Andy Puddicombe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andy Puddicombe
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| Born | 23 September 1972 London, England
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| Nationality | British |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Headspace |
Andy Puddicombe (born September 23, 1972) is a British author, public speaker, and teacher. He teaches about meditation and mindfulness. Andy is also the co-founder of Headspace. This company helps people learn guided meditation and mindfulness through an app.
Before starting Headspace, Andy was a Buddhist monk. He also has a special degree in Circus Arts!
Contents
Andy's Early Life and School
Andy Puddicombe was born in London, England. He grew up in a place called Bristol, UK. He went to Wellsway Comprehensive School. Later, he studied Sports Science at De Montfort University. He also earned a special degree in Circus Arts.
Andy's Career Journey
Becoming a Buddhist Monk
In 1994, Andy decided to stop his sports science studies. He traveled to Asia to train as a Buddhist monk. He has shared that this journey helped him deal with a very difficult time in his life.
His meditation training took him to many countries. He visited India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Australia, and Russia. He eventually became a fully ordained monk at a Tibetan monastery in India. After spending a year in a quiet retreat in Scotland, he went back to Russia. There, he taught meditation in Moscow for four years.
In 2004, Andy returned to the UK. He studied Circus Arts in London. At the same time, he started his own meditation practice. He wanted to make "meditation and mindfulness easy to understand and helpful for as many people as possible."
Working as a Meditation Expert
Andy started his private meditation practice in 2006. For the next four years, he worked as a mindfulness consultant. He changed the old meditation teachings to make them easier for modern people to use. During this time, he met Rich Pierson. Rich later became his business partner and co-founder of Headspace. Andy often says that Rich's help was very important for Headspace's success.
Creating Headspace
Headspace first started in 2010. It began as a company that held events about meditation in London. The first online meditations were put on their website before January 2012. That's when the first Headspace app was launched! In 2022, Andy stepped back from the company's board. He left Headspace with his co-founder, Rich Pierson.
Andy's Books
Andy Puddicombe has written three books. All of them were published by Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette.
- Get Some Headspace (2011) teaches you all about the Headspace meditation methods. It was also published as Meditation and Mindfulness.
- The Headspace Diet (2013) shows readers how to use mindfulness. It helps them reach their healthy weight without needing strict diets. This book was also published as Mindful Eating.
- The Headspace Guide to...a Mindful Pregnancy (2015) helps couples stay calm. It guides them through the exciting and sometimes worrying time of pregnancy.
Andy also writes regularly for newspapers like The Guardian and The Times. He also writes for Five Books and Huffington Post. He shares articles about how mindfulness can help people.
Andy on TV and Radio
In 2013, Andy Puddicombe was on a BBC science show called Horizon. The episode was named 'The Truth About Personality'. On the show, the Headspace app was tested to see how well it worked.
Andy often talks on BBC News and BBC Radio. He discusses meditation, mindfulness, and mental health. In 2010, he was part of the Pause For Thought series on BBC Radio 2. He has also appeared on shows like the Dr Oz show, ABC news, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He also has his own podcast called "Radio Headspace."
Andy's Personal Life
Andy has shared how mindfulness helped him deal with health challenges. It helped him cope with the physical, emotional, and mental effects.
In August 2014, Andy Puddicombe was one of 200 public figures. They signed a letter to The Guardian newspaper. The letter shared their thoughts about Scottish independence.
In December 2020, Andy moved to Lisbon, Portugal. He lives there now with his wife and two sons.
See also
In Spanish: Andy Puddicombe para niños
- Tibetan Buddhism
- Headspace
