Who We Are
Awareness is a Santa Cruz wellness practice guided by certified life coach, photographer, Native American Marine Corps veteran, and long-time meditation practitioner Joseph Geist. We weave coaching, somatic awareness, breathwork, mindfulness, creativity, and nature into living practice spaces where people can slow down, feel safe, and explore what it means to be human together.
An Integrated Way of Working
Many spaces focus on a single method. Our practice weaves several. A session might begin in conversation, shift into sensing the body, include a simple breath practice, then invite creative expression or time outside. Each element supports the others. Clients do not just understand ideas; they experience change in their nervous system, relationships, and daily choices, step by step.
What Guides Us
Curiosity, embodiment, connection, and creative exploration sit at the center of everything we offer. We welcome many backgrounds and beliefs, and we trust each person's pace. Sessions unfold as shared inquiry rather than performance. Nature, contemplative practice, and art help us remember our belonging. Together, we explore what it might mean to live what is true.
Integrated | Embodied | Connected
Joseph Geist's Path
Awareness grew out of Joseph Geist's wish to serve his community in a quieter, more intimate way. As a certified life coach, Native American Marine Corps veteran, photographer, and long-time Vipassana practitioner, Joseph has spent years sitting with complexity. This practice brings those threads together as a space where discipline meets tenderness and inquiry meets everyday life.
A Practice Of Being
Rather than offering quick fixes, we treat Awareness as an ongoing practice of being human together. Ten years of Vipassana, Science and Non-Duality study, creative work, and community service shape how we listen and design each experience. People are invited to arrive as they are, feel their own pace, and explore what becomes possible when body, mind, nature, and relationship are included.