Mindfulness Exercises, with Sean Fargo

Your calendar is packed, your phone never stops, and somehow your body still thinks every moment is an emergency. We sit down with clinical psychologist and mindfulness teacher Dr Elisha Goldstein to talk about his book *Tiny Shifts* and the practical reality behind emotional steadiness: you do not need a new personality or a perfect morning routine, you need a reliable way to access your skills when stress hijacks your brain.

We break down the “emotional loop” that drives reactivity, shutdown, self-criticism, doomscrolling, and those “not this again” moments. Elisha explains how thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and actions link together, and why simple recognition changes what is possible by bringing more perspective and impulse control online. From there we get concrete about “release” as nervous system regulation: lowering the shoulders, lengthening the exhale, softening the jaw, shaking out tension, or even writing down intrusive thoughts, not to suppress emotions but to create capacity.

We also go deep on emotional vocabulary and communication, including lessons from nonviolent communication and how AI can act as temporary training wheels when hard conversations feel impossible. Along the way we explore what emotional health actually means, how self-worth grows when we can receive kindness without deflecting, and why repeating a tiny phrase like “I am loving awareness” can be a powerful pivot when you are stuck in an old pattern.

If you want mindfulness that holds up in real life, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who feels overwhelmed, and leave a review with the tiniest shift you are going to practise this week.
BECOME A CERTIFIED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TEACHER 
Teach mindfulness with confidence and skill — without self-doubt, fear of judgment, or imposter syndrome. Our internationally accredited certification is for therapists, coaches, yoga teachers, educators, and helping professionals. Accredited by the IMMA and CPD; endorsed by Gabor Maté and Rick Hanson. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/certification/
NEW HERE? START FREE 
Explore 3,000+ free guided meditations, scripts, and worksheets — for your own practice or to share with the people you teach. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/free-mindfulness-exercises/
ENJOYING THE PODCAST? Follow the show in your favorite app and leave a quick rating or review. It takes a moment, and it genuinely helps more teachers and practitioners find these conversations.
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ABOUT THE SHOW
Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life.
Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — the show explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work.
Each episode offers a mix o...

Mindfulness is everywhere now, but the way we talk about it can feel strangely small: a tool for stress, a way to focus, a better “hack” for busy lives. I sit down with Melvin McLeod, editor-at-large at Lion’s Roar, co-founder of Mindful Magazine, and a practitioner for over 40 years, to make a bigger claim that stays grounded in reality: mindfulness can be a complete path of living in a secular, evidence-based world.

Melvin's new book: With a Single Breath: The Complete Path of Mindfulness
https://a.co/d/0aIwcRC6

We trace how modern mindfulness took shape through teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh and Jon Kabat-Zinn, and why the early success of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may be the foundation for a deeper cultural shift. Melvin shares why he believes the movement is ready for its next step: not abandoning the practical benefits, but expanding them through a fuller definition of practice that includes insight, compassion, ethics, and community.

Melvin lays out five keys he builds on in With a Single Breath: meditation, insight, love and compassion, ethics, and community. We dig into the often-missed second phase of mindfulness: using a steadier mind to investigate the nature of experience, see what truly causes suffering, and learn what creates real happiness that is “win-win.” Along the way, he offers simple contemplations, including looking at the universe in a single flower, to bring interdependence from concept into direct experience.

If you’ve ever felt that mindfulness should be more than self-improvement, this conversation is a clear, practical invitation to go deeper. Subscribe for more, share this with someone who practices, and leave a review with the one part of mindfulness you want to strengthen next.
BECOME A CERTIFIED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TEACHER 
Teach mindfulness with confidence and skill — without self-doubt, fear of judgment, or imposter syndrome. Our internationally accredited certification is for therapists, coaches, yoga teachers, educators, and helping professionals. Accredited by the IMMA and CPD; endorsed by Gabor Maté and Rick Hanson. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/certification/
NEW HERE? START FREE 
Explore 3,000+ free guided meditations, scripts, and worksheets — for your own practice or to share with the people you teach. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/free-mindfulness-exercises/
ENJOYING THE PODCAST? Follow the show in your favorite app and leave a quick rating or review. It takes a moment, and it genuinely helps more teachers and practitioners find these conversations.
———————————————————————————
ABOUT THE SHOW
Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life.
Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — the show explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work.
Each episode offers a mix o...

Your meditation doesn’t need better willpower, a quieter mind, or a more “spiritual” seat on the floor. With renowned meditation teacher Susan Piver, we practice a clear, grounded approach to mindfulness meditation that starts where your body already is: feeling your weight land, sitting upright with dignity, softening the belly, and letting the jaw and shoulders finally unclench. If you’ve ever wondered whether a chair “counts,” you’ll love her reminder that it does.

We also explore eyes-open meditation in a way that feels surprisingly gentle. Susan shares how to cast the gaze down, let vision mix with space, and stop turning attention into a hard stare. From there we move into breath awareness without breath control, and a key insight that changes everything for overthinkers: don’t just notice the breath, feel it as expansion and letting go.

Then we get honest about thoughts. Thinking isn’t the enemy, and spacing out isn’t failure. When you catch yourself lost in a storyline, you silently label “thinking,” let go, and return. The best part: you get infinite fresh starts. We close with a behind-the-scenes conversation on teaching meditation, timing silence, and adjusting pacing online or in a room by reading the group’s energy with humility.

Subscribe for more practical mindfulness, share this with a friend who wants a simpler practice, and leave a review. What helps you most right now: more guidance or more silence?
BECOME A CERTIFIED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TEACHER 
Teach mindfulness with confidence and skill — without self-doubt, fear of judgment, or imposter syndrome. Our internationally accredited certification is for therapists, coaches, yoga teachers, educators, and helping professionals. Accredited by the IMMA and CPD; endorsed by Gabor Maté and Rick Hanson. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/certification/
NEW HERE? START FREE 
Explore 3,000+ free guided meditations, scripts, and worksheets — for your own practice or to share with the people you teach. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/free-mindfulness-exercises/
ENJOYING THE PODCAST? Follow the show in your favorite app and leave a quick rating or review. It takes a moment, and it genuinely helps more teachers and practitioners find these conversations.
———————————————————————————
ABOUT THE SHOW
Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life.
Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — the show explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work.
Each episode offers a mix o...

Trying harder can feel like the only option until it stops working. We sit down with Solala Towler, a longtime teacher of Qigong, Taoist meditation, and the Way of Tea, to explore a different approach: alignment over strain, flow over force, and practice that meets you where you are. Solala shares his personal path into Eastern philosophy, the early hunger for something more grounded than words, and the moment Taoist teachings clicked with a sense of “coming home.”

From there, the conversation turns deeply practical. Solala explains how chronic fatigue syndrome left him bedridden, how Chinese herbs helped him stand again, and why Qigong became central to his healing journey. We talk about Taoism as the root of many Chinese medicine principles and how working with qi is not reserved for the ultra-fit or the already-calm. Standing, moving, seated, and even lying-down forms make Taoist meditation and Qigong accessible tools for stress relief, recovery, and steady energy.

We also dig into the core Taoist principles that change how you live day to day: flexibility, authenticity, and especially wu wei, often misunderstood as doing nothing. Here it becomes something sharper and kinder: not forcing, not overextending, not pushing the river. The metaphor of water runs through it all, showing how adaptability can be strength rather than compromise. Finally, we explore why nature is considered the highest teacher in Taoism, and how seasonal rhythms can guide your body and mind back toward balance.

If you found something helpful here, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share the episode with a friend who needs a softer way forward, and leave a review. What’s one place in your life where you could practice wu wei today?
BECOME A CERTIFIED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TEACHER 
Teach mindfulness with confidence and skill — without self-doubt, fear of judgment, or imposter syndrome. Our internationally accredited certification is for therapists, coaches, yoga teachers, educators, and helping professionals. Accredited by the IMMA and CPD; endorsed by Gabor Maté and Rick Hanson. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/certification/
NEW HERE? START FREE 
Explore 3,000+ free guided meditations, scripts, and worksheets — for your own practice or to share with the people you teach. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/free-mindfulness-exercises/
ENJOYING THE PODCAST? Follow the show in your favorite app and leave a quick rating or review. It takes a moment, and it genuinely helps more teachers and practitioners find these conversations.
———————————————————————————
ABOUT THE SHOW
Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life.
Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — the show explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work.
Each episode offers a mix o...

Busy can start to feel like a personality, especially when you’re doing meaningful work and getting rewarded for it. Sean Fargo sits down with Buddhist meditation teacher and author Lodro Rinzler to unpack what happened when external success still left him exhausted, stretched thin, and craving something he couldn’t schedule: space. 

We talk about the real-life shift from New York City to the Hudson Valley, and why changing your environment can be a powerful mindfulness practice all by itself. Lodro shares how he and his wife clarified a single intention for his work, what it looks like to protect relationships while still serving others, and why doubling down on daily meditation and longer retreats can be the most practical form of self-care. If you’ve been searching for mindfulness for burnout, a sustainable meditation routine, or a way to stop feeling “always on,” you’ll hear a grounded path forward. 

Then we move into heart practices drawn from Tibetan Buddhism that are widely shared across traditions: the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Lodro explains how loving-kindness for yourself includes the parts you like, the parts you regret, and the parts you’d rather ignore, and he offers an unexpectedly simple “loving-kindness photo” exercise for working with people you find difficult. We also point you to free guided meditations on Lodro’s website so you can practice immediately. 

If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s running on empty, and leave a review with the heart practice you want to try first.
BECOME A CERTIFIED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION TEACHER 
Teach mindfulness with confidence and skill — without self-doubt, fear of judgment, or imposter syndrome. Our internationally accredited certification is for therapists, coaches, yoga teachers, educators, and helping professionals. Accredited by the IMMA and CPD; endorsed by Gabor Maté and Rick Hanson. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/certification/
NEW HERE? START FREE 
Explore 3,000+ free guided meditations, scripts, and worksheets — for your own practice or to share with the people you teach. → https://mindfulnessexercises.com/free-mindfulness-exercises/
ENJOYING THE PODCAST? Follow the show in your favorite app and leave a quick rating or review. It takes a moment, and it genuinely helps more teachers and practitioners find these conversations.
———————————————————————————
ABOUT THE SHOW
Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life.
Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — the show explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work.
Each episode offers a mix o...