Written by Joey Casey: The Elite Muscle & Mindset Wellness Coach 🏳️‍🌈

Introduction

In high-stakes leadership roles, clarity is currency and resilience is the hidden engine of success. For queer executives, navigating power, visibility, and authenticity adds a unique layer of complexity to an already demanding environment. That’s where mindfulness becomes more than a wellness buzzword, it becomes a form of liberation. The executive world can be relentlessly performative. But for LGBTQ+ professionals, there’s often an extra script: navigating microaggressions, code-switching, or the invisible emotional labor of being “the only one” in the room. Mindfulness offers a way to return to centre, to be present, embodied, and responsive rather than reactive.

Why Mindfulness Is Queer Power

Mindfulness is often sold as stress reduction, and sure, that’s part of it. But for queer professionals, it’s also:

• A political tool to reclaim presence in environments that marginalise us
• A self-soothing practice in moments of dysphoria, erasure, or tokenisation
• A path to intuition, authenticity, and embodied leadership
• A compass to your intuition when logic says ‘fit in’ but your gut says ‘be real’
• A mirror for truth reflecting who you are when no one’s watching, so you can lead with deeper alignment
• A form of quiet resistance, softening in a world that rewards hardness, slowing down in a system obsessed with speed and considers soft as weak.

Let’s be real, it’s not just about staying calm. It’s about being you in rooms that were not always built for you LGBT+ people. Mindfulness helps you widen the lens so your leadership is not just reactive, but intentional. You are not just managing people but modeling what self-integrity looks like.

Deep Dive: Core Mindfulness Tools for Queer Executives

1. Intentional Breathing

Breathing is one of the easiest ways to calm yourself down. When you focus on your breath and connect it with feelings of safety or pride, it becomes even more powerful. The act of breathing deeply slows your heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and activates your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the ‘rest and digest’ system, which reduces stress and promotes relaxation.

Try This:

• Breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, then exhale for 6 counts.
• As you breathe in, imagine you’re taking in pride, safety, or the voice of someone who supports you.
• When you exhale, release stress, code-switching, or any feelings of shame.
• Release Negative Energy; As you exhale, let go of anything that doesn’t serve you, like stress, fear, self-doubt, or shame. With every out-breath, imagine releasing these feelings, creating space for more peace and affirmation.

Bonus: Make your breathwork even more meaningful by adding sensory reminders. Use a candle from a queer-owned brand, listen to music by queer artists, the jewellery your partner lovingly gave you or keep a soft object, like a silk handkerchief, nearby to touch while you breathe.

2. Emotional Check-Ins:

Many queer people learn to suppress or sanitise emotions to ‘stay professional’ but emotional check-ins help you return to your body without bypassing what’s real. Emotional check-ins are about taking a moment to truly notice and feel what’s going on inside, without pretending everything is fine when it’s not. It’s about reconnecting with your emotions, rather than pushing them away.

Try This:

• Ask: ‘Why am I feeling like this?’ before you attempt to explain it away.
• Use mood wheels or emotion charts to name what’s underneath stress or fatigue. This helps you understand what’s beneath stress, fatigue, or frustration.
• Record your thoughts using a journaling app or a voice memo. Just let your feelings flow without judging or editing them

Bonus: Keep an encrypted, private ‘truth log’ a place where you name your emotional reality without apology. Re-reading it weekly builds awareness and alignment.

3. Visualization for Creating Safe Spaces

One powerful tool to help you feel more grounded and protected in stressful or high-pressure environments is visualization. Our brains and bodies often don’t know the difference between something that’s happening in the present and something we’re imagining. So, when you visualize protection and safety, your nervous system responds as if that safety is actually there with you, even if you’re in a challenging situation. This process can help calm your mind and body, especially when dealing with anxiety or feelings of threat.

Try This:

1. Close your eyes for a few moments before you enter any stressful or high-pressure situation.
2. Picture yourself standing tall and calm, imagining a warm, protective light or energy field surrounding you. This could look like a bubble, a shield, or any image that makes you feel safe.
3. As you breathe, think of the people, places, or experiences that have made you feel loved and supported in the past; your favourite travel experience, your chosen family, a relaxing cafe, or affirming moments in your life.
4. Visualize that these memories or people are with you now, offering strength, comfort, and protection.

Bonus: To make your visualization even more powerful, anchor it with a physical reminder. This could be something you carry with you, like a piece of jewelry, a stone, or a small object that represents safety or support to you.

4. Mini-Mindfulness during Transitions

If you are moving quickly from one thing to the next; a Zoom call to a meeting, a presentation to an event, or a full workday into personal time, the moments between these transitions often create the most stress. These small gaps in time are when your body and mind try to catch up, and that’s where the overwhelm can slip in.

Pause for 10-30 seconds: Take a brief break between tasks or meetings. It doesn’t have to be long, just enough to reset.

Place your hand on your heart or belly: This physical gesture helps you reconnect with your body and ground yourself.

Take your mind elsewhere: Imagine a place or person that gives you joy, a recent fun event or something fun that you have planned for this weekend.

Focus on your breath: Breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4, and exhale slowly for 6. This deep breathing helps calm your nervous system.

Ask: ‘What do I need in this next space?‘: Before jumping into the next task, check in with yourself. Consider what you need:

• Clarity to focus
• Courage to speak up or take action
• Softness to remain open and empathetic
• Confidence to show up as yourself

Bonus: Set a Reminder: Use an app like Apple Shortcuts or a calendar reminder to prompt you to pause and check in with yourself before every meeting or significant transition.

5. Community-Driven Mindfulness

Mindfulness isn’t just a solitary practice, it can be incredibly powerful when shared with others. The beauty of community-driven mindfulness is that it taps into the collective energy of a group. When queer people come together in mindful spaces, it amplifies the impact of the practice. Not only does it allow for shared reflection and growth, but it creates a supportive environment where everyone’s experiences are acknowledged and honored as we cultivate resiliance.

Try This:

• Join or host a queer peer circle: This could be a virtual or in-person meeting where everyone comes together to meditate, share experiences, or reflect on the week. Each person could have a chance to check in and share something they are grateful for, a challenge they’ve faced, or a lesson learned.
• Participate in coaching or accountability groups: A coaching group focused on mindfulness or personal development can help deepen the practice. In these groups, members can offer guidance, share resources, and support each other’s growth.
• Regular mindfulness calls: If you are not able to meet in person, consider setting up a weekly or bi-weekly accountability call where you and your community members check in with each other. Further community support can be found HERE and HERE

Bonus: Set up a shared document or digital space; Google Drive, a Slack channel, WhatsApp group or a shared Pinterest board where each member can add useful resources.

6. Affirmation Work Rooted in Lived Experience

Affirmations can be incredibly powerful tools for shifting your mindset, but often, the standard, generic affirmations feel disconnected from the lived realities of queer and trans individuals. Instead of reciting clichés like “I am enough” it’s more impactful to craft affirmations that speak directly to your truth, your identity, and your experience. By tailoring your affirmations to your specific experiences, you’re actively reshaping the narrative around who you are and what you deserve.

Try this:

“My leadership expands the space for others to breathe.”
This speaks to the importance of inclusivity and how queer leaders often create space for others to exist freely. It recognises that your leadership is not just about your own success but about uplifting and creating opportunities for others in your community.

“I am allowed to be excellent and emotional.”
For many queer and trans individuals, there is a cultural expectation to suppress emotions in order to appear ‘strong’ or ‘stoic,’ especially in professional environments. This affirmation allows you to embrace both your excellence and your emotional depth without shame.

“I am not a stereotype; I am the fullness of my experiences.”
This affirmation pushes back against the stereotypes often imposed on queer and trans people, reminding you that you are multi-dimensional and complex, shaped by your unique experiences, not by others’ assumptions.

“I am worthy of love, joy, and community just as I am.”
This simple yet powerful affirmation recognizes the inherent worth that comes with being your true self, not needing to fit into a mold or prove anything to others.

“I belong in every space I occupy, and I will take up space with pride.”
This one reminds you that you deserve to exist and thrive in all spaces, whether they are personal, professional, or social, and that your presence is valuable.

Bonus: Creating a set of affirmations for different areas of your life can help you reinforce self-love and authenticity in all your relationships, whether personal, professional, or within the community.

Final Words

Mindfulness is more than just a tool for relaxation, it is an essential practice for navigating the complexities of queer life. Whether you are a professional facing the pressures of discrimination, a trans person navigating dysphoria, or simply someone looking for ways to align more deeply with your authentic self, mindfulness offers a way to reclaim your presence and power.

From intentional breathing to community-driven practices, mindfulness allows you to center yourself in a world that often tries to force you to shrink. It helps you confront your emotions without judgment, establish boundaries without guilt, and show up with confidence in spaces that weren’t always built for you.

By grounding yourself in practices like body mapping, affirmation work, and mindfulness in transition, you create a stronger sense of emotional resilience, clarity, and empowerment. These practices help you navigate your journey not as someone defined by societal constraints, but as someone who is constantly reshaping their identity, reclaiming their space, and standing in their full truth.

Ultimately, mindfulness is queer power—a quiet yet revolutionary tool that allows you to thrive, both individually and as part of a vibrant, supportive community.

Hi, I’m Joey! I live in the beautiful coastal town of Sitges, Spain with my amazing husband, Jose. Together, we lift each other up and strive every day to be the best versions of ourselves. If something you read here speaks to you or feels familiar, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s connect and explore how we can map out a meaningful path forward, together.

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