CBS 60 Minutes, CNN’s Anderson Cooper Shine Light and Cameras on the Surge in Mindfulness Meditation

While Hearst Corp. Executive Austin Hearst Leads Investment in Emerging Growth Company eMindful

Vero Beach, FL – December 15, 2014 – The message Sunday from 60 Minutes echoed that of a seasoned investor group only days earlier: Mindfulness is here, now and mainstream. On Sunday’s edition of the long-running news program, CBS featured CNN’s Anderson Cooper in a report on mindfulness meditation’s growing popularity, and the many health and performance benefits for those who practice it. Earlier this month, a prominent investor group provided growth capital to eMindful Inc., an award-winning company serving Fortune 1000 employers and individuals with mindfulness training through live, online classes taught by leading mindfulness experts.

This latest group of investors in eMindful include the venture fund Bridge Builders Collaborative and Austin Hearst, a media executive, film producer, and member of the Hearst Corporation’s Board of Directors. Mr. Hearst also has joined eMindful’s Board following the $3.4 million funding round.

“Bridge Builders Collaborative invests in well-run companies with scalable business models in the mind-training space,” Mr. Hearst said. “We are impressed with eMindful’s cost-effective, scientifically demonstrated mindfulness-based programs, their experience in the corporate market and the ability to use their accountable wellness platform to have a positive social impact. We are pleased to support the company’s growth in both the corporate and consumer markets.”

eMindful is the only company delivering evidence-based wellness and disease management programs to employers, insurers and consumers through live, online classrooms, where participants can see, hear, talk and chat with their instructor and other members. Since 2007 eMindful has received industry and scientific acclaim as a way to reduce stress, smoking, overeating, chemical dependency, pain and other behaviors that contribute to chronic illnesses for millions of Americans. eMindful’s results have been validated by research led by Aetna and Duke Integrative Medicine, and the company has trained thousands of participants from around the world.

Early customers include Aetna, Humana, Florida Power & Light, the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the State of Arizona, among others. The National Business Group on Health in 2012 recognized Aetna and eMindful for innovation in addressing employee stress, and the company received a “Florida Companies to Watch Award” from a state business-university consortium. Major media interest in mindfulness has grown alongside a dramatic increase in scientific research. Peer-reviewed articles in scientific publications have grown more than ten-fold over the past decade.

eMindful works with experts from esteemed organizations including Duke Integrative Medicine, the NeuroNova Centre in Toronto and the University of Calgary in designing and delivering mindfulness-based programs. Among the company’s popular courses are Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction® (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness, Mindfulness at Work, QuitSmart® Mindfully and Weight Balance for Life.

About eMindful
eMindful’s evidence-based wellness and disease management programs have been adopted by leading employers and health insurers such as NextEra Energy and Aetna to help target today’s biggest health cost drivers – stress, obesity, diabetes, smoking, cancer, and other conditions. The company offers consumers and employers convenient access to an internationally acclaimed team of instructors, available through live online courses where participants can see, hear, chat and talk with each other and their instructor.

The company’s Mindfulness at Work® program was recognized by the National Business Group on Health for innovation. Since 2007, eMindful’s corporate partners have averaged estimated savings of $8 for every $1 spent, reducing their healthcare costs while improving employees’ productivity, health and happiness. eMindful members have experienced results including 22 percent improved sleep, 37 percent decreased stress, 59 percent reversal of metabolic syndrome, and 40 percent success in smoking cessation. To learn more about eMindful or how to participate in a mindfulness program, visit eMindful.com