Speaking of Meditation — real-life stories of people who meditate. Why they do it, and how it's changed their lives. If you’ve tried meditation and struggled, or you’re practicing and need more inspiration, these stories will encourage and motivate you. Michael Miller is one of the most in-demand Vedic Meditation teachers in the world. Listen as he goes deep with fascinating guests about the game-changing effect of closing your eyes.
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Dylan Smith — Living in Rhythm: Where Ayurveda Meets Meditation (LIVE SHOW)
Season 4 · Episode 8
Thursday, June 12, 2025 • Duration 35:25
Guest Bio
Dylan Smith is an Ayurvedic practitioner and holistic health educator based in Byron Bay, Australia. Founder of Vital Veda, Dylan shares the principles of Ayurveda through consultations, courses, and his podcast. He has trained extensively with the renowned Raju family of South India and brings deep lineage-based knowledge into a modern, relatable context. With a background in Vedic Meditation and a lifelong connection to the Vedic tradition, Dylan is passionate about helping people enliven their natural health through rhythm, routine, and awareness.
Key Topics Covered
Growing up in a meditating family and rediscovering practice as an adult
The moment that shifted Dylan’s path from architecture to Ayurveda
Why health isn’t something to fix — it’s something to enliven
Daily rhythm and the science behind it (including circadian medicine)
The synergy between Vedic Meditation and Ayurvedic treatments
Simple lifestyle shifts: hot water, early bedtimes, mindful digestion
How Ayurveda adapts across climates, cultures, and constitutions
Why Dylan encourages patients to “transcend food rules” and go back to principles
Notable Quotes
💬 “It wasn’t a big aha moment. I just said, ‘Okay.’ And that was the beginning.”
💬 “You don’t need to treat the disease. You enliven health — and the body remembers.”
💬“Meditation is the foundation. But it’s not the house. Ayurveda helps you build the rest.”
💬 “You feel it in the pulse — meditators have lightness. Even under stress, that clarity remains.”
Timestamps
00:00 — Introducing Dylan Smith and his Vedic roots
04:00 — Childhood exposure vs. conscious return to meditation
07:00 — The Deepak Chopra moment and pivot to Ayurveda
11:30 — What Ayurveda really is: dharma, rhythm, and the four aims of life
16:00 — Digestion, fruit rules, and transcending food dogma
18:50 — How meditation complements Ayurvedic healing
22:00 — Treating the nervous system: differences in meditators’ physiology
25:00 — Simple daily tools: hot water, early sleep, living in rhythm
30:00 — Waking up early, morning energy, and creative clarity
Speaking of Meditation… What are you noticing? Who is benefitting? And how are you staying inspired?
Victoria Spicer — Resonance Over Hype: Intuition, Integrity, and the Power of Retreat
Season 4 · Episode 7
Thursday, May 29, 2025 • Duration 53:04
About Victoria Spicer
Victoria is a pioneer in wellbeing and travel, and the co-founder of the Global Retreat Company. With a 40-year career spanning high-end PR and conscious business development, she’s helped shape the global retreat landscape by supporting authentic, purpose-driven destinations like Ananda in the Himalayas and the original Mayr Clinic. Known for her intuitive insight, anti-jargon style, and commitment to integrity, Victoria remains a trusted voice in the world of holistic wellbeing. She’s also a longtime Vedic Meditator, and chairs Indigo Eight, a communications agency amplifying values-led businesses in travel and health.
Key Topics Covered
How Victoria helped shape the global wellness and retreat industry
The evolution from luxury PR to purpose-led communications
Meditation as a tool for grief, clarity, and creative direction
Her early experience with TM and reconnection through Vedic Meditation
What it means to lead with intuition in business
The power of retreats as modern medicine
Thoughts on wellness language, hype vs. resonance, and doing less better
Her vision for the Global Retreat Company and the future of retreating
Notable Quotes
💬 “Meditation has been the constant thread that’s stopped me from spiraling.”
💬 “Resonance — that’s how we decide which clients to take on now. Not how big their brand is.”
💬 “The wellness industry didn’t exist when I started. We built it — quietly, intuitively, and without hype.”
💬 “India is medicine. Just being there is enough.”
Ahmed Hallajian — Reinvention, Restlessness, and the Clarity to Change Direction
Season 4 · Episode 6
Thursday, May 15, 2025 • Duration 43:14
About Ahmed Hallajian
Ahmed Hallajian is a born and bred Londoner working in the entertainment industry. After graduating from the London School of Economics, Ahmed began a career in auditing at the National Audit Office, but quickly realized the path wasn’t for him. He pivoted into self-development content on YouTube, then into software engineering, landing a job at Amazon. Yet something still felt misaligned. In 2024, he learned Vedic Meditation — a turning point that helped clarify what truly mattered. Today, Ahmed channels his curiosity and creativity into storytelling, while continuing to explore the evolving nature of self, purpose, and personal clarity.
Key Topics Covered
Why Ahmed kept changing careers — and what he was really searching for
The surprising influence of Seinfeld and celebrity on his openness to meditation
How Vedic Meditation helped relieve a low-grade fog he hadn’t even recognized
The difference between coping and clarity, and what changed after learning
Letting go of tech and finding a more aligned, people-focused path
How meditation shifted his phone habits, screen time, and social energy
The challenge of keeping up meditation while traveling with non-meditators
A modern take on spirituality and how Ahmed talks about meditation with friends
Notable Quotes
💬 “There was life before and life after. I’m still adjusting to what my preferences are — what kind of person I am.”
💬 “I always had a sense of what I didn’t want. Meditation gave me clarity about what I do want.”
💬 “It didn’t feel like me changing habits. It just happened — like a signal I could finally hear.”
Eddie Stern — Spirit Over Form: Yoga’s Evolution for a Living Tradition
Season 4 · Episode 5
Thursday, May 1, 2025 • Duration 43:22
About Eddie Stern
Eddie Stern is a yoga teacher, author, researcher, and community activist based in New York City. A long-time student of Pattabhi Jois, Eddie helped bring Ashtanga Yoga to a global audience, but over time shifted his focus toward devotional practice, mantra, breathwork, and the deeper spiritual currents behind yoga. He is the creator of the Breathing App and founder of Manhattan’s first vedically consecrated Ganesh temple. Eddie’s work bridges ancient wisdom with modern science, making inner practices accessible for a new generation.
Key Topics Covered
Eddie’s early spiritual awakening and his influential high school teacher
First trip to India and the slow process of cultural immersion
Training with Pattabhi Jois and the deep dive into Ashtanga Yoga
The tension between tradition, evolution, and authenticity in yoga
Moving beyond physical practice toward breath, mantra, and ritual
Eddie’s reflections on breaking from lineage without losing reverence
Founding a Vedic temple in Manhattan and embracing a Hindu identity
How slow, resonant breathing can transform health — and life
Advice for seekers starting their spiritual journey today
Notable Quotes
💬 “You need to spend a little time each day attending to the invisible part of yourself.” 💬“We ripen at our own pace. You can’t force it — just like you can’t ripen a fruit before it’s ready.” 💬“Traditions that survive are the ones that allow themselves to evolve without losing their spirit.” 💬“The guru is not a person. The guru is a stream of knowledge that flows through people.”💬“Everything we call tradition was created by someone who simply thought it was a good idea. Respect that — but don’t mistake it for something it’s not.”
Joh Jarvis — Letting Go, Starting Over, and Teaching Meditation in Prisons
Season 4 · Episode 4
Thursday, April 10, 2025 • Duration 50:10
Joh Jarvis — Letting Go, Starting Over, and Teaching Meditation in Prisons
Guest Bio
Joh Jarvis is a former senior executive media producer and journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where she led current affairs programs and large teams of content makers. After a 23-year career in media, she became a teacher of Vedic Meditation and moved to New York in 2015 to teach full-time. In 2021, she founded The Light Inside, a nonprofit delivering meditation programs to incarcerated people and correctional staff across the U.S. Her work includes programs at Rikers Island, the North Dakota State Penitentiary, and other correctional facilities, helping hundreds discover calm, connection, and purpose from within.
Key Topics Covered
• Joh’s early spiritual intuition and resistance to conventional paths
• Her media career, personal struggles, and turning point after loss
• The impact of meditation on her recovery and reinvention
• Moving to New York at 49 and starting a new life
• Founding The Light Inside and teaching in maximum-security prisons
• How incarcerated people respond to meditation—and transform through it
• What it means to bring softness, freedom, and humanity into hard places
Notable Quotes
💬 “I didn’t realize what I was looking for in drugs and alcohol was a spiritual experience.”
💬 “Meditation uncovered something in me I didn’t know existed—spontaneous joy.”
💬 “You don’t want to feel soft in here… but that’s what meditation gave me.”
💬 “What made me feel good wasn’t just valuable—it was critical.”
Marie Farenc – Meditation, Vision Loss & Finding Strength in Stillness
Season 4 · Episode 3
Thursday, March 27, 2025 • Duration 37:08
Marie Farenc: Meditation, Vision Loss & Finding Strength in Stillness
Guest Bio
Marie Farenc is a former film translator and voiceover artist whose life took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with myopic macular degeneration (MMD). Facing vision loss, stress, and anxiety, she turned to meditation in search of relief. What she found was more than just calm—it was a new way of living. Now, Marie shares her journey of resilience through her YouTube channel, I Have MMD, and helps build a support network for others navigating vision loss.
Key Topics Covered
• Marie’s journey from film translator to MMD advocate
• How stress and anxiety impacted her condition
• The moment she realized she needed a change
• How meditation transformed her mental and emotional state
• The ripple effects of meditation on her family and relationships
• Creating a YouTube channel to share her story and support others
Notable Quotes
💬 “Meditation didn’t just help me—it found me.”
💬 “I was an emotional mess. Now, my husband says I’m the most stable I’ve ever been.”
💬 “At first, I couldn’t even look at other people’s stories about vision loss. Meditation helped me accept mine.”
💬 “Despite losing my sight, I’ve gained something deeper—a sense of inner clarity.”
Suzanne Duckett — Why Wellness Needs Less Spin and More Substance
Season 4 · Episode 2
Thursday, March 13, 2025 • Duration 49:58
About Suzanne Duckett
Suzanne Duckett has been shaping the wellness and beauty conversation for nearly three decades. As the former Beauty Director of Cosmopolitan and Editor of the Tatler Spa Guide, she’s been at the forefront of the industry—watching wellness evolve from a niche pursuit to a trillion-dollar business. A regular contributor to The Telegraph and The Times, she’s also the author of Bathe: The Art of Finding Rest, Relaxation, and Rejuvenation in a Busy World. Now, she’s the founder of Onolla.com, an online marketplace and pop-up concept store that curates natural, sustainable, and effective beauty and wellness products. Suzanne learned Vedic meditation in 2017, and it became the foundation of her well-being.
Key Topics Covered
• The commercialization of wellness—what’s real and what’s marketing spin
• Suzanne’s shift from reporting on wellness to leading conversations about it
• How meditation became her foundation for true well-being
• The challenges of editorial integrity in a corporate-driven industry
• The weirdest (and most transformative) wellness treatments she’s experienced
• Why meditation works when so many wellness trends fall short
Notable Quotes
💬 “I was so tired of being tired. Meditation gave me the deep rest I’d been searching for.”
💬 “You can put a Buddha statue in the corner, but that doesn’t make it a spiritual experience.”
💬 “The wellness industry grabbed the land, but meditation is the real foundation.”
💬 “People don’t need more wellness trends—they need something that actually works.”
Sophie Dear – How Meditation Helped Me Break the Burnout Cycle
Season 4 · Episode 1
Thursday, February 27, 2025 • Duration 45:06
About Sophie Dear
Sophie Dear is a self-worth and relationship coach and a yoga teacher. After working in high-pressure TV production, she experienced severe burnout, insomnia, and anxiety. Seeking balance, she trained as a yoga teacher, but soon realized she was falling into the same patterns of exhaustion. Her journey took her to Bali, where she began a deeper exploration of self-worth, boundaries, and healing. Learning Vedic Meditation in 2019 became a turning point in her transformation. Now, she helps others move beyond burnout and build healthy, fulfilling relationships.
We discuss:
• Sophie’s early career in TV and how stress led to burnout
• The connection between insomnia, anxiety, and overwork
• Why quitting a stressful job didn’t automatically fix things
• How meditation helped her shift from burnout to self-worth
• The difference between neediness and having your needs met in relationships
• Why so many people struggle with boundaries—and how to set them
• The role of meditation in emotional resilience and personal growth
Sophie says:
💬 “I thought I was broken. But it wasn’t me—it was the way I was pushing myself.”
💬 “Meditation helped me stop trying to fix everything and actually change.”
💬 “Your self-worth shouldn’t depend on other people’s validation.”
💬 “So many of us think we’re being selfless by saying yes to everything—but it’s really a lack of boundaries.”
Megha Mohan, BBC Correspondent, Writer — Speaking of Meditation
Season 3 · Episode 8
Thursday, August 10, 2023 • Duration 43:22
Today I’m speaking with Megha Mohan.
Megha learned Vedic Meditation in May of 2014.
She is the BBC's first global Gender and Identity Correspondent. She covers issues concerning women's rights, LGBT communities, and race and ethnicity, for the BBC's 41 language services.
Megha regularly appears on BBC News TV, the World Service and Radio 4.
She has reported from six continents and secured interviews with Finland’s all-women coalition government and Samoa’s first woman Prime Minister, as well as pop star Billie Eilish and actor Elliot Page.
So Speaking of Meditation, here’s Megha.
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Speaking of Meditation is written and produced by Michael Miller, with direction by Jillian Lavender and assistance from Emma Rae.
Speaking of Meditation… What are you noticing? Who is benefitting? And how are you staying inspired?
Tim Spector, Doctor, Writer, Zoe App Founder — Speaking of Meditation
Season 3 · Episode 7
Thursday, July 27, 2023 • Duration 45:27
Today I’m talking with Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London. He’s an award-winning scientist and author, with over 1,000 original articles published in some of the world’s top scientific journals — placing him in the top 1% most-cited scientists on the planet.
Tim leads the world’s largest identical twins study, TWINS UK, and stemming from this wrote a best-selling book Identically Different, which makes understanding genetic traits and how our environment impacts our genes, easy for anyone.
He then wrote The Diet Myth and introduced the importance of the gut microbiome for human health. This expertise has now expanded into the Zoe App, a tool for testing your biome and blood sugar levels and then personalising your dietary intake.
During the pandemic, Tim pivoted the Zoe App to collect data on Covid-19. Tim and his data scientists mapped and analysed symptoms and positive cases, leading to the largest study in the world with over 2 million active participants.
His latest book, Food for Life… takes an in-depth look at all the latest scientific evidence on what we eat, how we eat, and why; and how we can use this knowledge to improve our own personal nutrition.
Tim learned to meditate in 1976 and has continued as a regular meditator ever since. I met Tim and his wife Veronique in December 2021.
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