Mindfulness Off the Cushion
Mindfulness is becoming more widely practiced around the world because it is scientifically proven to help reduce stress, anxiety, depression — and improve our resilience and overall wellness — and that’s exactly what the world needs right now. We explore what is perhaps the most challenging aspect of mindfulness: being more present in our daily lives and bringing more compassionate awareness to our relationships, ourselves, and beyond.This podcast is sponsored by the Austin Mindfulness Center.
Episodes
Our episode today is being published around the holiday season. I couldn’t imagine a better gift than this: the gift of mindful communication, or skillful communication.
We all know that communication is a fundamental part of human interaction and plays a crucial role in shaping our relationships and human experiences. I wish topics like effective communication and emotional regulation were taught in a more intentional wa...
Special guest Brother Dave Kenneally has been practicing mindfulness for over twenty years. A former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps AND a former Buddhist Monk in the tradition of the Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, he seems to have a penchant for shaving his head and wearing a uniform. Or perhaps it’s his love of service. After spending six years living in Buddhist Monasteries and Practice Centers, he now resides in San Die...
Special guest Dr. Caroline Buzanko - Her mission is to inspire and empower mental health professionals, educators, and families in promoting children and teens' resilience and long-term success.
Website: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/
Emotion Cards and Body Outline: https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/emotioncardsbodyoutlines/
Anxiety Compass Parent masterclass: https://koru-learning-institute.thinkific.com/courses/anxiety-c...
Today we’ll learn how a mindful mindset can be incredibly useful when trying to create a space for healing. And the most important ingredient when you’re creating a space for healing is your simple presence. Simple, and yet, not as easy to do as you might think.
We can do this for others as we lay the groundwork for healthy communication. And we also do this for ourselves. We’ll explore this human ability we can develop, w...
Today’s episode may not be for you, because today we’re going to approach the topic of corporate wellness. But, wait. Before you move on to another episode, I want to make you a promise. If you give our guest a few moments, he will likely teach you something that you can apply in your own life. I mean, look, here’s the thing. You can’t have corporate wellness without healthy people. And health is not just about your physical fitnes...
If you’re thriving in your life and looking for a way to be 10% happier or 1% more productive, we may not be the podcast for you. If you’re feeling overwhelmed stressed or struggling and you’re looking for help in your daily dance with suffering, welcome home. This podcast was made for you.
We hope you’ll join us as we share ways that you can practice bringing awareness to your inner world throughout your daily moments. We...
Season 3 Bonus - This guided meditation is for anyone seeking to explore the nature of their mortality. It is a profound practice that under the normal circumstances of everyday life – we rarely examine with mindful awareness.
Whenever we contemplate our mortality, many big and strong emotions may arise in the process of this exploration. My encouragement is that if you decide to practice this guided meditation, please do so in a ...
For the final episode of season three with our special guest and mindfulness teacher Geeta Cowlagi, we look back on our brief time together and ask - have we developed the wisdom, courage, and compassion necessary to sit with ourselves and ‘have a cup of tea’?
Sometimes, as we’ve discovered, sitting with ourselves can be very hard to do.
Mindfulness presents us a challenge - when things get quiet and we get uncomfortable with ourse...
Season 3 Bonus - In this short, guided meditation, we explore kindness in action.
Our special guest, Geeta Cowlagi, helps us create the conditions to make contact with this body, mind, and heart from a place of safety and abundance. We explore how through the act of simply releasing and softening the body, we can begin to release and soften the heart against what Geeta refers to as the “ouches” of our lives.
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In this episode of Mindfulness Off the Cushion, we dive deep into what our special guest Geeta Cowlagi refers to as “the four flavors of the heart.”
What are these tasty yet complex flavors Geeta speaks of?
Kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Each of these flavors exists as possibilities, skills, or experiences locked within our hearts. And the heart is just as vital as the mind when it comes to mindfulness practice. In fact...
Season 3 Bonus - In this guided meditation, Geeta guides us through a story, a visualization, where we get to interact, at an experiential level, with two important and essential dimensions of the human heart.
These two dimensions consist of aversion and connection. Initially, these two forces of aversion and connection may seem contradictory to each other, yet, as we explore in this visualization, we get to experience f...
If you joined us for our previous episode where we introduced our Season 3 special guest, Geeta Cowlagi, you may recall how Geeta encourages us to view mindfulness as building a relationship with a lifelong friend. In our latest episode, we get to know a particular friend that each and every one of us has in common: our breath.
Today, we’ll learn how to befriend our breath. We’ll also reconnect with another old friend, stress. We’l...
Season 3 Bonus - Special Guest Geeta Cowlagi leads us through a guided meditation focused on the power of sitting with ourselves and feeling a sense of 'Welcome Home' warmth and peace.
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We would love to hear from you! - What would you like to know about mindfulness or how it can help you with the issues you are facing? Record your question for our podcast team. If your message is selected, we will answer it on ...
In Season 3 of Mindfulness Off the Cushion, we’ll shift our focus away from our clinical perspective to explore mindfulness from a deeply experiential perspective. This season will consist of four interviews — each with a companion meditation — with our special guest, Geeta Cowlagi. As you'll soon discover, Geeta is a certified mindfulness instructor who approaches her mindfulness practice from a loving, get-to-know-yourself-b...
Bridge to Season 3 - Lance and Claudio reflect on Season 2 with Dr Sears and share their plans for diving deeper into the self in Season 3.
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We would love to hear from you! - What would you like to know about mindfulness or how it can help you with the issues you are facing? Record your question for our podcast team. If your message is selected, we will answer it on the podcast!
Ask us a question on our website a...
Season 2 with Dr Richard Sears - We can hardly believe it - Season 2 of Mindfulness Off the Cushion podcast is a wrap! Over the course of this season, our special guest Dr Richard Sears has accompanied us on a journey through mindfulness as both a clinical and personal tool. Frequent stopping points along the way involved learning how to use mindfulness to help get us through difficult times. With a special focus on some of the mos...
Season 2 Bonus - Dr Sears guides us through the process of using mindfulness to help us bring awareness and openness to repairing relationships.
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We would love to hear from you!
What would you like to know about mindfulness or how it can help you with the issues you are facing? Record your question for our podcast team. If your message is selected, we will answer it on the podcast!
Ask us a question on our w...
Season 2 with Dr Richard Sears - If you’ve been following along with our series within a series, we’ve been focusing on how mindfulness can help address some of the most common presenting issues folks face today. As a recap, a presenting issue is a primary concern that might cause a person to seek out the help of a mental healthcare provider. Today, we’ll explore relationship issues.
Relationship issues affect most, if not all of us...
Season 2 Bonus - Dr Sears guides us through the act of opening up to what is present in our mind and body when making space for processing trauma.
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We would love to hear from you!
What would you like to know about mindfulness or how it can help you with the issues you are facing? Record your question for our podcast team. If your message is selected, we will answer it on the podcast!
Ask us a question on our ...
Season 2 with Dr Richard Sears -As we begin to wrap up our exploration of some of the most common mental health issues people face, today we’ll turn our attention to trauma.
The experience of a traumatic event is not a rare one. In fact, 50-60% of all people will experience a trauma at least once in their lifetime. While a traumatic event in and of itself may be relatively short in duration, the impact of trauma can ripple outwards...
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