Meet Susan
About Susan
Susan Taylor, PhD, is a nutritional biochemist, contemplative teacher, author, and integrative health practitioner whose work bridges modern science and contemplative practice. For more than four decades, she has explored the relationship between mind, body, breath, nourishment, and awareness, helping people cultivate greater clarity, resilience, and inner stability in an increasingly complex world.
Drawing from nutritional science, Yoga Science, meditation, and modern physiology, Dr. Taylor's teaching focuses on the practical conditions that shape human experience. Her work extends beyond health alone to explore how attention, habits, nervous system regulation, nourishment, and contemplative practice influence the way we think, feel, and live.
Dr. Taylor has worked with the Department of Defense, major corporations, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions, bringing a grounded, science-informed approach to personal and professional well-being. For more than 30 years, she has taught nationally and internationally, integrating ancient wisdom and modern science to support resilience, vitality, and lifelong growth.
She is the creator of the Meditation Specialist Competency Training, a professional certification program for leaders and practitioners, and host of The Meditative Shift podcast. Dr. Taylor is also the author of Feeling Good Matters, Return to Radiance, and The Overnight Diet.
Her work is guided by a simple belief: when we learn to train the mind, regulate the nervous system, and live with greater awareness, we are better able to meet life without losing ourselves within it.
Lab to Life
My path has always been about exploration — first in the lab, then in life. I began in the world of science, studying biochemistry and nutrition to understand what truly sustains us. The lab gave me answers, but also left me with deeper questions — why some people thrived while others lived in quiet depletion.
That search eventually led me to the Himalayas, where I saw firsthand that nourishment is more than biology. Sitting in a tent high in the mountains, I understood that clarity, steadiness, and connection are as essential as food itself. Today, my work brings these worlds together — the rigor of science and the depth of lived practice.
Life in Practice
I live the practices I teach. My mornings start with meditation and Sanskrit study, followed by a walk in nature. Strength training and movement keep me grounded, and I pay attention to the food, breath, and energy that carry me through the day. These are the rhythms that keep me steady and remind me that health isn’t an idea — it’s how we live, moment to moment.
Life itself is a practice. To stay well, we must continually return inward, anchoring ourselves in something deeper than our circumstances. That’s what sustains me, and it’s the same foundation I share through my work.
Let’s Stay Connected
If you’d like to explore my work further, you can join the community, listen to the podcast, or dive into courses that bring these practices into daily life.