Dr. Manijeh Motaghy
Founder & Guiding Teacher
Dr. Manijeh Motaghy is the founder of Perfectly Here and has taken our offerings from one dimensional Mindfulness training to Mindful Life Optimization. This approach is deeply imbedded in wisdom, compassion, psychology, and science. Her latest book, “It’s Not Easy to Be Human: A Compassionate Journey and Guide to Optimize Human Potential, Achieve Fulfillment, and Increase Systemic and Ecological Well-Being” addresses reasons behind human suffering, areas of need for development and offers lessons and practices.
“It’s Not Easy to Be Human,” empowers women, as well as men and all genders and professions that help educate and develop humanity, such as teachers, therapists, coaches, and spiritual guides. It raises the bar on inner peace, harmony, success and well-being.
Looking for the truth and peace, Manijeh has communed with nature to understand the truths of life ever since she was two years old. She started practicing yoga in 1994 and came to Mindfulness in an undergraduate class in 2004. Being overjoyed by finally finding formal guidance, she delved deeply into the experiential Mindfulness practices that incorporate the full spectrum of Buddhist teachings. She feels blessed to have teachers like Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Pasanno, Diana Winston, and other secular experts. Manijeh highly values science and incorporates logic and latest scientific understandings into her work.
**Dr. Motaghy is a contributor and editor for the Planet Positive 2030 through IEEE and Stanford University under Strong Sustainability by Design, Global Methodology. See her contributions here.
Manijeh is a compassionate soul, author, international speaker, teacher, and trainer who has helped thousands of women of all backgrounds to live with ease, joy, and confidence. She is working on the MLO Project: Making It a Human Right to Enjoy Being Fully Developed.
She has published, and implemented numerous training models including COMANDS: Seven Skills/Traits of Effective Leadership, Mindful Employees (ME), and countless other courses, a Three-Dimensional Mindfulness Approach and a five-stage Human Software Optimization Methodology copyrighted in 2020.
She is an Organizational Psychologist, certified by Mindful NYU to lead and develop Conscious Leaders and Teams, a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator by the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Board of Behavioral Sciences, and an Authorized MAPS Teacher for UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center.
She is an AI Ethics and Imperatives enthusiast and a contributor to two committees to further the success of the Stanford Planet Positive 2030 project.
Her 20 Year Vision is to Regenerate Humanity and the Planet to leave a better world for this and future generations by training the global community on how to live in an interdependent reality with consideration for all life so that everyone and everything can flourish.
She has led 117+ daylong retreats and designed and taught 700+ mindfulness courses, workshops, presentations, and training for both private and public academic sectors such as Disney Imagineering, Health Net of California, Motion Picture Television, LAUSD, California State Universities, Campbell Hall, Chapman School of Law, and at both state-wide and global professional conferences. For a full resume go here.
RELATED TRAINING & EXPERIENCE: Dr. Motaghy continues to study and practice Mindfulness and other Buddhist teachings with teachers at the Abhayagiri Monastery as well as other secular teachers and groups. As a dedicated practitioner and teacher, she infuses mindfulness in all her training, consulting, and speaking engagements to optimize success and well-being for all involved.
TRAINING RECEIVED AND IN PROGRESS
2023 10 Day Silent Retreat with Abhayagiri
2022 10 Day Silent Retreat with Abhayagiri
2021 Four-day Retreat with Diana Winston on Awareness Practices
2020-22 InnerMBA through Sounds True Certified Degree by NYU
2014 – 2024 seven-days dharma & meditation at Abhayagiri (annually)
2014 Studied for a year with Trudy Goodman, the Guiding Teacher at InsightLA, DPG
2014 Day-long Retreat with Venerable Panavati
2014 Authorized UCLA MAPS course teacher
2013 10 Day Silent Dharma and meditation at Angeles Center
2013 7 Day Dharma and meditation at the Abhayagiri
2013 Mindfulness Facilitation Certification from UCLA, Mindful Awareness Center
2012 Day-long Retreat with Rumi Rooms, Palos Verdes, CA
2012 2-day retreat with Will Kabat Zinn, Insight LA
2011 6-months CORE Advanced Buddhist Teachings Class, Daniel Davis, West Hills
2011 Day-long retreat by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Day-long Sunlun Retreat
2010 One Year Advance Buddhist Teachings Class, Daniel Davis, West Hills, CA
2009 – 2023 (10-day Silent Retreats/annually)
2009-12 14-Day mindfulness & Dharma practice at the Abhayagiri Monastery
2007-2012 18 Basics of Mindfulness Course – Mindful Valley
2008 10-Day Silent Monastic Retreat – Angela Center, CA
2007 One Day Mindfulness Retreat – Insight LA
2007-2013 Mentored by Daniel Davis on Buddhist teachings
1994-present Yoga, Mindful Living
TRAINING PROVIDED
The number of offerings provided after this year is too long to list, which include seminars, workshops, courses, trainings, retreats, etc.
2017 – Disney Imagineering – Team Development with Mindfulness
2013-2023 MAPS I & II for UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center CA
2012 Facilitates Weekly Meditation Community, West Hills, CA
2012 Designed and Co-Facilitated Work-Life Balance Retreat: Integrating Mindfulness into Accountability, Palos Verdes, CA
2012 Mindfulness workshop, Staff/ Interns, San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Clinic Van Nuys CA
2012 Presented Mindfulness workshop for Mental Health professionals at Cal State Univ Northridge, CA
2012 Co-presented Mindfulness for teachers, staff, and health care providers at LAUSD, District 1
2012 Presented Mindfulness for Mental Health professionals at The Whole Child, Whittier, CA
2012 Presented Mindful Communication for Toastmaster Learning Institute, Glendale College, CA
2011 Provided Mindfulness of Strengths training for four different departments at Health Net Inc., CA.
2011-present Provide Mindfulness Training for WeSpark Cancer Support Center – Encino, CA
2011 Presented Mindful Communication for the Academy of BioScience, Pepperdine University, CA
2011 Provided Mindfulness Workshops for JAS Recreational Therapists, Malibu, CA
2011 Provided Mindful Time Management Workshop for Girls Scouts of America, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Provided Mindfulness-Based Strategic Planning – American Society of Training & Development
2010 Co-presented Mindfulness Meditation – Motion Picture & Television Fund
2010 Co-designed CEU course curriculum for the Board Behavioral Sciences Certification process
2010 Created Mindful Valley’s Advisory Board
2010 Designed and co-taught “Effective Management, Mindfulness Tools & Workshops – Meetup
2010 Coordinated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course – Mindful Valley
2009-present Coordinated &Co-facilitated over 30 monthly day-long retreats – Mindful Valley
2009 Designed curriculum and taught mindfulness-based professional development class “Be The Master of Your Own Livelihood” – Mindful Valley
2008-present Coordinates weekly Sitting Group – Mindful Valley
EDUCATION
2021 & 2022 – Three InnerMBA Certificates from New York University
2014 – Authorized UCLA MAPS course teacher
2013 – Certification of Mindfulness Facilitation from UCLA, Mindful Awareness Center
2008 – PsyD. in Organization Management Consulting – Phillips Graduate Institute
2005 – BA in Psychology – Cal State Channel Islands.