About Michelle DuVal, MA
Michelle is the director of The Mindful Center, as well as the leading provider of Mindfulness Training in the Southwest United States, with her ongoing programs appearing in such top organizations as Presbyterian Hospitals, the University of New Mexico, Sandia National Laboratories, the New Mexico Heart Institute, the Albuquerque Public School system, the City of Albuquerque, the Department of Energy, and more.
All of her programs and guided meditations are evidence based, steeped in research, and skillfully interweave the profundity of the practice with the humor of insight every step of the way. Her skill in teaching comes not only from training with some of the top meditation masters in the world, but also from years of learning, practicing, and teaching with her father, Jim DuVal, the founder of The Mindful Center.
Michelle is also the mother of twin nine year old boys, which provide her countless joys and endless opportunities to practice mindfulness! lol
When the pandemic hit, she was forced to move all of her programs online, and has now committed herself to providing the best teachings and guided meditations possible in this new world format (online everything!) as well as opportunities for people to get together live through her retreats, which she hosts at the gorgeous Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, as well as internationally in places such as Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica.
The Mindful Center’s Founder
The Mindful Center was created by Michelle’s father, Jim DuVal, in 1991, after the stress of his job landed him in the emergency room with debilitating stomach pain. When modern medicine couldn’t help…he began to meditate. As his symptoms slowly disappeared, he devoted his life to meditation and became an intern at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center with Dr. Jon Kabat Zinn in his 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs. On returning to New Mexico, Jim founded The Mindful Center (formerly The Mariah Institute) and began teaching meditation full time. He retired from teaching in 2007, but continues to act as consultant.
The Mindful Center’s Founder
Everything we teach at The Mindful Center has been refined over 25 years of meticulous practice, heartfelt effort, and the ever-giving lessons of meditation-in-action from the tens of thousands of Mindful Center students. Evidence of this comes from Sandia Labs in particular, where our programs are one the highest rated programs in the history of Labs.
“Michelle is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had the pleasure of being in class with, and her classes completely changed my life. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction should be mandatory training for quite frankly…Everyone.” Mindful Center Student, 2017
“I literally don’t know where I’d be right now – physically, emotionally, mentally – without your classes. I learned a completely different way of relating to life, and I just feel better. Happier. I can’t thank you enough for sharing your gentle and compassionate teachings with me.” Mindful Center Student, 2016
“Gave me hope.” Mindful Center Student, 2018