"Our bodies follow other bodies; a settled nervous system encourages other nervous systems to settle. This is why a calm, settled presence can create room for a multitude of possibilities, and become the foundation for changing the world.”
~ Resmaa Menakem, MSW
About The Mindful Leaders Project
The Mindful Leaders Project provides training in wellness and social emotional learning for educators, helping professionals, and parents. We believe that healthy behavior and identity development for children is only possible when the adults who surround them have a strong capacity for self-regulation and co-regulation.
Based on a synthesis of interpersonal neurobiology, educational neuroscience, and trauma-informed teaching practices, our approach emphasizes an understanding of how the nervous system and brain are impacted by trauma, toxic stress, and adverse childhood experiences. We teach science-based, secular mindfulness, and breath work strategies that help parents and helping professionals increase self-care and self-regulation.
We deliver learning experiences rooted in safety, trust, and confidentiality that help participants:
- realize that mindfulness and adult well-being is a journey, not a one-shot workshop
- tap into their own expertise and cultural wisdom practices, rather than simply adopt a pre-set list of practices
- experiment and personalize their learning, aligning it with their own personal beliefs
Your power as a mindful leader depends on your ability to help others attune or co-regulate to a state of inner balance and felt safety, while maintaining your own healthy boundaries as a helping professional.
More About Our Logo
The swirl logo represents the cochlea, a critical structure located in the inner ear. It symbolizes our commitment as mindful leaders to speak and communicate in ways that will be healing and inspiring to the ears and hearts of the people we serve.
In polyvagal theory, Stephen Porges explores the impact of trauma on the inner ear and how it can be healed through sound therapy. The ears of those who have experienced a lot of trauma become attuned to prioritizing lower tones (associated with identifying danger) and less capable of hearing higher tones, which include those of the human voice. He and his team of researchers are beginning to demonstrate that the engineered sound of loving human voices at higher tones can recalibrate the inner ear to hear higher frequencies and change the body’s response to trauma triggers.
We believe that the energy that radiates from our nervous system and the sounds that come from our mouth have the power to soothe and heal others. As mindful leaders, the sound of our voice, and the words we speak, are the foundation of healing-centered engagement and trauma-informed professional practices.
We also intentionally chose the Ubuntu font for our company logo. Ubuntu (Zulu pronunciation: [ùɓúntʼù]) is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity." It is often translated as "I am because we are," or "humanity towards others." The Mindful Leaders Project and the community we attract are committed to developing programs and self-development experiences that strengthen a universal bond of shared humanity that bridges all cultural and philosophical differences.
The Guiding Principles of a Mindful Leader
CHALLENGE with an equity frame of reference.
COMMIT to an integrated personal mindfulness practice.
PRIORITIZE self-care as a foundation of strong leadership.
CREATE a sense of felt safety for others at all times.
ACTAWARE of personal bias and cultural perspectives.
DESCRIBE with a lens for seeing the good in others.
NONJUDGE by actively listening to inner and outer talk.
NONREACT while offering your calming presence as a thermostat for others.