Rep. Tim Ryan: Mindfulness Helps Me Stay Grounded During Conflict (Video)

Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), author of A Mindful Nation, on how mindfulness helps him maintain a connection to his values during times of conflict. 

While we're learning about how mindfulness can help us achieve a state of awareness in the moment, it also can help us identify what makes us tick, and then find ways to dial it down. And who would know this better than a politicial embroiled in Washington's political gridlock. 

Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Mindful's June 2013 cover story, spoke with Huffington Post Live about how he stays grounded in those more heated moments on the hill. 

"It's easy to be good when times are good, it's sometimes harder to maintain a connection to your values and your integrity when times are tough or someone is in your face," says Ryan. "[Mindfulness] has helped me stay calm in those situations, stay respectful, be compassionate, because you have taught yourself, you've practiced, how to de-escalate your own emotional state."