Episode
How to Not Overthink: A Former Monk's Tools for a Calm, Clear Mind | Sam Yo | Happiness | E525
- Published
- May 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3686
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Summary
Have you ever felt like every tab in your brain is open, and not one of them will close? That was Sam Yo at 23, the year before he walked away from a successful London stage career to spend years in a Thai Buddhist monastery. In this episode, I sit down with him for the conversation I needed when my own brain wouldn't stop running. Sam is now a Peloton instructor and the author of The Monk's Mindset (Blackstone, May 19, 2026). His arc, from London stage to Thai monastery to a global Peloton audience, was just featured in PEOPLE Magazine. He left a roller coaster of stage, sports car, and success because the noise inside had grown louder than the noise outside. What he learned in the silence is what he teaches his Peloton students and the readers of his new book: you don't need to escape your life to find stillness. You learn to carry it. We talk about why your overthinking isn't actually a thinking problem, what your nervous system is doing at two in the morning when you can't let a conversation go, and the small named practices that interrupt the spiral. Sam walks us through a 90-second breath exercise live on the recording, the three daily anchors he uses to keep himself tethered, and the three filters his teacher gave him to run before you react to anything. In This Episode Why your overthinking isn't a thinking problem (and what it actually is) The 4-2-6 breath that interrupts a 2 a.m. spiral in 90 seconds, walked through live on the episode The three daily anchors that quiet a restless mind: intention, reset, reflection The walking practice Sam's teacher gave him when he couldn't sit still and meditate How emptying your cup changes the way you listen in every relationship you have The three filters to run before you react: is it true, is it kind, is it necessary W…