I became interested in meditation already as a child when looking at my father “disappearing” for long moments in the middle of everyday activities. It seemed to me as a very mystical and deep practice. Later, as I became myself interested in yoga, I got a glimpse of what it means to meditate. Nevertheless, it took several more years until I started practising Reiki, when I finally started integrating contemplative exercises into my daily routine. Thanks to my teacher Frans Stiene, I found my way to different Zen masters’ writings and had a broader comprehension of what lies behind the word Zen. Coming from that direction, it was a great pleasure to discover Shinzen’s book, “The Science of Enlightenment”, which lead me to take part in several UM courses and to start guiding others. Why UM rather than any other approach? Shinzen’s system is very precise and comprehensive.
Small changes can often bring forward a significant change in one’s life. This is the underlying principle in my work as a mindfulness coach. Very often, we tend to dismiss any kind of lifestyle improvements, because of “lack of time”. All we really need is motivation. And I wish to do my best to help my students find this motivation, while at the same time continuing my own mindfulness studies, as well as maintaining a regular daily practice.
In addition to being a Unified Mindfulness coach, I am also an interpreter (Estonian-French-English), literary translator, lexicographer, shinpiden-level Reiki practitioner, and have a deep interest towards creating sound with Tibetan singing bowls.
Julianna received her BA in psychology from Duke University. As founder, president, and head trainer of Unified Mindfulness, she is dedicated to disseminating Shinzen Young’s comprehensive mindfulness meditation system through the creation and presentation of educational programs and teacher-training certification programs.
Dr. Hunter serves as associate professor of practice and is the founding director of the Executive Mind Leadership Institute at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University. He also serves as visiting professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where he developed and co-teaches the Leading Mindfully executive education program..
Dr. Eisendrath serves as chief psychologist and president of the Institute for Dialogue Therapy, P.C., where, as a Jungian analyst, she offers psychotherapy with individuals and couples, psychoanalysis, supervision, and training.
Dr. Vago serves as the research director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and the director of the Contemplative Neuroscience and Integrative Medicine (CNIM) Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Department of Psychiatry.
Stella is a psychologist, professor, and Zen practitioner. She became a formal student in 2008 in the Soto Zen tradition. She teaches courses in mindfulness based psychotherapies and the psychology of compassion at the Union Institute & University. She also co-facilitates a family program and young adult program at Shao Shan Temple, in Woodbury Vermont.
Dr. Creswell serves as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also the director of the Health & Human Performance Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. McCormick currently serves as director of education at Unified Mindfulness. In 1975, he received a B.A. in psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz, where he was part of Dr. Elliot Aronson’s research team that examined cooperative approaches to reducing interracial conflict and academic performance problems in newly integrated school, and made Honors in Psychology, College Honors, and Thesis Honors.
UnifiedMindfulness.com is the official teacher training platform for Shinzen and the Unified Mindfulness System.
Created over 50 years of research and testing by Shinzen Young, Unified Mindfulness is a system of meditation that’s easily researchable by science, with clear terminology and rigorous precision around concepts and procedures.
The Unified Mindfulness system is a comprehensive, robust and refined support structure that any individual at any stage of meditation practice can rely on to go deeper in their insight and their ability to share it with others. It is also a secular form of meditation, which means it’s not religious in any way so anyone, of any faith, can do it.