How to Become a Regular Meditator (and More) | Alexis Santos
About this episode
While in medical school in the mid-90's, Alexis Santos found himself in the midst of a spiritual crisis. At one of the top medical schools in the country, he felt unfulfilled and disillusioned by the stress and unhappiness around him and in his fellow students. After two years, he changed course and travelled to India, where he was first introduced to insight meditation on a 10-day retreat in the S.N. Goenka tradition. Interested to deepen his meditation practice, he happened across Sayadaw U Tejaniya, an unknown meditation teacher in Burma at the time. Recognizing his good fortune, Alexis decided to stay on, where he ordained as a Buddhist monk for two years. At the encouragement of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Alexis began teaching and in 2016 he completed the Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society teacher training program with Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield and others. He now teaches meditation retreats at centers throughout North America, Europe and Australia. In this episode, the conversation gets an interesting start with Alexis sharing his views on sleepiness and meditation, and then moving on to his time in Burma with Sayadaw U Tejaniya, the masculine and feminine approach to meditation and habit formation and how to use all our waking hours to practice meditation in daily life. Website: https://www.alexissantos.io/about Alexis courses in the app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/Alexis-Santos Alexis Santos on Dharma Seed: https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/525/ Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Ten Percent Happier Discount: www.tenpercent.com/2020 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. How to Become a Regular Meditator (and More) | Alexis Santos from 10% Happier with Dan Harris gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Hinto app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- Neil deGrasse Tyson On: Happiness, Seeking Friction, Getting Your Mind Blown, and Why Casinos Hate Physicists Nov 6, 2026
- That Feeling That Something's Missing, and How To Find It | Vinny Ferraro Nov 4, 2026
- When Life Falls Apart: How To Break Old Patterns, Rewrite Your Inner Scripts, and Find Purpose | Dr. Suzan Song Nov 2, 2026
- When the News Feels Like Too Much, Try This | Sharon Salzberg Oct 30, 2026
- How To Stop Fixing Yourself | Ayya Santacitta Oct 28, 2026
- How To Stay Sane, Rested, and Useful During Hard Times | Katherine May Oct 26, 2026
- Terry Bradshaw On: Clinical Depression, Crying on the Field, and the Mother He Could Never Please Oct 23, 2026
- Live Without Regrets: Buddhist Strategies for Facing Aging, Illness, and Loss | Sister Dang Nghiem Oct 21, 2026
- A Stoic Mantra For Your Sh*ttiest Moments (And Other Ancient Wisdom That Holds Up) | Jonathan Haidt Oct 19, 2026
- How To Feel Safer In A Chaotic World | Dr. Raj Panjabi Oct 16, 2026
- Adam Grant Says You're Doing Relationships Wrong Oct 14, 2026
- Stressed, Anxious, or Drained at Work? Here's How To Follow Your Energy, Take Smart Risks, and Find Work You Actually Like | Molly Graham Oct 12, 2026
- Calm Your Nervous System: Simple Daily Practices for When You're Wired, Hangry, or Too Busy to Rest | Nadia Narain & Katia Narain Phillips Oct 9, 2026
- Anxious? Rushed? Reaching for Your Phone? Four Buddhist Phrases To Bring You Back | Brother Phap Dung and Kaira Jewel Lingo Oct 7, 2026
- How To Be Sanely Productive | Oliver Burkeman Oct 5, 2026
- Surviving the News: Buddhist Strategies for Staying Sane, Engaged, and Not Completely Furious | Pascal Auclair Oct 2, 2026
- Annoying Partners, Aging Parents, Impossible Coworkers: Buddhist Advice for Conflict, Communication, and "Patience with Teeth" | devon and nico hase Sep 30, 2026
- Your 'Inner Child' Runs Your Life. Here's How To Spot It and Take Back the Wheel. | Dr. Galit Atlas Sep 28, 2026
- Your Inner Critic Won't Stop Adding Rules. Here's The Fix. | Julian Shapiro-Barnum Sep 25, 2026
- Amanda Knox On: Finding Meaning in Tragedy, Not Needing an Apology, and Refusing to Own What Other People Think Sep 23, 2026
- The Science Of Emotion Regulation: A Five-Step Plan For Not Losing Your Sh*t | Marc Brackett Sep 21, 2026
- Comedian Josh Johnson On: Handling News Cycle Anxiety, His Insane Work Ethic, and Why AI is BS Sep 18, 2026
- The Reset for Anxiety, Overthinking, and Losing Yourself in the Wrong Story | Diana Winston Sep 16, 2026
- What's Worth Living For? | Dr. Atul Gawande Sep 14, 2026
- Neal Brennan On: Talking Back to Your Inner Critic, Why Chasing Validation Doesn't Work, and His Harrowing Psychedelic Journeys Sep 11, 2026
- Top 10 Practices for Resetting Your Time, Space, Body, Inner Critic, and Social Life | Laurie Santos and Gretchen Rubin Sep 9, 2026
- The Science Of Building The Life You Want | Arthur Brooks Sep 7, 2026
- The Psychology Of Success | Guy Raz Sep 4, 2026
- When Life's Not Working, Don't Try Harder. Change Your Situation Instead. | Angela Duckworth Sep 2, 2026
- The Science of Habit Change, Why GLP-1s are Disrupting It, and How To Use It To Have Better Conversations | Charles Duhigg Aug 31, 2026