<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-24055 " src="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/raorao-hoffman-podcast.png" alt="Jie Rao Raorao Hoffman Podcast Evolve Hoffman China" width="389" height="498" srcset="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/raorao-hoffman-podcast.png 740w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/raorao-hoffman-podcast-234x300.png 234w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/raorao-hoffman-podcast-350x448.png 350w" sizes="(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" />&#8220;We understand each other, and we are saying we share the same humanity.&#8220;
In this episode, Drew sits down just outside Shanghai with Rao Rao,  Hoffman China teacher trainee, co-founder and CEO of the Hoffman China Center, and seasoned business leader.
In June of 2024, life pushed Rao Rao in the direction of Hoffman. She&#8217;d been doing healing work after a series of events that caused her to turn inward. Already immersed in the world of Vipassana meditation when she came to the Process, she was determined to end her suffering and felt that would happen if she could get to the ego-less state. But at her Process, her teacher told her she needed to be messier. That she needed to let herself grow, to speak up for herself, to do what she wants rather than what she thinks she should do. This was the beginning of her big internal transformation.
Listen in to hear the beautiful, embodied stories of this transformational shift, including a moment with a hawk while seated on Guardian Rock at the Petaluma retreat site.
This is exciting news about the establishment of the first Hoffman Process center in China. Rao Rao describes why there is a great need for Hoffman in China at this time. She shares that we are all the same in our capacity to feel and be present in our hearts.
<h3>More about Rao Rao:</h3>
Rao Rao holds an M.Sc. in Management Research from <a href="https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/">Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. </a>She also holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from <a href="https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/">Tsinghua University</a>. She is the co-founder and CEO of the Hoffman China Center and a Hoffman teacher trainee. She is a seasoned business leader with nearly two decades of experience in consulting, marketing, strategy, and operations across industries such as consumer goods, TMT, and internet ventures. Driven by her passion for human consciousness and organizational transformation, she transitioned from corporate leadership in 2022 to pursue this mission. Since April 2024, she has served as a consultant for <a href="https://evolve.org/">Evolve</a> Foundation Fund and has spearheaded the launch of the Hoffman Process in China.
Rao Rao resides in Shanghai with her husband, Yuekui, their two daughters, Yaoyao and Nannan, and their golden hamster, Xiaobai.

<h5>Listen on Apple Podcasts</h5>
<h3>As mentioned in this episode:</h3>
<a href="https://evolve.org/team/bo-shao/">About Bo Shao</a>:
Bo Shao is a successful serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist. In 2018, he stepped away from all commercial activities to devote himself entirely to philanthropy. Bo invested his own money to start the Evolve Foundation. Evolve aims to increase the happiness of the entire society and raise the consciousness level of humanity.
Hoffman teachers:
<a href="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/charles-raz-ingrasci/">Raz Ingrasci</a> &#8211; Listen to <a href="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/podcast/episode-21-raz-ingrasci/">Raz on the Hoffman Podcast: Husband, Father, Son</a>
Volker Krohn &#8211; Listen to <a href="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/podcast/s5e14-volker-krohn/">Volker on the Hoffman Podcast: Re-Initiated Into the Family of Humanity</a>
<a href="https://evolve.org/team/caroline-guan/">Caroline Guan</a> &#8211; General Manager for <a href="https://evolve.org/team/">Evolve Institute in China</a>
<a href="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/research-papers/">More on the research done on the Hoffman Process</a>
<a href="https://www.dhamma.org/en/index">Vipassana meditation and retreat</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_death">Ego death</a>
&#8220;The way out is through.&#8221;
(From the Hoffman Process Integration Manual)
<figure id="attachment_24244" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-24244" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-24244" src="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-300x225.jpg" alt="Guardian Rock, Petaluma Hoffman Process Retreat Center" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-640x480.jpg 640w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew-350x263.jpg 350w, https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Guardian-Rock-by-Drew.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-24244" class="wp-caption-text">Guardian Rock, photo by Drew Horning</figcaption></figure>
Guardian Rock
<a href="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/hoffmanhasanewhome/">Hoffman Process Retreat Center, </a><a href="https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/hoffmanhasanewhome/">Petaluma, California</a>
Guardian Rock can be accessed by following a hiking trail up one of the hills on the site. It overlooks a stunning valley.
Petaluma&#8217;s name originates from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miwok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miwok</a> village of Péta Lúuma, located on the banks of the <a title="Petaluma River" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petaluma_River">Petaluma River</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petaluma,_California">read more</a>&#8230;
<a href="https://parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/learn/blog/raptors-sonoma-countys-wintertime-visitors#:~:text=Bald%20eagle.%20These%20large%2C%20distinctive%20eagles%20were,endangered%20here%2C%20their%20numbers%20are%20slowly%20increasing">Eagles in Petaluma</a>, California &#8211;
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle">Bald Eagles</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_eagle">Golden Eagles</a>.
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