Mindfulness Off the Cushion

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 way at home and school. There is a wealth of power hidden in the simple-yet-challenging act of bringing awareness to the language we use in our lives. And by that I mean not just the world we live in, but also the world within us. There is so much to be discovered when we practice bringing awareness to our thoughts and emotions and learning how to express ourselves in a skillful and helpful way. Our interview today is with Mudita Nisker and Dan Clurman, the authors of "Let's Talk: An Essential Guide to Skillful Communication.” In our discussion, we have the opportunity to explore their insights and perspectives on this important subject. Their book offers practical guidance and strategies for improving communication skills and cultivating deeper connections with others. Mudita Nisker is a licensed marriage family therapist (LMFT), coach, and trainer. A strong advocate of lifelong learning, she’s led women’s communication-training groups for over thirty-five years. Dan Clurman is a coach, trainer, and professor. Over the past thirty years, he has provided communication training and coaching to individuals and organizations in the private, public, government, and nonprofit sectors. Let’s Talk offers invaluable guidance for anyone looking to improve their communication skills and relationships. Whether you are a parent, lover, teacher, or leader, you can benefit greatly from the kindly guidance provided in this book. By reading and applying the strategies outlined in "Let's Talk," you can improve your communication with everyone in your life and find yourself getting into fewer conflicts. And when conflicts do arise, you will be better equipped to navigate them with more skill and grace. Since this interview with Dan and Mudita, I have purchased multiple copies of their book and I even started a little book club with my wife and three young boys. Not just for me and my learning, but also for them and preparing them for their lives. I don’t want them to be challenged in the same way that I was. I hope to give them the gifts of self awareness, emotional literacy, self regulation, and effective communication. And I couldn’t think of a better book to use as our guide to transform the way we relate to ourselves and others — one conversation at a time. Learn more at letstalkmethod.com -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center and mindfulness student. Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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 Diego, CA and travels the world teaching mindfulness. Dave is a Certified Teacher of the Search Inside Yourself Program, a course in mindfulness, neuroscience, and emotional intelligence, designed at Google for the corporate setting. He has experience teaching mindfulness to a wide variety of populations including business leaders, teachers, yoga instructors, social workers, cancer patients and their families, teens, and military veterans. He has helped facilitate programs from New York City to Anchorage, Alaska and everywhere in between. A certified instructor for the US Veterans Affairs Department teaching the 8 week course: Taking Charge of My Life and Health, Dave brings Mindfulness to Vets, helping them heal and thrive in every aspect of their lives. As an Ordained member of the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, Brother Dave believes that all of us can use the tools of mindfulness to live fuller, happier lives right now. He likes to say that he spent all those years training in monasteries so you don’t have to. Website: https://www.davekenneally.com/ -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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-compass-for-parents Facebook Dr. Buzanko Page: https://www.facebook.com/DrCarolineBuzanko/ Super parents of Kids with Anxiety Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/720299805212614 Podcasts Parents of the Year: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/parents-of-the-year/id1611916146 Overpowering Emotions:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overpowering-emotions-podcast-helping-children-and/id1618828819 -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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, with practice, to sit with unpleasant thoughts, ideas, or people. And to do so without letting them get under our skin. And, as we have discussed, this uncommon and seemingly unattainable feat of being comfortable in our own skin. We’re going to revisit some old friends… ego and psychological flexibility. We’ll review t he ability we can cultivate to become aware of our ego habits and how these habits can get in the way of our own personal development… and building a better life… a more open and loving life. Amazingly, almost magically, it all ties back to the power of the present moment. And the relationship between present moment awareness and the domain of our thoughts and emotions. Our guest today is Neal Hughes. Neal is a seasoned psychotherapist and a long-time mentor of Claudio’s. Neal has a wonderful paternal quality to him and I’m excited for you to have a chance to observe how he creates a warm and welcoming space for his clients, his friends, and himself. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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 fitness. At the end of the day, you simply can’t be fully present at work or fully available to your coworkers without some patience, and self-awareness, and a non-judgmental attitude. Basically, regardless of the macro view, whether we’re talking globally, locally, or on your team, if we aren’t okay with what’s inside of us, we’re not going to be able to add value elsewhere. So, How can we practice being a mindful/conscious leader? And, what exactly is the connection between mindfulness, emotional intelligence and our interpersonal relationships? We will approach these topics in our episode today with our special guest, Mindfulness Instructor, Luis Gil. Luis is a mindfulness instructor with over a decade of experience practicing and teaching at centers and organizations all over North America. He has trained and worked extensively with the community of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a certified teacher of the Search Inside Yourself (SIY) Leadership Institute born at Google. The SIY programs take an evidence-based approach combining neuroscience and mindfulness techniques to teach practical self awareness, emotional intelligence and leadership tools. If you care about yourself, and the work you do in this world, this indeed episode is for you. Let’s jump in and swim in the wealth of knowledge that lies within the mind, body, and life or Luis Gil. Find and Follow Luis online Joga.co: https://joga.co/ -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast -- Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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 hope to point you toward the process of learning how to be more self-aware and compassionate toward yourself moment by moment. And as Claudio likes to say, there are a lot of moments in our lives, aren’t there? Why do we recommend you do this? So that you can more carefully step into a more intentional and patient role of caring for your own mental health and crafting a journey of healing. If you’re a long-time listener, thank you for hanging in there with us as we continue to find new ways to uncover the pathways that exist within us. Pathways that lead us to the best version of ourselves. Today, Claudio and I launch our 4th season of MOTC. We’ll be interviewing mindfulness practitioners from all walks of life with the goal of showcasing their favorite ways to practice mindfulness off the cushion. Our hope is that you’ll be able to integrate some of these skills in your own practice. Our first guest is a former teacher who discovered a way to bring peace to her classroom. Her name is Katrina Gleisberg and she is a mindfulness educator, coach, and meditation creator. After teaching special education, 3rd & 4th grades, and adult English Language Learners, she noticed a striking commonality: students of drastically different backgrounds and ages showed greater attention, calm, collaboration, and ability to take on challenges after short mindfulness practices throughout the day. She is now on a mission to spread mindfulness and holistic wellness everywhere she goes. Find and Follow Katarina online LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarina-gleisberg-19b466a8/ Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/katarina.gleis YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2b2F6lyEUK9P0U_BIIAXOA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katarina.gleisberg.mindfulness/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ELL-Teacher-Share-207630459925723/ -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast Host

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 safe space where such emotions can be held, nurtured, and explored. As you will hear from the Geeta, we are asked to reflect what would be on our bucket list if we knew we had one year to live. We are then gently and lovingly asked to contemplate this very bucket list as the time of mortality shortens from one year to six months, to one month, to one week, to one day, to one hour, to one minute, and finally to one breath. I want to thank Geeta because this guided meditation is one of those rare experiences where we get to make sense of what really, really, really matters to us. -- 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. As she points out, we humans can carry these “ouches” in the form of physical pain through tension in the body - or emotional pain through the stories or narratives we tell ourselves. And in this guided meditation, we explore, we feel, we make contact with what it would be like in this mind/body system to gently and patiently lay down our defenses against the ‘ouch’ and to soften and release in the face of the ‘ouch.” The moment we practice doing this is a moment of kindness and compassion toward ourselves. Thank you, Geeta, for this lovely meditation. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast We hope you enjoy our season with Dr. Sears and are able to learn more helpful ways to practice mindfulness in your daily walk. Enjoy! Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor at the Austin Mindfulness Center

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 ourselves, how do we turn towards, rather than away from, that moment of discomfort? What deeper truth does that discomfort point towards? What does discomfort prepare us for? We’ll explore this in our final episode with Geeta. Season 3 Special Guest Geeta Cowlagi is a CFM Certified MBSR Teacher from the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness (CFM) in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Geeta has been leading groups and individuals in their mindfulness journeys for over a decade from her Central Texas practice, Joyful Living. Geeta’s teachings are based in part on her own teacher, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. -- Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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. As she points out, we humans can carry these “ouches” in the form of physical pain through tension in the body - or emotional pain through the stories or narratives we tell ourselves. And in this guided meditation, we explore, we feel, we make contact with what it would be like in this mind/body system to gently and patiently lay down our defenses against the ‘ouch’ and to soften and release in the face of the ‘ouch.” The moment we practice doing this is a moment of kindness and compassion toward ourselves. Thank you, Geeta, for this lovely meditation. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast We hope you enjoy our season with Dr. Sears and are able to learn more helpful ways to practice mindfulness in your daily walk. Enjoy! Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor at the Austin Mindfulness Center

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, in many Eastern languages, heart and mind are often translated interchangeably. As we’ll soon discover, the flavors of the heart come with precursors, or conditions needed in order to make tasting these flavors truly possible. For kindness to occur in the heart, first forgiveness needs to happen. For compassion to occur, mercy must exist first. For the courage that leads to equanimity to appear, first, some stage of exhaustion is required. With all these flavors and precursors at work in the heart-mind of a mindfulness practitioner, joy can also, occasionally, be tasted. Yes, all these flavors may sound like a lot to unpack, but we’ll do our best, guided by Gita, to begin to wrap our beginner’s minds around it all. Remember, mindfulness is a lifelong practice - and perfection is not the destination we’re seeking. Rather, through this practice, we are seeking a doorway to gradual healing. Let’s explore what approaching that doorway can look like. Season 3 Special Guest Geeta Cowlagi is a CFM Certified MBSR Teacher from the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness (CFM) in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Geeta has been leading groups and individuals in their mindfulness journeys for over a decade from her Central Texas practice, Joyful Living. Geeta’s teachings are based in part on her own teacher, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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 firsthand how they inform and interplay with each other. At the heart of this visualization, we are asked to move into the body and explore how it feels to recoil in the face of danger. But it doesn’t stop here. We are also asked to move into the body to explore how it feels when we acknowledge we are no longer in danger and seek to help those in suffering…whether it be a dog, a friend, or ourselves. What would be like for us to move throughout our day to day lives with greater insight and awareness of how we react in the face of danger, and how, in the midst of this reaction of this aversion, we can still leave a space for care, connection, and human compassion. Thank you Geeta for this guided visualization. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast We hope you enjoy our season with Dr. Sears and are able to learn more helpful ways to practice mindfulness in your daily walk. Enjoy! Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor at the Austin Mindfulness Center

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’ll work through some simple exercises together, then explore some ways in which breathing offers us all an opportunity to be more courageous and connected in our lives. While not all of us have the luxury to sit in formal practice on the meditation cushion, each of us has a friend, breathing, who can guide us towards mindful moments no matter where we may be. Season 3 Special Guest Geeta Cowlagi is a CFM Certified MBSR Teacher from the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness (CFM) in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Geeta has been leading groups and individuals in their mindfulness journeys for over a decade from her Central Texas practice, Joyful Living. Geeta’s teachings are based in part on her own teacher, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described mindfulness student. Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast We hope you enjoy our season with Dr. Sears and are able to learn more helpful ways to practice mindfulness in your daily walk. Enjoy! Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor at the Austin Mindfulness Center

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-better perspective. It is our goal with this fourth season to join you in the process of personal discovery. As Geeta so invitingly puts it, we’ll learn together how to develop the courage to just sit with ourselves and have a cup of tea. Let’s discover what that means for Geeta, and for other practitioners as well. We’ll begin by getting to know her a bit, then dip our toes in the sea of getting to know ourselves better, guided by Geeta’s supportive, steady voice. Season 3 Special Guest Geeta Cowlagi is a CFM Certified MBSR Teacher from the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness (CFM) in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. Geeta has been leading groups and individuals in their mindfulness journeys for over a decade from her Central Texas practice, Joyful Living. Geeta’s teachings are based in part on her own teacher, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, LMSW, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast We hope you enjoy our season with Dr. Sears and are able to learn more helpful ways to practice mindfulness in your daily walk. Enjoy! Host Lance Vaughn, Co-owner of the Austin Mindfulness Center Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Mindfulness Instructor at the Austin Mindfulness Center

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 most common mental health conditions folks face today, we’ve also made plenty of pit stops for debate, clinical evidence, personal stories, and laughter. Now that we’re looking back, we’re left with a question - how do we possibly attempt to wrap up such a complex topic? Frankly, we can’t. What we can do, however, is step out of our own way when it comes to understanding and just embrace wherever we are in our mindfulness journey - in this moment. It doesn’t need to be complicated. It can even be happy. We’ll probe the relationship between happiness and mindfulness, while also offering up several informal practices and resources that can help make presentness of mind ‘stick’ for the perennial beginner. Season 2 Special Guest Dr. Richard W. Sears, PsyD PhD MBA, core faculty of PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Union Institute & University and Director of The Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation. Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

Season 2 Bonus - Dr Sears guides us through the process of using mindfulness to help us bring awareness and openness to repairing relationships. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast -- Season 2 Special Guest Dr. Richard W. Sears, PsyD PhD MBA is a board-certified clinical psychologist, speaker, and consultant. He is a core faculty member of the PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Union Institute & University, where he is the Director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness & Meditation. He is also Volunteer Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences at the UC College of Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor at Write State University School of Professional Psychology, and clinical/research faculty at the University of Cincinnati Center for Integrative Health and Wellness. He runs a private psychology practice in Cincinnati and conducts mindfulness groups at the Alliance Institute for Integrative Medicine. On top of all that, Dr. Sears is a sixth degree black belt in To-Shin Do / Ninjitsu. He has studied and practiced mindfulness and the Eastern Wisdom traditions over 30 years, and was given a doctorate in Buddhist Studies from Buddha Dharma University. He received ordination in the Japanese Tendai lineage, Bodhisattva ordination and authority to teach kõans (inka) under Paul Wonji Lynch in the Zen lineage of Seung Sahn, and ordination in the Vietnamese Zen tradition of Thich Thien An under Suhita Dharma. -- Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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 to one degree or another. Relationship issues also frequently exacerbate other mental health issues. Conversely, supportive relationships can be strong indicators for our likelihoods to handle adversity and avoid developing mental health disorders. So, how can a mindfulness practice help support our ability to cope with relationship issues? The key lies in listening. Let’s explore! Season 2 Special Guest Dr. Richard W. Sears, PsyD PhD MBA, core faculty of PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Union Institute & University and Director of The Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation. Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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. -- 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 at https://www.austinmindfulness.org/podcast -- Season 2 Special Guest Dr. Richard W. Sears, PsyD PhD MBA is a board-certified clinical psychologist, speaker, and consultant. He is a core faculty member of the PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Union Institute & University, where he is the Director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness & Meditation. He is also Volunteer Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences at the UC College of Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor at Write State University School of Professional Psychology, and clinical/research faculty at the University of Cincinnati Center for Integrative Health and Wellness. He runs a private psychology practice in Cincinnati and conducts mindfulness groups at the Alliance Institute for Integrative Medicine. On top of all that, Dr. Sears is a sixth degree black belt in To-Shin Do / Ninjitsu. He has studied and practiced mindfulness and the Eastern Wisdom traditions over 30 years, and was given a doctorate in Buddhist Studies from Buddha Dharma University. He received ordination in the Japanese Tendai lineage, Bodhisattva ordination and authority to teach kõans (inka) under Paul Wonji Lynch in the Zen lineage of Seung Sahn, and ordination in the Vietnamese Zen tradition of Thich Thien An under Suhita Dharma. -- Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.

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 long after the initial event is over. In this episode of Mindfulness Off the Cushion, we’ll provide a brief overview of trauma, how it impacts the brain and body, and how mindfulness-based treatments can help heal the long-term effects of experiencing trauma. We’ll also touch on situations in which formal mindfulness meditation may not be the best treatment for a person who has been traumatized, offering alternative, grounding approaches to working with post-traumatic stress. Season 2 Special Guest Dr. Richard W. Sears, PsyD PhD MBA, core faculty of PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Union Institute & University and Director of The Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation. Host Lance Vaughn, co-owner of Austin Mindfulness Center and self-described ‘mindfulness student.’ Co-host Claudio Barrientos, Certified Mindfulness Instructor at Austin Mindfulness Center.