Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorsey Standish.
Dorsey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Since an early age, I have been a learner, a scientist, and an investigator. So, my family and friends were not surprised when I pursued a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. But, they were definitely surprised when I announced that I was leaving my comfortable job at Texas Instruments to teach yoga and mindfulness full-time.
Here’s the backstory – While working as a Mechanical Design Engineer at Texas Instruments, I realized that I loved technology, but people were my true passion. I quickly moved to a Program Management role where I could spend more time motivating others. I loved that job so much that I overdid it. After months under the pressure of an imminent product launch, including trips to China, Taiwan, and New Orleans, I totally burned out. My doctors encouraged me to go on medical leave to recover, sleep, and learn how to take better care of myself. I had eight weeks to revisit my yoga training, work with a nutritionist, and explore the world of mindfulness and meditation. That’s when I got bit by the brain-training bug. I started telling coworkers, friends, and family about the incredible simplicity and power of meditation! After teaching my TI coworkers yoga and mindfulness became the favorite part of my week, I knew it was time to make the leap to sharing my passions full-time.
My corporate experience has translated surprisingly well into teaching mindfulness meditation. I have a very real understanding of high-stress jobs and situations, and I have practice in addressing large audiences. Best of all, everything that we do at Mastermind is geared toward improving brain health and based on neuroscientific research studies. I am completely in my element, bringing together my passions for science, people, and wellness.
Now, as Chief Mindfulness Officer, I am so thrilled to collaborate with Mastermind’s visionary owners, Mari Woodlief and Jennifer Pascal. I love working in their Allyn Media offices, enjoying office camaraderie, and promoting workplace wellness with weekly yoga and meditation classes.
My success at Mastermind has inspired me to continue learning: I am enrolled in the Applied Cognition & Neuroscience Master’s program at UTD. I also just began a research internship at the Center for BrainHealth, coordinating research that administers cognitive training to veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
Has it been a smooth road?
In terms of growing the Mastermind business, I would say our biggest challenge has been overcoming the biases against meditation/mindfulness as inherently spiritual and prohibitively time-consuming.
A great example of these biases comes from my wonderful dad, a Washington, D.C. lawyer with high levels of stress and anxiety because of his law practice. Whenever I tell him about a meditation class, he puts his hands in prayer and says, “Ommmmm…Namaste…” He also insists he never has time to meditate and checks his email last thing before bed and first thing in the morning.
There are so many successful people just like my dad who could benefit so much from basic mindfulness training, yet they’re confused about the roots of the practice and the different types and lengths of meditation training available. It is difficult in our always-on, always doing the culture to convince people of the value of sitting still and settling their minds.
Mastermind’s secular mindfulness practices debunk the “meditation is spiritual” myth by beginning each class with five minutes of brain health research that demonstrates the proven power of the technique about to be practiced. Mastermind classes and training are designed for high performers who want to gain energy, efficiency, and equanimity through brain training.
Our seminars like Mindful Meditation for Beginners offer meditation and mindfulness solutions for busy people. We emphasize the importance and power of informal mindfulness practice or being fully present in everyday activities like washing the dishes, talking with a colleague, or walking from the car to your destination. No matter how busy our lives may be, we can all find a quiet minute or two – time for three deep breaths or phone-less walk to the car.
Often times, our mania for busyness and distractions covers up a discomfort with silence and being in our own heads. But that’s a whole other mindfulness class…
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Mastermind Meditation story. Tell us more about the business.
As the Chief Mindfulness Officer of Mastermind, I oversee our science-based, research-backed mindfulness and emotional intelligence training. We specialize in corporate mindfulness training and custom event programming. Mastermind offers a secular, accessible approach to mindfulness meditation that aligns well with organizational goals of improving employee performance and bolstering physical and mental health.
In addition to private programming, we also partner with locations like Brain Performance Institute to share mindfulness-based wellness offerings throughout Dallas. We are known for our custom 4-week Mindful Meditation for Beginners seminar, a comprehensive and accessible course for learning the basics of mindfulness and developing the tools you need to create your own mindfulness practice.
Research indicates that the most effective mindfulness interventions last 4-8 weeks and include regular checkpoints to support a sustained personal practice. We are most excited to work with long-term partners such as Billingsley Company and Genesis Women’s Shelter – we incorporate weekly classes and extended training sessions to help support a mindful environment for employees and clients.
Corporations worldwide are waking up to the fact that a regular mindfulness practice supports mental health, improves memory and focus, and contributes to a strong immune system and overall physical wellness. We look forward to collaborating with more DFW organizations to integrate mindfulness-based brain health into their employee wellness programs.
Join us in supporting brain health through mindfulness – because a healthy life begins with a healthy brain.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In his book, Modern Mindfulness, mindful meditation leader Rohan Gunatillike asserts that over the past 50 years, society has focused on acquiring material things and looking good – perfecting our “outer lives.” He argues that over the next 50 years, there will be an emphasis on acquiring and strengthening inner resources – upgrading our “inner lives” with qualities such as kindness, calm, concentration, resilience, and joy. Mastermind is excited and well-positioned to assist in this upgrade of inner life with science-based brain training.
A story that we love about the corporate adoption of mindfulness is that of Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini. Bertolini suffered a severe skiing accident in the early 2000s that left him in chronic, unmanageable pain. Previously opposed to so-called “alternative treatments,” Bertolini turned to yoga, meditation, and acupuncture as a last resort. Given his miraculous recovery from dependence on painkillers, Bertolini is now a staunch mindfulness advocate and practitioner.
After becoming Aetna CEO in 2010, Bertolini rolled out a mindfulness-based wellness program for employees that included 12 weeks of yoga and mindfulness training and incentives for sleeping more hours per night. Their pilot program showed signification reduction in stress, improved sleep quality, and better heart rate variability. Research on a larger group of employees showed that the mindfulness training resulted in extra 62 minutes of productivity per week, which amounted to $3000 per employee per year. Aetna’s annual healthcare costs fell 7.3%, resulting in $9M in savings.
Following Bertolini’s lead, companies are beginning to understand that investing in the health and well-being of their employees translates into financial and strategic benefits for the company.
Given these corporate successes and the overall trend toward cultivating inner resources, it’s no surprise that the mindfulness training is estimated to be at least a billion-dollar industry. Market reports anticipate that the industry will continue to grow as corporations see the benefits of brain training for peak performance and stress reduction.
Pricing:
- Public classes offered at Brain Performance Institute – $25 for one hour workshop – www.mastermindmeditate.com/programs
Contact Info:
- Address: 3838 Oak Lawn Ave Ste. 400
Dallas, TX 75219 - Website: www.mastermindmeditate.com
- Phone: 214-522-4574
- Email: info@mastermindmeditate.com
Image Credit:
Katie Stipp
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