A Little More About Me
For inquiries or any questions, please email me at danmmeditation@gmail.com
Resume and references available upon request
My meditation practice began and took shape during college, when I was dealing with many considerable stressors. Much of my experience as an undergrad was impacted by panic episodes, social anxiety and depression which affected my coursework, ability to form meaningful friendships and hold down a job. After stumbling across a few guided meditation recordings by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and literary works by psychiatrist and Buddhist Mark Epstein, I knew that meditation had the potential to support and facilitate for me a much needed expedition of self-discovery and healing. Mindfulness meditation not only spoke to my personal drive to be present and open to life, but through practice also provided me with a natural ability to heal my mental distress and even get at the root causes of my suffering.
From this initial introduction, I began to research prominent books, articles and other media on mindfulness that I could learn and grow from. It was also during this time that I began practicing yoga, helping me to better inhabit and connect with my body. Over time, I saw as the two practices intertwined and complemented each other and observed as my overall health improved as a result. This period of exploration culminated the day after my college graduation in 2016, when I was fortunate enough to attend my very first meditation retreat at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, led by Kabat-Zinn. During this retreat I met incredible people from all different cultural backgrounds, career paths and spiritual disciplines, which encouraged and reaffirmed for me the importance of a dedicated meditation practice.
Since then, I've had the pleasure to have met and learned directly from many influential teachers of contemplative practices throughout the US, including Joseph Goldstein, Bessel Van Der Kolk, Peter Levine, Henry Shukman and Mark Epstein, among others. In 2018, and again in 2022, I completed the 8-week MBSR course offered through the New York Insight Meditation Center. In 2020, I completed a 200-hour International Mindfulness Teachers Association (IMTA) accredited program through The Interdependence Project in New York to become a Certified Mindfulness Teacher, Professional Level (CMT-P).
As a meditation teacher, my intention is to share genuine and effective mindfulness-based practices with those who seek them, in the spirit of optimizing health, happiness and well-being. My teaching is focused on effecting a shift in how a student relates to their internal and external experience, by strengthening their natural capacity for non-judgmental awareness and self-acceptance. Over time, learning to mindfully hold ourselves and our lives with compassion can help us to release tension, shed protective, egoic layers and reduce reactive habits. Through my practice, I’ve found that mindfulness meditation can aid us in fostering a deeper and more meaningful re-connection with our authentic selves — and help us to better realize our innate, human potential.