The Quiet Life Just Breathe

This week on The Quiet Life Michael speaks with Rachel Hunter - Mother, Yoga + Meditation Teacher, Supermodel, and Author. She talks about where she came from and who she was as a young woman, the challenges she's faced throughout her life as well as the joy's, and how she found her way to where she is today through quiet practices. She shares what it was like to face judgements throughout her life in the public eye, why she loves feeling resistance within, and the moment she realized she was running from being fully herself. 



Rachel was born in New Zealand and left home at 17 to become a supermodel on the other side of the world in New York City. Her career took off, landing her with FORD Models and on the pages of Italian Vogue, Australian Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Revlon Covergirl, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She found herself married by 21, further thrust into the public eye, and soon after her daughter and then son were born. After years on and off the road traveling, she started to ask herself existential questions - who am I? Where am I going? She left her high profile marriage and became immersed in motherhood, exploration, and work. She rode the waves of life until her mother's diagnosis and ultimate demise to cancer. In her mother's final days, Rachel asked her what she regret - her mother's reply changed everything. She said “I regret not being + doing me! Being fully who I wanted to be!”



Rachel stepped off a plane in India in 2017 to process her grief, never intending to teach. She has since spent many hours studying yoga and meditation in the foothills of the Himalayas, and has found her place as both a student and a teacher of these ancient wisdoms and philosophies. You can find out more about Rachel on her website https://www.rachelhunter.com/ where you can join  her online yoga membership, Rituals. You can also follow along with Rachel on Instagram @rachelhunterx.



For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

This week Michael speaks with music artist RIOPY. RIOPY is a pianist with a passion for meditation and using binaural beats to heal the brain. In this episode he talks about his creative process for writing music, how music and meditation are more than passions - they are necessities for him and help him to feel safe, and shares his knowledge about how and why binaural beats are healing. Tune in to learn more about the power of music and how it heals the mind. 



RIOPY was born and raised in the French countryside and at an early age he began to teach himself the piano when he discovered an abandoned instrument. He didn’t have access to printed scores, so he began to compose music in his head. At 21 he moved to London and this is when his international career began. His unique, rhythmically-driven approach to performing his own compositions soon got him noticed. He has performed at the Royal Opera House, Steinway Hall as well as a unique performance from inside the clock tower in St Pancras, London. His music has been featured in film trailers for the Oscar winning The Shape of Water and The Danish Girl amongst others. His piano works have also been heard in documentaries broadcast on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, as well as in advertising campaigns for many household companies.



RIOPY was looking for ways to support his own mental health and developed an interest in neurosciences - especially how brainwaves are believed to represent the full spectrum of human consciousness. Through this he discovered the benefits of meditation, and has been meditating twice a day ever since as it helps him to get more easily to a state of calmness and happiness. He creates binaural beats which sync the brainwave with the beats, guiding you into a state of relaxation and healing.



You can learn more about RIOPY on his website https://www.riopymusic.com/, follow him on Instagram @riopymusic and Facebook here, watch videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/Riopyjp, and listen to his music including his latest release Bliss on Spotify here or where ever you go for music. 



For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

This week our guest is Jason Headley - a writer, director and teller of tales. In the episode, Jason talks about the risks he took along the way to becoming a movie writer for Pixar, and shares the initial reason he moved to San Francisco (one that had nothing to do with writing and his reasoning is brilliant). He talks about his creative process, how he was introduced to meditation, and why he created "F*ck That: An Honest Meditation." Tune in for a few laughs, and deep wisdoms. 



Jason is the co-writer of Pixar's film "Onward" which was released last year. He wrote and directed the feature film "A Bad Idea Gone Wrong" which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. His short film "F*ck That: An Honest Meditation" has been featured at Banksy's Dismaland and he’s released a book by the same title with the purpose to help you find peace with the challenges that surround you, because they are (fucking) everywhere.



You can find out more about Jason and his work here, listen to his meditation here, buy his book anywhere you buy books, watch the move Onward on Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, and follow along with Jason on twitter @jason_headley or instagram @heyheadley. He's also turned his meditation into an app which you can download here. 



For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

We've all undoubtedly spent more time with ourselves in the last 18 months then we ever have before. This week Michael speaks with Francesca Specter, the alonement specialist. She coined the term to encourage alone time to be as buzzy as self care, and asks people to consider how they dedicate their time alone - what is the experience, what is the length of time, how frequent. Have a listen to perhaps gain a new perspective on why spending time alone isn't a negative thing nor the same thing as being lonely. She shares solitude skills to support you on your journey towards alonement, as well as ideas and suggestions of where to even start, especially if you're in a relationship. 

Francesca is an author, podcaster, and journalist, and you can find out more about her here. Her first book “Alonement: How to be alone and absolutely own it” was published in March of this year, and she’s also a freelance journalist for multiple publications. She hosts Alonement, which is a podcast about the positive side of spending time alone. This word Alonement is Francesca Specter's empowering new word to express valuing your own company and dedicating quality time to yourself, whoever you are and whatever your relationship status. You can follow along with her on instagram @chezspecter and @alonementofficial.

For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

This week on The Quiet Life Michael sits down with Dr. Robin Hart to chat about mental health. They talk about how important it is to have things that nurture us, excite us, and challenge us, as well as the uplifting impact of bringing more play into our lives. Dr. Robin shares some tools for supporting ourselves as we transition further outside the home while the pandemic shifts, and offers suggestions of when speaking with someone other than family or friends might be helpful and who else you can turn to if you choose to do so.



Dr. Robin Hart has extensive education, research and experience in cognitive and behavioral psychotherapy. He has a particular interest in working with a range of anxiety disorders and depression, family and relationship problems. He works with an integrative clinical approach, and has created Companion, an app that shares tools to support mental health for the modern worker. You can download Companion app for Android here and for Apple here, and follow along on Instagram @cbtcompanion. You can contact Dr. Robin Hart via The Basil Street Practice. 



For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!

This week Michael sits down with meditation teacher and author Jillian Lavender. They cover all things meditation - from where to start and how to sustain your practice. Jillian offers honest glimpses into her journey not only as a meditation teacher but also as a meditator and a mother, commenting on how the acceptance and popularity of the practice has changed since she first started and sharing her perspective of where it's headed. 



Jillian learned to meditate in 1995. She was living in Sydney, setting up a publishing company and spending her life on a plane, tired and stressed. She went to a course recommended by a friend and quickly noticed a massive impact on her stress level - she was still busy, but it was all more manageable. Five years later she quit her job, traveled, and ultimately trained to become a meditation teacher. She has been teaching Vedic Meditation since 2003, working with individuals to maximise performance and achieve success in all areas of their personal and professional life. Her students come from a range of different background and she's passionate about teaching people how meditation can fit their busy lifestyle. She is a cofounder of the London Meditation Centre as well as the New York Meditation Center with her partner Michael Miller, and they also teach worldwide.



Jillian's debut book "Why Meditate? Because it works." is in stores July 8th. You can order a copy here. The book delivers a modern, accessible and trustworthy explanation of what meditation is, and most importantly, what it will do for you. Jillian delves into why a daily meditation practice is so necessary for your busy life, and busts common myths while she explains the science and benefits of meditation in a clear and easy way. 



You can follow along with Jillian on instagram @jillianlavender and find out more on her website https://jillianlavender.com/.



For more conversations like this and to join our community visit justbreatheproject.com and follow us on instagram @justbreathe. If you haven't already downloaded our recently re-launched app, you can click here for iPhone and here for Android. As listeners of The Quiet Life, use the code thequietlife to receive a 30 day all access trial. You can enter the code here and find directions on how to use the unique code you receive to start using the app. Happy meditating!