Welcome to I Will Hold Space For Your Darkness; a First Responder Mental Health Podcast hosted by Erin Jane.
A former Australian Police Officer and Detective, wife of an American Firefighter, previous crisis counsellor for a suicide prevention organization and current CISM trained, trauma informed and certified Life and Wellness Coach for First Responders, Emergency Services Members, Spouses and Loved Ones.
In this episode, Erin speaks with Josh Grandinetti, an active duty Firefighter and Paramedic with over 15 years experience, who currently holds the rank of Captain with the Eloy Fire District in Arizona. Josh is the Founder of "Foundation Fortified", an organisation bringing the immense benefits of Mindfulness Training to First Responders, with practices uniquely designed and tailored for them. Josh is also a Certified Mindfulness Instructor, with a trauma sensitive certification.
Josh tells Erin about a chance encounter that led him to completely change his initial career trajectory and become a firefighter. He discusses his early career experience, getting hired at 19 and how he ended up working at his current department in Eloy, an epic skydiving location, which Erin has some experience with.
Josh talks about always having a unique sense of wonder and intrigue, even as a kid, that eventually drew him along the path of discovering the practice of mindfulness meditation; essentially having an awareness of our moment to moment experiences, through acknowledgement, acceptance and a complete lack of judgement.
He has been a practitioner for over eight years and realised how beneficial it is, not only in his capacity as a Firefighter, but in every other aspect of his life as well. It occurred to him how consequential mindfulness could be, if utilised correctly by the First Responder community, to help with their overall health, stress response and wellness.
You only have to listen to Josh speak for a few moments to understand how passionate an advocate he is for the practice of mindfulness. He kindly takes the time during this conversation, to explain in detail what the practice of mindfulness actually is, how it's performed, who it's for and the kind of benefits one can expect to receive from it.
Josh became a mindfulness instructor and his organisation "Foundation Fortified" was able to come to fruition after an on-duty injury sidelined him this past year. He tells Erin about what Foundation Fortified wants to offer First Responders, as well as being a resource for the partners, spouses and children of those members. He also believes teaching and implementing this practice to recruits at the academy level, so they have it a resource for the entirety of their career, will prove immensely beneficial.
Josh is full of knowledge, experience and passion for mindfulness, not only as a practitioner, but as a teacher. His unique insight into what it's like to perform a First Responder role positions him perfectly to be able to offer this unique, specially designed practice as a tool to enrich the lives and overall wellness of fellow Emergency Services Members.
It was a true pleasure to speak with Josh and we both hope you enjoy listening to this episode!
Please follow him on social media at Foundation Fortified;
Check out his website: https://www.foundationfortified.org/
and find some mindfulness meditations on his YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_2osLcuwVDNzqh6E49l5Rg
Please feel free to reach out if you'd like a topic discussed, would like to be a guest or are interested in receiving coaching services from Erin Jane.
Email: info@erinjanecoaching.com
Website: https://www.erinjanecoaching.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinjanecoaching
Call or Text: +1 617 396 4695
You can watch the episodes as video on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/@Erin-Jane-Coaching?si=XI8q0z3mhmzO_a7_
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