Andy Puddicombe

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Andy Puddicombe
Born (1972-09-23) 23 September 1972 (age 51)
Bristol, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Writer, public speaker, meditation and mindfulness teacher
Websiteheadspace.com

Andy Puddicombe (born 23 September 1972) is the founder of Headspace,[1] a digital health platform that provides guided meditation training for its users. He is a former Buddhist monk with a degree in Circus Arts.

Early life and education

Puddicombe grew up in Bristol, UK. He attended Wellsway Comprehensive School in Keynsham, and studied Sports Science at De Montfort University. He also achieved a Foundation Degree in Circus Arts.[2]

Career

Buddhism

In 1994, Puddicombe gave up his studies, travelling to Asia to train as a Buddhist monk. He has attributed this in part to an effort to cope with the trauma of bereavement.[3][4]

His meditation training took him to Nepal, India, Burma, Thailand, Australia and Russia; culminating in full ordination at a Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas.[5] Having completed a one-year cloistered retreat in Scotland, he returned to Russia, as a monk, where he taught meditation. He lived in Russia for over four years, before reaching the end of his monastic commitment.

In 2004 Puddicombe returned to the UK, saying that he wanted to make "meditation and mindfulness accessible, relevant and beneficial to as many people as possible".[6]

Meditation consultant

Puddicombe set up a private meditation practice in 2006,[7] and spent the next four years working as a mindfulness consultant, while adapting the language and techniques he had previously learned. During this time he met his future business partner and co-founder of Headspace, Rich Pierson.[8] Puddicombe has often attributed the success of Headspace to Pierson's involvement.[9]

Headspace

Headspace launched in 2010, as an events company[10] in London. The first Headspace mobile app launched in January 2012.[11]

Writing

Puddicombe has written three books, all published by Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette.[12]

  • Get Some Headspace (2011) is an in-depth introduction to the Headspace techniques.[13]
  • The Headspace Diet (2013) teaches readers how to use mindfulness rather than fad-diets to reach their ideal personal weight.[14]
  • The Headspace Guide to...a Mindful Pregnancy (2015) sets out to teach couples how to calmly navigate the anxieties and demands of pregnancy.[15]

Puddicombe is a regular contributor to The Guardian,[16] The Times[17] and Huffington Post,[18] writing about the benefits of mindfulness.

Television and radio

In 2013, Puddicombe was featured on the BBC science documentary, Horizon 'The Truth About Personality',[19] in which the Headspace app was tested for efficacy.[20] In laboratory experiments carried out over 7 weeks, the BBC Presenter, Dr Michael Mosley, experienced progressively less negative thought, whilst overcoming more than a decade of insomnia.[21]

Puddicombe contributes to BBC News[22] and BBC Radio[23] on matters of meditation, mindfulness, mental health and lifestyle. In 2010 he took part in the Pause For Thought series on BBC Radio 2, with weekly appearances on the Chris Evans radio show, with over 9 million listeners.[24] This is alongside other contributions to stations such as NPR (National Public Radio) in the US.

Puddicombe's first appearance on US TV came in 2013, taking part in the Dr Oz show.[25] He discussed the rise of meditation, the scientific benefits, as well as his personal journey as a Buddhist monk. He then hosted a separate segment in which he taught the studio audience and television viewers how to meditate. He has also appeared on other network shows, such as ABC[26] and KTLA News, discussing the benefits of meditation.

TED Talk

In November 2012, Puddicombe gave a TED Talk, entitled 'All It Takes Is 10 Mindful Minutes',[27] outlining the benefits of taking time out each day to practise mindfulness. To date it has accrued 6 million views, and was among the first TED Talks to be featured on Netflix.

Personal life

Puddicombe lives in Venice, California with his wife and son.[28] In 2013, Puddicombe announced that he was receiving treatment for testicular cancer. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, he revealed how mindfulness had helped him to cope with the physical, emotional and mental impact of the illness.[29]

In August 2014, Puddicombe was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "BIMA Awards". BIMA Awards. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Paris Le Web Speakers". Le Web. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  3. ^ "The Times". The Times. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Evening Standard". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Smart Planet". Smart Planet. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Do Lectures". Do Lectures. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Psychology Today". Psychology Today. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Paris Le Web". Paris Le Web. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Evening Standard". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Time Out". Time Out. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Headspace launch blog". Headspace. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Hodder & Stoughton". Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Get Some Headspace". Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  14. ^ "The Headspace Diet". Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  15. ^ "The Headspace Guide to...a Mindful Pregnancy". Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  16. ^ "The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  17. ^ "The Times". The Times. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  18. ^ "The Huffington Post". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  19. ^ "Daily Telegraph review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  20. ^ "The BBC". The BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  21. ^ "The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  22. ^ "BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  23. ^ "BBC Radio". BBC Radio. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  24. ^ "Comment Is Free". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  25. ^ "Andy Puddicombe on the Dr Oz Show". Dr Oz Show. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  26. ^ "Andy Puddicombe on ABC". ABC. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  27. ^ "Andy Puddicombe speaking at TED". TED. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  28. ^ "Meditation Teachers profile". Meditation Teachers. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  29. ^ "Cancer relief through meditation". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  30. ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". theguardian.com. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.

External links

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