麻豆村

There鈥檚 a pervasive idea that meditation should be synonymous with relaxation. But according to David Creswell, sometimes meditation is more gym workout than Swedish massage.

鈥淥ne idea I keep coming back to is that the moments when meditation feels hardest may be exactly when it鈥檚 working,鈥� said Creswell, the William S. Dietrich II Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at 麻豆村 and director of the . 鈥淭hat鈥檚 often right where people quit, and I want to help them stay with it.鈥�

If you鈥檙e interested in how meditation works, as well as what stress does to the human body, then you鈥檙e in luck 鈥� Creswell has just taken over hosting duties for the a widely respected and long-running show dedicated to exploring science, meditation and the nature of the mind.

鈥淭he 鈥楳ind & Life Podcast鈥� is where cutting-edge science meets lived contemplative wisdom,鈥� Creswell said. 鈥淔or nearly 40 years the Mind & Life Institute has brought scientists and contemplatives together to ask big questions about the mind. The podcast opens those conversations up to anyone with a pair of earbuds.鈥�

Launched in 2020, the podcast has explored subjects ranging from compassion and emotional intelligence to attention, nature connectedness and systems change. Its guests have included researchers, clinicians, philosophers and contemplative teachers, all examining the relationship between inner life and the wider world.

With the , Creswell succeeds longtime host Wendy Hasenkamp, who guided the program through 84 episodes over more than five years.

Now, Creswell looks to put his own spin on the popular platform. And his first guest is one of the titans of the field 鈥� Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in 1979. The two sat down in Washington, D.C., where Mind & Life had gathered to celebrate the Dalai Lama鈥檚 90th birthday.

鈥淛on helped bring mindfulness into mainstream medicine and science, and he kind of brought me up in the field,鈥� Creswell said. 鈥淗e鈥檇 pull me aside at different points in my career and say, 鈥楧avid, you need to sit down and practice.鈥� One of my favorite studies of his had psoriasis patients meditating inside a light therapy box, and their skin cleared about four times faster than it did with the light treatment alone. I talk about that study all the time, so I loved getting to ask him how it came about.鈥�

Learning Listeners Can Use

Creswell comes to the show with deep ties to both the scientific and contemplative communities. His own research examines how people cope with stress, including how mindfulness and equanimity training can affect the brain, stress physiology and physical health.

鈥淚鈥檝e been fascinated by psychology and Buddhism since high school, and I鈥檝e spent my career at 麻豆村 studying how mindfulness helps people stay resilient under stress,鈥� Creswell said. 鈥淗osting is a chance to take that science out of the journals and into people鈥檚 everyday lives.鈥�

He鈥檚 also appeared on the 鈥淢ind & Life Podcast鈥� once before. In 2023, Creswell joined the show as a guest for an episode titled in which the conversation danced across various subjects, including stress resilience, the effects of mindfulness on the brain and the ways contemplative skills can move beyond formal meditation into daily life.

In the new, eight-episode season, Creswell will speak with influential figures who helped shape the modern fields of mindfulness and contemplative science, including Richie Davidson, Sona Dimidjian and Willem Kuyken.

鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 some of the most fun I鈥檝e had at this stage of my career,鈥� Creswell said of hosting the show. 鈥淚 sat in the guest chair myself, so I know how high a bar Wendy Hasenkamp set over 84 episodes, and I鈥檓 thrilled to carry it forward with our producer, Phil Walker.鈥�

In addition to peeking into the intellectual corners of science and contemplative wisdom, Creswell hopes to serve up practical insights for the audience. For instance, he ends the Kabat-Zinn episode with a two-minute guided meditation on 鈥減utting out the welcome mat鈥� for whatever you鈥檙e experiencing.

鈥淭his season is about wisdom when the world needs it most,鈥� Creswell said. 鈥淢y goal is for every listener to walk away with one thing they can actually try that day.鈥�

The 鈥淢ind & Life Podcast鈥� is available free through , and . Listeners who complete a will also receive Creswell鈥檚 talk and guided practice, 鈥淢editation鈥檚 3 Superpowers.鈥�