Mindful U at Naropa University

104. The Essential Relationship of Mindfulness and Activism

January 9th, 2024  |  1 hr 14 secs

activism, grief, healing, mindfulness, political activism, yoga

Reggie Hubbard is a yogi, political campaigner and activist, speaker, and meditation instructor.

On this episode he speaks to working with grief and how to heal, he tells his story of how he aligned his professional and spiritual life into an integrated path of purpose, and he explains why he believes mindfulness is essential to political activism.

100. Holistic Life Foundation: Let Your Light Shine

August 11th, 2023  |  42 mins 35 secs

ali smith, andres gonzalez, atman smith, engaged mindfulness, hlf, holistic life foundation, let your light shine, light shine, mindfulness, social justice, yoga

Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez are the founders of the Holistic Life Foundation and the authors of Let Your Light Shine. They teach yoga and mindfulness practices to at-risk youth in their community and underserved communities. There programs have revolutionized schools, detention centers, drug treatment centers, mental illness facilities, recreation centers, group homes, and more. In this episode, they talk about their new book, Let Your Light Shine, which shares the inspiration and methods of their programs as well as their personal practices that inspire their path.

63. Holistic Life Foundation: A Principal's Insight to Mindfulness Programs in Baltimore Public Schools

March 4th, 2019  |  44 mins 16 secs

baltimore, baltimore schools, city public schools, education, fort worthington elementary school, holistic life foundation, meditation, mindfulness, monique debi, naropa university, patterson high school, principals, school, vance benton, yoga

"Anything dealing with meditation or anything dealing with children's emotional growth is difficult to quantify. And it's difficult to put a price on it. So, it's difficult for schools, principals in particular to bring programs when you gotta pay some people to do some things inside of a school. So, meditation and things of that nature unfortunately will be put on the backburner. And a lot of people's levels of urgency tend be well, low on that on that scale. Because a lot of people just aren't into it themselves. And unfortunately, can't see a broader picture, outside of what's the immediate gratification."

44. Richard Miller: Integrative Restoration, Yoga Nidra

October 22nd, 2018  |  51 mins 57 secs

integral, miller, yoga

What is the singular thread that runs through every spiritual tradition? Yoga nidra (nidra means "sleep" in Yoga) gives us a framework off of which to hang so many teachings. Yoga nidra is like a tree with many branches that many spiritual teachings can hang off of, and the main trunk is the singularity. Yoga nidra offers many branches to hang Eastern teachings off of, and one can also hang many Western teachings off of it too. We can see every western psychological approach and every eastern approach reflect one another, but we can also see the singularity within them that they all share in common, and so East and West fall away into one singularity of understanding. We can learn how to welcome the fact that all that we are is an expression that comes out of this deep mystery that has given birth to the entire cosmos. Everything, everything is part of that mystery. Every thought, every emotion, every body sensation, every person, every tree, every rock is that mystery incarnate. So, you have to think, "What am I trying to get rid of? What am I trying to change?"

23. Empowering Underserved Communities: Holistic Life Foundation

April 23rd, 2018  |  49 mins 14 secs

holistic life foundation, meditation, public schools, yoga

The Holistic Life Foundation is a Baltimore-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Through a comprehensive approach which helps children develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care HLF demonstrates a deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. HLF is also committed to developing high-quality evidence-based programs and curriculum to improve community well-being. Listen as we discuss the Foundation and Naropa with its founders.