Brian has intensively studied embodied awareness methods at the Gurdjieff Foundation Los Angeles since 1993, Tibetan Buddhist shamatha and vipassana practices for over thirteen years, and has completed nine week-long retreats, acquiring over 4,000 hours of both sitting and moving meditation.
With degrees in Kinesiology and Psychology / Interpersonal Neurobiology setting the foundation for embodied awareness, Brian also completed the year-long Certified Mindfulness Facilitator training at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) in 2011 under the direction of Diana Winston, Dr. Susan Smalley, Dr. Dan Siegel, and Dr. Marvin Belzer.
As senior MARC faculty, Brian is an IMTA Certified Mindfulness Teacher – Professional Level, and an Authorized MAPs Teacher, facilitating the signature MAPs I and II programs for UCLA MARC, as well as serving as a Mentor in the TMF training program for new facilitators.
For 4 seasons he has served as the Mindfulness Coach to the UCLA Bruin Women’s Varsity Volleyball Teams, and has brought mindfulness to organizations such the UCLA Geffen Medical School, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, NASA / JPL, Disney Animation Studios, Nestle’, Mattel Inc., and Salesforce.com.
Brian also leads silent 3-day retreats for law enforcement in the Pacific Northwest, and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#114627) specializing in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy at Westside DBT.
Brian is passionate about translating mindfulness practices for people from diverse cultural and organizational backgrounds who are searching for inner balance, bridging the gap between science and experience, practice and everyday life. He lives in Studio City with his wife, Laurie, and his son, Bodhi.