028 Michael Sandler: Bullied as a Kid, He says Be Present, Mindful and Choose How To React

Michael Sandler is an all-round fascinating person. He loves to move and have fun and he’s an avid athlete who’s had more than his fair share of injuries including being hit by a car when bicycle racing in France and being walloped by a motorcycle while mountain biking in Colorado. Back in middle school, Michael ran to and from school to avoid bullies onthe school bus. Since his high school days, mindfulness and meditation have been part of his daily life, and he now meditates an average of 2 hours a day. Today Michael is a best-selling author and online entrepreneur. Interestingly, he has had a knee surgery and sinus surgery both done without any anesthetics, just with the power of the mind and meditation. You can hear Michael on-line on his popular podcast, Inspire Nation.

Contact Info

• Podcast: www.InspireNationShow.com

Most Influential Person

• Claudio (his greatest teacher who believes we have it all too complicated. He says it's as simple as going silent)

Effect on Emotions

• Hugely so, because I've become a lot less reactive. I'm a lot less of that super ball, bouncing from one thing to the next. And I'm a lot more present in myself. By present in myself, I mean I don't take ownership in the balls that are thrown at me or bounced around by others around me. If somebody throws me a fear ball, I'm able to say, 'wait, that's not mine'.

Thoughts on Breathing

• There's conscious and unconscious breathing and I'm always trying to come back to my breath, consciously. With that said, my voice has changed over the years, and the voice that you hear on air is much more because of my mindfulness practice. It used to be 'up here' and that's because I was breathing high in my chest and I was talking really fast, and never taking a deep, full, slow breath. And so focusing on the breath calms me, brings me back into that present moment, gets my mind quieter and allows me to achieve all the things that I've achieved. So the breath really is the metronome, the heartbeat, the guide to everything.

Suggested Resources

• Book: Natural Meditation by Dean Sluyter
• App: None. I leave the electronics behind as much as possible.

Advice for Newbie

Focus on the breath. Just go to the breath. That can be as simple as, you're on the bus or on the subway on the way to work in the morning, just take one minute and feel the breath coming in, feeling the breath going out. Just starting from there and expanding from there. Or you're at work, at your computer, you're starting to get a little bit stressed out, go into the breath, breathe in. One, two, three, Out, one, two, three. I like throwing a count on it, that's my app, is just counting. Just drop right back into the breath.