Body-scan meditation + dealing with chronic pain + making meditation a habit

Great to be back for another live meditation and Q&A—our first time doing these on Zoom. Loved getting to see faces instead of just names in the chat. We’ll keep experimenting with all the features Zoom has to offer to make these sessions even more interactive going forward.

If you missed this week’s live, you can always watch—or rewatch—on your own time. The opening meditation is free for everyone, and paid subscribers can watch the full replay.

We started with a body-scan meditation—a classic practice for building mindfulness by tuning into sensations from head to toe. The idea is to notice what’s happening in the body without judgment, and when the mind inevitably drifts, just begin again. Each return is a win.

After the meditation, we covered a wide range of topics, including:

• How “we’re not our thoughts” and “we can shape our thoughts” can both be true

• Making meditation a habit that actually sticks

• Meditating with chronic pain—without toughing it out

• What gets lost (and what we gain) when mindfulness is removed from its Buddhist context

Thanks again to everyone who participated. And just a reminder that we’ve officially kicked off November with our new Teacher of the Month, Christiane Wolf. As part of our paid subscriber offering, you’ll get a companion meditation from Christiane with every Monday and Wednesday episode this month.

We’ll be back for another live meditation and Q&A next week on Wednesday, November 12 at 4 p.m. ET (since Tuesday’s a U.S. holiday) with Christiane and executive producer DJ Cashmere, for paid subscribers. If you need it, you can find the Zoom link beneath the paywall below (we use the same link every week). Drop your questions for Christiane and DJ tomorrow in the chat.

IPMF,

Dan

Paid subscribers get the 10% Happier podcast ad-free, as well as:

• A cheatsheet for each episode—with key takeaways, time-coded highlights, and a transcript

• The ability to comment on posts and participate in subscriber chats

• Access to our weekly live video sessions on Zoom, in which I and/or our meditation Teacher of the Month guide a meditation and take questions

• Tailor-made meditations every Monday and Wednesday, led by our meditation Teacher of the Month and designed to pair with the podcast episodes

Join the party.

Join us live on Zoom

Our weekly Live Meditation and Q&A for paid subscribers is now on Zoom every Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET!

You can join from your browser on your laptop or desktop (no download needed) or download the Zoom app for your device. The meeting link is beneath the paywall below.

Upcoming schedule:

• Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET (skipping Tuesday this week for Veterans Day): Teacher of the Month Christiane Wolf with executive producer DJ Cashmere

• Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 4:00 p.m. ET: Teacher of the Month Christiane Wolf with executive producer DJ Cashmere

• Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET: Dan with Teacher of the Month Christiane Wolf

Meeting info: