We had November Teacher of the Month, Christiane Wolf, back for this week’s live meditation and Q&A—joined by executive producer DJ Cashmere. The meditation portion is free for everyone, and paid subscribers can watch the full replay.
Christiane opened with a brief movement-based warm-up to help everyone drop out of their heads and into their bodies. Then she led a practice focused on tracking sensations: feeling the breath and contact points instead of chasing a particular experience.
After that, she and DJ moved into a wide-ranging Q&A. Here’s a peek at what they covered:
How to stop the 2 a.m. doom-scrolling loop: Your brain is wired to be more on edge in the early morning hours. Don’t feed the algorithm—shift into the body instead. A quick body scan, a longer exhale, or a hand on your chest helps calm the nervous system so you can settle again. Treat it as a practice rep, not a crisis.
Meditating when you’re grieving: If sitting feels unbearable, that’s not a failure. Switch to physical activity—walking, yoga, swimming, washing dishes slowly. Grief often needs movement, not stillness.
How to handle runaway thinking in meditation: Christiane’s rule of thumb: the content of the thought is irrelevant. Label it (“thinking, thinking”), drop it, return to your anchor. That’s the whole workout—strengthening your ability to disengage.
Working with chronic pain: Pain is one thing; the mental movie about the pain is another. Practice being with the raw sensation for just a moment. Much of the suffering comes from the storyline, not the sensation.
Thanks again to everyone who joined. Our next live meditation and Q&A—with Christiane and me—is Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. ET, for paid subscribers. You can find the Zoom link beneath the paywall below.
IPMF,
Dan
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Tailor-made meditations every Monday and Wednesday, led by our meditation Teacher of the Month and designed to pair with the podcast episodes
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Join us live on Zoom
Our weekly Live Meditation and Q&A for paid subscribers is 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:
Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET: Dan and Nov. Teacher of the Month Christiane Wolf
Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 4:00 p.m. ET: Dan and Dec. Teacher of the Month Jeff Warren
Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 4:00 p.m. ET: Dan and Dec. Teacher of the Month Jeff Warren
Meeting info:
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