Mindfulness isn’t just a wellness buzzword, it’s the difference between living on autopilot and actually being in your life.
In this TURTZED conversation, Charles sits down with Marie, a yoga teacher, trainer, and coach with over 20 years of experience. Instead of giving a vague definition of mindfulness, she offers something practical: a way to measure it, train it, and use it in everyday life.
This episode reframes mindfulness as a skill you build, slowly, intentionally, and without needing to be perfect.
Mindfulness Starts as a Surprise Calling
Marie didn’t wake up one day and decide, “I’m going to become a coach.”
It happened naturally.
After years in the yoga world, starting with large group classes, then moving into smaller sessions, her work became more personal. Yoga turned into conversations. Alignment turned into life reflection.
Eventually, clients began saying the same thing:
“You would be a really good life coach.”
That repeated feedback planted the seed.
What Mindfulness Actually Means
Marie admits something refreshing: even as a teacher, she spent years hearing “be mindful” without anyone clearly explaining what it meant.
So she searched deeper.
Her definition is simple and sharp:
Mindfulness is when your body and your mind are in the same place at the same time.
Most of us aren’t there.
Our body is sitting in the room…
but our mind is:
- replaying the past
- planning the future
- or living in an imagined conversation that isn’t happening
In yoga philosophy, she connects this to maya, the illusion state where the mind creates a reality that isn’t present.
Why Mindfulness Isn’t Constant
One of the most grounding points Marie makes is this:
Mindfulness is hard to sustain.
Not because you’re broken.
Not because you’re “bad at meditation.”
Rather, because humans aren’t built to stay in the present all day.
We get pulled out constantly, almost like we’re taking mini mental vacations from reality.
So the goal isn’t to be mindful 24/7.
The goal is to build pockets of mindfulness throughout your day.
The “Superpower” of Mindfulness
When Marie describes what mindfulness feels like when it clicks, she calls it a kind of superpower.
Not supernatural.
Practical.
Mindfulness gives you:
- clarity in your thinking
- organization in your mind (like a library with sorted books)
- the ability to stay grounded in stress, grief, or chaos
- better awareness of what’s actually happening in front of you
It’s the difference between reacting and responding.
It’s the moment you realize: I have options.
A Mindfulness Practice You Can Time
Marie offers one of the simplest practices in the entire TURTZED series because it’s measurable.
She calls it the practice of concentration, and it’s designed to pull you into the present, not away from it.
The Mindfulness Test (Open-Eye Practice)
- Sit alone in a quiet room (no pets, no distractions if possible)
- Keep your eyes open
- Observe what’s around you, objects, textures, details
- Set a timer
- The moment you notice your mind drift (past/future/imagined story), stop the timer
Marie says most people last 20 to 40 seconds at first.
That’s not failure.
That’s your starting point.
She explains it like this:
your concentration length = the depth of how you experience reality.
You can train it like a muscle. Try three rounds. Improve slowly. Over time, those seconds become minutes.
And when you can reach around four minutes, she says you begin to experience life differently, like diving deeper below the ocean’s surface and seeing an entire world you couldn’t see before.
Mindfulness Changes Your Relationships (and Your House)
As people build mindfulness from 1 minute to 2 or 3 minutes, Marie notices unexpected shifts.
Relationships get better because you’re actually there.
You see people more clearly.
You hear more.
You react less.
And hilariously, many people start cleaning their house.
Why?
Because mindfulness makes you notice what you’ve ignored. Dust in the corner. Clutter that doesn’t belong. Things you bought without meaning because your attention wasn’t present.
Mindfulness doesn’t just change your mind.
It changes your environment.
Mindfulness and the Elephant Metaphor
When asked about advice that stayed with her, Marie shared a simple lesson from a professor: How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
That’s mindfulness.
You don’t go from distracted to deeply present overnight. You build attention gradually, ten seconds at first, then twenty, then forty. Over time, that grows into a full minute, then two. Progress doesn’t come from forcing it.
You don’t swallow the whole thing. You practice, patiently, one moment at a time.
Mindfulness, Coaching, and Real Connection
Near the end, the conversation expands to include the concept of connection, which, together with mindfulness, can make a real difference in how we experience our world.
Connection.
Charles shares that being most yourself often happens in spaces where you feel connected, where you can be silly, honest, and deep without performing. He reflects on how difficult it is to build real connection in a world that defaults to texting instead of calling, and virtual interaction instead of presence.
Then he shares a coaching truth that lands hard:
A coach should not become a permanent crutch.
He believes coaching works best in defined seasons, often 8 to 12 weeks because the goal is to help someone reconnect with themselves, then set them free.
Mindfulness supports that.
Because if you’re not present, you can’t hear nuance.
You can’t recognize patterns.
You can’t reflect truth with kindness and honesty.
And if you can’t listen to yourself?
That’s where the fear begins.
The Message to Carry With You
Mindfulness isn’t about turning your brain off.
It’s about returning.
Again and again.
To what’s real.
To what’s in front of you.
To what your life is actually asking of you.
Start small.
Be kind to yourself.
And remember, most of the world is learning this too.
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