Focus: The Power of Aligning Body, Mind, Heart, and Purpose
Focus is our capacity to zero in on what matters most with a sense of ease. It disrupts our tendency to get sidetracked and scattered — so we can bring our full presence to what's important by aligning body, mind, heart, and purpose. This self-paced module includes 6 micro-practices for everyday moments of distraction, overwhelm, and disconnection, plus 9 guided meditations to build the capacity for relaxed, sustained, whole-person attention. Taught by Dr. Shalini B Bahl, PhD — professor, certified MBSR and Search Inside Yourself teacher, and author of Return to Mindfulness.
Did You Know...
Your mind wanders off the task at hand nearly half the time?
You sit down to do one thing, and twenty minutes later you're somewhere else entirely — a half-written email, three open tabs, a worry about tomorrow. You're not undisciplined; the mind drifts from the present moment almost fifty percent of the time. In one study, most people would rather give themselves a mild electric shock than sit quietly alone with their own thoughts for a few minutes.
But here's the good news, in the words of neuroscientist Amishi Jha: attention is powerful, attention is vulnerable, and attention is trainable. You're not at the mercy of every notification and passing thought. You can reclaim agency over where your attention goes.
And mindful focus isn't the grim, jaw-clenched concentration you might be picturing. Done well, it's relaxed — and it actually uses fewer mental resources than a scattered, distracted mind. Focus isn't about trying harder. It's about returning, again and again, to what matters.
A Note from Shalini
I created this module after thousands of hours of practice, training with world-renowned teachers, and more than a decade of teaching in my community. What I'll share is grounded in research in neuroscience and psychology, ancient wisdom from Buddhist texts (though this is a secular course), and my own ongoing practice of reclaiming attention in a life with no shortage of demands on it.
Don't take my word for it. Explore for yourself how these practices can benefit you.
What people are saying:
"I've worked with Shalini as her student in mindfulness classes since 2014. To say that she is an inspired, generous, compassionate and wise teacher would be the understatement of the year! Words fail to describe the gifts that Shalini has helped me nurture in my own life and those around me. I owe much of my spiritual, emotional and mental growth in the last 4 years to Shalini's inspired teachings. Her ability to bring mindfulness and the tenets of Buddhism in a secular, thoughtful and science-grounded manner into our community is nothing short of miraculous. I am immensely appreciative, honored and privileged to have had the chance to work with her as long as I have. I will continue taking classes and learning from Shalini for as long as she is willing to teach me!"
~Shiri, CEO & Founder at AuCoDe
"Laurie and I found that committing to this practice as a couple was very important for us as we continue to learn and grow after 34 years together. Shalini has taught us so much about meditation, insight and skillful actions that we try to incorporate into our lives. We find that having someone close to practice with does help reinforce the many benefits of mindfulness. Laurie and I are grateful to have practiced with Shalini as she is a wonderful teacher and an equally nice person. Mindfulness is a permanent part of our lives now."
~John, CFO at G.S. Precision, Inc
"Shalini has done The Work and is genuine as a teacher and facilitator. Her attention to class participants is extraordinary - listens, clarifies, inspires. She is masterful in her practical application of complex topics across a wide range of class/workshop participants. The Mindfulness program involves many layers of both Learning and Personal Development. Shalini has the grace and wisdom essential to teach this type of program."
~Richard, Adult Learning Consultant
“I just finished a six session Executive Series at Downtown Mindfulness with Shalini Bahl. My health depended on learning meditation and stress reduction techniques. My life drastically improved from additional lessons Shalini taught me. I often and highly recommend Shalini to friends who are stressed out; who have an interest in self-improvement; and who’d appreciate that greater perspective translates into greater success. Shalini’s class benefited me most by implementing reminders in my daily life that make me more thoughtful about the potential impact on other people of my words and actions. People I work and socialize with have remarked that they recognize in me a greater calm since I became a student of Shalini’s. I’m grateful for the life-changing perspective she shared.”
Cinda, President W.D. Cowls
"Wonderful meditations that are helping me to bring more mindfulness to my work, which is very stressful at the moment. I am able to be more relaxed and confident, bringing my natural curiosity outward and focusing less on the stress around all that I have to do. Thank you!"
~Michelle, Simple Habit User
"For several years the emotions of fear and anxiety towards building my business I thought were from myself. That I had failed and was incapable. My eyes were just opened!!! When I began my business I was all in and loving it. Someone I was working with disrupted that momentum and I became extremely distracted. I didn’t fail! I’m not incapable! I ALLOWED someone to make me feel that way and I believed it was ME! I am sobbing for the time I’ve lost but moving on now!"
~Wendy, Simple Habit User
"I think Shalini has an uncanny understanding of the human mind. How else could she identify the causes and effects of something seemingly obscure, like procrastination. Thank you Shalini."
~Eileen, Simple Habit User
Praise for the Book
“This book is like sitting next to a kind teacher who guides you through the many distractions of your mind and shows you ways to return to mindfulness, to non-judging awareness. It is full of practical, playful steps to systematically integrate mindfulness into your daily life, ways that Shalini herself has learned while practicing mindfulness as teacher and governmental leader. Whether you are new to mindfulness or have been practicing for decades, you’ll benefit from her guidance toward a calmer, clearer, more loving and compassionate life.”
—Mirabai Bush, author (with Ram Dass), Walking Each Other Home, co-creator of Search Inside Yourself: Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence at Google
“Return to Mindfulness is a mindful companion for navigating the complexities of life. Shalini offers a refreshing and practical approach to mindfulness. Whether you’re seeking clarity with the eight mindfulness skills or embarking on a systematic journey to build your capacity for real-world mindfulness, this book is your trusted guide for joyful living and empowered leadership.”
—Chade-Meng Tan, international bestselling author of Search Inside Yourself and Buddhism for All
“Once or twice in a lifetime, you may come across a book that can change you in a most positive way. Return has this magic and more. I have often wondered why my mind operates like a pinball machine (monkey mind?) and what to do about it. As a teacher, scholar, and public speaker, I now recognize the multiple selves that arise from my past to hijack what I am trying to accomplish in any given moment. This volume not only helps the reader understand the process, but it also shows how to mindfully, successfully, and playfully change reactions into pro-actions that serve our individual and interpersonal needs. My plan is to use the 50 options until they become a part of who I am across situations. Of course, the process never ends, and I will revisit the eight skill chapters over and over, seeking to mine every nugget of mindfulness gold in the foreseeable future.”
—Ronald Hill, Dean’s Professor of Marketing and Public Policy, American University; Editor-in-Chief, Responsible Research in Business and Management Honor Roll
“A Return to Mindfulness is what we need in this moment. Shalini offers a profoundly thoughtful guide and reminder for us to be and see one another as deeply human. The 8 mindfulness skills—awareness, compassion, curiosity, energy, appreciative joy, inner calm, focus, and equanimity—are shared with ease and clarity. This means that each of us, as leaders, can more skillfully navigate division, conflict, and competing needs, as we extend compassion and take wise action that inspires new ways of being and thinking that inform how we do what we do. Return calls us to co-create the conditions and solutions that help bring people together, find common ground, and flourish. The beauty of Return is that it applies to all that we do at home, at school, in business, in politics, and more. Everywhere we are, Return should be.”
—Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Virginia state representative and founder of Lucenscia
“How many town councilors do you know who practice and teach mindfulness—and bring it into their day-to-day life? Not enough! Shalini Bahl has done just that. This book is a testament to both the practical and profound impact of the practice of mindfulness and the way of life it promotes. Return to Mindfulness is a rich treasury of insights, methods, and playful illustrations, and also an honest account of a real journey to openness that all of us can relate to.”
—Barry Boyce, founding editor, Mindful magazine and mindful.org
“Return to Mindfulness masterfully articulates the barriers we all face in being mindful during our everyday lives. Whether you’re a leader or seeker, this book will serve you as a wise guide—a calm, clear whisper in a noisy, distracted world.”
—Amishi Jha, Ph.D., neuroscientist and best-selling author of Peak Mind
This Module Is For You If:
- You start things and struggle to finish them
- Your attention gets hijacked by your phone, notifications, and open tabs
- You multitask constantly and feel more drained, not more productive
- Your mind wanders during the work — and the conversations — that matter most
- You find it hard to be fully present with the people in front of you
- You want to focus without white-knuckling your way through it
- You took the mindfulness quiz and want to strengthen focus
In this module, you will:
- Understand what focus is — and how distraction quietly pulls you off what matters
- Learn Choose Which Wolf to Feed — recognizing that whatever you give your attention to grows, so attention becomes a choice
- Practice the three breaths — arriving, softening, and asking What's most important right now? — to cut through overwhelm and find your next step
- Train focus like a muscle with Foster Focus — strengthening it in low-stakes moments so it's there when the stakes are high
- Bring the power of presence — showing up with all four intelligences (mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual), not just grinding mentally
- Learn why relaxed focus beats forced concentration, and how single-tasking restores the momentum that task-switching steals
- Work with 6 micro-practices for moments of distraction, overwhelm, and scattered attention
- Go deeper with 9 guided meditations to build steady, relaxed attention
- Watch a video teaching from a live class
How is this module different from other mindfulness programs?
- Focus as ease, not strain. Most productivity advice tells you to push harder. Mindful focus is relaxed — and uses fewer mental resources than a distracted mind. You'll learn to return, not to force.
- The whole person, not just the mind. True presence brings forward all four intelligences — mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. This isn't about grinding; it's about showing up fully.
- Reclaiming attention in an attention economy. Your focus is being competed for all day. This module is about regaining agency over the one thing that shapes the quality of your mind: where your attention goes.
- Grounded in science. Rooted in original teachings and backed by research on attention — how the brain selects what to notice, why the mind wanders, and how practice trains it.
- Secular and practical. If you've taken MBSR and want to deepen your practice, this module gives you a way to do that.
How Did I Come Up With This Framework?
I can cite our award winning research paper that first acknowledged the transformative potential of mindfulness. This research paper highlighted the importance of going beyond meditation to cultivate the space for insight, which weakens our habitual patterns and creates opportunity to make better choices. In my next project - a book chapter on the Paradoxes of Teaching Mindfulness in Business - I went further to explore the importance of not just meditation and insight, but also actively developing skillful habits: thoughts, speech, and actions that enhance the long-term well being of all involved.
While my publications and research give credibility to what I am saying, it is really the thousands of hours of meditation practice, learning from some of the best teachers including Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Mirabai Bush, Mark Coleman, Tyohar, and Arthur Zajonc, and my professional training from some of the best mindfulness institutions in the US that have helped me get here.
Further, politics pushed me to rediscover the value of mindfulness in leadership and additional challenges in walking the talk. As an elected official in my town, I had many opportunities to apply what I was learning about being mindful in the real world. There were instances where I faltered in being mindful at crucial moments. These situations allowed me to revisit my mindfulness strategies, discern my default habits that hindered clarity, and rectify—when possible—the errors made in reactive states.
Everything I learned, discovered, and experienced from this deeper dive changed my mindfulness practice and life. It became an earlier version of this eight-week program that I started to teach, especially for those who wanted to deepen their practice in daily life. That program evolved into the book, and now this revised version of an 8-week journey to return to mindfulness for real-world change.
I also want to acknowledge the role models in my life including my father and grandmother who have lived mindfully without knowing the word mindfulness.
Your Instructor
Hi there! I'm Shalini, and I'm thrilled you've found your way to my mindfulness courses. For over 15 years, I've been on a mission to help people like you build practical mindfulness skills that lead to more intentional living.
I'm honored to have been named one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement by Mindful.org, but what truly drives me is seeing how these practices transform lives, relationships, and communities.
My journey has taken me through many roles—researcher, entrepreneur, business professor, and even elected municipal leader—but my passion has always been the same: helping people break free from automatic patterns to make choices that feel truly aligned with what matters most to them.
I believe mindfulness isn't just about feeling calmer (though that's a wonderful benefit!). It's about developing specific skills that help you navigate life's complexities with greater awareness and purpose. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed, seeking more meaningful connections, or wanting to make choices that better align with your values, the practices I share here are designed to help you build those capabilities in practical, accessible ways.
I'm especially passionate about the connection between our individual choices and our collective wellbeing. When we become more intentional in how we live and consume, we naturally create positive ripples that extend to our relationships, communities, and our planet.
My approach blends ancient wisdom with insights from modern neuroscience and psychology. I've spent years researching these connections (my work has even been recognized by the American Marketing Association!), and I've distilled what I've learned into straightforward practices you can apply in your everyday life.
My recent book, "Return to Mindfulness" (which won the International Impact Book Award), outlines the systematic approach to mindfulness skill-building that you'll experience in these courses.
I'm so glad you're here, and I look forward to accompanying you on this journey toward more purposeful living. Together, we'll explore practical ways to make choices that benefit both you and our world. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or want to discern if this is a good fit for you - shalini@knowyourmind.training
Let's get started!