“Diseases aren't the only thing that can be viral. Love and hope and kindness and a lot of positive things can be viral as well.” - Shelly Tygielski
Self-care is not self-indulgence. It is a moral obligation to take care of yourself. This is the message of Shelly Tygielski, a self-care activist, mindfulness teacher, and the founder of Pandemic of Love.
After the 2016 election, Shelly knew that she had to take action to make the world a better place. She worked with the Women’s March movement and noticed that many activists would get burned out. Using her skills as a mindfulness teacher, she was able to help these activists take better care of themselves so they could continue showing up for others.
Now, Shelly is connecting volunteers across the globe with people who have been impacted by COVID-19. She is our guest on this week’s episode of Rock Your Joy and discusses the importance of self-care, compassion, and how to celebrate little victories.
- (02:19) - Self-care activism
- (03:32) - Shelly's mindfulness journey
- (07:27) - Mindfulness-based stress reduction
- (10:17) - Pandemic of Love
- (21:42) - Non-profit disruption
- (24:51) - Community safety net
- (27:35) - Moral obligation
- (33:40) - How is Shelly cultivating joy?
Shelly Tygielski is the Founder of Pandemic of Love, a global, grass-roots volunteer-led mutual aid community that has directly matched over 700,000 people since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, accounting for over $42 million in direct transactions. If you would like to get involved with Pandemic of Love by providing assistance to a community member you can complete this form.
She is a trauma-informed mindfulness teacher, a community organizer, self-care activist and an author, with a forthcoming book, “Sit Down to Rise Up” due out in the Fall of 2021 from New World Publishing.
Shelly’s work has been featured on CNN, Forbes, Upworthy, The Kelly Clarkson Show and TIME magazine and she was recently recognized by President-Elect Joe Biden as being one of the individuals that is restoring “the soul of America.”
Aine Rock is an artist, entrepreneur, mom and High Performance Coach working on becoming the best version of herself and inspiring others to do the same. Rock Your Joy is a place for women to share the unique ways they find, cultivate, and celebrate joy. We’re often so focused on things happening to us that we forget that joy exists within us. Tune in every other week as we find that joy, together.
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Podcast episode production by Dante32.
