The Mindfulness Podcast

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Duncan, a meditation practitioner of 37 years and co-founder of Clear Sky Meditation Center in British Columbia. Duncan shares his remarkable journey of bridging two seemingly separate worlds: his deep Buddhist meditation practice and his corporate career. In this episode, we explore: 🧘 **The Evolution of Practice**: How Duncan transformed from keeping h...

Day 21 marks the final episode of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge with Silence - the ultimate minimal practice. Hosts Lele, Pat, and Nieta reflect on the challenge journey, discussing how finding the minimum words was both difficult and liberating, reminding them that mindfulness is fundamentally about awareness, not elaborate guidance. The episode concludes with a practice that has no...

Day 20 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Intentionality - a meditation that empowers you to choose how you want to be present. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to set an intention for this moment, noticing the difference between trying to achieve something and simply choosing how you want to be. As thoughts and emotions arise, gently return to your intention. Fi...

Day 19 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Square Breath - a structured breathing meditation that creates balance and calm. Through minimal cues, this practice guides you through a four-part breath cycle: inhale for a count of 4, hold that breath for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4, and hold empty for a count of 4. This equal-sided breath pattern (like a square) regulates...

Day 18 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Hand Awareness - a meditation that deepens embodied presence through mindful movement. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to look at your hands while still, notice how they feel from the inside, then move one finger as slowly as possible. Observe the intention before the movement—the subtle impulse that precedes action. Thi...

Day 17 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores The Pause - a meditation that reveals the space between thoughts. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to close your eyes and do nothing, waiting for the next thought to appear. Then open your eyes, see the room, and notice if the mind feels quieter. This meditation cultivates awareness of the gaps in mental activity—the natu...

Day 16 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Gratitude - a heart-opening meditation that connects you with appreciation. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to bring to mind something you can appreciate, something you feel gratitude for. Notice the emotions and feelings that arise, observe any physical sensations associated with this gratitude, and experience it fully...

Day 15 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Energy Scan - a meditation that attunes you to the subtle energy field of your body. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to feel the "buzzing" in your hands, the "buzzing" in your feet, then expand to feel the energy in your whole body. Rest in this total body awareness—the aliveness, the vibration, the energetic presence th...

Day 14 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Release Tension - a progressive relaxation meditation that uses contrast to deepen awareness. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to slowly clench your fists tight, notice the tension in your forearms, then release and feel the blood flow back. By creating and releasing tension, you heighten your awareness of the sensation o...

Day 13 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Observing Thoughts - a meditation that transforms your relationship with thinking. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to watch and observe thoughts as they arise, silently naming them as "thinking," and viewing them like clouds in the sky or fish in a pond. Notice how thoughts can be charged with emotions and sensations, ho...

Day 12 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Body Center - a grounding meditation that connects you with your body's core. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to bring attention to the center of your body, perhaps breathing into that center, simply being with it, or observing wherever the center might be for you. Connect with the sensations, attributes, and tonality of...

Day 11 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Heartbeat - an intimate meditation that connects you with your body's natural rhythm. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to place a hand over your heart, feel the pulse in your chest, notice the pulse in your fingertips, and sync your breath to this rhythm. This meditation cultivates awareness of the constant, life-sustaini...

Day 10 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Spatial Presence - a meditation that expands awareness into the space around you. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to notice the space above you, the space behind you, the volume of the whole room, and the space between you and the walls. This meditation cultivates a three-dimensional awareness of your position in space,...

Day 9 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Air & Temperature - a sensory meditation that attunes you to thermal sensations. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to feel the air on your face, notice the warmth in your palms, and become aware of any parts of your body that feel cold. This meditation cultivates sensitivity to the subtle temperature variations that constan...

Day 8 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge presents Peripheral Sight - a unique visual awareness meditation that expands your field of vision. Through minimal cues, this practice guides you to look straight ahead at one point, then notice what's on your left without moving your eyes, notice what's on your right, and expand awareness to your entire visual field. The practice concludes by c...

Day 7 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Visual Details - a focused seeing meditation that deepens your visual awareness. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to pick one object and truly see it: notice its color, observe its texture, watch how light hits its surface, and trace its outline with your eyes. This meditation cultivates the art of seeing—moving beyond cas...

Day 6 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge focuses on Sound - a deep listening meditation that explores the auditory landscape around you. Through minimal cues, this practice guides you to notice the closest sounds, then expand awareness to distant sounds, tune into sounds beside you, and discover the silence between sounds. The invitation is to listen openly without labeling or naming si...

Day 5 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Senses - a comprehensive awareness meditation that awakens all your senses. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to become aware of sight and seeing, hearing and listening, smell, taste, touch, and the sense of mind-body connection. The practice then expands to sensing the present moment fully, the space inside and outside of...

Day 4 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge presents Face Scan - a relaxation meditation that releases tension held in the face. Through minimal cues, this practice guides you to soften the muscles in your forehead, relax your jaw and tongue, allow your eyelids to feel heavy, and notice any tension behind the eyes. The face holds countless expressions and stress throughout the day; this br...

Day 3 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge explores Contact Points - a sensory awareness meditation that brings attention to where your body meets the world. Through gentle cues, this practice guides you to notice the ground beneath you, the cushion or chair supporting you, the temperature and fabric against your skin, and where breath enters your body. By tuning into these contact points...

Day 2 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge focuses on Gravity - a grounding meditation that connects you with the earth's natural pull. Through minimal cues, this practice invites you to feel your feet pressing the floor, notice your weight on the chair, release tension by dropping your shoulders, and visualize roots growing from your feet into the ground. This brief, focused session help...

Day 1 of the Minimal Mindfulness Guidance Challenge introduces a month-long meditation series focused on breath awareness with minimal guidance. Hosts Lele, Pat, and Nieta kick-off the challenge and explain the philosophy behind minimal guidance meditation: creating space for practitioners to develop their own awareness, build sharper attention, and cultivate a kinder relationship with mind wander...

Do you ever find yourself "mindlessly" scrolling through your feed, only to realize thirty minutes have passed? In this episode of The Mindfulness Podcast, hosts Nita, Lele and Pat explore the intersection of digital technology and mental well-being. In this episode, we discuss: Curating your experience: How to use mindfulness to audit your feed and the algorithms that drive it. The Dopamine Loop:...

In this episode, Pat, Lele, and Nieta explore the big question: Is mindfulness still relevant in 2026? With global course enrollments declining and mindfulness no longer seen as a quick fix, the trio digs into why the practice endures and why it might matter now more than ever. Together they unpack: - Global trends and regional differences in mindfulness interest - Why mindfulness requires dedicat...

Join us for the final episode of the year as we pause to reflect on 2025 and set mindful intentions for the year ahead. In this conversation, Lele and Pat share highlights, challenges, and hopes for the future, exploring how mindfulness can help us navigate change, foster compassion, and bring more joy into our lives and work. This episode includes: Reflections on the past year’s experiences and l...