The Practice of Joy at Work

How to Stay Mindful Throughout the Day—Even When You're Busy

How do you stay mindful when your day is packed with meetings, deadlines, interruptions, and responsibilities? In this practical and down-to-earth conversation, Pierre Khawand and Sarah Pellegrini explore one of the most common questions they hear from mindfulness practitioners: How do I bring mindfulness into my everyday life—not just during meditation? Together, they discuss simple and realistic ways to cultivate mindfulness throughout the workday, including: * Remembering and returning to the present moment • Using everyday activities as mindfulness cues • Setting intentions and creating mindful non-negotiables • Working with the body and the five senses as anchors • Bringing awareness into meetings, tasks, and transitions • Practicing self-compassion when mindfulness is forgotten • Exploring what mindfulness in action looks like at work and beyond Rather than seeing mindfulness as something separate from daily life, Pierre and Sarah invite us to discover how presence, awareness, and intention can become part of the way we work, communicate, and live. Whether you're new to mindfulness or looking for practical ways to deepen your practice, this episode offers simple ideas you can begin using right away.

Mindfulness Made Easy: Awareness, Kindness, and Befriending Yourself

Mindfulness and meditation are often surrounded by misconceptions, jargon, and unrealistic expectations. In this episode, Pierre and Sarah strip away the complexity and explore a simpler, more human approach. What if mindfulness was simply awareness with kindness? What if meditation was nothing more than sitting and befriending yourself? Together, they discuss presence, emotional maturity, self-awareness, and why these practices matter—not just on a meditation cushion, but in our relationships, work, decisions, and everyday lives. Whether you're new to mindfulness, skeptical of it, or a longtime practitioner, this conversation offers a fresh and accessible perspective on cultivating greater calm, clarity, and connection.

Surfing the Waves of Change: Mindfulness, Impermanence & Letting Go

In this episode of Awakening Mindfulness at Work, Pierre and Sarah explore one of the deepest realities of life: change. From uncertainty at work to personal transitions, relationships, aging, and the rapid changes happening around us, they reflect on how mindfulness can help us respond with greater presence instead of resistance. Together, they discuss attachment, fear, impermanence, the nervous system’s need for safety, and the possibility of learning to “surf the waves” of life rather than fight them. A grounded and thoughtful conversation about letting go, creating space, and finding resilience in the middle of change.

Awakening Presence—A Guided Meditation for Calm, Intention & Aliveness

In this special meditation episode of Awakening Mindfulness at Work, Sarah gently guides us through a calming mindfulness practice centered on breath, presence, intention, listening, and embodied awareness. With warmth and spaciousness, this guided meditation invites you to slow down, soften, and reconnect with the aliveness already here—through the body, the heart, and the changing flow of the present moment. Whether you’re beginning your day, taking a mindful pause, or transitioning through a stressful moment, these 15 minutes may offer a sense of grounding, steadiness, and gentle renewal.

Doing the Difficult Thing—Gently, Intentionally, and One Step at a Time

In this episode of Awakening Mindfulness at Work, Pierre Khawand and Sarah Killeen explore a challenge many of us quietly face every day: avoiding the tasks, conversations, or situations that feel emotionally difficult. But what if the real difficulty is not the task itself—but our relationship with it? Together, they unpack the emotional side of avoidance, including fear, shame, overwhelm, perfectionism, and self-judgment, and explore how mindfulness and self-compassion can help us gently turn toward what we resist instead of continually pushing it away. Rather than promoting harsh productivity or forcing ourselves through discomfort, this conversation offers a more grounded and human approach: • Understanding the emotional charge behind difficult tasks • Why avoidance often prolongs stress and suffering • The importance of “emotional cleanup” before taking action • Working in small iterations instead of overwhelming ourselves • Setting softer, more realistic expectations with ourselves • How action—not perfection—builds self-confidence and growth Pierre and Sarah also reflect on the connection between difficult tasks, growth mindset, intentionality, and emotional resilience—and why sometimes the first meaningful step is simply deciding not to run away anymore. A practical and compassionate conversation about moving from resistance to action—one small step at a time.