About Me
About Cynthia Garner
Author. Mindful Leadership Coach.
I’m Cynthia Garner, full-time mindfulness teacher, disruptor, and single mom, host of the Welcome You Podcast, author of Fierce Boundaries and Out of Grace, and founder of the Aligned Mindfulness Institute. I am deeply devoted to breaking the cycle of generational trauma by being the mother I did not get to know, and through helping people come home to themselves and lead with presence in a chaotic world.
I specialize in nervous system regulation, trauma-informed leadership, and soul-centered approaches to personal and collective healing. With over two decades of practice, professional certifications in secular mindfulness, and a Doctorate in Body Mind Healing, I bring depth, warmth, and real-world insight to every space I enter.
My work bridges the personal and the systemic—because they’re never truly separate. I support women, educators, survivors, and soul-driven leaders who are ready to create purpose-driven lives rooted in truth, tenderness, and aligned action.
A Life Lived Fully: From the Margins to the Heart
My story begins before I had words. I was adopted at 18 months, following my birth mother’s separation from a violent partner. Raised in a home shaped by both love and trauma, I learned early to seek refuge in writing, music, and stillness. The wisdom I share now has been hard-won—earned through a lifetime of listening deeply to what hurts and alchemizing grief into wisdom that heals.
Over the years, I’ve worn many names: Fulbright Scholar, archaeologist, bluegrass musician, educator, survivor, single mother, eco-therapist, and narrative nonfiction author. But beneath every title was a deep longing—for safety, for worthiness, for a place to rest.
My journey has taken me from lightning storms on volcanoes in Guatemala to heartbreaks in quiet suburban kitchens. It has included divorcing a depressed alcoholic, healing from a body shut down by chronic pain and relational trauma, and reuniting with my birth family decades after being relinquished. Along the way, I’ve learned how to interrupt the cycle of generational harm, embody my soul’s higher calling, and claim ownership of my story.
What I Offer
My current offerings are soul-centered, purpose-driven, and grounded in lived experience and expert training:
Keynotes, panels, and media interviews on sustainable leadership, workplace wellness, trauma-informed systems change, and embodied healing
The Soul-Rest Women’s Retreat, a sacred space for women who hold up the world, designed to restore nervous system balance and cultivate courage from within
Workshops, talks, and writing that help individuals and communities reconnect to the body’s intelligence and recover their inner authority
Through Her Aligned Heart, my coaching platform, I guide over-functioning, perimenopausal women toward a life of greater alignment, compassion, and embodied wisdom. Whether through somatic practices, mindfulness teaching, or narrative writing, my work offers ferocity, aliveness, and a soft place to land.
A Story Still Unfolding
As an adoptee, single mother, and survivor of emotional and systemic trauma, I’ve spent my life learning how to turn poison into medicine. My memoir-in-progress, Thrown from the Nest, chronicles my journey from early relinquishment to reunion with my birth family—and the generations of grief and healing that came with it. My podcast, Welcome You, offers somatic tools and mindful practices to anyone on the path of recovering self-trust, restoring dignity, and creating soul-aligned change.
I believe that our nervous systems are contagious, and that each act of regulation, truth-telling, and presence ripples outward. Whether I’m working with a circle of women, a room of educators, or an auditorium full of change-makers, my aim is the same: to offer a soft place to land, a refuge for heart-centered leaders, and a clear way forward.
For Media & Speaking Inquiries
Please reach out to inquire about keynotes, podcast appearances, or collaborative partnerships. I welcome opportunities to speak to audiences who are ready to live and lead with depth, courage, and embodied care.