Life Practice Program (LPP) with Shinzen Young

The Life Practice Program is an online meditation program led by Shinzen Young, the mindfulness teacher behind Unified Mindfulness. Each session pairs Shinzen with a guest and focuses on taking practice beyond the cushion, so that meditation becomes something you bring into ordinary life rather than something kept for a quiet corner of the day. It suits anyone who wants regular, guided mindfulness practice from home, with a teacher known for a systematic way of teaching it.

What to Expect

The Life Practice Program meets weekly, and every session is led by Shinzen with a guest. The program runs online, so you can take part from wherever you are.

The same teaching community also offers related programs. The Home Practice Program brings meditation retreat offerings to your home by conference call over a weekend, usually led by Unified Mindfulness trainers and coaches, and Shinzen has led some of them himself. There are also virtual retreats hosted with Vipassana Support International. If you enjoy the weekly program and want to go deeper, these are natural next steps.

About Shinzen Young

Shinzen Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. He is known for Unified Mindfulness, his systematic approach to categorizing, adapting and teaching meditation. That work has led to collaborations in contemplative neuroscience with Harvard Medical School, Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Vermont, and he is co-director of the Science Enhanced Mindful Awareness (SEMA) Lab at the University of Arizona.

His interest in Asia began at 14, when he chose to attend a Japanese ethnic school in his native Los Angeles. He majored in Asian languages at UCLA and then entered a PhD program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin. For his thesis research he lived for three years as a Shingon (Japanese Vajrayana) monk at Mount Koya, Japan, where he received the name Shinzen.

Before You Go

The program takes place online, so all you need is a way to connect and a place where you can sit and listen. Each week brings a different guest alongside Shinzen, so no two sessions are quite the same.