Recorded on: 1/13/2023

In this first episode of our 2023 season, Dr. Sam Himelstein starts by sharing his mindfulness journey, being incarcerated on and off as a youth, and the root of addiction. From here, we flow into a potent conversation, sharing the impact of working at the local level of our justice system and practical tools for showing up in a place of leadership that will cultivate the foundation for building emotional safety in your professional relationships.

Dr. Sam Himelstein is a Psychologist in California. He works with high-risk and marginalized youth in the juvenile justice system, foster care system, and those suffering from addiction issues. He worked at the Chemical Dependency program at Kaiser Permanente with teens and their families in several juvenile halls conducting psychotherapy, psychological evaluations, and researching the benefit of mindfulness-based interventions with incarcerated and underserved youth populations. He is the founder and president of the Center for Adolescent Studies. https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/

Dr. Sam Himelstein is passionate about training professionals from multiple disciplines to create authentic, healing relationships with adolescents that contribute to positive outcomes.

Dr. Himselstein is a formerly incarcerated youth himself and shares that he feels privileged to change his life from a path of drugs, violence, crime, and self-destruction to that of healing and transformation. His mission is to help young people become aware of the power of self-awareness and transformation and train professionals with similar interests.

Your host, Blaire Embrey (RYT 500), is the Communications Manager for Prison Yoga Project and the producer of Prison Yoga Project Podcast. She is a student of Tibetan Buddhism, Post-Lineage Yoga, and Peruvian Mountain Shamanism; she is pulled towards the profound mystery of existence, cultivating compassion for all beings, and holding space.

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