ALLYSON PIMENTEL, EDD

About Me
Allyson Pimentel, EdD | Psychologist and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher
.jpg)
Dr. Allyson Pimentel is a psychologist and long-time Vipassana meditation practitioner and teacher who works at the intersections of mindfulness, mental health, healing, and social justice. Allyson has been teaching mindfulness in clinical, medical, secular and spiritual settings for nearly twenty years.
Allyson serves as the Co-Director of Mindful USC at the University of Southern California. Additionally, she teaches at the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) and is a board member and teacher at InsightLA. Her writings on mindfulness have appeared in Lion’s Roar magazine and in Afrikan Wisdom: New Voices Talk Black Liberation, Buddhism and Beyond. Previously, Allyson was a psychologist in private clinical practice and a senior psychologist at Bellevue Medical Center in New York City. At Bellevue, Allyson co-founded the Mind-Body Clinic, a service that brought mindfulness-based treatment approaches to people living with psychiatric and medical conditions.
Allyson holds a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University and a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University. She has completed numerous professional mindfulness teacher training programs, as well as dedicated practitioner courses in the Vipassana/Insight meditation tradition, and also is a registered yoga teacher. Originally from New York, Allyson now lives with her family in Los Angeles on unceded Tongva, Chumash, and Kizh land. She loves sharing mindfulness as a pathway for individual and collective healing, wisdom, and freedom.
“You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop”
Rumi
Public Offerings
Let's Practice Together
On Zoom
Free drop-in group! Together, we explore principles and practices of mindfulness meditation from a multiplicity of perspectives, drawing inspiration from poetry, Buddhist teachings, modern neuroscience, secular mindfulness, indigenous wisdom, the natural world, popular culture, mysticism, and the lived experience of one another. Each session includes reflections on a theme,10-15 minutes of guided meditation, and conversation in community. Meditators at any level of practice are welcome.
Livestream & In Person @ 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, Billy Wilder Theater
Free drop-in group! Mindful awareness meditation is the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one’s physical, mental, and emotional experiences. Mindfulness has scientific support as a means to reduce stress, improve attention, boost the immune system, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote a general sense of health and well-being. These half-hour weekly sessions in person at the Hammer or on line via Livestream are open to people of all levels of experience.
Various Classes & Retreats
Check Insight LA's website for Allyson's offerings