Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Sullivan.
Hi Heather, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Texas and went to college here. I lived in Dallas after school for quite a few years and then moved to Colorado for a job in my mid-twenties. I met my husband there. We eventually got married and had two boys. We moved a lot with my husband’s job. We were back and forth between Colorado and Oklahoma as well as time in Dallas again, and most recently, before our move here, we were in California. I often found myself in a new city trying to manage little kids, find my place, and keep my sanity while my husband traveled for work. One of the first things I would do upon moving was find a yoga studio. I started meditating in a yoga class around ten years ago when my kids were in elementary school. When I first learned to meditate, I asked myself why nobody taught me this skill as a child. I was such a worrier. I wanted to give this skill to my kids. This led me to take classes with Mindfulschools.org and was subsequently trained in their curriculum to bring Mindfulness to schools.
Soon after completing this training, my husband’s job moved us from California to Houston. We got here about a month before Hurricane Harvey hit. I was hesitant to approach my boys’ middle school about mindfulness at first. I was new here and not sure how receptive they would be. Then the storm hit one week after school started. Luckily, we didn’t flood, and I was stuck with a little bit of survivors’ guilt. We live in the Memorial area. There were so many families in our school district that flooded when they had to release water from the dams. I ended up at a school PTA meeting, trying to find a way to help. The principal ended up being very receptive to me teaching mindfulness in the school, which I soon started doing. I also heard about Edith L Moore nature center at the meeting. There was a ton of damage on their property, and they needed volunteers. My kids and I were soon there helping tear down, clean up, and rebuild.
On one of those volunteer days, I talked to a docent about how I taught mindfulness at the school. Coincidently they were looking for someone to lead a Forest Bathing class. If you have not heard the term, Forest Bathing is the process of going in nature to be healed. There is a big movement in Japan and South Korea where doctors actually prescribe patients to go outside. While I am not a certified Forest Bathing instructor (and yes, there is such a thing), I started teaching Mindfulness in Nature at ELM. I found that I really loved teaching adults in this setting, and this is where I wanted to focus. Teaching kids versus adults is a little different, so I applied for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach and graduated last January. I have since expanded my classes to other nature centers in Houston, including the Arboretum, Buffalo Bayou, and Discovery Green.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Is life ever a smooth road? This is really what motivated me to meditate in the first place. I was a worrier as a kid, but this led to some pretty intense anxiety after I had my own children. Meditation taught me the skill of living in the moment. Many of us struggle with that. We are ruminating on something that happened in the past or worrying about something that might happen in the future. Mindfulness is like going to the gym for your brain. We pay more attention to our thoughts and in turn, have more control over them. There has been a lot to deal with since we moved here. A hurricane, a pandemic, a freeze. We are all figuring out how to move through the world under these conditions. I have had to adjust my classes due to Covid, but luckily since they are outside, it is easier to keep our distance and maintain a safe environment.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I teach mindfulness in nature. Mindfulness means paying attention to what is happening in the moment. I have different lessons and try to mix it up a little because many of my students come back each session. There are many different things we can pay attention to, including our breath, sound, our bodies, thoughts, emotions, etc. Each class focuses on one of these anchors. Then I encourage students to go into the park and try to cultivate this skill. We can go sit by a tree and think about all our problems, or we can go sit by a tree and listen to the birds, smell the aroma, hear the wind through the leaves, and feel ourselves breathe. Just be in the moment, surrounded by nature. It sounds so simple, but it’s not always easy. It can take practice. I end most of my classes with tea from the local yaupon holly trees. This makes it a full immersive experience with nature. We are using all of our senses to be with and in nature.
I have a new class starting this Fall that I am really excited about. It is called Wellness Wednesday and is held at Discovery Green downtown. It is meant for people working or living downtown and adjusting to this post covid world. It is a way to get outside in the middle of the day and regroup. My husband deemed mindfulness “the new smoke break”. I love that. It is a skill we can use to get outside that is good for us. This class will start with mindful eating. It is something we don’t typically do mindfully. We rush through our meals, watch a screen while we eat, or socialize around a meal. It is powerful how different a meal can be when you pay attention to what you are eating. There will also be a mindfulness lesson and meditation like my other classes, and it will end with mindful walking under the trees. Students will hopefully go back to work either in their office or at home, rejuvenated and ready to tackle the rest of their day.
Can you talk about how you think about risk?
Putting myself out in public and teaching what I care about feels like a risk sometimes. Especially that first time and that first class. I’m truthfully an introvert, but this practice has helped me so much that I want to share it. I always hope my students are receptive. I hope my lessons are helpful. I try to know my audience. You don’t always know when you go out there what you will get, that feels like a risk, but I love it so I keep doing it. Classes run in the Fall and the Spring and registration can be found on the parks individual websites or through the links on my website.
Contact Info:
- Email: mindfulgreenhouston@gmail.com
- Website: https://mindfulgreenhouston.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulgreenhouston/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mindfulgreen-107453590643036
