Meet our Founder, Gina Murdock
Writer, Speaker, Yoga + Meditation Teacher, Community Organizer
Hello, I am glad you’re here!
The seeds of this organization were planted more than 10 years ago with a flash of inspiration as I was skiing in the woods to a backcountry hut outside of Aspen where I live. I was listening to Simon Sinek’s book “Start with Why”. I love the silence and tranquility of nature and feel there is no better antidote to the stresses of our daily lives than to get outside and breathe in the mountain air, but on this day I felt called to turn on this book while I was skinning up the track.
I had started several projects since moving to Aspen from Carbondale in 2009. The first one, Aspen Yoga Society, was born out of my desire for connection and unity among the various yoga studios and teachers in the valley. I didn’t know anyone when I moved to Aspen (except my future husband, Jerry), but I was a practicing yoga teacher and remember feeling this sense of isolation and competitiveness within the teachers and studios in the valley which shocked and saddened me. I felt it was the antithesis of the intent of the practice I loved. For me, yoga was about unity and service and personal transformation and I was evangelical about it! I had gotten a concussion after a car accident in 2007 that led me to quit my job as a journalist and take up yoga religiously (which strangely led me to where I am today so I can say I am grateful for that crash, can you relate?) Yoga became my savior; it was the only thing that made me feel like “me” again. For giving me back my life, I am devoted to the practice of yoga and the other things it led me to explore - like meditation and spiritual psychology - forevermore. Yoga has been an incredible pathway to knowing my own heart and soul and to building a sense of community within the place I live and beyond. Gratitude for the practice doesn’t quite capture the depth of my feeling for it, but it’s a good start.
I hosted a myriad of events under the Aspen Yoga Society umbrella during my early years in Aspen including large gatherings in downtown Aspen called “Yoga in Action” as well as a focus on bringing yoga and mindfulness to The Aspen Institute. I learned about “The Aspen Idea” when I first came to town and felt immediately connected to it in a deep and visceral way. This “idea”, coined by Walter Paepcke the visionary founder of The Aspen Institute among various other wonderful things, is that Aspen is a place that can nourish and connect mind, body and spirit. He also said, “Aspen is a place where the human spirit can flourish” and I believed that and felt it deep in my bones since the day I moved to town. There is magic here: Magic is alive in these mountains, within the forest of trees, the rivers and valleys and in the hearts of the local people who choose to live here. Surely that magic was alive in the place I was skiing that day many years ago thinking deep thoughts based on Sinek’s voice prompting me to explore, “What’s my Why?”
The intention of Walter Paepcke and his wife Elizabeth and the vision they had since the 1940’s for Aspen as a place to nourish mind, body and spirit is alive inside of me. It resonates deeply. It is a big part of the reason I morphed Aspen Yoga Society into a bigger visionary endeavor called Aspen City of Wellbeing (ACW) in 2014. This happened after an auspicious meeting with world-renowned author and teacher Dr. Deepak Chopra who became my mentor. With Deepak’s help, and through an extensive process of community organizing, we endeavored to create an actual “City of Wellbeing” in Aspen where we would measure and improve wellbeing for all people. After a few years of this incredibly inspiring work, ACW created an event called “Lead with Love” in 2016. This event was hosted at The Aspen Institute to honor the Paepcke’s and their vision. Lead with Love was meant to give people a felt sense of wellbeing, connection, joy and tangible tools to become heart-centered leaders. This event (which also happened to be my 40th birthday) was a huge success and the name Lead with Love stuck and eventually became the name of our 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization.
To me, Lead with Love includes all of the energy and intention of both Aspen Yoga Society and Aspen City of Wellbeing with a much broader, global reach and a kick ass name that inspires me, and hopefully lots of other people, to do just that every day.
After running this organization for a while and breaking away from the singular focus on wellbeing that we had wth ACW, I knew Lead with Love had a greater purpose. Hearing Sinek’s inquiry that fateful day on skis I discovered my “Why”, and in that the why of this organization.
“We exist to shift culture from fear to love.”
I felt it like an electrical shock. I was hooked. This is mine. This is ours. This is the call of our time.
From that exquisite moment walking on skis in the snowy wilderness of the Hunter Creek Valley, I knew what my purpose was. I know that if I stay focused on shifting within myself from fear to love I am part of that cultural shift. This is an everyday, every hour, every minute exercise! This is the purpose of this organization that was born from my heart as a vehicle to give back and make change. Lead with Love is a vehicle for us all to be the change we wish to see, to choose love over fear each moment, and to have the awareness and support to do so. This is not an individual mission, it is our collective mission. If it resonates with you then I hope you will be part of this movement by joining an event, workshop or retreat and adding your voice and heart to the collective.
Gina Murdock Bio -
Gina Murdock is an Aspen, Colo. based writer, yoga & meditation teacher, inspirational speaker & community organizer. She is founder of the Aspen Yoga Society, The Aspen City of Wellbeing, Lead with Love, The Love Ninjas and the Mind, Body, Spirit Rx content brand. Gina’s mission is to shift culture from fear to love from the inside out. All of her endeavors are intended to help people thrive and find joy and freedom in mind, body and spirit. Gina and her husband Jerry created and support the Mind, Body, Spirit Series at The Aspen Institute where Gina and her Lead with Love team also teach yoga and meditation at events. Gina has a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica with a special emphasis on Consciousness, Health, and Healing. Gina is a certified Chopra yoga and meditation teacher as well as a certified Bikram and Vinyasa Flow yoga teacher and retreat guide who teaches internationally. Gina has had the pleasure of teaching yoga to such luminaries as Sir Richard Branson, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Actress Goldie Hawn, Musician Michael Franti, writer Arianna Huffington and more. She taught yoga on Franti’s Soulshine Tour to hundreds of people, at Wanderlust Festival, Telluride Yoga Festival, Yoga on the Mountain and Yoga in Action Day and the annual Lead with Love Summit in Aspen which she also created. Gina is also a published author and inspirational public speaker known for humor, enthusiasm, authenticity and vulnerability.
Gina is passionate about optimal wellbeing for the planet and people and leading from the heart. Her absolute belief is that we always have a choice and we can choose love when given the tools to create the awareness to do so. Gina is a founding member of Dr. Deepak Chopra’s Self Directed Biological Transformation Initiative and has willingly submitted her body to science to prove the effectiveness of mind/body practices on optimal health! Gina is an active board member of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES), The Center for Living Peace, The Aspen Brain Institute and CASA of the Ninth as well as an advisor to The Chopra Foundation and CTZNWELL. Gina is a former radio and newspaper journalist and contributor to Origin Magazine and Mantra Yoga and Health Magazine . She continues to write a monthly column for The Aspen Times as well as publish a monthly newsletter for Lead with Love called “Founder’s Letter”. Gina lives by these mantras: “Let the beauty you love, be what you do.” (Rumi); “Be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi); and “WOOO-HOOO!” (Gina)
“GINA WAS TRULY GIFTED IN THE WAY SHE LEAD THE MEDITATIONS. I NEVER EXPECTED LIVE MUSIC, CHANTING AND SINGING TO BE INFUSED INTO EVERYTHING WE DID EVERYDAY, PLUS THE JOY OF THE IMPROMPTU GROUP SING-ALONGS- THAT WAS SUCH A SURPRISE AND ADDED SO MUCH RICHNESS TO THE EXPERIENCE. THE SERVICES THAT WERE MADE AVAILABLE HELPED SO MUCH TO MOVE THE ENERGIES THAT INEVITABLY GET STIRRED UP IN DEEP EMOTIONAL WORK.”
“THE GROUP GINA CURATED WAS THERE TO CELEBRATE THE DIVERSITY OF HUMANITY AND OUR UNIQUENESS WHICH IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL ASPECT OF LIFE. IT WAS PURE LOVE, PEACE, HARMONY, HUMILITY AND MUTUAL SUPPORT IN A SAFE AND LOVING CONTAINER. IT ALLOWED EACH OF US TO LEARN FROM ONE ANOTHER, GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVES, AND APPRECIATE THE RICHNESS THAT DIFFERENT CULTURES, BACKGROUNDS, AND INDIVIDUALS BRING TO THE WORLD.”
“GINA’S ABILITY TO CREATE A SAFE SPACE IS UNPARALLELED. I HAVE NEVER FELT SO SAFE, LOVED, AND ACCEPTED FOR WHO I AM WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE I’VE NEVER MET. THERE WAS NEVER A MOMENT DURING THE WHOLE WEEK THAT I FELT SELF CONSCIOUS ABOUT SOMETHING I SAID OR DID. TRULY AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE FOR ME!”
Click The Photos Below To Download A High Resolution Version
