In this episode of the Get Loved Up Podcast, Koya Webb welcomes Shelly Tygielski, public speaker, author of Sit Down to Rise Up, and Founder of Pandemic of Love. The road to healing does not run in a straight line and it does not have to be a lonely journey. Shelly shares how her book helps turn all the lessons of self-help into concrete action. She zeroes in on the power of community in healing you and how this community of care can inspire you to heal others too. She shares the genesis of Pandemic of Love and how it is rooted in the concept of mutual aid. Being in community with others doesn’t just help you survive, it is actually a requirement to thrive. Shelly shares many anecdotes that have all been instrumental, in one way or another, in the creation of her book. She looks back on that time she was kidnapped, the trials of being a single mom, and wrestling with the duality of being Jewish with a meditation practice.
Shelly Tygielski is the author of Sit Down to Rise Up and founder of the global grassroots mutual aid organization Pandemic of Love. Her work has been featured by over 100 media outlets, including CNN Heroes, The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS This Morning, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
A trauma-mindfulness teacher and a Garrison Institute Fellow, she has been called one of the 12 Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement By Mindful.org and teaches self-care and resilience at organizations around the world. Connect with her in the links below.
Amazon book page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1608687449
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mindfulskatergirl
Facebook Personal: http://www.facebook.com/shellytygielski
Facebook Professional: http://www.facebook.com/shellymeditation
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/shellytygielski
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/bentleyangel
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellymindfulness/
HIGHLIGHTS
06:19 People need each other to be the best versions of themselves
10:20 Getting kidnapped at 2 years old and emulating action
16:32 Inspiration for Pandemic of Love: Assuage fear and address mutual needs
25:57 Heart to heart proximity: Matching people to create authentic connections
29:52 Mutual aid: We need others not just to survive but thrive
35:03 A community of care with a formalized plan heals you so you can heal others
39:18 Generational trauma and healing from the past
44:10 Living the duality of being Jewish and running a meditation practice
47:19 A world where we can have difficult conversations and not cancel each other
49:31 Book recommendations: Classics like Catcher in the Rye and Catch-22
52:48 Connect with Shelly and get her book
QUOTES
07:27 "It's about understanding that we are all carrying the pieces that each other person needs to really be the best version of themselves. And so, even if we feel like we're not an expert in something... somebody else can help us along that journey, and vice versa."
15:50 "Having a sense of agency and having agency are two completely different things. And so, I just wanted to emulate that and I wanted to hang onto that story and really pay it forward."
22:22 "I always default to two questions... I'm fill in the blank. I'm upset. I'm scared. Whatever the emotion is, and what am I going to do about it? That's the first question, something tangible. And the second question is, and how do I come from a place of love when I answered that question?"
37:39 "Make sure you share that plan with someone... at least with one other person who becomes your self care buddy. But if you can create a community of care all the better... every single person in that community needs to have a formalized plan that they share with each other."
41:03 "Especially as women, when we kind of like dig into our lineage, we think about the intergenerational trauma and the way that our DNA has been affected and really recoded, if you will, rewritten, and what we can do to actually change that, which we can."
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