Congressional Calm

Mindfulness is getting more votes, and this time it is well outside the yoga studio and spa retreat venues. Mindfulness has found a big advocate on Capitol Hill in Tim Ryan, a fifth term congressman from Ohio. After applying the practice of mindfulness in his own life and seeing a positive change, he has written extensively on yoga and meditation as ways to destress and benefit all areas of life. He promotes meditative practices in education, for veterans, and in the healthcare system in his book A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit (Hay House, 2012) as well as shedding a much-needed light on the modern food system in The Real Food Revolution: Healthy Eating, Green Groceries, and the Return of the American Family Farm (Hay House, 2014).

If the political hustle and bustle can find value in mindfulness, it's certainly catching on and bound to bring in a new type of spa-goer as they pursue a quieter, more peaceful state of mind.