JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Local athlete, Sasha Dingle started teaching mindful meditation as a response to growing mental health concerns. “In my opinion, the rise of anxiety and depression, especially in kids and teens, is the public health issue of this generation,” said Dingle. “We are finding we can play a significant role in our own mental health and well-being through daily meditation practice.”
Dingle, a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher, faculty member of the Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Coaching Certification, and an mPEAK Coach-in-Training, offers a variety of courses and trainings through her company, Mountain Mind Project.
Mountain Mind Project reminds us that our brains are not fixed, they can be trained and grow like a muscle. “The brain can change as a result of the context that it interacts with,” said Dingle. “Promising new findings in neuroscience show that the brain can be trained in very specific ways. We are finding we can play a significant role in our own mental health and well-being through daily meditation practice.”
Dingle has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses each year in Jackson, and has partnered with various local organizations in town. Her participants have reported a variety of positive outcomes ranging from better sleep, lower feelings of anxiety in social situations, becoming less reactive, having less stress at work, and higher performance in sports.
In working with kids, Dingle said that, “over time I see them better able to self-regulate.” They learn how to handle their emotions in ways that don’t always require them to sit still.
Mountain Mind Project is partnering with the Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Coaching Certification starting in September, and running an after school mindfulness club for 8-12 year olds through Teton Tutors in the fall. Dingle will also be offering an mPEAK course in Jackson starting in 2019, which integrates mindfulness meditation with peak performance and flow.
“I believe we can have a community where maintaining healthy minds are in the fabric of how we go about our day,” said Dingle. “If I could give one thing to all the people I love who suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, grief, trauma, it would be this meditation practice that is the equivalent of mental weight lifting.”
