Sam Chase
Lead Kripalu Faculty
Sam Chase builds programs in yoga, mindfulness, and resilience for people who are building a better world. An incurable nerd—longing for a ladder from the ivory tower to everyday people—he graduated at the top of his class at Vanderbilt, where he competed for the international Rhodes and Marshall scholarships. He won, but then ultimately declined the award to pursue the work he continues today: to explore the science of the human mind and the tools that help people lead flourishing lives.
He brings that study back to the real world through his work with the United Nations, the National Guard, Columbia Medical School, Brooklyn Hospital Center, the New York City Department of Education, and many others. He is the author of the book Yoga & the Pursuit of Happiness, a down-to-earth look at how the philosophy and traditions of yoga and meditation intersect with modern psychology and neuroscience, and the simple ways ordinary people can use these tools to make extraordinary changes.
Sam has developed and directed the training of over 2000 emerging yoga and mindfulness teachers in over 60 programs nationwide, including a first-of-its-kind training for over 200 New York City public school teachers and most-recently the 200-Hour Kripalu Meditation Teacher Training.
As a Kripalu Lead Faculty, Sam designs and delivers curricula for all aspects of the organization, including the School of Yoga, R&R Programming, and RISE—Kripalu's evidence-based resilience training for frontline professionals in fields that serve the public good such as education, healthcare, and community safety.
Learn more about this presenter’s work:
Upcoming Programs
- October 24–November 28, 2023
Resources
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A Reality Check on Resilience
Hear from Lead Kripalu faculty Sam Chase as he unpacks society's collective thoughts on resiliency.
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We Need to Talk About Stress and Mental Health at Work
We can’t afford to let the seconds keep ticking away on this conversation. A full 80 percent of American workers feel regular stress on the job, and half of them say they need help dealing with it.
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How Mindfulness Can Make Us Happier and More Effective at Work
In a country where 66 percent of us find our work unmotivating, what can we do to give ourselves a fighting chance at working in a way that’s engaging and effective?
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The Consequences of Compassion
Metta meditation has been extensively studied, and its transformative potential ranks it one of the most promising single practices of all.
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Can Stress Be Good for Us?
There's another side to the story behind stress that's been largely lost along the way—and it's one that might not only change how we think about stress, but also what stress does to us.
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3 Things to Do at Work Instead of Talking About Politics
If you've seen a surge in the presence of politics at your workplace, you're not alone. And if it's wearing you down, you're not alone either.
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From Yoga Student to Yoga Teacher: Getting Hooked on Inquiry
Through immersion in the practice and study of yoga at Kripalu, Sam Chase discovered a calling to teach.
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How to Choose Happiness
We've been conditioned to believe that we were either born with the ability to be happy, or not. But biology is not destiny.
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A Meditation Practice You Might Actually Enjoy
Metta meditation is about extending compassion first to yourself (a common place to start, though there’s no right or wrong way to begin) and then to others.
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Kripalu Perspectives: Yoga and the Pursuit of Happiness with Sam Chase
Yoga teacher Sam Chase tackles the topic of happiness in this edition of Kripalu Perspectives.
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Five Myths (Some) Men Believe About Yoga
The first time Sam Chase went to a yoga class, he hated it. Growing up as a bookworm who suffered from asthma, he thought of his body as...
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The Art of Haiku: Clear Eyes, Clear Mind
I tried to describe the frigid lake, the singed pine needles, the sticky texture of my fingertips, and I fell into a self-directed calm that was new for me.
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