Our Mission

To spread mindfulness as a lifestyle that can be embraced by all cultural backgrounds, so that people can become more:

• peaceful

• aware of their options

• responsive to life (instead of reactive)

• purposeful

• resilient

• change agents (for inner and outer dimensions)

To fulfill this mission, we aim to:

• Provide mindfulness training to all college students (during class-time, through free resources, workshops, etc.) due to substantial research indicating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is linked with academic achievement.

• Continue researching mindfulness/spirituality to improve treatment fit, cultural sensitivity, and best practice.

• Expand our support towards student organizations, non-profit organizations and other unique ventures who are dedicated towards fostering mindfulness/well-being.

About Us

In 2017, Dr. Bradley Smith began a research lab at the University of Houston to assess the mechanisms of action by which yoga and mindfulness could increase well-being amongst students. One of the lab’s first projects compared different meditations amongst 100 4th grade students to parcel out specific ‘yoga kernels’ which benefitted students and which did not (to read more, visit our Publications page). In 2018, the research expanded to the UH College of Education through the Mindful Ambassador Program (MAP), a universal intervention which facilitates mindfulness/spirituality as part of class curriculum using a vertical training model in which undergraduates model, train and supervise other undergraduates to become Ambassadors (to learn how to become an Ambassador, visit our Careers page). The program has grown from 8 students to over 800 in over 20 classrooms in a span of two years with 12 undergraduates, 4 graduate students and 2 faculty members being certified as Ambassadors.

Furthermore, in 2019 the lab expanded to integrate a community organization dedicated solely to providing wellness initiatives cost-free to the wider Houston area. Owing to the historic ‘research to practice’ gap in the social sciences, the Mindful Coogs are a student-led organization which have hosted over 100 wellness-related events at the University of Houston, collaborating with numerous other organizations for a broader impact. For more information (or if you want to host a workshop, yoga event, meditation or other wellness-related activity at no cost), please email MindfulCoogs@gmail.com