Michelle Huser - MBSR Teacher:

Michelle's life over 8 years ago after surviving a frightening car accident that left her to battle a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) for the next year while also caring for her Autistic son. Being in a serious car accident brought everything into sharp focus for Michelle as she realized that her life was in shambles as she tried to care for her autistic son and advocate for him within a system that knows very little about this condition, and how to treat it with care and dignity. Finding herself with a TBI in addition to years of struggling to find caregivers who wanted to heal her son rather than just medicate his symptoms away, or ignore his humanity, left her feeling alone but determined to find a path back to health for both her - and her young son.

Broken, desperate and afraid Michelle tuned into her "inner sense of knowing" which guided her to the practice of meditation and mindfulness when she found Sam Harris's work. Desperation, fear, and rage were replaced with understanding and acceptance as time on the mat helped to heal not only her TBI but also her mind, body, and emotions.

Mindfulness also allowed Michelle to tap into her innate sources of strength giving her the courage to take "the path less traveled" and pursue a new but relatively unknown treatment path for her son, that transformed ALL their lives bringing them out of the darkness and into a life where joy, balance and peace were possible.

As a passionate advocate for autism, wife, and Mother Michelle's goal as a qualified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Teacher (MBSR) is to help people create balance, resiliency, and emotional well-being by helping them to build better minds, and tapping into their innate sources of strength.

Michelle can be reached at:
https://meditative-solutions.com/
https://twitter.com/MeditativeSol

For this interview, Michelle is joined by Dr. Ghazala Radwi.

Dr. Ghazala Radwi is a physician based in Edmonton, Alberta, working in the field of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine. She is also a mindfulness practitioner, with a deep interest in the connection between mind and body in achieving a wholesome state of health.

Several years ago, personal stressors and healthcare issues sparked an interest in mindfulness. Mindfulness helped her find increasing clarity, direction and joy in life. Inspired to help fellow humans reconnect with their inner resources, she pursued formal training in various mindfulness programs including MBSR through Brown University and Mindful Practice through the University of Rochester. She is also trained in trauma-informed psychotherapy approaches, including Dr. Gabor Mate's Compassionate Inquiry model, and the Polyvagal Theory which is the science of safety and connection. 

Dr. Radwi offers group mindfulness courses including MBSR as well as individual sessions. Within the healthcare field, she is a strong proponent of creating safe and inclusive spaces to empower trainees and colleagues with skills that lead to compassionate patient care, engaged teams, and a fulfilling personal life. Ghazala brings a fiercely compassionate, heartfelt, open presence to her teaching spaces.

Connect here with Dr. Radwi
https://twitter.com/ghazala_radwi