Meet Sam Snowden

(soft music) Hi, I'm Sam, and I'm a mindfulness meditation teacher here at Headspace. (dice tapping) I live in Los Angeles with my husband Ludvig, and our cat Octavius. My favorite thing to do is spend time with the people I love, being in nature, playing board games, trivia nights, and traveling. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. And as a kid, I had every manifestation of anxiety that you can imagine, from OCD to panic attacks. And my mom wasn't really into meditation, but when I was around eight or nine, she bought me a book about it. I think she just saw a picture of a peaceful person on the cover, closing their eyes and meditating, and thought my daughter could really use this. I started doing the meditations in the book, and it really sparked my interest. I began to feel my whole body just settle. And despite the anxiety, I had a fun childhood. There was a lot of love, a lot of support and wisdom all around me. My mom always tried to bring a sense of fun and play into every moment with me, and my three younger siblings. I rediscovered meditation in my teens, which is a story for another time. But needless to say, I still remember the feeling I had being led through my first guided meditation. It was the most free I'd ever felt, and it gave me a tremendous amount of hope that I could begin to manage my emotions. I went on to study psychology at UCLA, and then after graduating, I started teaching. And it became my mission to make mindfulness more accessible to kids and young people, which is a mission I continue to this day. And take a moment to check back in with your body. Notice how sensations have changed since you've started. I'm so grateful to be working here at Headspace, and I'm always so blown away by members who write in to say how much these teachings, evolved through millennia of sitting and practicing, have changed their lives. (soft music)...