About Molly

Molly Birkholm founded these programs after seeing trauma similar to what she witnessed in war survivors in people working in the corporate world, hospitals, and schools. The suffering was so deep that it felt imperative to build mental wellness into the structure of how people work, connect, and innovate. While the heart of the programs is rooted in the same philosophies and evidence-based practices as her military and veteran work, her programs have been developed with the intention to create healthy, sustainable, fulfilling, and productive work ecosystems. Molly partners with leading innovators to create world-class programs everywhere they are needed.

As a CEO, speaker, author, advisor, educator, and teacher trainer, Molly brings her commitment to global mental wellness to life through programs at top organizations around the world, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Goldman Sachs, Ritz-Carlton, the Young Presidents’ Organization, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Redwheel Advisors, startups, and many more. She also serves as an advisor to leaders, including c-suite executives, authors, actors, and athletes, helping them thrive and achieve peak performance amidst some of the most stressful circumstances.

As a co-founder of Warriors at Ease, Molly has spent 17 years pioneering evidence-based resilience programs and trauma-treatment programs, which are used throughout the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She has conducted innovative clinical research with the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense on these protocols. She has trained thousands of program facilitators in these methodologies who work at more than 65 military bases and VAs, serving millions of service members and veterans, as well as foreign militaries and for people living in war-affected areas. Molly continues this work with the veteran and first responder community as the lead developer of the Warrior PATHH Meditation Program for the Boulder Crest Foundation, which provides free Post-Traumatic Growth retreats and programs for veterans and first responders. She also created the Meditation Facilitator Training Programs for veteran graduates of the program who then became Warrior PATHH guides, which is now being taught at 14 locations across the country.

After surviving a near-death car accident in NYC during her original career in Investment Banking for Bank of America, Molly began searching for ways to manage her high stress job while recovering from her physical injuries and post-traumatic stress. Yoga and meditation proved to be some of the most effective tools in her recovery. She eventually left banking and moved to Asia to study in ashrams and monasteries. Upon returning to the US, she began working with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The programs and research eventually led her to start Warriors at Ease in 2008, together with three other leaders in the field.

Molly created two 24-class series video courses and wrote two books for The Great Courses on ‘Building Your Resilience: Finding Meaning in Adversity’ and ‘iRest: Integrative Restoration for Deep Relaxation.’ She also hosted the 54-episode Women’s Empowerment Initiative, leading a global group of inspiring women through the program together with other female leaders. She is a featured teacher and teacher trainer on Yoga International. She was also the co-host of the podcast ‘Conversations Matter.’

Molly has a diverse education with both a Finance degree from Miami University and extensive immersive training in mindfulness and yoga, with several Advanced Yoga Teacher Training degrees and as well as certification as an iRest Yoga Nidra Teacher Trainer for the iRest Institute. As a Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and Meditation Teacher Trainer and Yoga Nidra Teacher Trainer, Molly has trained thousands of teachers all over the world in everything from ashrams and monasteries to hospitals, schools, militaries, government agencies, national mental health programs, addiction recovery programs, treatment facilities, and nature-based education programs, helping to weave these life-changing tools into places that can benefit the most.

As an experience facilitator, writer, poet, and multi-disciplinary artist, Molly is passionate about creating beautiful and masterfully crafted, immersive experiences that support people and teams in becoming the fullest expression of their true selves.

Molly and her family live in Miami, Florida on an inter-generational family compound, a peaceable kingdom of humans and animals.  Her passion is spending time immersed in nature with people she loves, gardening, traveling, reading, and, of course, practicing yoga and meditation. Her deepest heartfelt desire is to alleviate suffering in all its forms while still living a balanced, joyful life.

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Partial List of Past Clients

Molly Birkholm