Manfred began hosting daily group meditations in March 2025, inspired by the clarity and steadiness he cultivated during a 10-day, 100-hour immersive course at the Vipassana Meditation Centre of BC in the winter of 2024. He offered 55 weekday sessions, each 40 minutes long over Zoom, creating a consistent space for participants to ground themselves, regulate stress, and deepen their understanding of mindfulness in community.

When work resumed, Manfred paused the weekday sessions and immersed himself in production as a sound mixer on the demanding 16-week shoot of Little House on the Prairie for Netflix. He quickly noticed that his productivity and capacity to remain calm amid on-set pressures were not the same. With the intention of clearing stress accumulated over the work week — minimizing buildup and burnout — he reactivated the practice as weekly grounding sessions, also 40 minutes on Zoom. Participants are encouraged to keep cameras and microphones off so they can practice comfortably in their private space, and joining incognito further supports a strong sense of privacy.

Participants consistently describe the sessions as practical and deeply restorative. As Ryan Wall (Sound department) shares: “Past attempts to use breathing techniques for reducing on-set anxiety were difficult, requiring a quiet spot and timed attention. I've attend Manfred’s weekly meditations for a few months now and they have provided easy-to-implement tools that allow me to calm my nervous system any time anywhere on set.” Alanna Holder (Riches, Craft Services) reflects: “Every session is great, but this one really at the end, to go on a guided meditation journey, I loved it, I drifted into a deep relaxation — semiconscious state after you finished. It was fantastic!” And Krista Salchert (Catering department) adds: “Thank you for leading this journey to find the peace within, and teaching us techniques to return to this peace throughout our days.”