About the Practice
The MoMo Stack ('SnowQueen')
The Modern Monk Mindfulness Method
The SnowQueen is a picture of our own inner life and a map of how we transform our minds. At the crown sits Awareness — the Queen — whose role is to guide with clarity and wisdom. Below her are the loyal subjects: the mind, the heart, and the body.
Too often, the order flips. The body is seized by stress, the heart is swept up by fear or craving, the mind chatters endlessly — and suddenly, the subjects are ruling and the Queen is nowhere to be found.
The Modern Monk Practice restores balance. Step by step, it returns awareness to where it can see clearly and lead wisely.
The Four ‘Realms’ of the SnowQueen
- Steady Body (Yoga – Core Support)
We begin by reclaiming the body. Through simple postures and core support, the body becomes strong enough to hold us steady,
soft enough to let life move through. Instead
of being hijacked by stress, the body serves awareness with steadiness (by literally standing ‘at attention’). - Calm Heart (Breathwork – Treasure Chest)
Next, we turn to the emotions. Breathwork teaches the heart safety — that we can feel deeply without being overwhelmed. The inhale carries gratitude, the exhale carries compassion, and together they create space for emotions to move freely without ruling us. - Clear Mind (Meditation – Wonderspace)
The thinking mind is brilliant but restless. Meditation trains it to rest in openness, what we call the Wonderspace — a subtle posture of receptivity in the head and neck. Here, thoughts can arise and pass,
and the mind learns to serve clarity rather than chaos. - Wise Leadership (Mindfulness – Awareness)
At the crown, awareness takes its rightful seat. Not suppressing or rejecting the body, heart, or mind — but integrating them. From this ‘balcony’ perspective, awareness listens to all the voices and chooses wisely.
Why This Matters
At first, these steps feel deliberate — like a child learning to walk. But with repetition, they become natural. What begins as conscious effort becomes an embodied presence. The SnowQueen Stack gradually grows within us: steady body, calm heart, clear mind, and wise leadership.
This is not about adding something new. It is about uncovering what was always possible: living from our true authority, our adaptive mind. To be sovereign in our own lives, to bring stability, compassion, creativity, and wisdom into the world — simply by how we show up. This is the transformation: the caterpillar becoming the butterfly, the subject becoming sovereign, the Queen taking her throne.
Download This 1-page OverviewFor more information about the practice, check-out our free MoMo Mindfulness Guidebook (32 pages).
More InfoAbout Us
Manish Mallas, known as The Modern Monk, is a neuroscience-informed mindfulness teacher with a lineage that traces back 2,500 years to the time of the Buddha. He’s also the creator of the Modern Monk Method, a practical, evidence-based and emotionally resonant mindfulness framework. Manish has helped thousands of people rediscover awareness, clarity and compassion. His daily practice method is both profound and practical, designed not to help you escape life, but to help you show up for it, fully.
Manish is a highly experienced teacher and workshop facilitator based in Brisbane, Australia. He grew-up in Southern California and studied evolutionary biology at the University of California, San Diego, then spent 10 years in New York and London using yoga, breathwork and meditation to help opera singers achieve elite performances.
Working as a consultant with Culture Logics, he also does personal and leadership development work, delivering training around the world to organizations like Microsoft and Coca Cola, as well as working as a personal and executive coach. Currently he is Chief Mindfulness Officer at a large aged-care organization in Queensland, developing programs for both staff and residents.
