#46 - Mindful by Design: Training Attention, Flexibility & Kindness with Dr. Elli Weisbaum
Today’s guest is Dr. Elli Weisbaum
How to reduce anxiety, burnout, and rigid, reactive thinking by shifting from the brain’s default chatter to trainable, moment-to-moment awareness—and then making that awareness useful in real life (clinics, classrooms, meetings, and at home).
In today’s conversation Elli Weisbaum explores how mindfulness builds cognitive flexibility and steadies the nervous system under everyday stress. She traces her path—from attending her first retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh at age ten to researching physician wellbeing—while unpacking the neuroscience of attention and the default mode network (the mind-wander system). You’ll hear practical ways to weave mindfulness into ordinary moments (email, commuting, brushing your teeth), plus how “awareness of awareness” upgrades focus, values clarity, and relationships. Together we connect these skills to leadership, healthcare, and family life with simple, repeatable practices.
You will learn what mindfulness is (paying attention to what’s happening inside and around you, with kindness and curiosity) and why it measurably changes brain function and behavior over time. You will learn how to notice the default mode network and gently return attention—without self-criticism—building mental “reps” like strength training. You will learn engaged mindfulness tactics: micro-practices during daily tasks, start/finish rituals for work, and emotion-labeling to create space between stimulus and response. You will also learn how these tools support physician wellbeing, psychological safety, and performance in high-pressure environments.
You will discover that calm and clarity are trainable states: short, consistent reps of attention + kindness outcompete willpower. You will discover how “awareness of awareness” turns ordinary moments into recovery and focus boosters.
Feeling hijacked by worry loops, email alerts, and shifting plans. Elli offers a prevention-first playbook—brief practices that restore agency and make composure your default, even on hard days.
Key take aways:
The mind is embodied, emergent, and relational.
Notice mind-wandering; return with kindness. Repeat.
Use micro-practices during everyday tasks.
“Awareness of awareness” upgrades focus and relationships.
Make rituals: begin, end, and reset your day.
“Where attention goes, neuro-firing flows, and connection grows.”
Today’s Expert Guest - Dr. Elli Weisbaum
Dr. Elli Weisbaum is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the University of Toronto’s Buddhism, Psychology & Mental Health (BPMH) program, with a joint appointment in Psychiatry (Temerty Faculty of Medicine) and a cross-appointment at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (IHPME). She is a certified Search Inside Yourself teacher, has facilitated mindfulness programs across education, healthcare, and business, and her research and teaching focus on mindfulness for physician wellbeing and psychological safety.
Elli integrates traditional contemplative training (longstanding practice in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village community) with academic rigor (U of T teaching and research) to deliver practical, prevention-oriented tools. Her work spans curricula for healthcare professionals and students, the MARS-A program for adolescents at SickKids, and leadership workshops that connect neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and behavior design—so teams can apply mindfulness immediately at work.
Run a Daily 5-Minute Reset:
Notice mind-wandering or tension.
Name the emotion or story once.
Shift to three slow exhales and one kind cue (“begin again”).
Resume the task with one clear next step.
Tiny, repeatable reps build flexibility and calm fast.
Follow Dr. Elli Weisbaum on Instagram & Linked In.
Check out her website.
This podcast contains advice and information relating to health and wellness. It should be used to supplement rather than replace the advice of your doctor or another trained health professional. If you know or suspect that you have a health problem, seek your physician’s advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. All efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this podcast / interview / article as of the date of publication. The author and publisher disclaim liability for any medical or other outcomes that may occur as a result of applying the methods suggested in this material.
