Yael Shy
“ Deepen your meditation practice.
Release the pain. Flourish.”
Yael’s Bio
About Me
It is my life’s purpose to support individuals and collectives uncover their inherent worth and capacity for deep joy.
For the past fifteen years, I have been using the transformative power of mindfulness, rooted in my 20+ years of study in Judaism and Zen Buddhism, to support myself and others through the pressures of life.
I wrote the award-winning book, What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond (Parallax, 2017) and teach at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. I founded Mindful NYU which, the largest campus-based meditation program in the country.
My work has been featured on networks like Good Morning America, CBS News, and Fox 5 News, and in publications such as Time Magazine, Real Simple, and the Harvard Business Review. I’m also a regular contributor to the Ten Percent Happier and Roundglass apps.
When I am not consulting, coaching, or practicing, I spend my time in Connecticut wrangling my two young kids and hiking.
My Journey
My meditation journey started with a flyer.
Like many college students, I suffered from anxiety, panic attacks, and deep loneliness. There were times I was having three panic attacks a week and times I wasn’t really able to function.
A flyer caught my attention one day. It was promoting a 7-day silent meditation retreat.
I had no idea what a silent meditation retreat was. I’d never even meditated before. But it sounded interesting so I gave it a try. As it turns out, that experience changed the entire course of my life.
Meditation saved my life. And it continues to do so. Over and over.
Developing a meditation practice and embarking on this mindfulness journey has eliminated my panic attacks, improved my sleep, and alleviated my base level of anxiety.
Mindfulness has helped me accept the parts of myself that once brought me shame, allowing me to form intimate connections with others. Including the man who is now my husband.
When he and I started a family and I was lost in the vertigo of new motherhood, practicing meditation has helped shift the exhausting experience into something empowering and meaningful.