Happiness-Based Education

About me

My name is Ho Gia Anh Le. I am currently a Mindfulness and Well-being Trainer and Consultant from Le Hoang Pte. Ltd. I co-founded this start-up company to offer training and consultancy in mindfulness, happiness and well-being to communities in Singapore and Vietnam.
I was born in a rural area in Central Vietnam. I went to Hanoi for my 
undergraduate studies and to Melbourne, Australia for my postgraduate studies. I have grown so much from a village girl in a fishing village in Central Vietnam to a global citizen today, all thanks to the empowerment of education. Therefore, I would like to dedicate my life to provide quality education to more young people.

In addition to working as a research assistant for a number of United Nations agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations in Hanoi, I was also employed as a lecturer of Vietnam National University. 
I first joined the National University of Singapore as a lecturer in 2007. I am the founder of the NUS Mindfulness Interest Group – a group of faculty and students interested in the practice, teaching and research on mindfulness.

I am currently a mindfulness consultant and trainer for the Yale-NUS College, teaching courses on the Psychology of Mindfulness, A Mindful Journey to Happiness, Contemplative Education, Mindfulness for Research and Reflections, Face COVID -19 with Mindfulness & Compassion, for students, faculty and staff of the Yale-NUS College Community.

I have also been teaching a mindfulness course to faculty, staff and graduate students of Geography Department, National University of Singapore namely “Introduction to Mindfulness – Calm in the storm” to help them navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

I also conducted workshops for Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to cultivate empathy and creativity through mindfulness practices. I was a mentor for SUTD students for two years. In addition, I also mentored many different groups of NUS students.

I have been active in building communities of mindful living in Singapore, co-organizing monthly days of mindfulness, biannual mindfulness retreats as well as facilitating weekly practice sessions for people from all walks of life, including young people, teachers, children with special needs, and also the general public.
Since 2017, I have invested in a Happiness- Based Education project to help build happy schools in Vietnam, inspired by UNESCO’s Happy Schools Framework, to cultivate happiness and well-being in schools. Within all the three Happiness-Based Education (HBE) Schools currently in operation, we have 1,100 students and 110 teachers and staff. We have adopted a whole-school
approach to happiness and well-being by integrating mindfulness into daily activities in all our schools.
I have also offered mindfulness and social emotional learning workshops to hundreds of teachers and school administrators in both public and private schools in Vietnam. 
Since the beginning of the COVID-19, I have offered over hundreds of online workshops supporting the well-being of thousands of people, who are students, teachers, parents, and social entrepreneurs.

As a practitioner and trainer in mindfulness and well-being, I strongly believe in the value of mindfulness and compassion, as shown by research  in the following areas:

🌱 Manage stress and anxiety
🌱 Strengthen cognitive health and attention
🌱 Develop stronger capacity for self-care and self-compassion
🌱 Cultivate awareness and balance

🌱 Increase capacity to experience positive emotions such as contentment, awe, and gratitude
🌱 Foster empathy and connection
🌱 Grow inner resilience

🌱 Boost immune functions

Therefore, I am committed to building mindful living communities in Singapore, Vietnam and beyond.

More information about my work can be found at NUS Academia and my Linkedin profile

“I wanted to write this letter to you to thank you for your ‘virtual’ visit to my class this week during my Zoom seminar- the last seminar of my course, History of the British Empire to 1850. I wanted to use mindfulness techniques and a contemplative education approach to conclude the course. Doing so, I hoped, would create a relaxing and focused environment in which students could connect deeply with what they had learned during the semester. The aim was to create a unique opportunity for my students to consider what the course material meant to them on several different levels and how it connected with their own lives, their community, and the world around them. Not only did you help me create a pedagogical template to guide the students through this meditation on connection, but you also led a short meditation session at the beginning of the seminar that helped prepare the students for the subsequent meditation on connection. I also really appreciated how you taught the students about mindful communication. In the future I will discuss mindful communication with my students earlier in the semester. I was deeply impressed and touched by the depth and honesty of my students’ sharing during this last seminar, and I’m grateful to you for the role you played in facilitating this. It would be wonderful to have you join my classes in the future whether in person or virtually; your presence, energy and guidance have a transformative power no matter the physical distance.”

Dr. Jessica Hanser, University of British Columbia

“I was a frequent attendee at the mindfulness sessions with Le over the last two semesters.  I tried to make my attendance a regular practice because I greatly appreciated the opportunity to take a mindful pause in the middle of the week.  I found that not only did I return to my desk feeling refreshed after each session but that I have been able to integrate some of the lessons that I’ve learned into my daily routines to help maintain life-work and mind-body balance.  

Jenika , Yale – NUS College 

 “I feel that Ms. Ho has 3 qualities that are vital in providing support – the ability to empathize, the patience and willingness to listen, and a stable inner peace that allows you to act as a pillar of support. These 3 qualities allow her to give advice that are tailored to the individual student. 

I feel that Ms. Ho has shown these when interacting with me, and allowed me to understand myself better and how to better navigate in this chaotic rat race. It also helped that she provided a listening ear and HEART, when, more often than not, nobody has the time or patience to hear another person out.”

Nicolas Chua, Year 4, National University of Singapore

“I have really enjoyed the mindfulness sessions with Le over the past semesters. I benefit from this hour of calm amid the chaotic work week. It turns out to be both a time to take stock/look inward and a chance to connect and check in with colleagues in a meaningful way. The practices we learn can be integrated into our daily routines and can even be implemented in our programming with students. I really appreciate the chance to participate in these sessions.”

Beth – Yale – NUS College 

“I would like to thank you so much for having the mindfulness classes with us this semester! You have really inspired me (and I’m sure many other students in the class) with your commitment and positive attitude towards the practice and also with your continuous support and guidance throughout the sessions. “

Natasha

“My overall experience in the course has been wonderful. Our sessions have been a reliable source of calm and comfort these trying times. I’ve learnt many useful mindfulness habits and have slowly been integrating them into my daily routine. They help me cope with anxiety and change.”

Irfan

Testimonial

Recent Posts

How to help children learn to focus, be confident and create joy through mindfulness activities?

by Chung Tay, posted in Mindfulness for Children

It’s been almost 6 years since I first started facilitating mindfulness for children. I created a Mindfulness for Kids Group in early 2015 when my colleagues wanted to share mindfulness with their children. I volunteered to guide them, and slowly we formed a joyful group of kids and adults from France, India, Canada, the Philippines, the … Continue reading How to help children learn to focus, be confident and create joy through mindfulness activities?

Cultivating mindfulness for college students

by Chung Tay, posted in Mindfulness in Education

I have really enjoyed my journey of planting seeds of mindfulness, happiness and well-being among Yale-NUS College students since 2017. I have designed and conducted many different courses for the students such as Introduction to Mindfulness, A Mindful Journey to Happiness, Mindfulness and Compassion during COVID-19, Basic Mindfulness Practices for Self-care, Psychology of Mindfulness, Enhanced … Continue reading Cultivating mindfulness for college students

Cultivating Mindful Education during the Time of COVID-19

by Chung Tay, posted in Mindfulness Events

I am really honoured and super excited to be an invited speaker for the Global Mindfulness in Education Summit (Nov. 16-21, 2020). It is such a wonderful opportunity to share my experiences building communities of care & compassion, and deepening connection as a source of strength during this pandemic. I will share stories from Singapore and … Continue reading Cultivating Mindful Education during the Time of COVID-19

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