Sasha Dingle on Being an Athlete of the Mind Artwork

May You Live Well

Welcome to May You Live Well, where we share insights into the contemplative lives of inspiring individuals. May You Live Well features personal stories of real people from various backgrounds who share how they’ve been influenced by contemplative practices or ways of being, and how this has impacted their work, relationships, lifestyle, and worldview. Our guests are meditators, travelers, movers, creatives, homesteaders, and thought leaders. They lead by how they live and answer questions through their stories: How does the contemplative process change us? What are the benefits, and what challenges do we face along the way? What happens to our partnerships? When resistance arises, how do we work through it? What does it mean tap into our true potential? Listen well, leave inspired.

All Episodes

May You Live Well

Sasha Dingle on Being an Athlete of the Mind

July 28, 2021 • Alexa Owen • Season 1 • Episode 5

This week we have meditator and athlete Sasha Dingle on the podcast. Sasha is a mindfulness teacher and coach based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and is also the founder of Mountain Mind Project. Sasha and I have actually never met in person, but our paths have crossed in different ways throughout our lives, starting with ski racing in the same circuits in Vermont as kids, moving to the Rocky Mountain West, and now connecting through mutual interest in supporting people to live fully using tools of meditation, mindfulness, and compassion. In this episode, Sasha shares her story of growing up in Vermont, competing on the Freeride World Tour, and how the ups and downs of being an athlete in the mountains led her toward contemplative practices.

In this episode we discuss:

Sasha's upbringing and cultural background
The longing to make sense of ourselves and our worlds
Competing on the Freeride World Tour
Sasha's pathway into deeper meditation practice through injury and healing
Founding Mountain Mind Project and training the mind like you train the body
The "3D" experience of practicing within Tibetan Buddhism
Unique mental and public health challenges in mountain towns and communities
Leveraging the mind for performance in sports, relationships, parenting, and work
The importance of a teacher and community on the path
How meditation can actually help you hide from yourself and how to come out of hiding
Laying the foundation for flow to emerge
Meditation apps: to use or not to use?
Working with trauma and grief
How losing people in the mountains can impact us and how these practices can support healing through that
Why Sasha encourages group learning

Resources:

Sasha on IG: @sashadingle
Mountain Mind Project
mPEAK 3-day intensive 8/6/21-8/8/21
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
May You Live Well on IG: @mayyoulivewell