Julie Potiker
Julie Potiker is a mindfulness expert, author of “Life Falls Apart, but You Don’t Have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm In the Midst of Chaos.” and recovering attorney.
In this week’s new episode Julie shares how she began her serious study and investigation of mindfulness. In 2006, Julie began exhibiting symptoms of a possible brain tumor. “The wrong words kept coming out of my mouth,” she shares. “I’d say ‘captino’ instead of ‘cappuccino,’ ‘maginal’ instead of ‘magical,’ ‘bunkey burvey’ instead of ‘topsy turvy.’ She went to a neurologist fearing the worst. After a thorough exam, the doctor asked her about her life — what her days consisted of, her family constellation, her schedule and volunteer work. Julie was a typical baby boomer, sandwiched between three adolescent kids (including identical twin daughters) and aging parents.
He asked her whether she had ever heard of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction; she hadn’t. He suggested that mindfulness training was what she needed in order to improve her health. After graduating from the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of California, San Diego, Julie went on to become trained to teach Mindful Self-Compassion, and completed the Positive Neuroplasticity Training Professional Course with Rick Hanson. Today, Julie shares these and other mindfulness techniques with the world through her Mindful Methods for Life trainings and her new book.
Julie also shares her tips for staying calm in the midst of chaos - and we’ve included them below!
1. Up your meditation practice: Try 10 minutes twice a day – or 20 minutes twice a day if you can make time. Look for guided meditations on Insight Timer - mix it up so that your mind is relaxing into the practice.
2. Practice mindfulness while brushing your teeth: This is a great place to start. Begin your mindful day as you wake up and do your morning routine. Brush your teeth mindfully by tuning your full attention into each step (i.e., putting on the paste, brushing, rinsing) and each sensation (i.e., tastes, smells, and textures; the feeling of the brush). Tip: it’s easier if you close your eyes!
3. Practice taking in the good: Amidst the chaos, life is full of beautiful moments. Whenever you experience one, really take it in for a few breaths and relish it. Do this often and you will begin to experience the beauty of rewiring your brain for happiness.
4. Call yourself “sweetheart”: Choose something silly and sweet to call yourself and use this term of endearment to soften and comfort you when things feel rough. Let this practice bring you back into love and compassion whenever you need it.
5. Practice Loving Kindness: Loving Kindness invites you to expand your ability to have compassion for yourself and others, including those whom you find off-putting. Here are a few phrases to experiment with: “May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.” You can also try replacing “I” with “you,” or with “all beings.”
. . . and more!
“These mindfulness techniques and methods are so incredibly healing. I feel like if I can help people have a better relationship with themselves, they can have a better relationship with others - and then the whole bar for humanity is raised.”
Tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM
Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632
To connect with Julie and learn more visit her website www.MindfulMethodsForLife.com and on Facebook @mindfulmethodsforlife and on Twitter @juliepotiker and you can purchase her book here
Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.