Looking for the truth and peace, Manijeh communed with nature since she was three years old. She started practicing yoga in 1994 and came to Mindfulness in an undergrad class in 2004. Being overjoyed by finally finding a formal practice and teaching that she had all her life sought and intuitively applied, she delved deeply into the experiential Mindfulness practices and other Buddhist teachings that support Mindfulness.

Dr. Motaghy published the COMANDS: Seven Skills/Traits of Effective Leadership, a mindfulness-based leadership model to help leaders shape their skills in an organic way that is realistic, effective, and considerate of what their followers need and respond to.

She has Developed: The Mindful Employees (ME) Program, employee wellness and performance and engagement enhancement training for organizations……and designed numerous other curricula such as DOUBLE-AIM for adults with ADHD and other curricula for cancer patients and their families. She has trained and taught Mindfulness to hundreds of individuals, executives, and staff at corporations such as Health Net, and Motion Picture Fund & Television Hospital.

Dr. Motaghy is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator by the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Board of Behavioral Sciences and an Authorized MAPS Teacher by the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. She teaches these courses in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA.

She has provided mindfulness workshops, presentation and training for academic sectors such as the LAUSD and private schools such as Campbell Hall, state-wide professional conferences such as Promising Practices at the California State University of Northridge and Girls Scouts of America, local mental health centers such as SFV Community Mental Health Center, and JAS for Social Workers, as well as other health-support organizations such as Leeza’s Place and The Laurel Foundation (AIDS support), Child Development Institute, Jennifer Diamond Cancer Foundation and WeSpark Cancer Support Center where she has conducted weekly sessions for the past 3 years. And corporations such as Disney and Health Net. She has organized and lead over 68 day-long retreats including Work-Life Balance and continues to lead weekly Mindfulness study groups in Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas and, West Hills. Manijeh is committed to her own personal daily practice and development of Mindfulness.

RELATED TRAINING & EXPERIENCE: Dr. Motaghy continues to study and practice Mindfulness and other Buddhist teachings with teachers at the Abhayagiri Monastery as well as other secular groups. As a dedicated practitioner and teacher, she infuses mindfulness in all her training, consulting, and speaking engagements to optimize success and well-being for all involved.

TRAINING RECEIVED AND IN PROGRESS:

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 10 Days Dharma & meditation at various silent retreats

2014, 2015, 7 & 10 Days Dharma & meditation at Abhayagiri

2014 Studied for a year with Trudy Goodman, the Guiding Teacher at InsightLA, DPG

2014 Day-long Retreat with Venerable Panavati

2014 Authorized UCLA MAPS course teacher

2013 10 Day Silent Dharma and meditation at Angeles Center

2013 7 Day Dharma and meditation at the Abhayagiri

2013 Mindfulness Facilitation Certification from UCLA, Mindful Awareness Center

2012 Day-long Retreat with Rumi Rooms, Palos Verdes, CA

2012 2 day retreat with Will Kabat Zinn, Insight LA

2011 6 months CORE Advanced Buddhist Teachings Class, Daniel Davis, West Hills

2011 Day-long retreat by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Los Angeles, CA

2010 Day-long Sunlun Retreat

2010 One Year Advance Buddhist Teachings Class, Daniel Davis, West Hills, CA

2009-12 14 Day mindfulness & Dharma practice at the Abhayagiri Monastery

2007-2012 18 Basics of Mindfulness Course – Mindful Valley

2008 10-Day Silent Monastic Retreat – Angela Center, CA

2007 One Day Mindfulness Retreat – Insight LA

2007-2013 Mentored by Daniel Davis on Buddhist teachings

1994-present Yoga, Mindful Living

TRAINING PROVIDED:

2013-current MAPS I & II for UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center CA

2012 Facilitates Weekly Meditation Community, West Hills, CA

2012 Designed and Co-Facilitated Work-Life Balance Retreat: Integrating Mindfulness into Accountability, Palos Verdes, CA

2012 Mindfulness workshop, Staff/ Interns, San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Clinic Van Nuys CA

2012 Presented Mindfulness workshop for Mental Health professionals at Cal State Univ Northridge, CA

2012 Co-presented Mindfulness for teachers, staff, and health care providers at LAUSD, District 1

2012 Presented Mindfulness for Mental Health professionals at The Whole Child, Whittier, CA

2012 Presented Mindful Communication for Toastmaster Learning Institute, Glendale College, CA

2011 Provided Mindfulness of Strengths training for four different departments at Health Net Inc., CA.

2011-present Provide Mindfulness Training for WeSpark Cancer Support Center – Encino, CA

2011 Presented Mindful Communication for the Academy of BioScience, Pepperdine University, CA

2011 Provided Mindfulness Workshops for JAS Recreational Therapists, Malibu, CA

2011 Provided Mindful Time Management Workshop for Girls Scouts of America, Los Angeles, CA

2010 Provided Mindfulness-Based Strategic Planning – American Society of Training & Development

2010 Co-presented Mindfulness Meditation – Motion Picture & Television Fund

2010 Co-designed CEU course curriculum for the Board Behavioral Sciences Certification process

2010 Created Mindful Valley’s Advisory Board

2010 Designed and co-taught “Effective Management, Mindfulness Tools & Workshops – Meetup

2010 Coordinated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course – Mindful Valley

2009-present Coordinated &Co-facilitated over 30 monthly day-long retreats – Mindful Valley

2009 Designed curriculum and taught mindfulness-based professional development class “Be The Master of Your Own Livelihood” – Mindful Valley

2008-present Coordinates weekly Sitting Group – Mindful Valley

EDUCATION:

2014 – Authorized UCLA MAPS course teacher

2013 – Certification of Mindfulness Facilitation from UCLA, Mindful Awareness Center

2008 – PsyD. in Organization Management Consulting – Phillips Graduate Institute

2005 – BA in Psychology – Cal State Channel Islands

Daniel Davis

Joel McNenny (passed away May 27, 2020) Celebrating his life on June 27

Joel McNenny is a licensed mental health therapist specializing in mindfulness-based therapy and a licensed school counselor who began a K-4 mindfulness program. He holds two Masters degrees (Kent State; Malone University) one in teaching and one in counseling.

Mr. McNenny has taught mindfulness to children as young as 4 and adults as old as 84. He wrote and implemented a year-long mindfulness curriculum for a public school system. He has taught mindfulness at teacher seminars, senior citizen centers, churches and elsewhere, as well as writing on mindfulness for several publications and being quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

Using a variety of methods and visual aids, he illustrates the techniques of mindfulness and its psychological and physical benefits. A devoted practitioner of mindfulness, Mr. McNenny seeks to teach the practice to help create a more compassionate and aware society.