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Hlustaðu og lestu

Sean Fargo

Practical, trauma‑sensitive mindfulness for everyday life — and for the people who teach it. Expect grounded guided meditations, evidence‑informed tools, and candid conversations with leading voices in the field.

Hosted by Sean Fargo — former Buddhist monk, founder of MindfulnessExercises.com, and a certified Search Inside Yourself instructor—each episode blends compassion, clarity, and real‑world application for practitioners, therapists, coaches, educators, and wellness professionals.

What you’ll find:
• Guided practices: breath awareness, body scans, self‑compassion, sleep, and nervous‑system regulation 
• Teacher tools: trauma‑sensitive language, sequencing, and ethical foundations for safe, inclusive mindfulness 
• Expert interviews with renowned teachers and researchers (e.g., Sharon Salzberg, Gabor Maté, Byron Katie, Rick Hanson, Ellen Langer, Judson Brewer) 
• Clear takeaways you can use today—in sessions, classrooms, workplaces, and at home

Updated 2-3x weekly. Follow the show, try this week’s practice, and share one insight in a review to help others discover the podcast.

Explore more resources and training at MindfulnessExercises.com and the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification.

Mindfulness Exercises

Happiness often feels slippery—too abstract to hold, too dependent on luck or perfect circumstances. We take a different path and lay out a grounded map you can actually use. The conversation with Austin Hill Shaw centers on three core human needs that, together, create a durable sense of wellbeing: connection, contribution, and meaning. Rather than chasing a mood, we practice a rhythm that returns us to what makes life feel alive.

Austin's website: AustinHillShaw.com

We start with connection in its many layers: a kinder relationship with ourselves, a deeper bond with loved ones, and a lived sense of belonging to neighborhood and the natural world. You’ll hear how our “time traveling” minds pull us into the past and future, and how simple attention—breath, body, and presence—brings us back. From there, we turn to contribution as the desire to matter. We explore how to match your real strengths to real needs, why small acts of service change your day’s shape, and how to protect generosity from burnout with clear boundaries and honest pacing.

Finally, we unpack meaning in two parts. There’s the framework that helps life make sense—your philosophy, spiritual path, or guiding principles—and there are those ineffable moments that words can’t hold: birth, grief, awe in nature, music that cracks you open. We talk about inviting awe without forcing it, and about letting meaning guide decisions when the world feels noisy. By the end, you’ll have a simple, memorable model you can act on today: connect, contribute, and cultivate meaning. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a steadier map, and leave a quick review telling us which pillar you’re working on next.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Happiness, Made Human (with Austin Hill Shaw)

The holidays can be dazzling and demanding at the same time—lights and laughter on the outside, pressure and mixed emotions on the inside. We tackle that paradox head-on with simple, compassionate mindfulness tools you can use in real time to steady your nervous system and protect what matters most.

We start with family dynamics, where old patterns and sensitive topics often intensify stress. You’ll learn mindful listening that lowers reactivity, silent loving-kindness that shields your heart without excusing harmful behavior, and practical boundaries that let you say no or leave early when you feel drained. We also share a quick “mindful escape” you can use during any gathering to re-center in under a minute.

From there, we shift into the money and meaning of the season. Explore mindful giving that starts with intention, mindful receiving that honors care even when the gift misses the mark, and mindful consumption that aligns spending with your values. Before you click buy, try a single breath and two questions: Is this needed, and does it match what matters? Those tiny pauses can prevent debt-fueled stress and restore a sense of peace.

To make mindfulness easy and portable, we teach the STOP technique—Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed—as well as a sensory reset that encourages you to smell the pine, taste the first bite, and listen to one song without multitasking. We close by highlighting the most generous offering of the season: your full presence. Put the phone down, make eye contact, and truly listen; that attention becomes a gift that outlasts any box or bow.

If this conversation helps you breathe a little easier, follow the show, share it with a friend who might need it, and leave a quick review to help others find these tools. Your presence here means a lot—thank you for listening and for choosing calm in a loud season.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

How To Find Peace When The Holidays Feel Heavy

Perfectionism says mindfulness must be done “right.” We flip that script. In this conversation, we share an everyday approach to mindfulness designed for overwhelmed and neurodivergent brains—one that starts with safety, honors choice, and turns presence into something you can actually enjoy.

We begin by grounding in self-compassion and a simple reframe: rather than labeling thoughts and feelings as right or wrong, notice whether they feel pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. That shift softens inner criticism and reveals the body-level signatures of judgment—tightness, holding, disconnection—so you can meet them with care. From there, we build a practical toolkit: mindful walking to anchor attention in the feet, mindful standing to steady posture and breath, and short breath check-ins you can use while moving, working, or speaking.

Because novelty and play boost engagement, we add choice-based micro-practices: spot five colors, listen for five sounds, or savor a quick tasting of chocolate or different waters, paying attention to texture, aroma, and aftertaste. These pleasant, low-stakes exercises train present-moment awareness without triggering the pressure to “meditate perfectly.” For days that can hold more intensity, we fold in compassionate phrases and gentle touch, always letting you opt out, scale down, or switch anchors.

Throughout, we emphasize trauma-sensitive mindfulness: consent, titration, and external anchoring before deep internal focus when needed. We highlight resources from leaders like David Treleaven, Christopher Germer, and Willoughby Britton to help coaches and practitioners stay attuned to safety. By the end, you’ll have a flexible menu to reduce overwhelm, loosen perfectionism, and make mindfulness a supportive part of daily life—no incense, cushions, or hour-long sits required.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with someone who could use gentler tools, and leave a review with the micro-practice you’ll try this week.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

How Self-Compassion Turns Perfectionism Into Presence

Start at the only place that never lies: the body. We open with a simple grounding—seat, feet, contact with the earth—and follow a thread of curiosity through head, chest, and belly to discover what the moment actually needs. Instead of forcing a schedule or chasing a perfect state, we let the felt sense choose the next step, whether that’s steadying with the breath, offering loving-kindness, or naming a few real things to be grateful for.

Across the conversation, we get practical about working with planning mind and emotional heaviness by sensing energy rather than wrestling with thoughts. You’ll hear how mindfulness of the body becomes the stable spine of practice: listening to sounds, noticing temperature shifts, tracking movement and stillness, and recognizing how pleasant and unpleasant tones color experience. We also explore a quiet but powerful intention—opening to more joy—without denying discomfort or papering over pain. Joy shows up in small, honest ways when we stop bracing and start noticing.

We contrast organic practice with rigid routines, acknowledging that some thrive on structure while others need flexibility. The throughline is integrity: begin with direct sensation, meet it without judgment, and let that guide what you do next. If the mind is busy, we gather attention. If the heart is tight, we offer warmth. If the moment is simple, we rest with the breath. By training this responsiveness, practice becomes sustainable and personal, a skillful way to meet change in real time.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who could use a gentler approach to mindfulness, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Your notes and stories shape future episodes—tell us where your practice led you today.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Listening To The Body

Healing isn’t a checkbox; it’s a way of relating to what hurts. We sit down with Insight Meditation teacher and author Justin Michelson to explore a grounded path through stress, pain, and trauma that begins with self-compassion and widens into nature, lineage, and something larger than ourselves. 

Justin's website: JustinMichelsonDharma.com

Justin's book: The Dharma of Healing

From his first teen meditation class to hard-won lessons with overwhelming energies, Justin shares how he moved from striving to surrender—trading the warrior stance for a bow that restores safety and connection.

We dive into a powerful framework he calls the four turnings of the wheel of healing: surface compassion for daily frictions, depth compassion for buried fear and grief, collective compassion for what family and culture seeded in us, and universal compassion that lets us rest in a benevolent field. Along the way, we unpack his striking metaphor of self-aversion as psychological autoimmunity—how our ancient impulse to pull away from pain turns inward and keeps wounds stuck—and how kind attention unwinds that loop. For listeners far from forests, Justin offers simple, sensory ways to let nature be a teacher: a patch of sun, a street tree, the feel of wind as a reminder that we’re held by more than our thoughts.

Justin also opens a window into his Native Foods Nursery, where tending edible native plants becomes a living practice of reciprocity and belonging. Teaching, for him, is shared practice—not perfection—where the goal is to help people remember their own inner wisdom and build resilience that can meet a turbulent world. If you’ve been craving practices that are practical, humane, and spacious enough for real life, this conversation offers a map and the companionship to walk it.

If the episode resonates, share it with a friend who could use a gentler path forward, and leave a review so more people can find these practices. Subscribe for future conversations on mindfulness, compassion, and healing.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

The Dharma of Healing, with Justin Michelson

Ever notice how your day turns into one long, uninterrupted scroll? We leave work on a call, weave through traffic still mid-story, and step into the kitchen without ever really arriving. We wanted to break that blur, so we dug into a simple framework: use the day’s natural hinge points—dawn, noon, midafternoon, dusk, and night—as scheduled pauses to reset attention and rebuild a sense of home.

This is an excerpt of an interview with Austin Hill Shaw: AustinHillShaw.com

Together we explore how technology stretches a single narrative across every context and what it does to the nervous system. Then we offer small, repeatable rituals that mark thresholds with care: end the call before you park, pause at the door with one conscious breath, remove your shoes as a deliberate handoff from “out there” to “in here,” and place your keys down with attention. We talk about how these gestures turn rooms into relationships and why nothing is inherently sacred until we treat it that way. That shift—treating space as worthy of care—changes how your home holds you, softens reactivity, and lets the next hour unfold with less friction.

We also lean into gratitude as the quiet engine of a grounded day. Not performative positivity, but a steady appreciation for heat and chill, ease and challenge, the small textures that prove we are alive and participating. By pairing gratitude with time anchors, you create clear chapter breaks that help the body settle and the mind reset. Start with one anchor—two minutes at dusk or a doorway pause—and notice how meals taste richer, conversations feel cleaner, and sleep lands sooner.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who lives on their phone, and leave a quick review telling us which daily anchor you’re claiming next.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Reset Your Day With Sacred Transitions

You can feel when a class lands: the room gets quiet, the body softens, and attention holds steady even as movement continues. That shift is not magic; it’s method. We sat down with senior teacher and writer Sara-Mai Conway to unpack a practical, human way to make yoga and meditation one continuous experience rather than two separate boxes on a schedule.

Sara-Mai's website: https://www.iwriteaboutwellness.com/

We start by redefining yoga as skillful energy movement using both outer and inner methods. Ethics calm mental noise, asana prepares the body for stillness, pranayama bridges body and mind, and focused attention matures into insight and, at times, a taste of samadhi. From there, we build a class like a guided sit: set a clear intention, select poses that serve it, and let every cue point back to the thread. 

Breath-focused flows become fluid and repetitive to highlight inhale and exhale. Gratitude takes shape in bows and forward folds. Grounding becomes literal through contact with the earth. Working with non-harming or self-compassion invites challenge while naming the inner talk that shows up.

Silence becomes a teacher rather than an absence. We share how to frame quiet as safe and time-bound, when to place formal meditation inside a flow, and how to ask simple, embodied questions that turn effort into awareness. Savasana shifts from background music to true stillness, and closing with a brief dedication helps wire benefits into daily life. Along the way, we talk about teaching with authenticity, trusting students with depth, and avoiding the “spiritual sandwich” where mindfulness appears only at the beginning and end.

If you’ve ever wondered how to keep presence alive between the opening sit and the final rest, this conversation offers a clear structure, real-world cues, and permission to do less so students can feel more. Subscribe, share with a fellow teacher, and leave a review telling us the intention you’re bringing to your next class.

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Integrating Mindfulness, Movement, And Meaning In Your Yoga Class

We turn a slow line into a short mindfulness practice that eases tension and reshapes impatience into patience and kindness. We ground in breath, relax the body, and extend compassion to strangers and staff who share the same wish to be happy.

• naming impatience as normal and common
• breath work with nose inhales and mouth exhales
• scanning and softening jaw, shoulders and belly
• grounding through feet, posture and relaxed face
• wishing yourself ease, patience and kindness
• sensing others’ shared purpose and humanity
• extending compassion to staff doing their best

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Mindfulness For Long Lines And Short Tempers

When does being “nice” start hurting your health? We explore the surprising science that links suppressed emotions—especially healthy anger and buried grief—to immune function, inflammation, and long-term disease risk. Drawing on affective neuroscience, we break down the core mammalian systems wired for rage, fear, panic and grief, care, seeking, and play, and explain why these circuits exist to protect boundaries and connection, not to create chaos.

Gabor Maté's website: https://drgabormate.com/

I share how anger operates as a boundary-setting signal that says something vital: this is not okay. When that signal gets muted to keep relationships intact, the immune system can mirror the shutdown. You’ll hear clear, practical language for telling the difference between healthy and unhealthy anger, plus simple steps to honor your limits without escalating conflict—naming the feeling, identifying the crossed boundary, and choosing proportionate action. We also unpack how childhood survival strategies, like staying quiet to preserve attachment, can turn into adult patterns of chronic niceness, migraines, flares, and burnout.

We look at striking research: longer survival among people with ALS who expressed anger, and a large study of women showing higher mortality when marital unhappiness stayed unspoken. The takeaway is not to explode; it’s to listen to the body’s early alarms and speak plain truths before stress hardens into illness. If you’ve ever wondered why “the good die young,” this conversation reframes goodness as self-respect, not self-erasure.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with someone who needs better boundaries, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find these tools. Your story matters—what boundary will you protect today?

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Healthy Anger, Healthy Body - with Dr. Gabor Maté

We map a three-stage approach to using mindfulness for PTSD: immediate self-soothing, reconnecting with emotions, and long-term integration. A short guided practice shows how breath, grounding, and softening cues can create ease while we set clear safety guardrails.

• framing mindfulness for PTSD and its stages
• self-soothing practices for the immediate aftermath
• reconnecting with emotions with courage and choice
• integrating trauma healing over the long term
• simple guided breathing and body softening
• safety boundaries, when to pause, and support options
• rebuilding confidence, self-esteem, and relationships

If you experience a psychiatric emergency, please call your doctor and call 911 to get some support

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Mindfulness Tools For Healing PTSD Across Three Stages

In this episode of the Mindfulness Exercises Podcast, Sean Fargo speaks with Ariel Garten—neuroscientist, innovator, and co-founder of Muse, the brain-sensing meditation device.

Blending neuroscience, mindfulness, and entrepreneurship, Ariel offers a unique perspective on how we can train the mind to become more aware, focused, and resilient. 

She shares the science behind brainwave activity in meditation, the difference between concentration and mindfulness, and how real-time feedback can deepen self-awareness.

Together, Ariel and Sean explore the intersection of technology and mindfulness and how tools like Muse can support practitioners and teachers in cultivating consistency and insight.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Intro

01:52 — What Muse Measures in the Brain

05:20 — Concentration vs. Mindfulness

09:45 — How Biofeedback Deepens Practice

13:18 — Brainwave States in Meditation

16:40 — Why Real-Time Feedback Matters

20:33 — The Role of Self-Compassion

24:09 — Using Muse Without Judgment

28:01 — Tech + Mindfulness for Behavior Change

32:16 — Insights from Data-Driven Practice

36:44 — Ariel’s Vision for the Future of Muse

40:00 — Closing Reflections & Where to Learn More

💡 Learn more about Ariel's work Muse - https://www.ChooseMuse.com/Mindfulness

Support the show

Add your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. 
 
Free Mindfulness Exercises: MindfulnessExercises.com
 
200 Guided Meditation Scripts: Scripts.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Work with Sean Fargo: Sean.MindfulnessExercises.com/
 
Reduce Chronic Pain: Pain.MindfulnessExercises.com
 
Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.com

Ariel Garten on How Technology Can Deepen Mindfulness

Hlustaðu og lestu

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