Sit Down to Rise Up: How Radical Self-Care Can Change the World

by Shelly Tygielski, Chelsea Handler (Foreword by), Sharon Salzberg (Afterword)

Overview

An empowering book on propelling profound social change by going inward, from a mindfulness teacher and activist who has turned personal practice into movements

The practice of self-care is most often touted for its profound mind, body, and spirit benefits. Shelly Tygielski shows that self-care can also be a powerful tool for spurring transformative collective action. In a winning combination of memoir, manifesto, and how-to, Shelly shares her evolution from a Jerusalem-born child of traditional Sephardic Jewish parents to a middle-class American suburban youth who questioned her faith to a young executive in corporate America. As she used radical self-care practices to manage a serious chronic health issue, she had an epiphany: finding true health and peace is not a solo endeavor but one that lives in connection with others. Tygielski considers herself an unlikely meditator, activist, and teacher. But as such, she is uniquely qualified to speak to all today who wonder, “What can I do?” or, “Will my actions even make a difference?” Tygielski’s work began as “me” work and transformed into “we” work. In Sit Down to Rise Up, she shows that this is possible for all of us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608687442
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	11/16/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	540,116
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Shelly Tygielski is a trauma-informed mindfulness teacher, self-care activist, and the founder of the global grassroots mutual aid organization Pandemic of Love. Her work has been featured by over one hundred media outlets, including CNN Heroes, the Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS This Morning, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. 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 and to audiences around the world.

Beloved comedian, bestselling author, TV personality, and activist Chelsea Handler lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Foreword Chelsea Handler xiii

Introduction 1

Part 1 Sit Down [The Inner Journey to Me]

Chapter 1 Agency 11

Chapter 2 Good Is Good Enough 29

Chapter 3 Not Broken 49

Chapter 4 Familiarization 65

Chapter 5 Sustainable Self-Care 85

Chapter 6 Kindsight 95

Part 2 Show Up [The Outer Journey to We]

Chapter 7 Where Is Our Village? 109

Chapter 8 Showing Up 121

Chapter 9 Circles of Influence and the Ripple Effect 143

Chapter 10 Mutual Aid: Solidarity, Not Charity 161

Part 3 Rise Up [The Movement to Us]

Chapter 11 Enough Is a Feast 185

Chapter 12 If Only for Today 203

Chapter 13 Creating Sustainable Movements 215

Afterword Sharon Salzberg 225

Sources 229

Acknowledgments 231

About the Author 239

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“[Shelly Tygielski is] saving people’s lives . . . and giving them hope.”
— President Joe Biden

“[Shelly Tygielski] is like a superhero whose special superpower is her heart.”
— Arianna Huffington

Editorial Reviews

09/20/2021

Mindfulness teacher Tygielski debuts with an uplifting guide on building a platform of social activism through meditation and channeling one’s energy into collective activism. The founder of the aid organization Pandemic of Love and a 2020 CNN Hero, Tygielski explains how to build personal courage, connections, and momentum to enact change in one’s community by “showing up”: “Show up for yourself and for others.... Show up consistently. Show up even when others don’t show up.” Three sections describe the communal journey: in “Sit Down,” Tygielski lays out “the inner journey to me” through meditation, arguing that “we are all broken” and have the responsibility to help others; in “Show Up,” she considers “the outer journey to we” through forming strong community bond and mutual support networks; and, finally, in “Rise Up,” she explains “the movement to us,” where one practices what one preaches by making sure everyone in one’s neighborhood has basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter met. Readers involved in community outreach will value Tygielski’s integration of self-reflection and humanitarian objectives for healing a broken world. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly