Living Well With Open CEO + Co-Founder Raed Khawaja

MEET RAED KHAWAJA, CEO and Co-founder of Open, a company taking the lead in mindful wellness. Raed’s personal practices echo those offered through the Open app and the in-person studio in Los Angeles—blending the best of meditation, breathwork, movement, and sound. 

With a background in building billion-dollar brands and scaling startups, Raed is known for his creative approach. His implementation of design principles, and brand strategy has helped Open to carve out its distinctive space in the market. Open is a bullseye for readers like ours, who are interested in ‘living well’ from every angle. The L.A. studio has quickly become a favorite for its unique and inspiring design, and the practices offered both digitally and in-person are as effective as they are down-to-earth. 

We talked to Raed about his unique perspective on holistic health, his daily flow, and how Open is providing a practical gateway for those grappling with integrating mindfulness into their busy lives.   

NAME: Raed Khawaja of Open 

OPEN IN A NUTSHELL: A place to come to your senses. A mindfulness studio for everyone. 

HOW IT STARTED: We wanted to connect people to the feeling of presence and connection in a reliable way. I started hosting group meditations in San Francisco and paid close attention to what got in the way of folks reliably connecting to the benefits of their practice. These subtle observations laid seed to the experience design principles we adhere to this day.   

Open is a space to become alive as well as a new take on mindfulness, blending the best of breathwork, meditation, movement, and sound. You can practice on the Open app and at our Open LA studio.  

FAVE SPOTS NEAR THE OPEN L.A. STUDIO? Gjelina, Owa, and Market near Venice Beach.  

MY BIGGEST LESSON SINCE STARTING OPEN: Make decisions on a generational time horizon. Short-term thinking produces short-term results. Considering impact in terms of decades rather than years has helped sharpen my judgment.   

MY WELLNESS PHILOSOPHY IN ONE SENTENCE: Life is a gift.  

IF I COULD GIVE JUST ONE PIECE OF HEALTH ADVICE IT WOULD BE… Everything in moderation—even moderation itself. Over-optimization is not sustainable. Find joy in the suffering.  

BEST WELLNESS TIP EVER? “Remember, it’s supposed to be fun.” - Eviatar Frankel  

5 THINGS ALWAYS IN MY MEDICINE CABINET: Oregano Oil, Water, Vitamin C, Elderberry, Ginger. 

WHAT’S DRIVING ME CURRENTLY: I am really inspired by humanity and the broader context and ecosystem we exist within. Human beings have demonstrated a fascinating capacity to build tools and technologies that improve our ability to learn, produce, and live. Unfortunately, we haven’t mastered the art of equal distribution of resources and knowledge. We have the potential to change this very quickly, provided we address the ailments of awareness, focused attention, connection, and compassion.  

MY MOST IMPORTANT WELLNESS GOAL THIS YEAR: Learn to surf (better). Being in the ocean more consistently and learning a really complex skill at the same time is a delicious combo platter of happiness and vitality for me.  

Bring your wellness goals to life with the Open app and in-person at the stunning LA studio. TCM readers can experience Open’s Breathwork + Meditation for 30 days free. 

Inhale, exhale, and join Raed for a 30-day free trial with code TCM when you download Open

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