Who Are We?

Dr. Don Salmon is a licensed clinical psychologist who has practiced mindfulness and other meditative techniques for over 45 years, and for over 25 years has taught mindfulness and related practices to a wide range of people including law enforcement officers, fire fighters, intellectually disabled adults, as well as children and adolescents dealing with anxiety, depression, autism, asthma, ADHD, PTSD, learning disabilities, relationship difficulties, and more. While a graduate student in psychology, he conducted research that involved successfully teaching people how to have lucid dreams. His doctoral dissertation was on using mindfulness practices for the treatment of chronic and intense physical pain. He is certified in CBT-I – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia which, since 2016, has been the #1 treatment for insomnia recommended by the American College of Physicians.

Jan has always been interested in exploring ways of fulfilling our human potential for love, joy, creativity, and deep connection with others. She has studied medicine, social work, and organizational psychology at the graduate level. During the 1990’s, she was the Training Coordinator for the Federal Bankruptcy Court in lower Manhattan where her vision was to create a rich learning environment in which staff could grow not only in specific job-related skills, but in their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills as well. She incorporated mindfulness and dialogue practices to help create a more cohesive, collaborative, and effective workplace.

In addition to writing a book together on yogic psychology, Don and Jan have taught and led classes and workshops together for many years, applying mindfulness and neuroscience to stress relief, pain relief and overall well-being. More recently, they’ve created the two online courses available here – Train Your Brain, Change Your Life, and Wake Up to the Best Sleep Ever – to help you learn effortless sleep and effortless mindfulness.

But what matters most is neither our years of training and practice nor the strong scientific basis for what you’ll be learning. What matters most is the fact that you – as you are, right now – have an immense, largely untapped capacity for healing, and ultimately, for the discovery of a deep well of inner peace and happiness. Because this may trigger some doubt, we’ve created an extensive page documenting the voluminous scientific research supporting these practices. 

I met Jan twenty years ago when she was the Training Coordinator for the federal Bankruptcy Court in NYC and I was there doing a workshop on diversity for the judges. Her enthusiasm and dedication to making the court a place of dynamic learning and collaboration were immediately apparent, as was the high regard of her coworkers.   I was impressed by the intelligence and creativity with which she conceived and implemented interventions that improved their work lives—and their lives more generally. It    Her work with her husband Don has focused on precisely that—making easily available the latest research-based modes of mindfulness and other practices aimed at maximizing the potential of our brain-mind to allow for more creative, productive, and effective ways of working and living.  

Martha Miller works as a consultant on leadership and cross-cultural management for numerous clients including the Center for Disease Control, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Unilever, and the U.S. Foreign Service.  She continues to teach in Executive Education Programs at both Yale and UCLA.

Dr. Salmon is top of the class in terms of knowledge regarding the latest research and developments in mindfulness, neuroscience, and psychological assessment. His extensive work as a Testing Psychologist in various settings has equipped him with a deep understanding of human functioning, the workings of the brain, and personality development. Dr. Salmon and his wife Jan have put together one of the most comprehensive websites and courses for psychological health and wellness available. Their evidence-based curriculum uniquely integrates various frameworks from neuroscience and psychology.  Most importantly, Dr. Salmon is a wonderful person and compassionate, dedicated, and energetic colleague. He puts clients at ease with his warm, down-to-earth personality (whether playing the keyboard and singing a song or giving a brief lecture on the neurobiology of meditation).  

Dr. Rob Durr, Roots Psychology, PLLC, Adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law and the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law

Don Salmon and Jan Maslow are long-time teachers of mindfulness and stress management, and authors of Yoga Psychology and the Transformation of Consciousness as well as the website “RememberToBe.Life.”  I have experienced them as having the wonderful capacity to explain and make available in a very practical way the interface between neuroscience and the experience and value of the practice of mindfulness in daily life.  Using a blend of well-presented information, meditative exercises, music, and movement they encourage and inspire the use of these practices as agents of healing and transformation that can be truly life changing. 

Ken Lenington, MD, Leader of the Open Circle Mindfulness Group ( https://opencirclemindfulness.org)  Ken has studied and practiced meditation for over 35 years in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.  As a physician with 40 years of medical practice, he specialized in addiction medicine and general psychiatry.

I have used Don and Jan’s breathing videos in my Kindergarten classroom for the last three years. It is a wonderful way to start the day even before the morning circle time. The children become relaxed with the magical mandala visuals, the slow movements, the deep breathing, and the sweet music. In that short span of time they become calm and focused, which allows them to happily begin a new day of fun and learning. I have also shared the video with some of my colleagues. One mother of five boys says she uses it herself, and she uses it often with her boys when everyone needs to chill a bit. I would recommend it to anybody who needs a quick and easy way to calm down and get a more positive perspective.

Kirti Hemsell has taught at Globe Charter School in Colorado Springs, CO, Sweet Pea Cottage School in Seattle  and currently teaches at Countryside Montessori in Kirkland, WA.

Don and Jan’s breathing videos have become a staple in my toolbox for my own practice and also what I recommend to my clients. They have simple and clear instructions, mesmerizing and beautiful graphics that always draw me in and keep my attention focused, and Don and Jan have such soothing, yet engaging voices, I am instantly more calm. These videos can help anyone get started on a breathing practice for more stable mental health or as an entry point for a meditation practice. I highly recommend their online course, “Train Your Brain, Change Your Life” which provides a larger context for the breathing videos that can truly transform your life.

Joanne Spence, BSW, MA, Director of Urban Oasis and Exercise Director of Yoga In Schools, www.yogainschools.org, www.joannespence.com

Wake Up to the Best Sleep Ever

Train Your Brain, Change Your Life