Dr. Amishi Jha, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, and Dr. Alejandro Chaoul come together to discuss the transformative power of mindfulness in everyday life. This free online broadcast will explore how mindfulness practices contribute to health, emotional balance, and longevity. The presenters will share findings from modern science on the benefits of mindfulness for physical and mental well-being, and offer practical techniques for incorporating mindfulness into daily routines to enhance overall quality of life and resilience.
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This event is one of a series of eight “Kathmandu Dialogues” offered by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in conjunction with a February 2025 celebratory event for His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, the foremost living teacher and protector of the Yungdrung Bön tradition of Tibet. Learn more
About the Presenters
Amishi Jha, Ph.D., is director of contemplative neuroscience and professor of psychology at the University of Miami. Previously, she served as an assistant professor at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her B.S in biological psychology from the University of Michigan, her Ph.D. in psychology (cognitive neuroscience) from the University of California–Davis, and her post–doctoral training at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University in functional neuroimaging. With grants from the U.S. Department of Defense and several private foundations, she leads research on the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness–based training programs on cognition, emotion, resilience, and performance in education, corporate, elite sports, first–responder, and military contexts. In her laboratory at the University of Miami she uses functional MRI, electrophysiological recordings and behavioral techniques to understand why our attention sometimes fails us, and if it can be trained for greater focus and less distractibility. She launched the first–ever study of offering mindfulness training tools to active–duty military service members as they prepared for deployment. In addition to her own published body of research, her work has been featured at TED, NATO, the World Economic Forum, the Pentagon, and the UK Parliament. In her national bestseller, Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day (Harper Collins, 2022), she shares her discoveries on how attention can be trained for optimal performance and well–being.
More about Dr. Jha
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (co-host) was born in India in 1961, following his parents’ journey from Tibet to India in 1959. At age 11 he began formal studies as a monk at Menri Monastery near Dolanji, India, where he completed an 11-year course of traditional studies at the Bön Dialectic School. He was awarded his geshe degree in 1986. He now lives as a householder, and has been living and teaching in the West for more than 30 years. An accomplished scholar in all aspects of sutra, tantra and dzogchen, Rinpoche is an acclaimed author and a respected teacher of students worldwide. As the founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, he has established numerous centers and institutes of learning in the United States, Mexico, South America, Europe and India. Fluent in English, Rinpoche regularly offers online teachings in the form of live webcasts, online workshops and YouTube videos. He is renowned for his depth of wisdom; his clear, engaging teaching style; and his dedication to making the ancient Tibetan teachings highly accessible and relevant to the lives of Westerners.
More about Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D. (co-host) serves as director of research for Ligmincha International. He has studied in the Tibetan traditions since 1989, and for nearly 30 years in the Bön Tradition with Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. He holds a Ph.D. in Tibetan religions from Rice University and is scholar and founding director of the Mind Body Spirit Institute at the Jung Center of Houston. For the last 20 years he has been teaching and researching the benefits of Tibetan mind-body practices for people touched by cancer. He is a Contemplative Fellow at the Mind & Life Institute, and is the author of Chöd Practice in the Bön Tradition (Snow Lion, 2009), Tibetan Yoga for Health & Well-Being (Hay House, 2018), and Tibetan Yoga: Magical Movements of Body, Breath, and Mind (Wisdom Publications, 2021).