A Skillful Life: Free Orientation

Most of us know mindfulness is good for us. Far fewer of us know what to actually do when we're in the middle of a hard moment — and that gap is not a failure of effort. It's a gap in how mindfulness is usually taught.

In one hour, I'll walk you through what's missing.

We'll look at what mindfulness actually is, and what it looks like in an ordinary day — not on a cushion, but in the email that annoys you, the conversation that goes sideways, the moment you hear yourself snap.

We'll name what's missing in most practice. We pause, we breathe, we feel calmer for a few minutes. Then we get up and our default ways of thinking and reacting are unchanged. Calm is where practice starts. It was never meant to be where it ends.

And we'll go through the eight skills — Awareness, Compassion, Curiosity, Energy, Appreciative Joy, Inner Calm, Focus, Equanimity — and the eight default habits each one disrupts. Then how we actually build them: micro-practices you can use in the middle of a real day, and dedicated practices for when you have more time.

All of it is evidence-based, and all of it is designed to fit inside a busy life rather than asking you to make more room. We'll use proven strategies like habit stacking — attaching a new practice to something you already do — so that returning to mindfulness becomes a habit rather than one more thing you're failing to get to.

You'll leave with: a clear picture of what mindfulness is and isn't, the eight skills and the patterns they interrupt, and practical ways to begin — today, in the life you already have.

Free. One hour. Come as you are.

If this resonates with you, join the eight week class starting on July 28 where we dive into each of the skills with dedicated meditations and specially designed micro-practices to strengthen each skill.

About Shalini B Bahl, PhD

You can read more about my work and reasearch on my website aSamaLife.com

From people who have practiced with me...

"I was somewhat familiar with mindfulness practice through my work as a clinical psychologist, but had never learned from a mindfulness expert. Through this course, I learned all 8 qualities of mind, instead of just awareness and compassion that I was already familiar with. I have already started incorporating some of the concepts into my therapy practice, What really caught me by surprise, though, was how incorporating all 8 components opened up my own personal experience. I had always dreaded writing, especially if it involved creative writing. Suddenly I found myself writing poetry about my daily experiences. Who was this person?! Now I continue to use Shalini's guided practices, and love choosing which quality to work with depending on how I'm feeling."
~ Pamela Drury, PhD
Neurofeedback Expert and Clinical Neuropsychologist, Founder, Boost Neurofeedback

"Sama life circle has been just the restart that my regular mindfulness practice needed. As a parent juggling work and life the micro-practices have been such wonderful addition to my routine...Shalini is a caring and thoughtful mindfulness teacher who offers such a depth of knowledge in the ways to bring mindfulness off of the mat and into everyday life."
~ Julianna Eve, PhD
UMass Chan - Baystate Research Coordinator II and Tobacco Treatment Specialist