The FitMind Podcast: Mental Fitness, Neuroscience & Psychology

Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD taught the most popular course in Harvard history and helped give rise to the positive psychology movement with his research into happiness. He lectures and consults globally for multinational corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and educational institutions and has appeared on major television, like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Tal is also the Co-Founder of Potential Life, a company that provides leadership programs based on the science of behavioral change to organizations, schools, and sports teams around the world. Tal has a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University and has authored six books including international bestsellers Being Happy and Happier, which have been translated into 25 languages. This episode of The FitMind Podcast, as you might've guessed, is all about happiness. We talk about the hamburger theory of happiness, Tal's counterintuitive tips for finding true happiness, the most common misunderstanding about happiness, the #1 predictor of happiness, how to implement these methods and experience happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between wealth and happiness, what we can learn from the happiest countries in the world, and two things Tal would change about our society to help us lead happier lives. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Dr. Tamara Russell is a clinical psychologist, martial artist (with a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu), and neuroscientist. She's the Director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence in London and a visiting lecturer at King's College London in the Neuroimaging Department of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. Dr. Russell's clinical and academic research explores the link between movement, mind, and the brain. She practices and teaches Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Qigong, and other martial arts. Dr. Russell holds a BS in Psychology, a Masters in Neuroscience, a PhD in Psychology, and a Doctorate in Clinical psychology. She is also the author of two books: What is Mindfulness? and Mindfulness in Motion. In this episode, we talk about Dr. Tamara Russell's martial arts training in Shaolin kung fu, spotting mental patterns, using western psychology and neurocognitive models to understand eastern practices, the relationship between the brain and consciousness, transpersonal and clinical psychology, neuroscience research into meditative states, and the challenges with bringing eastern techniques into a western secular context. This is a very timely conversation given the current pandemic and her applicable system called Body in Mind Training (BMT), which blends neuroscience, martial arts, and mindfulness. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Michelle Zellner is the Founder of Better Beings and the author of The YOU Revolution. She's a former competitive gymnast and holds a Master of Science in Kinesiology, which has helped inform her work as a wellness coach and personal trainer. Michelle's company Better Beings hosts corporate workshops, retreats, and other programs for promoting wellness and motivation. In this episode, we talk about behavioral change, starting with "why," how to think about nutrition for an optimal mind, and integrating different lifestyle factors for general wellness. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Dr. Steve Taylor talks about self-transcendence and peak experiences (terms famously coined by Maslow) and gives a psychological view of what causes them to occur. Steve is an author and psychologist who comes highly endorsed by leaders like Eckhart Tolle. He is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University and the author of several bestselling books on psychology and self-transcendence. He is the current chair of the Transpersonal Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. His books have been published in 20 languages and include Waking From Sleep, The Fall, Out of the Darkness, Back to Sanity, The Calm Center, and The Leap. His latest book is Spiritual Science: Why Science Needs Spirituality to Make Sense of the World.  Steve's research has appeared in The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The Journal of Consciousness Studies, The Transpersonal Psychology Review, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, as well as the popular media in the UK, including on BBC World TV, The Guardian, and The Independent. In this episode, we talk about the science behind self-transcendence, a term used by psychologists to describe peak experiences but also enduring states of what some call "awakening." Steve has extensively researched what causes this to happen and also draws upon his personal experience to give a pretty incredible account of what the mind is capable of and how we might improve our chances of experiencing the world in this way. And if you stick around for the end, Steve shares some powerful poems from his book that express his own experience of self-transcendence. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Melanie Greenberg is a clinical psychologist and consultant who wrote the bestselling book The Stress-Proof Brain. An expert on stress management and general wellbeing, she draws on neuroscience, mindfulness, and positive psychology in her work, blending western science with eastern wisdom. Melanie also writes the popular "Mindful Self-Expression" blog for Psychology Today, which has over 8 million page views. She's been featured on CNN, Forbes, BBC, AVC News, Men's Health, HuffPost and a long list of other media. With over 50,000 followers on Twitter, Melanie has been named one of the 30 most prominent psychologists by the British Psychological Association. In this episode, we talk about getting off of autopilot, the neuroscience of stress, the role that evolution plays in all of this, and some direct tips for creating your own stress-proof, or at least stress-resistant, brain. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Bob Roth is a famous American Transcendental Meditation (TM) teacher, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, and the Director of the Center for Leadership Performance. In 1972 Bob began to study TM with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles' guru, a physicist, and founder of the TM movement. Nicknamed "Meditation Bob" by David Letterman, he has now taught TM for over 40 years, including to numerous celebrities like Tom Hanks, Oprah, Hugh Jackman, Martin Scorsese, Katy Perry, and Russell Brand. Bob's non-profit foundation has brought meditation to over 1 million kids and serves at-risk students, military veterans, and women and children who have experienced domestic violence. He has also written two books, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation and Strength in Stillness. In this episode, we talk about how Bob started teaching meditation to celebrities, the underlying psychological mechanics of TM, and the scientific research findings regarding TM's effects on the brain. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Laura Bakosh is the Co-Founder of Inner Explorer, which has brought meditation to over 1 million students in grades PK - 12. Previously, Laura worked in GE's healthcare division for 13 years before co-founding her meditation and mental health organization and has spoken at major venues like TEDx and Wisdom 2.0. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology and was trained as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor through the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Medical School.  In this episode, we talk about how mindfulness is being taught to kids, the amazing early results of those programs, as well as some of the scientific research on how mindfulness changes the brain. Laura mentions guided meditations for kids from her program, which you can find on the FitMind website. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com    

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  The Ego talks about how we can begin to let go of constructed "self" images that cause us a great deal of suffering. Topics covered: • How we form an Ego • Why Ego stories are often harmful • The default mode network (DMN) FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She co-authored with Susan Smalley, Ph.D. a book called Fully Present, the Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness. Diana has practiced mindfulness for over three decades, including spending a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and she has taught meditation for over two decades in hospitals, universities, corporations, non-profits, and schools throughout the U.S. and Asia. She's been called by the LA Times "one of the nation's best-known teachers of mindfulness." Diana is also a founding board member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association and a member of the Teacher's Council at the famous Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California where she was trained to teach by Jack Kornfield. She's been mention in the New York Times, O Magazine, Newsweek, Women's Health, and a variety of other publications. In this episode, we discuss how Diana became a nun in Burma and then realized her meditation practice needed a big change, the concept of "enlightenment" and how it can be harmful, natural awareness, personalizing your meditation practice, and the infusion of meditation into the modern world. Diana also leads a powerful guided meditation. FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com

Mind Nuggets are mini-episodes on how the mind works and how to apply it for the best life possible. They are taken directly from the FitMind meditation training app.  Mental Programs talks about the three programs that determine all thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Understanding this will give you more control over your mind as you recognize the forces that are driving it. Topics covered: • Evolutionary psychology • Neuroplasticity and self-directed neuroplasticity • Reprogramming your mind with meditation FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http://bit.ly/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com