Diana Winston of UCLA's MARC on mindfulness

Diana Watson (marc.ucla.edu), Host Larry Mantle (AirTalk on 89.3 FM KPCC,scpr.org, May 4, 2021); Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Guided meditation by MNDFL, Winter Wellness Retreat, POPSUGAR's Sugar Chalet Winter Wonderland in Bryant Park, New York City, Nov. 23, 2019 (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

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Mindfulness consumerized: apps, streaming wars, and a turn to mindfulness amid the latest pandemic

MARC Director Diana Winston, UCLA

When the reality of the pandemic started setting in last year, the L.A. County Department of Mental Health announced a partnership with the meditation app headspace.com -- anyone living in the county could get a free subscription.

Regardless of whether anyone took advantage of that, it does seem like more are turning to meditation and mindfulness practice in the stress of the last year.

The Little Book of Being

That also means more tech platforms are entering the space. As reported by the L.A. Times, wellness is now a part of the streaming wars, with Netflix partnering with Headspace for a three-part program this year, a counter to HBO Max’s “A World of Calm” series.

Diana Winston of MARC (the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA) discusses:

• recent trends in mindfulness
• the impact of tech as an avenue into meditation
• and benefits of the Buddhist practice.

Try a short meditation (headspace.com).

Plus, if anyone has started meditating because of pandemic-related stress or has questions about how to get started, call in toll-free at (866) 893-5722. More + AUDIO

DISCLOSURE: Diana Winston has guided meditations on the UCLA MARC Mindful App, the Ten Percent Happier App, Sam Harris’ Waking Up App, and the Ultrahuman App.

• GUEST: Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center  (MARC.ucla.edu) Diana Winston is also the author of several works, including the book The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness (Sounds True, 2019).