Martha Brettschneider

Martha is passionate about inspiring and supporting mindful living through her work as a mindfulness and emotional intelligence teacher, author, blogger, speaker, and award-winning [nature photographer](http://www.damselwingsphotography.com/). Formerly an international economist (U.S. Treasury Department and International Monetary Fund), Martha stumbled upon mindfulness teachings while recovering from breast cancer in 2009. The shocking discovery that “we are not our thoughts” led to a transformation journey that she chronicles in [Blooming into Mindfulness: How the Universe Used a Garden, Cancer, and Carpools to Teach Me That Calm Is the New Happy](https://www.amazon.com/Blooming-into-Mindfulness-Universe-Carpools/dp/0996935223) (2016). Martha’s mindfulness writing has also appeared in _The Huffington Post_, _The Chicago Tribune_, _The Washington Post_, MindBodyGreen, The Good News Network, and other print and online media outlets.

Her economist wiring informs and facilitates her mindfulness practice: she recognized quickly, for example, that mindfulness reduces her net amount of suffering and increases her net amount of joy. The ability to let go of thoughts that don’t serve us also maximizes efficient use of mental, emotional, and physical resources. When Martha learned about the Search Inside Yourself curriculum, with its emphasis on neuroscience and practical application, she knew she had found the perfect fit. She has taught Search Inside Yourself and related customized workshops at Sibley Memorial Hospital, United Way, Greater Boston Food Bank, the World Bank, IMF Family Association, other for-profit and non-profit companies, and a variety of Women in Leadership events. In addition to SIYLI  programs, Martha’s signature [30-Day Mindfulness Meditation Challenge](https://damselwings.com/30-day-mindfulness-meditation-challenge/) and other innovative offerings help busy people establish and sustain their own meditation habits. Martha lives in the Washington, DC, metro area, with her husband and a rascally golden retriever who provides ongoing teachings in the art of letting go. When they are not embarked on international travel adventures with their two grown sons, Martha finds the same sense of awe and wonder in her own back garden.