Becoming the Blueprint is a thought-leadership podcast about what we build through the kitchen, not simply what we make in it.
Hosted by educator, entrepreneur, and curriculum designer Kimberly I. Houston, the show explores what becomes possible when we treat the kitchen as a place to build capability. From baking and culinary education to applied learning, career readiness, entrepreneurship, and leadership, these conversations look beyond the finished product to examine what people are actually learning, developing, and becoming along the way.
Some episodes begin in the classroom. Others begin with a business, an idea, or a question about how we've always done things. Through solo episodes and carefully selected conversations with builders, educators, and leaders, Kimberly explores the decisions underneath the work: what we build, what we question, what we outgrow, and who we have to become when the existing blueprint no longer fits.
Because sometimes the goal isn't to follow the blueprint.
Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and fully engaged with your surroundings, thoughts, and feelings. It's a way to slow down and tune in to your senses, allowing you to better manage stress, anxiety, and negative emotions.
In this episode, we'll be providing practical tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine, whether it be through meditation, mindful breathing, or simply being more present in your day-to-day activities.
Join us as we explore the transformative power of mindfulness and discover how it can help you cultivate greater happiness, inner peace, and overall well-being. Tune in to The Positive Voice Podcast for this insightful and enlightening episode on mindfulness.
Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of Becoming the Blueprint! If today’s conversation resonated with you, share it with a fellow dreamer and tag us on Instagram [@kimberlyihouston].
🎙 Until next time, keep dreaming, keep building, and remember—your next big idea starts right here at the kitchen table.
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Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of the Positive Voice Podcast. This is your host, Coach Kimberly Houston. I hope you all are having a beautifully wonderful day when you listen to this podcast episode. So today we are going to talk about mindfulness. One of the things that I am asked as a mindset coach is how do I even begin? What is it? Tell me what to do so that I can live a better life. And so while we're not gonna fully deep dive into all of the things, um, I am working on a special project where I was like, you know, maybe today's episode we will talk about what mindfulness is. Um, and then I'll be able to give you some resources towards the end of the episode that will help you out on your journey. So understanding what mindfulness is, it is an act of paying attention to the present moment without judgment or distraction. Um, by focusing on the here and now, individuals can develop a deeper understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, leading to greater clarity, insight, and emotional regulation. That's mindfulness in a nutshell. So, what does that look like? Um, I'd like to tell you a little story. Let me take you on a journey. So, two years ago, almost to the day, um, I was going through a divorce. Um, and I mean, like, this is the week that we were getting divorced. And I was in therapy um because I went through the process of wanting to make sure that before I embarked upon a new relationship, I wanted to make sure that the relationship with myself was completely intact. And so my therapist at the time, uh, one of the very first assignments that she gave me was to begin a mindfulness practice, and so she sent me a couple of worksheets and you know, gave me like the feelings wheel, and was like, here you go, here's some tools to help you build a mindfulness practice. Now, here's what I want to tell you uh, mindfulness does not look the same for everybody, okay. I thought that there was gonna be some systematic step-by-step process that I could kumbaya my way through my healing, and I would be done in like 90 days, right? Like, sign me up for the program where I can just do mindfulness for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, and I can be healed, I can move on, and life is gonna be great. It's been two years, and this is still an everyday practice. So, for those of you who are new to mindfulness and you're wondering what is it, how do I do it? Um, let me just go ahead and be the first to let you know this is a practice, this is not something you do, this is something you become, it is something that you are. Uh, mindfulness shows up in a lot of ways, so it shows up in taking a deep breath, it shows up in your thoughts, it shows up in literally everything that you do, um, and it becomes a part of who you are, right? So, for me, when she told me to start this mindfulness journey, I was like, okay, sure, let me start this. Um, and I was so confused. Like, I will be a hundred percent honest, I was so confused uh, because I was looking for the systematic process that does not exist. And so I ended up um DMing one of my son's mentors on Facebook, and um I knew that, like, and remember, two years ago at this point, we were still in the pandemic, right? And so I knew that he had been doing a lot of mindfulness and he was sharing it on social media, um, like he was doing hot yoga all the time and was taking meditative walks and meditative drives and going to the mountains and just kind of looking at the trees and you know, walking through empty streets in New York City and like really capturing the essence of what the pandemic was doing to us. And I messaged him and I was like, hey, my therapist told me um to start this mindfulness journey, and I don't really know what to do here. Like, can you give me some pointers, some tips? Like, how do I how do I like get an A? Like, how do I do this? And he was like, Here's a couple of books you can read. Um, you know, here's some things that can get you started on your journey, and so that's where I started. I attempted to read some of those books, and some of them were a little too in the head and not enough in the body. Uh, by that I mean it was very scholarly, and so it sounded like it was written for practitioners and not for the people, and so I was like, okay, well, that's cool. Um, I'll see what I can get out of this. Um, and then I realized that at that particular point in my life, I needed things that would ground me, I needed things that would put me in my body as opposed to things that would have me in my head. And so I began my practice. Um, I did deep breathing, I listened to meditations. I started doing evening meditations, like going to sleep. Uh just find, you know, a channel on YouTube, and I would have bedtime meditations that would put me to sleep. Those are wonderful. Um, and then the practice began to continue. So the next thing that I did was meditations in the car. Okay, so let me tell you my secret. While I was in the car, um, one of the things that I was doing at the time was um, as a food photographer, I needed to pick up food quite often. So um instead of ordering Instacart all the time, I started doing pickups, and so I would do my pickups in my favorite city, and that meant I had to drive about 35 minutes to get my groceries, which was cool, not a problem. Um, and so during those drives, I turned them into my meditation time, and so we started taking um meditation drives. I was riding through neighborhoods in my desired city, I was going to Starbucks in my desired city, I was drinking coffee there, I was um, you know, going to the local bakeries or grocery shopping, you know, I was doing everything in the place where I wanted to be. And uh one of the things that I realized was I was combining manifestation with mindfulness, and so in my manifestations, I'm like, nope, I need a house in this area. Uh, this is where we're gonna be, and so we're gonna get to know the people here, we're gonna get to know like how everything flows here, and so on those drives there, I would listen to audiobooks um or podcast episodes on mindfulness and meditation, and I began to affirm myself on these drives. I began to listen to affirmations, I began uh manifesting or just really meditating on where I was going, literally and figuratively, right? And so that's kind of what started it. That's that's the thing that became my thing when I felt uneasy, when I felt tenseness in my body, um, like I had to learn to understand my triggers for stress. So when I felt really tense in my body, or uh I was like just not, I wasn't feeling a hundred, right? Like I knew I was stressed, but I couldn't really pinpoint what the stress was. I would feel it in my body, and so I would get in the car and we would take a ride, and every single time it worked, every single time it helped. Um, and so meditation drives became a thing for me, and they still are to this day. I took one this morning, um, and it's the thing that helps ground me and center me. I also started doing meditative walks. Um, meditative walks are incredible, and it this isn't about, I think one of the misconceptions about mindfulness is that people assume on your mindfulness journey that this is like a sitting in Indian style uh kumbaya namaste type of thing. Like that's that's not what this is at all. Um, mindfulness is about you understanding who you are, understanding uh the present moment, right? It's about you being inside of your body, um, and paying attention to right now, paying attention to the here and now without judgment or distraction. It's about being fully present in your experiences, um, whether that's through your thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations. That for some reason seems to be difficult for people to understand. Like mindfulness is really simple, it all goes back to the breath. Um, when I am in coaching sessions, I'm constantly watching how my clients are breathing during a session because your your voice says one thing, your mouth says one thing, but your body is telling me something different. So if I notice that you are taking really, really deep breaths, your chest is moving faster than it should be. I know that something is triggering you. I know that we're hitting a pain point in your life, right? And so as a coach, I've learned to be able to watch for these things in other people. Well, internalize that, and that's mindfulness. Are you paying attention to the breath? Are you paying attention to how you feel inside of your body? Um, that is a part of mindfulness, right? Like, if you feel yourself becoming tense, you feel yourself becoming triggered by another person, close your eyes and bring attention to your body. Like, literally, do a body scan, start from your feet, work your way up to your head, and just notice any areas of tension or discomfort, and you're observing them without trying to change it, right? Like it's just data, you're observing without judging, because this is going to give you insight into the things that you need to adjust in your life. Another thing is, you know, it here's a really simple example. If you are washing dishes, right, if you focus on what the water feels like, what is the temperature, what is the texture of the dishes? Are your plates smooth or do they have designs on them that raise up? Um, what is the sound of the sponge against the dishes, right? Like you are actively engaging in this moment, in the present moment. You're not so focused on thinking about something else or trying to multitask, you're just in the moment of you and the dishes. And for me, while I don't wash dishes, everything goes in a dishwasher. As I'm doing this, I'm grateful, right? So I incorporate gratitude into this. I am grateful for the fact that we have food to eat and now I have dishes that need to be cleaned. I am grateful for the fact that we even have the dishes that need to be cleaned. I am grateful for the creativity that flows through my body that allowed me to create the dinner or the breakfast or the lunch for myself and my children. I'm grateful for all those things. And so, in that mindfulness of paying attention to cleaning the kitchen and preparing for me, the kitchen is my sanctuary, it's a space where I work, right? So, in me preparing the place where I work, the place where I create, I am also grateful that I have this. Um, another way you can practice mindfulness is literally through listening, right? Actively listening to another person in conversation without trying to jump in and save them or answer their question or solve their problem. Like, really listen intentively, right? Just be there with them in the moment and listen to what they have to say. Um, and listen to the conversation without judgment or distraction. Notice the tone of their voice, notice their body language, notice the words that they are using, particularly if you're talking to children, like pay attention. They need to know that we are listening to them, that we are paying attention to them. That is also a part of being mindful, right? Um, and I just want to clear something up. You know, mindfulness is not about clearing your mind, right? That's a brain dump. We brain dump things to clear out our mind. That's that's not mindfulness, that's literally just getting it all out. It's a brain dump. Um, it's hard for you to have your mind totally calm. Um, one of the things someone asked me was, like, isn't mindfulness just like clearing your mind and sitting in silence? No, it's not, it's just about being present with whatever thoughts and emotions or physical sensations that are arising within your body without judgment. Um, you know, it's not about getting rid of the things, it's really about observing them, naming it, and then making a decision to let it go. Um, mindfulness is also not a quick fix, it has some immediate benefits, but um, you know, it can reduce stress and anxiety, but like it's not gonna fix your problems in life. Mindfulness is not a one-stop shop, right? Like, you can't be like, Oh, be mindful today, and then your life is better. That's not how this works, beloved. You are gonna have to uh give consistent practice and dedication to mindfulness. Um, it's definitely not one size fits all. Like I said, for me, I received my joy from car rides. Um, and my son's mentor and friend of mine, he received his walking through the streets of New York. Um, your mindfulness journey may look different than you know the person next to you, and that's okay. Experiment with things that work best for you. It could be in a sauna, it could be in a hot tub, it could be in a shower, it could be, you know, you laying peacefully in the bed. There's so many ways that you can begin this mindfulness practice. Just know that there is no right way or wrong way. Um, and I really want to point out that a mindfulness journey is not a substitution for seeking help. Like, if you know that you need help, like you need a therapist, you need the guidance of a licensed professional that can help you navigate whatever challenges you have going on in life. Mindfulness is just not a substitute for seeking professional help, it's not. You're gonna need mindfulness and something else. So I just want to make sure that I'm really, really clear on that because I don't want to give you the idea that oh, if you don't, you know, you're going through some things, you can just start a mindfulness journey and it'll be okay. That's not necessarily true. So for me, um mindfulness is a full body journey, it's a full like I'm fully embodying and embracing the here and now. I'm constantly thinking about this moment, this moment in time, the people who inhabit the space with me, the people who are breathing the same air as I am, and if I am by myself, I am acknowledging the breath, I am paying attention to the breath so that I can be more in tune with myself. I hope that this just a really, really brief introduction to mindfulness because it can get really deep. Um, and I know it can get really deep because I'm writing a book on it, but this is just like you know, scratching the surface as an introduction of what mindfulness is and what it can begin to look like in your life. If you want to dig deeper and you want to know more, I absolutely encourage you to continue to listen to the Positive Voice Podcast as there will be more information on mindfulness. Um, I will also let you know when the book is ready to come out, um, as well as if there's any support material, such as like a course or if there's any in-person classes and things of the sort. But if you are on that journey and you're ready to start the mindfulness practice first, just understand it's not one size fit all. Uh, what worked for one person may not work for you, and you are not beholden to any particular thing on this mindfulness journey. So if you're if you're like me and you can't sit on the floor Indian style and close your eyes and chant, that's not gonna work for you, right? Like I it's not working for me. I can't get back up off the floor, so that's not something I'm gonna incorporate into my mindfulness practice. There are other things you can do that can help you um focus and kind of be with yourself and learn how to lean into the present moment as opposed to being in your head or trying to come up with other ways to figure out things instead of just accepting this is where we are right now, and I am okay, you know, constantly reminding yourself that the breath is what's most important, literally becoming one with the breath, breathing in and breathing out, focusing on the fact that there is breath running through your lungs, there is still life in your body, and while you can't mess up the mindfulness journey, just having a thought that you're ready to begin is the first step to holistic healing. I will be back next week with another episode of the Positive Voice podcast. Talk to you soon.
