Roundglass Living People

Akhtar is an award-winning chef of Indian heritage who has embraced and mastered Mexican cuisine. He is the chef-owner of Otra Vez and Alta Calidad, and his approach to cooking is showcased in his debut cookbook, Good For You.

In 1996, Alex Maizuss began practicing meditation and yoga to help cope with the daily stress of life and, later, the intense demands of working as a software engineer in the aerospace industry. Today, Alex works as a globally recognized mindfulness intervention expert, teaching individuals and groups in both English and Spanish. She is certified in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Performance Enhancement, Awareness & Knowledge (mPEAK) through the University of San Diego. "Mindfulness can help you recognize unhelpful patterns and create pathways to move ahead while cultivating self-compassion, emotional resilience, and self-awareness." Alex explains, "Learning to be more self-aware through mindfulness allows better focus on personal strengths and better performance in any field, as well as joy and a vivid happier self. " Characterized by her sharp attention, deep curiosity, humble presence, and kind sense of humor, Alex's work as a mindfulness performance coach for the entertainment industry has allowed her to witness firsthand the impact of performance anxiety and stress. Alex was the program manager for USC Center for Mindfulness Science and her meditations are currently featured in MindfulUSC and Mindful Magazine.

Alison Hutchens is passionate about helping organizations and individuals live mindfully and believes in the power of mindfulness training, resilience coaching and emotional intelligence to enhance corporate life. Hutchens has been teaching mindfulness for more than a decade and runs corporate and community programs for adults and children.

Through soothing meditations, Kabbalah instructor Alison Serour creates an access point for individuals to close their eyes and meet the daily challenges they face, guiding them toward their inner source. Alison began her formal training as Kabbalah teacher in her twenties, but has been drawn to the tradition since childhood.

Almeiri Santos believes your meditation practice should feel comfortable to you. Her background as a meditation teacher, consulting hypnotist, and reiki master, coupled with her life experience as it relates to mindfulness, provides individuals with a curated pathway to develop and sustain their own practice.

Amanda Cohen is a James Beard-nominated chef and cookbook author. She has two vegetarian restaurants in downtown New York City, Dirt Candy and Lekka Burger. She grew up in Canada.

Amanda Ree is a canine wellness practitioner who advocates for healthy and spiritual relationships between people, life and their dogs. She began her spiritual studies at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and later learned under Deepak Chopra, before becoming Vice President of the Chopra Center for some time.

Amrita Sen is a singer with her hands in design, film production, and entertainment, but music has always been at the center of her heart, driving its beats. As the lead for the Music Collective at Roundglass, she believes that music contributes to wholistic wellbeing, and that it's the universal language that moves every pillar of our lives.

Ana Ortiz is a pastry chef, food writer, and founder of Day Into Night — a bespoke catering company based in Brooklyn.

Hi - I'm Angel. I co-founded Death Over Dinner and Drugs Over Dinner, and I've been teaching meditation around the globe since 2004. I co-founded two yoga and meditation studios and have been leading teacher trainings focused on emotional and somatic intelligence (held in the lens of non-duality) since 2010. I lead meditation teacher trainings, including death meditation trainings, workshops, retreats, and Mama Healing School courses where women begin unwinding their mother wounds so they don't pass their pain and conditioning inadvertently to their children (intergenerational trauma) . Full bio: http://www.angel-grant.com/about Feel free to reach out anytime: angel.grant@round.glass.

Betty is a writer and editor: A journalist who formerly worked at the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles magazine, she also has co-authored four cookbooks. Her favorite meal for as long as she can remember has been ochazuke — rice with tea and pickled plum.

Heartfulness meditation trainer with over 50 years of experience studying the art and science of meditation.

Buathon Thienarrom, Ph.D combines her extensive experience in nursing, psychology, and health sociology to help others heal mindfully and wholistically. Her organization Sukkasart Institute of Healing Arts provides individuals with resources to enhance their health and lifestyle for improved mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Performance coach Cara Bradley is known for her no-hype, cutting-edge body-brain tools that help people feel and perform their best. Bradley draws from her experience as a college athlete and professional figure skater to assist others in helping to regulate themselves when they are feeling overwhelmed in order to optimize performance and flow.

Growing up as an abused, angry kid, Ceasar F. Barajas suffered multiple traumas. After spending seven years in the U.S. Navy, he found meditation when he was experiencing PTSD, anxiety and depression, and he credits his practice with being the stabilizer for both his personal and professional life — which has involved everything from working as a classically trained dancer with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Will Smith to leading fitness classes of all kinds. “Meditation doesn’t mean to stop thinking, it asks of you to slow down," he says. "Slowing down then enables you to listen, really listen, to yourself. Meditation is just mindful thinking." Having found his calling as a trauma-sensitive certified yoga instructor, meditation teacher and breathing techniques instructor, Ceasar specializes in mindful resiliency for trauma recovery and compassion fatigue. He’s taught all over the world and served as a guest panelist and instructor at Columbia, Rutgers and Fordham universities.

Christina brings mindfulness education and well-being life coaching to executives, entrepreneurs, and employee well-being programs for corporate teams through her company, The Carnelian Connection. She draws from her background in business management along with her training as a yoga instructor, to integrate wellbeing into professional spaces.

Clarissa Wei is a freelance multimedia journalist based in Taipei who is currently writing her first cookbook.

Motivational speaker and educator Curtis Smith has transformed thousands of lives by using music, movement, art and writing to activate the science-based benefits of mindfulness. Now the founder of Moment of Mindfulness, Smith has expanded his portfolio of clients to communities that benefit from culturally responsive mindfulness tools.

David Harshada Wagner believes if you’re not living with all your heart, power, wisdom, and passion, something is missing — and meditation can help you find it. With over 25 years of training in addiction recovery, yoga, Bhakti, Vedanta, and Tantric Shaivism, Wagner works with individuals to cultivate their own journey toward innate joy.

David Vago, Ph.D., is on a mission to alleviate suffering and improve wellbeing through investigating connections between the mind, brain, and body. He has over 15 years of experience studying the basic neurobiological mechanisms supporting mind-body practices in relation to wellbeing and over 25 years of formal meditation training.

Earle Birney's approach to meditation is just like him — unpretentious, honest, friendly, curious, and powered by a deep and sincere desire to understand life and happiness in philosophical and practical ways.

Eeshaan Kashyap is a Delhi-based chef and food stylist who works at the intersection of food and art though curating culinary events. He is the artist-designer behind Tablescape, an online tableware store.

Ellaeenah Niloufer draws from over three decades of experience as a high school teacher, along with 20 years of experience as a spiritual mentor, counsellor, meditation teacher, and health facilitator to primarily help teenagers navigate challenging times.

Gayle Van Gils first practiced meditation during her time in college, and it informed her career in the human side of business following her MBA studies. As an author, leadership consultant, and life coach, Van Gils opens hearts and minds to unlock meaning and success in life and business.

Mindfulness teacher Grace Edmunds draws from 15 years of training in mindfulness and awareness practices to help people work with less stress and lead a life with wisdom, empathy, and compassion. She has experience working with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including ivy league schools and nonprofit organizations.

Greta Hill draws from over 10,000 hours of yoga and meditation teacher training to help students reclaim their joy, awaken deep purpose, and cultivate vibrant health through yoga, meditation, and Ayurvedic lifestyle.

Heather Arndt Anderson is an award-winning writer, recipe developer, and the author of four books about culinary history. She lives in an urban farmhouse in Portland, Oregon.

Venerable Lhundup Jamyang is passionate about sharing her learned expertise in Tibetan Buddhism with others. She has over 25 years of training and experience in the field, and students commend her engaging and thorough approach to deconstructing intricate teachings.

Human-centered designer Jay Vidyarthi focuses on the intersection of mindfulness, design, technology, and ethics. He brings over a decade of meditation practice, in conjunction with his experience as a tech designer, to provide individuals with mindfulness tools that can help optimize their relationship with electronic devices and platforms.

Jeralyn is a crystal alchemy sound healing pioneer and an internationally acclaimed singer, musician, and teacher who blends meditation and transformational high-vibration sound. She is the creator of Crystal Cadence® and The Sacred Science of Sound®.

Jerusha was an editorial assistant with Roundglass who brought in more than over six years of experience with digital and print publications. She grew up in Kenya and was introduced to traditional sitting meditation by her high-school football coach; the whole team would have a visualization practice before each game. During her last year of college in San Francisco, Jerusha interned at a Rome-based digital magazine where she wrote about sustainable development and systemic racism. Here she realized her passion; prioritizing sustainable development through incentivizing circular economies at a grass roots level. Jerusha believes wholistic wellness is a tool to achieve this goal. In order to take care of the planet we first have to learn how to take care of ourselves.

Jessica Wang is a trained pastry chef turned full-time pickler. An advocate for local produce, she juggles her time as the founder of fermentation workshop, Picklé, and the neighborhood market concept, Gu Grocery.

JL Fields is a vegan chef, an accomplished author, a National Board-certified Health and Wellness Coach, and a wellness brand consultant.

Johnson Chong is a TedX speaker and shamanic energy medicine practitioner initiated in the Q’ero lineage in Peru. Through his global retreats and programs Chong combines the practices of yoga, meditation, breathwork, and shamanic wisdom to help individuals access their authentic truth.

Jyothi Shyamsunder is a mindfulness, compassion and consciousness practitioner with certifications in presence-oriented psychotherapy and Vipassana meditation.

Author of the cookbook Spice Spice Baby, Kanchan Koya holds a PhD in biomedicine from Harvard and is also a holistic health coach. Her mission is to make everyone more comfortable cooking with spices, for both their health-giving properties and their ability to make your food sing with flavor.

With over 30 years of advanced training in multiple styles of yoga, Kasandra Jewall provides individuals with an alternative to emotional and reactive states of being. Jewall also hopes to share the calm and centering she’s found through establishing a personal meditative practice.

Kate Savage is a meditation practitioner and teacher in the Theravada tradition. She aims to spread Buddha’s teachings, so they are accessible and understandable to anyone, anywhere. Savage has been actively practicing meditation since 1993 and currently teaches others how to exercise mindfulness.

Krystal Mack is a designer and social practice artist working in the kitchen with mind, body, and spirit to produce healing tonics to pour with intention.

A monk in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, karma, Lama Yeshe aims to help as many people as possible through sound therapy, meditation, mindfulness, and emotional counseling sessions. Having studied mindfulness since the age of 19, Yeshe continues to expand on his passion for teaching both in person and virtually.

Yoga expert, wholistic health coach and author Leah Cullis-Arvelo has extensive experience as a teacher, coach, and student. She has led yoga classes and immersions across the globe, including at the White House during the Obama Administration. She synthesizes practices of yoga and wellbeing, and makes them accessible and relevant for life today.

Wellbeing expert and life coach Leena Gupta has over 20 years of experience empowering clients to reach their highest potential. She is passionate about using mindfulness to enhance happiness, performance, and mental clarity.

Lisa Kring draws from her experience as a licensed clinical social worker with a background in dispute resolution and family court mediation to practice and teach others about mindfulness. She believes self-compassion is a powerful tool to establish deep healing and growth.

Yoga teacher and entrepreneur Mansi Mahajan believes before you can change the world around you, you must change the world within you. Mahajan conducts yoga workshops and retreats all over the world to spread this philosophy.

Mariam Begg is a certified health and nutrition coach who focuses on integrative nutrition. She views good health as the coming together of food, interpersonal relationships, spirituality, and the mental and emotional spheres. An advocate of plant-based diets and raw foods, she hosts workshops on nutrition and health.

Founder of Death Over Dinner and EOL

Miriam Parker offers 10 years of experience as a meditation teacher in variety of professional spaces. With 500 hours of meditation and yoga teacher training, Parker works with individuals to establish a healthier outlook on life, regardless of their external circumstances.

Moina Oberoi is a chef and entrepreneur working with organic, sustainable, and Ayurvedic foods. She is the founder and MD of India’s first kefir manufacturing company, MO’s Superfoods.

Nandita Iyer brings together her degrees in medicine and nutrition with her love of cooking to enable people to pursue healthier lifestyles through her bestselling vegetarian cookbooks and blog. Sattva, her newsletter on simple and mindful living, reaches thousands of engaged readers every fortnight.

Naoko Takei is a cookbook author, teacher, and the founder of Toiro in Los Angeles, a cookware shop devoted to the traditional pottery of Iga, Japan.

Naren Kini is a serial entrepreneur in technology and has been a regular speaker on topics of Wellness and Innovation. He is a heart-based meditation coach/trainer for Heartfulness and is passionate about applying meditation to improve workplace relationships, performance, and productivity. He believes true joy comes in integrating work and life rather than trying to balance them. He is an active contributor to blogs and magazines and is invited to speak at various conferences and corporations on topics like Empathetic Leadership, Inspiration from Within, Work-Life Balance, and Corporate Consciousness, among others. Over the last 25 years, Naren has held several volunteer positions to help bring meditation to workplaces and is currently the Director at the Heartfulness Institute. As an avid proponent of micro-habits, he sets aside about an hour to sketch or paint each day. His work has been published and exhibited for several publications, and proceeds of silent auctions are donated to non-profit organizations for the wellness of kids and young adults. His vision is the ubiquitous use of Heartfulness Meditation to unlock the inner potential in everyone.

Meditation and breathwork teacher Nico DiMattina is passionate about teaching others to embody their true nature through mastering their minds and reconnecting with the power within.

After starting her career as a lawyer in Southern Africa in 1996, Nicolle Kopping-Pavars immigrated to Canada in 2008 with her husband, 1-year-old son and three suitcases. She had to completely rebuild her career in order to become accredited in her new country. She was successful in doing so, but something was missing. “Even though I was doing what I loved and what I believe I was called to do, I started sensing something dark lurking in the depths of my soul and I didn’t like it,” she says. Thus began her personal self-development journey, in which she read a lot, attended mindfulness retreats and workshops, and became a reiki practitioner. Although she was feeling better, she looked around at her colleagues, all of whom were stressed and overwhelmed, and felt she could do something more. From there, Nicolle committed to a yearlong teacher training certification focused on mindfulness in law, and in 2017, she went to Thailand for two weeks to deepen her practice and study with the monks in the northern part of Thailand. She furthered her teacher training by taking an intense teacher training course in the Forest Monk Therevada tradition. Nicolle founded Lotus-Law to introduce meditation, mindfulness and emotional intelligence to the legal profession and to the public at large. In 2020, Nicolle rebranded her practice as the Transformational Lawyer, through which she brings all her disciplines — law, reiki, energy work, crystals and mindfulness — under one umbrella.

Spiritual teacher Nithya Shanti is passionate about helping others realize the joy that exists within. As a host of Roundglass’ weekly podcast “The Stories We Tell,” and through his work at the Nithya Shanti Foundation, Shanti works to address contemporary issues through spiritual teachings of mindfulness and compassion.

Mindfulness Coach Palma Michel helps you unleash the full potential of your mind, allowing you to create a purpose-driven, meaningful, and highly impactful life. Her business combines coaching along with meditative wisdom and techniques to empower CEOs, founders, emerging leaders, and high potentials in a variety of ways.

A meditation teacher since 2001, Patwant Rhodes offers personalized yogic journeys of self-discovery to connect with one's true nature, potential and purpose. Rhodes began studying Kundalini yoga and meditation after experiencing a personal loss in her twenties.

I like to help people connect with their food in a deeper, more joyous, and more delicious way.

Born in India, Prakriti Poddar was raised all over the world, moving from one country to another, from one boarding school to another. Amidst the environment changes, she remained fiercely connected to her own spirit. One constant in her life was visiting her grandmother, a prolific healer, and soothsayer who taught Prakriti faith healing before she learned how to read. While she took those lessons for granted for decades to come, she found her way back to her foundations when she began working in mental wellness in 2000. “I’m a firm believer in aligning your mind, body, and spirit as one,” she says. “Your being is more than a physical being — it is a divine being.” As the global head for mental health and wellbeing at RoundGlass, Prakriti is actively involved in creating an integrated platform for wholistic wellbeing. Constantly building communities, initiatives, and outreach for mental health awareness and support, she focuses on building peace and harmony to address mental and emotional health. She empowers people of all ages in a systematic way, addressing audiences on both private and public platforms about the mind and spirit, peace and wellbeing.

Meditation teacher, published author, and host of "The Mindful Kind" podcast, Rachael Kable empowers people to manage stress and live more mindfully. Having experienced firsthand the benefits of mindfulness, Kable hopes to help others enhance their wellbeing through the content she shares.

Rakesh Raghunathan is a popular South Indian food historian and TV show host. An abiding love for food and endless curiosity led him from a career in management to becoming a collector of South Indian recipes, food history, and culinary traditions, particularly temple and tribal foods.

Ranjith Vallathol believes in living in alignment — a simple, easy-to-practice way of life that integrates ancient Ayurvedic and yogic wisdom. His passion is helping people discover the radiant, beautiful core of who they are.

Rebecca L. Acabchuk, Ph.D. (Becky) has taught mindfulness workshops in a variety of spaces. She aims to promote overall wellbeing through healthy lifestyle and behavior change.

A food preservation consultant, Rich is one of the leading culinary explorers of koji and miso in the United States. Rich is a consulting chef, author, and culinary educator who is passionate about fermentation.

Bringing Wholistic Wellbeing to the world.

Food nerd, forager, seeker of heirloom seeds and pancake wiz. Pride and joy: My artisanal pantry.

Sadaf Hussain is a food columnist, cookbook author, and chef who has been a MasterChef India finalist and a TedX speaker. As a travel enthusiast he loves to explore the intersection between cooking, culture, and food lore.

Sarah Blackburn has experienced a profound transformation since beginning her journey with meditation and Buddhist teachings, and she is thrilled to share her practice with others. She is a meditation teacher and volunteers at Three Jewels Kids during her spare time.

Shani Dayal is passionate about teaching others the importance of mobility, body conditioning and joint health in her yoga practice. She gives special importance to body and mind relaxation, destressing the nervous system and using the tools of pranayama and meditation for overall mental and physical wellbeing.

Sharon Fernandes is an editor at Roundglass. A journalist with bylines in leading publications like The Times of India and The New York Times . Sharon is a published children’s book author and food writer.

Shenarri Freeman is the executive chef of Cadence, a vegan Southern soul food restaurant in New York City’s East Village. A recent graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, Freeman made it to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Food & Drink List. She is also a holistic researcher and wellness advocate.

Chef Shriya Shetty specializes in documenting sustainable heritage recipes from the Mangaluru region on India’s southwest coast. She also hosts pop-ups and conducts workshops on Mangalorean cuisine.

Sophie Fox believes in the incredible power of the mind. Her background and experience in psychology, hypnotherapy, and meditation, along with a passion for helping others to be the best version of themselves helps her empower individuals to have happy healthy minds.

Sowmya Raoh is a singer and songwriter in the Indian music industry, with a passion for sharing her mindfulness and meditation practices. Raoh's unique approach to meditation speaks to her experience singing and chanting mantra as a child, in addition to her career in the Indian film industry.

Sudha G Tilak is a journalist who has reported from India, Sri Lanka and the UK. She is based out of Gurgaon and is a writer, translator, editor of books on food and travel, and a vegetarian. She is committed to building culinary connections and initiating healthy conversations around the history and traditional wisdom around food.

Sunaina Rekhi is passionate about helping people move trauma and trapped emotions through their body to heal stress. She has over 10 years of experience studying and teaching yoga, and is an advocate for sustained wholstic wellness regardless of age or ability.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist bringing wellbeing to the world.

A channel for the divine, a messenger, and a guide through transitions, Tatum Barnes facilitates meditations that bring people to the Seat of the Sacred within. Barnes enjoys working with diverse populations, including members of the African Diaspora as they embark on their journey of deep healing.

Tessa Watt is committed to helping others slow down, relax, and live their most meaningful life, which she accomplishes through the well-studied power of mindfulness.

Since taking his monastic vows at the age of 21, Tyagi Shurjo has committed his life to the goal of self-realization. Shurjo serves in joy to spread the message of Paramhansa Yogananda and kriya yoga wherever he goes.

Vimalasara is committed to assisting others live healthier, happier lives through mindfulness. They have over 30 years of experience as a Dharma teacher, trauma expert, and are a certified mindfulness teacher.

Victor Kannan is a lifelong financial executive and a Director of Heartfulness Institute Inc, USA, an international non-profit organization with operating presence of Heartfulness in over 150 countries. He has been a CFO in the high-tech space since the late 80s. He lives in Atlanta Georgia with his wife and his daughter in California. As an independent thinker, he writes frequently for various magazines and blog sites. He also conducts webinars and speaks often on topics of self-development, spirituality and meditation.

Vishvapani Blomfield believes that mindfulness isn’t just about sitting still and practicing meditation — it’s about bringing a deeper awareness into your whole life. As the director of Mindfulness in Action, Blomfield works towards enlightening individuals on the transformative power of practicing mindfulness in daily life.

Yael Shy offers over 10 years of experience as a meditation teacher in addition to 20 years of experience as practitioner in a variety of traditions. She primarily works with parents, in addition to young adults to help navigate their twenties, or better cope with change.

Whirling instructor Zia Nath believes sacred dances transcend religion and spirituality, bringing us into the mystic consciousness. She is India’s first internationally certified biodynamic craniosacral therapist and organizes diploma courses in the subject.