When you start walking the “mindfulness path”, also known as “I need to get my sh!t together, STAT!”, you need help.
You need to work with your “stuff” from every angle you can think of.
You need to marinate yourself in new ideas.
In short, you need Rockstars and you need Resources.People who know. Techniques that work.
And after years of scouting the internet, I know a good number of both.
Here they are.
Sounds True
Sounds True is the go-to website for spiritual audio content. You can get some awesome freebies if you sign up, and I strongly recommend doing that. They have a show every week featuring experts on the spirituality front, and you can learn a lot just from these interviews.
Curvy Yoga
I send everyone who asks me about yoga to this site. Officially it is yoga for curvy people. Unofficially, also known as “this is how I see it”, it’s the yoga site for people who want to soak in body acceptance, and learn how to adapt the poses so that they work for *your* body.
Its founder, Anna Guest-Jelley, has just released a DVD, so make sure to check it out.
(also, Curvy Yoga has possibly the only logo on the internet with more swirls than mine)
Danielle LaPorte
It’s hard to define Danielle, since she’s such a powerhouse, but a good description would be “a wise chick who can show you how to live better and in alignment with your soul”. Yep, I think that describes her pretty well. If you need to set “goals with heart”, she’s your woman.
(random fact: Danielle and I share the same birthday (different year), and I’ve found out a whole lot of things about myself just from hearing her talk about what works for “her”. Proper spooky!)
Marianne Elliot
Yoga for political activists and change makers? Why yes! Marianne is a human rights advocate and a yoga teacher. So if you come from the world of Feminism and need someone who can talk yoga but who actually “gets” the facts of life re: the political world, you need to follow her. Especially if you are involved in some kind of activist work, you need what she teaches just to stay healthy.
Ane Axford – Sensitive and Thriving
Are you a Highly Sensitive Person? (Have you taken the test?). I am. I had a Hell of a time discovering it. And now I have a Hell of a time trying to live with it. Ane Axford is probably the second world expert in all things Highly Sensitive Person-related, so if you are one of us, you need her. Yes. You need her.
Kate Courageous
Kate is a life coach who focuses on courage and the tricky art of working with fear. If you need to work with your fear (because you want to rock your life already) but you need someone super gentle and kind, who is wise, smart and trustworthy, she’s your person. It’s not as easy as we would like, to find people who are rooted in integrity. She’s one of them, so make sure to keep her under your radar.
Tara Brach
I’ve been listening to Tara’s Dharma talks for years. Tara is a clinical psychologist and a Buddhist teacher. She distils Buddhist philosophy in a language you can actually understand. She has a huge archive on her site and you can listen to all of them for free (donations appreciated). She also offers tons and tons of meditations, so if you’re starting out, this is a great resource.
Alexandra Franzen
You need to get better at expressing yourself through writing? She’s your woman. Enough said.
Bari Tessler
I love Bari. She’s sweet and grounded and kind. Exactly the kind of person you need to hold your hand and support you as you work with your money issues. And trust me, you have money issues. Everyone has money issues. I bet you never thought you could work with them, but you can. And Bari is here to help us. Along with serious quantities of chocolate.
These should be enough to get you started. I’m gonna carry on adding to this list, because there’s so much good stuff out there and I want everyone to know about it.
Follow these rockstars. Sign up to their newsletters. Study at their feet.
And watch your worldview begin to shake… Slowly.
