Imperfect Meditation

In this free, 14-day journey, you'll shed the weight of perfection pressure and deprogram shame to create the meditation practice you've always wanted.

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Perfectionism stops here.

This January, we're flipping the script—say goodbye to perfectionism and hello to embracing imperfection.

In this new course, you'll shed the weight of perfection pressure and deprogram shame to create the meditation practice you've always wanted.

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In the challenge you'll get:‍

A daily video with Matthew, Dawn, and/or Cara, your personal meditation teachers, explaining a practice or wisdom bomb.
‍A daily audio meditation (sometimes two!) that you can use to practice the skill.‍
Gentle reminders to practice — no beating yourself up when you miss a day.

You can't get this wrong.

Think you’re “bad” at meditation? Welcome to the club, population: many. Ironically, being okay with imperfection paves the way for small steps toward your goals.

Basic relaxation

Take a few minutes to relax. In this meditation, Sharon will lead you in tensing and then relaxing your face, hands, shoulders, and back.

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Meet the instructors

Meet your imperfect meditation guides.

Joining you on this journey are Matthew Hepburn, Dawn Mauricio, and Cara Lai, experts in the art of mindful imperfection.

Matthew Hepburn

Matthew is a meditation and dharma teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience and a passion for getting real about what it means to live well.

Matthew Hepburn is a straightshooting, clear thinking, and dedicated meditation teacher. His personal practice caught fire over the course of several extended meditation retreats in his early twenties, and for the last 5+ years he has been teaching meditation at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center in Boston, MA.

Matthew is a graduate of the four-year Insight Meditation Society Teacher Training Program, where he studied with renowned meditation teachers including Joseph Goldstein.

Dawn Mauricio

Dawn Mauricio has been practicing Insight Meditation since 2005. She completed Spirit Rock's Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training, Dedicated Practitioners' Program, and 4-year Retreat Teacher Training. She teaches with a playful, dynamic, and heartfelt approach people of color and folks of all backgrounds. Dawn is a co-founder of the True North Insight BIPOC practice group, serves on the guiding teachers council of True North Insight, and the leadership council for Sacred Mountain Sangha. She is also the author of “Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners."

Cara Lai

Cara Lai spent most of her life trying to figure out how to be happy, or at least avoid total misery, which landed her on a meditation cushion for the majority of her adulthood. Throughout many consciousness adventures including a few mind-bendingly long meditation retreats, she has explored the wilderness of the mind, chronic illness, and the importance of pleasure. She teaches teen and adult meditation retreats across the country.

What You’ll Learn

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Learn to live in the moment even when you don’t have a moment.

Join the Challenge

Questions? We’ve got answers.

What is Happier?

Happier is an award-winning meditation app, co-founded by former ABC News anchor Dan Harris. The Happier app teaches fidgety skeptics (and everyone else) how to meditate, sharing practices developed over thousands of years and backed by science.

Is the Imperfect Meditation Challenge free?

Yes! You don’t need a paid subscription to access the 14-day free challenge. We always have some free content in the app and while the challenge is going on, this content will be free too!

Do I need to be a Buddhist to participate?

Of course not! Our host Dan Harris, is a skeptical atheist and the course breaks down His Holiness' teachings into ways we can all understand. At Happier we believe everyone can benefit from the ancient wisdom which has for centuries helped people lead happier lives—so we welcome all religions, all cultural and spiritual backgrounds, and all levels of experience with mindfulness and meditation.

I have a question about using the Happier app.

Our amazing support team will be happy to help. Just email them at challenge@happierapp.com.

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