We envision a peaceful, kind and collaborative world where people live without fear, social injustice and violence. But it’s more than a vision. At Access Mindfulness, we know it can be a reality. We’ve seen the extensive research, and we know from personal experience that the practice of mindful awareness can unlock everyone’s innate ability to access their own humanity, to cultivate compassion and generosity towards themselves and others.
We’ve seen how it can ease a host of mental, emotional and physical ailments and enable a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life. We know the practice of mindfulness can change the world.
But first, everyone needs access to it. Not just those who can afford it, or whose companies pay for it. Everyone. Our vision is to help make the transformative power of mindful awareness accessible to all.
Mindful awareness is within each of us, and our mission is to bring these practices to any child, adult or non-profit organization that calls upon us to do so. Offerings are free of charge, sliding scale or donation based. We are especially committed to serving under-resourced communities in the New York City area.
We are also committed to building a community of mentors and professionals to help us fulfill this mission. We have a deep, personal commitment to the daily practice of mindfulness and believe that these practices are the greatest gift we can give ourselves, our employees, our children, and ultimately, the world.
By now you’ve probably heard something about mindfulness – maybe on TV or in a magazine — because more and more people, in all walks of life, are discovering the enormous benefits a simple mindfulness practice can bring. But here are some basic things to know:
See what the experts are saying
We are a highly trained, mostly volunteer organization of teachers, business owners, social workers, artists, students and meditation instructors who are personally committed to the practice of mindfulness. We are dedicated to the mission of bringing kindness, compassion, resilience and joy to learning and to the way we experience our lives and the world.
Whenever I’ve asked myself what I want to do with my time here on earth, the answer has always been the same: share my mindfulness practice with individuals, groups and organizations, especially under-resourced and challenged organizations who serve our youth, elderly and disenfranchised.
I am passionate and determined to offer the means and ways to cultivate kindness, compassion, resilience, sharing and equity among ourselves and within organizations. With the capacity to self-regulate and recognize the innate wisdom inherent in our humanness, we can manifest a peaceful and self-aware world where differences and diversity are celebrated and respected. A society that is committed to listen and act with integrity and justice will prepare our youth to live in peace in an ever-changing and uncertain world. Creating Access Mindfulness (and co-creating MindfulHarlem) is a result of my passion and determination. I am a volunteer and offer my services for no fee.
In private practice, I am a psychotherapist and (international) executive coach. I teach MBSR to clients all across the globe. I have many credentials and formal training, but the most important and profound learning has come through my practice, my students, clients and colleagues, and from my two beautiful sons who bring joy to my life everyday.
David Gumpel is an Integral Master Coach and a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through UMASS medical school. He completed his MA in Psychology at The New School for Social Research. David is the co-founder of Access Mindfulness and was a study coordinator for the MAPS sponsored MDMA-Assisted Therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder study in NYC. At Fluence as Director of Training Operations, David provides guidance to Fluence trainers, leads experiential trainings and ensures the successsful implementation of Fluence’s many offerings. As a coach, David teaches mindfulness to clients in private practice and to groups in corporate settings.
“My coaching practice allows me to stay connected to my heart. To be of service to others and help them continue to grow past their edges. My personal goal is to walk a path of fearlessness and joy on the path towards self-discovery and self-improvement. Mindful awareness lights the way. I want everyone to have access to that light.”
Shoshana is a grateful Master Practitioner, advisor, and lead trainer at Narrative 4, a global organization driven by artists, educators, and students who engage in story exchange for the purpose of cultivating deep listening, empathy, compassionate action, social equity, and building bridges for authentic connection. Shoshana holds a BA in psychology and religion from Bard College, and an MFA in fiction writing from Columbia University. Shoshana co-produced several documentary films, and in 2002 directed her documentary "Down To Earth", which won several awards, including the winner of the Best Documentary at EcoCinema International Film Festival in 2002.
Shoshana completed the MMTCP Mindfulness Training through The Greater Good Science Center at the University Of California at Berkeley, The Lineage Project Trauma Training, Google's Search Inside Yourself Training, and the Access Mindfulness Mentor Program. A certified kundalini yoga teacher, Shoshana taught yoga and mindfulness through the non-profit Kula For Karma at Weill Cornell Hospital, Bellevue Hospital, and the Doe Fund's Ready Willing and Able Program, as well as at elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools throughout Brooklyn for the last 12 years. Shoshana also taught to adults and children at Golden Bridge Yoga in Soho where she led many mindfulness family and parenting classes and workshops. Shoshana co-facilitates the Brooklyn based, weekly-led, mindfulness Heart Root Sangha.
.JPG)
Diana serves as the Education Coordinator, managing the mindfulness training of our cohort of social work graduate students and nurturing our relastionships with schools and other communities interested in mindfulness education and interventions. She holds a LMSW from the NYU Silver School of Social Work, a MS from the Columbia University School of Journalism and a BA from Barnard College. Her career has spanned across broadcast news, writing, marketing, nonprofits and ed tech where she worked on human rights, women's rights, bullying prevention and more. She is trained in MBSR, as a Narrative4 Story Exchange facilitator, in the Inner Strength Foundation's Foundations for Mindfulness curriculum and the Peaceful Kids program. She has taught mindfulness at NYC schools and the Department for the Aging. In addition to mindfulness, her interests include utilizing plant medicines as therapeutic treatments, family systems, sexuality and oppressed populations. She is a native New Yorker and the mother of two boys who teach her something new every day.
Honored to have recently joined the Access Mindfulness team as Executive Director, Kristin has beenteaching yoga, meditation & breathwork for the past fifteen years, and is committed to expanding the brand in both New York City and The Hudson Valley.
A yogi for most of her adult life, she truly embarked on a lifestyle ofmindfulness inspired wellness with the birth of her children, becoming a certified holistic health coach, yoga teacher, then therapist (IAYT 1,000 - HR), and finally stepping into a more strategic role as Director of Programming, NY, fornon-profit, Kula for Karma. In this position, she fully connected to her calling, moving more deeply into the arena of traumabased healing practices and working with underserved populations.
Kristin has co-created, directed and taught in therapeutic settings across the city from The Doe Fund to Covenant House, The Hope Program to The Jericho Projectand NYC’s Department of Education, working with children, teachers andfamilies, as well as many New York hospitals including Bellevue, NYU, WeillCornell, Mt. Sinai and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Each new and diverse population continues tobring her more deeply into the realization that helping those who arestruggling to find moments of peace and pathways to self-empowerment and expansionare what truly give her practice and teaching purpose.
Kristin calls upon previous career experience as a creative marketing & media executive (Conde Nast, Hearst, Time Inc.) to develop special brand initiativesfor Kula, such as the currently running conversation series, Begin Again and Sam Waterston hosted documentary series, Visionairies (PBS), featuring her work at The Hope Program. Each of these endeavors and experiences fuel her excitement to be teaching more children, more adults in the schools from the Access Mindfulness platform, helping to equip the next generation with vital tools to maintaining personal health and equilibrium.
In this role, she currently adds teaching certifications in MBSR and The Inner Strength Foundation to others in Kundalini (KRI 200-hr), Vinyasa (RYT 200-hr),Yoga for Mental Health, Trauma and Addiction, Pre- and Post-Natal and Sound Healing. She has taught meditation corporately to teams at Ralph Lauren, Steve Madden,Vayner Media and others. Deeply committed to supporting mindful community, Kristin launched Ten of Zen at the start of the pandemic, a free daily guided meditation. Two years later, this remains a Friday morning offering via her personal social channels, open to any and all who wish to participate. Kristinis a graduate of the University of Vermont and The Sorbonne and finds great joy as a ski instructor, hiker, world explorer, mom and creating with clay.
Shampa is a financial analyst most recently at Clovis Capital, an equity focused hedge fund managing investments for institutional as well as high net worth clients. Prior to joining Clovis in July 2008, she was a senior analyst at Perry Capital, a New York based large multi-strategy hedge fund, from 2002-2007. Through her career she has focused on analyzing and making public equity investments within the financials sector, along with some private equity and credit investments. Prior to attending business school, she worked in India from 1996-2000 with two large corporations there, DLF Universal, Ltd. and ITC Ltd. She did her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in addition to a prior Master's and Bachelor's degree in India, and also earned the CFA professional designation. Shampa has been involved with non-profits throughout her working life and has a special commitment to learning and practicing Indian classical music.
Parham is the Global Director Product Management for Autonomous Driving at APTIV, based in Germany. Prior to being appointed to this role he was the Business Unit Director of L3/L4 Automated Driving software development. Parham’s background is computer science and technology, which he studied in Hamburg (Germany), where he also grew up. Prior to joining APTIV he has been part of the senior leadership team at Jaguar Land Rover responsible for the development and delivery of Assisted and Automated Driving features. Before joining the automotive industry he worked at Airbus in the U.K. and Germany; as well as a management consultant in Switzerland. In addition, he is an Advisory Board Member to the United Nations (UN) on technology and innovation. He was the former Chair of the workplace charter of the U.K. Government on Mindfulness in the Private Sector.
Register now for upcoming events in your area.