Dear Headspace is a weekly call-in show for anyone who's ever wished they had a personal mindfulness coach or just someone wise to give advice and help them see things differently. It's a Headspace original podcast where meditation teachers answer pre-recorded questions from listeners all over the world. From work-life balance advice to tips on how to confront our own biases against others, this show covers a range of topics helpful to all listeners.
The idea behind Dear Headspace was to bring the wisdom of the Headspace meditation teachers to people looking for advice on their mental health and wellness journeys. We aimed to emulate the vulnerability and comfort of a call in, late night radio show. Meditation can feel one sided, where teachers are simply guiding listeners, but our hope was to have an audience informed dialogue versus a monologue. We also felt it was important to have our listeners' point of view represented in our second host, Robin Hopkins, a newcomer to meditation. In this, our listeners are not only represented, but also able to feel like active participants during these deep dives into their questions. Our goal was to offer mindful-base advice and to create a safe and welcoming community.
This podcast structure drew inspiration from late-night radio shows like Delila After Dark and Car Talk. We aimed to create a safe and open space where any question is welcome, breaking the boundaries of just meditation-related inquiries. Initially, we gathered questions from a small circle of friends, family, and devoted Headspace listeners. Fortunately, the response was overwhelming as listeners began submitting thoughtful and intimate voicemails, which became the core of our show. Maintaining a personal connection between hosts and listeners was vital to us. We faced an early challenge when we lost our original co-host after creating the pilot, but Robin Hopkins, a seasoned podcaster and our show's producer, seamlessly stepped in, forming an immediate bond with the meditation teachers and callers. Our proudest achievement is the trust our community has in us, allowing them to openly share personal information.
We are so happy with the success of Dear Headspace and it is all due to the listeners. The content of the show does not exist if people weren't engaged enough to reach out and share their stories, problems, life victories, grief, concerns, and dilemmas. It's been wonderful to be acknowledged by the organizations such as the New York Times, the Webbies, and the Ambies, but we believe the most important consideration for success are the messages we receive from listeners saying thank you for the advice. We get so many emails telling us about the impact the show is having in people's lives, and that's all the success we could hope for!
Below is some of the copy from an email our host, Robin, received from a listener. The question they submitted was chosen and answered by our meditation teacher, Kessonga.
"Thank you for choosing my question. Please extend my gratitude to Kessonga as well. Thank you both for your advice. I wanted to let you know that it's been over a year since I sent that voice message. When I listened to you and Kessonga's advice it made me feel emotional. I keep listening to it over and over again. I realized that this advice is something that I have been looking for, and I felt validated. …I have been listening to Headspace for a long time so thank you for everything that you all do…"
