“Kelly McGonigal is a leader driven by compassion and pragmatism.” – Forbes.com 20 Inspiring Women
Contact Kelly McGonigal
Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and a leading expert in the new field of “science-help.” She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine into practical strategies for health, happiness, and personal success.
Her most recent book, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It (Penguin 2012), explores the latest research on motivation, temptation, and procrastination, as well as what it takes to transform habits, persevere at challenges, and make a successful change. Her audio series The Neuroscience of Change (Sounds True 2012) weaves the newest findings of science with Eastern contemplative wisdom to give listeners a revolutionary process for personal transformation. She is also the author of Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Pain (New Harbinger, 2009), which translates recent advances in neuroscience and medicine into mind-body strategies for relieving chronic pain, stress, depression, and anxiety.
She teaches for a wide range of programs at Stanford University, including the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, the Graduate School of Business, and the School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program,. She has received a number of teaching awards for her undergraduate psychology courses, including Stanford University’s highest teaching honor, the Walter J. Gores award. Her popular public courses through Stanford’s Continuing Studies program—including the Science of Willpower and the Science of Compassion—demonstrate the applications of psychological science to personal health and happiness, as well as organizational success and social change. Through a wide range of conferences, workshops, university-affiliated programs, and consulting, Dr. McGonigal also provides continuing education and training to executives, teachers, healthcare providers, and other professionals.
Her psychology research has been published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, and The Journal of Happiness Studies. She also blogs for Psychology Today and Mindful.org, and is a regular contributor to popular magazines such as IDEA Fitness Journal, Shambhala Sun, and Yoga Journal. She received the 2011 Best Trade Magazine Article award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (“Mindfulness & Weight Loss” IDEA Fitness Journal), and an honorable mention for Best Service Article (“Your Brain on Meditation” Yoga Journal).
A long-time practitioner of yoga and meditation, Dr. McGonigal is a founding member of the Yoga Service Council and serves on the advisory boards of several non-profit organizations bringing yoga and meditation to underserved and at-risk populations, including Yoga Bear (providing yoga in hospitals nationwide and to cancer survivors and their caregivers) and The Art of Yoga Project (brining yoga into juvenile detention facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area). Through her work with the Yoga Service Council and the International Association of Yoga Therapists, she supports research and education on mind-body practices and holistic healthcare. From 2005-2012, Dr. McGonigal served as the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal of mind-body research, healthcare policy, and clinical practice. In 2011, she received the IAYT Presidential Award for “Extraordinary Service to the Field of Yoga Therapy.” She is a frequent presenter at national health and wellness conferences and retreats, advocating for an evidence-based approach to integrative medicine.
Dr. McGonigal’s work has been covered widely by the media, including the CBS Evening News, U.S. News and World Report, CNN.com, O! The Oprah Magazine, Time magazine, USA Today, and the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology. She is also a frequent source of expert advice and commentary for media outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC.com, Web MD, Time, Fitness, Women’s Health, and more. In 2010, Forbes named her one of the 20 most inspiring women to follow on Twitter. In 2012, she teamed up with the Oprah Winfrey Network and Superbetter Labs to create an online game that would spread the benefits of gratitude to millions of people worldwide.
Dr. McGonigal received her PhD in psychology from Stanford University, with a concentration in humanistic medicine. She received a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Mass Communication from Boston University.
She is also passionate about the benefits of physical exercise and has been certified as a group fitness instructor since 2000. In her free time, she continues to teach yoga, dance, and group fitness classes – because sometimes moving, breathing, and sweating is the best thing you can do to create health, joy, and resilience.
As a former fitness instructor and personal trainer, I have seen Kelly’s name popping up for many years. I admire her passion and knowledge, and how she has positioned herself to do so much good in bringing together Western science and Eastern mindful practices. I myself am currently pursuing a degree in clinical social work and yoga teacher training so that I may explore and offer a holistic practice to my clients. Kelly is one of my inspirations for this goal and desire, and I am grateful for her work.
I saw Kelly on TVO and she got my attention.She was talking about the brain and addiction
I read her book and she is a yoga fan. She gives good tips too on how to keep a good health.
just finished reading yr book maximum willpower ( UK edition )…. tears of gratitude…. speechless ….also ordered yr CDs THE NEUROSCIENCE OF CHANGE ……i would like to send u some gift from here in india …pl accept it .. GOD BLESS U N YR NEAR ONES ……deepak