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About Sandra Finkel
My work is powered by a deep passion for cultivating positive potential in myself and others. As a stress management expert and performance coach I focus on enhancing well-being, resilience and performance. The strategies I use in mentoring others to get unstuck, create life balance and flourish in their lives are not only supported by empirical evidence, but are ones I apply personally and find to be reliable time and again.
I work with clients to unleash potential by empowering them with strategies and tools for deepening awareness, unblocking stuck patterns, and generating creativity and mental performance. I have directed stress reduction programs and coached executives in health care organizations, manufacturing, information technology, food services, transportation, academia and non-profit organizations, and worked with collegiate athletic teams. I have been teaching meditation and mind/body practices for over 25 years. I have done research on the effect of meditation on flourishing, collaborating with Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, a pioneer in the study of positive emotions, and collaborated with Gretchen Spreitzer, PhD on a study at Humana looking at the effects of meditation breaks on employees. I also have training as a certified Psych-K facilitator, EFT facilitator and am a certified prosperity guide. With a background in health care management, I can relate to the challenges confronting executives and professionals and my recommendations are insightful and pragmatic.
This field has intrigued me since age 15 when I began studying meditation and eastern spiritual traditions. After completing an undergraduate degree from University of Michigan I traveled overland to India where I lived for two years, studying with Tibetan Buddhist masters Gelek Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Zong Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After returning to the United States, I co-founded Jewel Heart Buddhist Center in 1987 with Gelek Rinpoche and Aura Glaser. I received a Masters of Public Health in Health Management and Policy from University of Michigan, School of Public Health (1988) and worked over 20 years in health care management at University of Michigan Health System. I began my coaching practice after my youngest son was born.
I am interested in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, energy psychology, sports psychology, conscious business, integrative medicine, contemplative practices and spirituality. Practically applying spiritual wisdom and positive psychology to the dynamic challenges of life today has been my calling.
I work with clients to unleash potential by empowering them with strategies and tools for deepening awareness, unblocking stuck patterns, and generating creativity and mental performance. I have directed stress reduction programs and coached executives in health care organizations, manufacturing, information technology, food services, transportation, academia and non-profit organizations, and worked with collegiate athletic teams. I have been teaching meditation and mind/body practices for over 25 years. I have done research on the effect of meditation on flourishing, collaborating with Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, a pioneer in the study of positive emotions, and collaborated with Gretchen Spreitzer, PhD on a study at Humana looking at the effects of meditation breaks on employees. I also have training as a certified Psych-K facilitator, EFT facilitator and am a certified prosperity guide. With a background in health care management, I can relate to the challenges confronting executives and professionals and my recommendations are insightful and pragmatic.
This field has intrigued me since age 15 when I began studying meditation and eastern spiritual traditions. After completing an undergraduate degree from University of Michigan I traveled overland to India where I lived for two years, studying with Tibetan Buddhist masters Gelek Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Zong Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After returning to the United States, I co-founded Jewel Heart Buddhist Center in 1987 with Gelek Rinpoche and Aura Glaser. I received a Masters of Public Health in Health Management and Policy from University of Michigan, School of Public Health (1988) and worked over 20 years in health care management at University of Michigan Health System. I began my coaching practice after my youngest son was born.
- Directed stress management services, metabolic fitness program and executive health services for University of Michigan Cardiovascular Medicine for 5 years.
- Lead meditation and mental conditioning workshops for Executive Education courses in the University of Michigan Ross School of Business; was a guest lecturer for Positive Leadership course.
- Stress management coach for executive leaders at Ann Arbor Railroad, Compuware Corporation, Dow Chemical Company, Fourmidable Goup, Dawn Foods and Gerdau MacSteel.
- Worked with the University of Michigan Men’s Basketball Team in 2011-13 on mental conditioning training. The team won a Big Ten Championship (first since 1986) and NCAA 4th seed bid in 2012 and made it to the Final Four and the championship final in 2013.
- Collaborated with Barbara Fredrickson, PhD in designing and delivering the loving-kindness meditation intervention featured in her book, Positivity and co-authored paper (JPSP 2008).
- Worked with Gretchen Spreitzer and Lindsey Cameron in 2015 on a research study at Humana using a mindfulness meditation intervention.
- Taught the course, Mind/Body Medicine with Dr. Anthony King at University of Michigan Medical School for 4 years
- Delivered numerous talks at professional conferences and corporate events, including keynote speaker of Women in Leadership Conference at University of Michigan Ross School of Business..
I am interested in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, energy psychology, sports psychology, conscious business, integrative medicine, contemplative practices and spirituality. Practically applying spiritual wisdom and positive psychology to the dynamic challenges of life today has been my calling.
Publications
Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Cohn, Michael A.; Coffey, Kimberly A.; Pek, Jolynn, Finkel, Sandra. Open Hearts Build Lives: Positive Emotions, Induced through Loving-Kindness Meditation, Build Consequential Personal Resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 95(5), Nov. 2008, 1045-1062.
Robinson, Elizabeth, Finkel, Sandra and Jackson, Elizabeth, Psychosocial Interventions: Meditation, (2011), in Psychiatry and Heart Disease: the Mind, Brain, and Heart, Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., West Sussex, UK
Rubenfire, Melvyn, Finkel, Sandra, Mollo, Lynette. Lifestyle Interventions for the Metabolic Syndrome Using Cardiac Rehab Resources, American Heart Assoc. Abstract, June 8, 2009.
Robinson, Elizabeth, Finkel, Sandra and Jackson, Elizabeth, Psychosocial Interventions: Meditation, (2011), in Psychiatry and Heart Disease: the Mind, Brain, and Heart, Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., West Sussex, UK
Rubenfire, Melvyn, Finkel, Sandra, Mollo, Lynette. Lifestyle Interventions for the Metabolic Syndrome Using Cardiac Rehab Resources, American Heart Assoc. Abstract, June 8, 2009.
