Ashley Rose Howard, Co-Founder and Mindfulness and Meditation Coach at HEAL GOOD COLLECTIVE
One Monday evening in March, the InSite team got to experience a little self-care and wellness firsthand with a guided meditation hosted by one of the co-founders of HEAL GOOD COLLECTIVE, Ashley Rose Howard. Howard is a certified mindfulness and meditation coach. Personally, I’ve dabbled in meditation before and was looking forward to seeing if this guided experience would help me de-stress.
Once we had all dialed-in to our meeting, Howard led us through a meditation practice. We noted how we were feeling before we did the meditation and compared it to how we felt after the exercise. The contrast in the before and after was clear: tired and depleted became lighter and less drained; disorganized and unfocused turned to grounded and clear-headed. One member of our group shared that his experience with meditation has been transformative in his life. He used to suffer from terrible back pain, but through his years of practicing meditation, he has found relief from this discomfort.
HEAL GOOD COLLECTIVE (“HGC”), is on a mission to nurture the human component of the corporate world by creating calm amidst the chaos of the modern day. HGC is a collective of specialists that provide clients with a relaxing reprieve by bringing unique and diverse wellness experiences to their offices in-person or virtually, offering sessions that facilitate opportunities to de-stress and re-center.
A few days after our virtual meditation, I got the chance to connect with Howard to find out more about HGC and the impact that wellness initiatives can have in the workplace.
Q1: In your opinion, what’s the difference between mindfulness and meditation?
Mindfulness is the act of being fully immersed in the moment. It’s focusing on the one task at hand and not thinking about the next email or next task to complete. Meditation is a vehicle that we can practice in our ability to be more mindful. Meditation forces us to get quiet and become still, so we can observe all the sensations, the emotions, the thoughts, without judgment. This is not always easy.
Q2: How did you get into meditation?
I like to say meditation found me. I started this journey by training to become a yoga teacher. I love teaching yoga but what really resonated with me was meditation, the philosophy and science behind how you can work with your own mind. I found it all so inspiring and decided to join a year-long meditation training. My passion for meditation and teaching led me to a career in corporate wellness.
Q3: What led you to start HEAL GOOD COLLECTIVE?
I spent 5 years working with corporate wellness companies large and small all over New York City. In that time, I ended up burning out from working as a corporate practitioner. I wanted to create an opportunity to humanize the workplace and the practitioners who serve it and decided to create HGC does this through offering unique wellness experiences and we extend those benefits to our own practitioners.
Q4: What are some of the different types of meditation and wellness practices that HEAL GOOD COLLECTIVE promotes?
At HGC, we focus on four modalities of wellness: breathwork, mindful meditation, sound healing and sleep meditation. We have an incredible team of mindfully selected practitioners for our corporate collective who specialize in each specific field. Some have master’s degrees and decades of expertise in their fields. They come from all over the world, from different backgrounds, and are extremely knowledgeable and gifted.
Q5: Are certain people more suited for one practice over another?
Absolutely. I recommend that you try different styles and see what resonates. Be curious! I tried a ton of different things until I found the modality that really worked for me.
All these wellness experiences and practices have the same benefits at their core. They are rooted in personal growth and recovery. It’s taking different routes for getting to the same destination–to take care of ourselves and heal.
Q6: What’s driving corporate wellness right now?
There is a lot of emphasis on preventing burnout. Many people are suffering from insomnia, a lack of focus and efficiency. We want to provide the opportunity for our clients to tap into the benefits of these practices and find the best modality to do so.
Q7: What are a few reasons an organization should consider instituting a wellness initiative, like the ones offered by HEAL GOOD COLLECTIVE?
Collaborative Health Motivates:
Positive attitudes and fewer sick days are reported by companies with employee wellness programs in place. Wellness challenges, health-oriented activities and health screenings motivate employees and keep them connected toward achieving like-minded goals.
Variety in Options Matters:
Statistics demonstrate that 84% of employees experience physical, psychological and/or behavioral symptoms associated with poor mental health. Offering a variety of options, such as health coaching, stress management support and even smoking cessation programs, not only shows employees their physiological needs are valued, but also provides them with the tools they need to maintain their new healthy habits.
Q8: What are some of the benefits of meditation and wellness work?
Meditation offers great benefits in so many ways:
- One of the goals is to get working professionals out of fight or flight mode that gets instinctually triggered by stress and into rest and digest mode. The goal is to get them thinking clearly, creatively and efficiently. Meditation helps to manage these highs and lows and reboots your nervous system, relieving stress and anxiety
- Another aim is to teach mindful communication skills to manage employee dynamics and conflicts. This can transform professional relationships and leadership by introducing empathy
- Meditation can reduce fatigue and balances immune function through activating the parasympathetic nervous system
- Strengthens cognitive skills
Q9: What is one example of a positive impact your work has had on clients?
The power of mindful communication! HGC offers workshops around mindful communication, because there are always conversations around employee dynamics and conflict in the workplace. This is a big reason why people come to us. The mindfulness tools we teach help with communication because it’s about coming from a responsive place rather than a reactionary place. Reactionary responses come from the fight or flight mode. If I’m already stressed out and burnt out, I’m going to react, creating more tension among employees. When we talk about responding, it’s so much more about pausing and thinking about how to digest or register a situation. Reacting and responding are two very different things.
Enabling this mindset in individuals helps to build compassion, empathy and team connection.
Q10: What are your tips for beginning a meditation practice?
Consistency is key. Even just a few minutes as often as possible.
Be as compassionate as possible with yourself; don’t judge yourself or the practice. Just showing up is a win for the day.
Q11: What can I share with our readers that might help them center themselves if they are feeling anxious, tired, stressed, unable to concentrate?
Take a moment to ground yourself, even just to connect with your breath. Especially when sitting at your desk, you can just put your feet on the floor and feel really grounded. Sit up tall and open your shoulders and elongate your spine. That adjustment can take you out of your head and bring you back into your body. Also practice self-compassion and kindness. Just be kind to you, that’s it.
Q12: What are some of the hang-ups or roadblocks that people experience when meditating and how can they transcend them?
The most common obstacle to meditation is usually our own expectations and judgements towards our experience, thoughts or strong emotions.
Watch out for spiritual bypassing, or in other words, using meditation as a way to ignore all of the difficult emotions and thoughts that come up. Instead, try addressing them without judgement and meeting yourself with compassion.
Q13: What are some resources you can share for someone who is interested in meditation and wellness practice that you can recommend (Instagram accounts to follow, podcasts, books, etc.)?
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life – by Jon Kabat-Zinn PHD
The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People – by Judith Orloff MD (book)
