True Freedom Is Within You

— "Sometimes you need a radical change. Leverage your past to restart a fulfilling future." Valeria Teles interviews Michael D. Huggins — the author of "Going Om: A CEO's Self-Discovery Behind Bars." Michael D. Huggins is the founder and board president of the Transformation Yoga Project. After receiving an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he worked his way up to being the chief operating officer, president, and chief executive officer of several medical device firms ultimately managing a $2 billion business. In 2009, Mike plead guilty to a misdemeanor as a responsible corporate officer for illegal activity that occurred under his watch of which he was unaware. He and three other executives were sentenced to prison. The high-profile case drew national media attention, and Mike's world unraveled in the blink of an eye as he was whisked to the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. The yoga he had practiced and taught some years before incarceration turned out to be his salvation behind bars. Upon his release, he declined lucrative offers to return to the corporate world, and instead founded the non-profit organization Transformation Yoga Project, which serves people impacted by trauma, substance abuse and incarceration through trauma-sensitive yoga programs. Specially trained in applying yoga practices for substance abuse recovery and trauma-related issues, Mike remains active in teaching yoga in prisons as seen in the Yoga Journal, and on CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC News. He is a frequent speaker on tools for empowerment and the power of yoga as a tool for rediscovering your true self. He is also the co-author of the book Yoga for Recovery: A Practical Guide for Healing, and a contributor to several books that focus on best practices for teaching trauma-sensitive yoga and mindfulness to underprivileged populations. To learn more about Michael D. Huggins and his work please visit: https://www.mdhuggins.com /   — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life to the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.