Mindtools & inspirations
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Mind Tools & Inspirations are experiences to help you operate your human system, drawn from yoga, science, and game design
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Made for busy, smart, curious people.
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I offer 3-minute experiences (try this), audio narration if you can take time to be guided, and explanations (why do this?).
Visit the interactive library to explore past and current practices.
Subscribe below to receive these free weekly experiences via email.
My hope is that each practice plants a seed.
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You may appreciate something in a new way, to notice something about yourself or your world. Perhaps you revisit the idea or the practice during daily life later in the week.
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You notice how you feel. You notice how something feels. There can be a gradual growth of self-awareness.
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The meditations often guide you to wait and allow a memory or an imagined thing to arise. Allowing is a central yogic skill.
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The meditations often involve aligning movement with breath. Mind and body align.
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Hopefully Mindtools facilitate self-observation. Perhaps you become aware that during the practice your state had changed (body, breath, mind, emotions). Perhaps you begin to realize that you can use practice to bring about state change.
some example Uplifting and Nourishing practices
Home - April 6, 2026
Planet earth is home for you and 8 billion other humans and all other life. In this 3-minute practice you have a sense of earth as your home.
The photo of the dark side of the earth lit by the moon was taken by Artemis II astronauts. Remembering we share this home with each other and all living things may evoke a sense of wonder and appreciation.
Good Hair Day - August 17, 2026
When it comes to hair, moments of “just right” are temporary. Kind of like life. Appreciate a good hair day in this 3-minute practice.
Breath and movement in this practice encourage a sense of balance, of equanimity amidst an always changing world. Fortunately, some times good hair days happen.
some example Calming and Supportive practices
Chillax, May 18, 2026
Focusing your attention on physical sensations—and then being present to and observing what arises—can help quiet your mind and calm your body. This 3-minute practice may help you chillax (chill and relax).
This practice engages your mind, crowding out whatever you had been thinking about as you focus your attention on three different parts of your body. The initial challenge each time is to listen and notice. And then you maintain attention on the sensation that shows up, observing. After a little while I guide you to place your attention on the next body part.
Solid Ground-- May 5, 2025
A good way to feel like you are on solid ground is to embody the feeling. This 3-minute experience helps you to do that.
“Being on solid ground” is a metaphor grounded in a physical experience that can imply coming from a stable foundation, having a secure base, being well-supported, or coming from strength and confidence
Deep Roots, August 31, 2026
Have a sense of stability and support as you connect with tree roots reaching deep into the ground in this 3-minute practice.
Focusing attention on feet and legs (with both feet resting on the floor) can help you feel grounded. Imagining tree roots reaching deep into the ground can amplify that experience.
Welcome In, September 7, 2026
“Welcome in” is a friendly greeting called out at cafes and restaurants. Explore how it feels to enter a place where you feel welcome in this 3-minute practice.
Feeling genuinely welcome somewhere can evoke a special sense of ease—a permission to be there—a permission to be yourself. In this practice you notice how feeling welcome feels. You explore aspects of a welcoming place that contribute to the feeling. After doing this practice perhaps you will be more aware of feeling welcomed and appreciate welcoming places.
some example Discovery and Exploration practices
Seeing with eyes closed - February 16, 2026
In this 3-minute practice you explore what you perceive when your eyes are open and when your eyes are closed. Like flipping a light switch on and off, closing your eyes changes what your mind can see.
Closing your eyes activates your “interoceptive neural network” — your brain pathways that sense internal bodily sensations. When your eyes are open, visual perception and a focus on the external world dominate.
Closing your eyes can be very helpful when you want to check in with how you are doing. Closing your eyes can also be a useful tool in daily life to help shift your perspective, to perhaps think differently.
Chocolate Test - June 2, 2025
I deliciously anticipate my daily square(s) of dark chocolate. But as soon as I put one in my mouth my mind moves on to whatever is next unless I remind myself to stay with the feeling and taste of melting chocolate.
My “chocolate test” reveals how present I am.
This 3-minute practice can help you be more present to everyday experiences.
Perhaps you will discover your own chocolate test.
Aligning Mind with Breath - June 7, 2026
Mental vocalization engages your mind as you witness and align with your breathing in this 3-minute practice. Your breath leads the dance.
Doing this practice can help quiet your mind and bring body, breath, and mind into alignment. Your mind and body breathe together, the mind experiencing the exact timing of each phase of each breath. Inhalation. Pause after inhalation. Exhalation. Pause after exhalation. Your mind is participating, not just observing. You gain visceral insight into how your human system is operating now.
Mindtools are appetizers to deeper experiences
Mindtools are an offering to you and to my teachers.
I have studied viniyoga meditation one-on-one with my mentor, Marcel Allbritton (https://marcelallbritton.com) since 2014. Together we have developed meditation programs for hospice professionals and college students as well as for a virtual reality company. I or we have conducted and published 25 academic research articles related to meditation (https://carrieheeter.com/meditation-research/).
I also have taken ongoing weekly Yoga for Meditation classes, bi-weekly Applications of Meditation classes since 2014, and weekly study of the sacred texts of yoga in group classes with Chase Bossart, director of Yoga Well Institute (https://yogawell.com), beginning in 2015.
My teachers are students of the viniyoga tradition. Marcel studies with Chase. Chase was a long-time student of TKV Desikachar, who was the son and long-time student of Sri Krishnamacharya.