of the future and how those will look Co-founding Dharma Gates  Feelings about the current global pandemic https://www.milesbukiet.c

Sierre is a very interesting person to chat with.  She combines a depth of knowledge with a thoughtful approach to looking at life.  She's only been meditating for a little over a year and already speaks about life in delicate and amazing ways! We chatted about:  How reading Andy Puddicombe’s book got her into meditation Mom’s present of Transcendental Meditation  How she relates to her mind  Experiencing silence of her mind  How meditation influences her physically Presence and Decision Making  Meditation and Appreciating K-Pop with her sister Timing around adopting a meditation practice  How Design and meditation align  Creating novel ideas through Meditation Liberating structures of design thinking and meditation What she’s excited about with her practice The hardship that comes with life  

I left this interview feeling more connected to the world and felt like I had traveled around the world as well.  Mag is a magnificent storyteller and has made traveling a center piece to her life and marrying those two things is wonderful to experience.  We chat about:  How she got the travel bug at 11 years old when she lived in Italy for 3 years  Why she started journaling as an outlet from her difficult upbringing Feeling at home in many places abroad What travel allowed her to find out about herself  How connection is important for what she feels makes a place feel like home Innate traits that we all possess as humans that she discovered in travel  The importance of journaling in her adventures  Common themes that arose in her journaling showing what she values in experiences The impact that her grandmother had on her instilling compassion in her Translating her journals to the book that she wrote, “Bowing to Elephants”  How a moving experience with Elephants led to the title of her book  Getting into m

Aaron is so in tune with the tiny details of life and how they play out in our realities. He was so fascinating to chat with that I threw out just some random questions I'd been pondering in my head and he answered them with poise and an amazing amount of thoughtfulness with each word.  He is dedicating the foreseeable future to the monastic life and I'm excited to see the great things he will do there and with everything he dedicates his energy to like the organization he's starting to get college graduates exposed to the benefits of monastic life!  Truly an amazing conversation every second we shared together.  Listen to us talk about:  Practicing TM in Asia at 20 years old Rowing and how it showed him a different experience of his mind + body How Ashtanga got him more into a sitting practice  Influential teachers in his life How he chose to begin living the monastic life  The benefits he’s received in the monasteries he’s lived in How he views suffering and deals with it Inspiration for Dharma Gates and h

Cheryl has a contagious energy and speaks from her heart while she talks intensely about her struggles with anxiety.  She's had a long career as a musician and she has a competitive drive that helped when she added meditation to her self-care routine.  She's now over 600 days in to her practice and isn't looking back.  We covered a lot of topics including: 10 years of anxiety attacks that led to her looking into meditation Her feelings against meditation originally Tracking her happiness and life factors for a year  How she experiences panic attacks now being over 600 days into her meditation How she discovered her effective self care practices Writing sad music as a child and how she believes it helped her be a happy person Keys to expressing your true self What her meditation practice looks like  Discoveries she’s had about herself through meditation Why meditation is so important to her Where her practice shows up the most in her life How music has influenced her practice and vice versa Creating her recen

Alex achieved a good amount of success in high school in both sports and academics.  Little did he know the real world would give him a rude awakening that would eventually manifest in a panic attack.  He turned to meditation after sifting through many self help guides and has seen great benefits since then.  We talk about:  Achieving a lot at an early age setting the stage for future stress How having a panic attack made him look at his life deeper  How he seeks out self help info to gain an advantage and how this led him to meditation His recognition of his place on earth to get him through tough times The benefits that he received from meditation early on How to turn awareness into action How his competitive nature crept into his meditation practice and caused him to step away for a litle bit Where meditation shows up in his life How just breathing can be a game changer How meditation has benefitted him in Sales What his new years resolution was

Jeff has a breadth of knowledge that makes chatting with him a marvel. He has degrees in neuroscience and behavioral psychology as well as a masters of Buddhist studies from Hong Kong University.  I was so eager to chat with him and get his thoughts that I threw a bunch of different topics at him and he did not disappoint with any of his answers.  We talked about:  How he found there was a push and a pull to get him into meditation in the first place How studies in neuroscience and behavioral psychology influenced the want to go deeper into meditation How clinging to labels can be detrimental Suffering from an eating disorder and needing to relearn how to be in his body with love An impromptu guided meditation on loving the body that you’re in How our minds influence our body and how to bring a better balance to this How mindfulness gives us a conscious choice in life Why it’s important to establish boundaries around appropriate use of technology The power of training your attention How what you’re feeding y

Beauty is not only her name but also classifies the  amazing energy she radiates when I talked to her.  She has gone through some pretty traumatic experiences in her life and has chosen a path of healing rather than a path of self destruction.  The strength and confidence by which she talks about each subject we cover is outstanding and you can feel how genuine she is living through her words (and so damn well spoken through her EP)  We talked about:  Her introduction to meditation through Yoga Getting certified as a yoga teacher through the Africa Yoga Project The experience of teaching yoga in a low-income area and why she did this in part to change the image of what a person doing Yoga looks like Her memories teaching kids meditation and yoga The rise of yoga in Namibia and what has contributed to it How she defines her healing and how it helps her get through her trauma Pushing through the “grunge work” of meditation and yoga The release of her new EP and how it was a great form of express

Tasshin is currently the Assistant Director at the Monastic Academy.  Saying those words to 23 year old Tasshin would have made him laugh and he would have wrote them off.  His journey and his transformation is truly fascinating.  He talks from a place of experience about the foundational elements of what it means to be a human and speaks about them from a place of wisdom.  He admits that by no means is he a perfect person and that he still has a lot to learn but I was blown away by the depth by which he understands life after only being at the Monastic Academy for 4 years. We chat about:  How he was introduced to meditation growing up as a unitarian universalist How going on a week long retreat made him decide to dedicate his life to these practices How he decided to dedicate his life to a meditation practice  Finding that Thai Buddhism wasn’t for him and how this led to the decision to join the Monastic Academy Difference in the Monastic Academy and a traditional monastery Tasshin’s desire to have more peo

Dr Danny Penman is a  meditation teacher and award-winning writer and journalist. He currently writes features for the UK Daily Mail, having previously worked for the BBC, New Scientist and the Independent newspaper. He is co-author of the international bestseller Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World.  I talk to Danny about  The paragliding accident that caused him to turn to meditation Why people come to mindfulness from a place of desperation Can meditation be abused for competitive advantage? Is McMindfulness harmful to mindfulness?  How meditation has been around for thousands of years in different cultures If there are any other ways to receive the benefits of meditation How meditation gives us a “direct route” to our inner selves The way that he defines the difference in meditation and mindfulness How his latest book, The Art of Breathing, came from his own frustration about global adoption of mindfulness and how he made the book digestible for anyone who wants a thorough,

Heidi has been around the wholistic wellness world for a while, she holds a Doctorate in Psychology, is a Yoga Teacher, and teaches mindfulness based therapy to create a practice that looks at the whole person instead of just a couple of pieces. She has a ton of knowledge about what it takes to be a full human and she was a joy to chat with. We talk about: Her experience of meditation through getting into Yoga to lose weight Defining the spirit and why we don’t usually tend to our spirit  What companies are doing for millennials to help feed their spirit What we can learn from the Baby Boomer generation Why studying psychology left her wanting to know more about Anxiety + Depression Why she feels we shouldn't talk about anxiety and depression as illnesses Her new book:  Soothe: Your Mind-Body-Spirit Guide for Dealing with Crappy Emotions Difference in Resilience + Strength and when to use each How to use the phrase: Strong Like Oak, or Bend Like Grass Guided Meditation: Breathe the way you want to feel   

Xenia was experiencing bouts of depression and even suicidal thoughts and she knew that she either had to make a change or that the path she was on wouldn't end well. She decided that she needed to leave her unfulfilling job and leave her home country of Germany.  She decided to make a significant change by moving to Canada as well as taking up a serious self care routine that included meditation.  She has since been living life more intentionally and even opened up her own business being a Millennial Coach giving advice to her fellow millennials on how to live a life of more intention.  We chat about:  What went into her decision to leave Germany and live in Canada How to get outside your comfort zone How diversity is so important for one's life Living a life of more intention Why Millennials are going through quarter life crises and what we can do to mitigate that How she was able to discover her authentic self and how you can too What little things we can do to bring kindness to others Free Enough Coach

Toby Sola dove into meditation in his teens when he was introduced to some contemplative practices through a neighbor who was willing to share them with him.  Lyme Disease then caused him to dive even deeper into a meditation practice in a time in need.  I loved this conversation because you can tell how long he's been practicing and how deeply he's experienced the benefits of meditation.  We chat about:  His first introduction to meditation through a neighbor that was into shamanistic practices How Lyme Disease caused him to dive deeper into meditation How having Lyme Disease caused him to understand how to separate your thoughts from your physical experience What sweat lodges are Shinzen Young’s philosophy How Shinzen Young influenced him early on and how that lead to him working with him on BrightMind How Brightmind designed their app to be comprehensive but not complicated How as a tech company focused on mindfulness he looks at the iterative process Toby’s research on effective pedagogi