Leslie Booker, one of America’s leading dharma teachers, shares her insights on managing anxiety through community connection and mindfulness. She emphasizes the Buddhist concepts of impermanence and dissatisfaction, highlighting how awareness of our bodies can help settle anxious feelings. The conversation explores the role of meditation, movement, and social support in alleviating stress. Booker also introduces the Taming Anxiety Challenge, aimed at providing practical strategies for living intentionally with anxiety, encouraging listeners to embrace vulnerability and connection.
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insights INSIGHT
The Message of Anxiety
Anxiety signals something needing attention.
By pausing and checking in with your body and breath, you gain valuable information for course correction.
question_answer ANECDOTE
The Power of Squads
Booker relies on her support system ('squads') when navigating challenging situations.
Sharing anxieties with others can bring humor, perspective, and reveal underlying issues.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Burnout and External Pressures
Booker pushed herself to exhaustion while teaching, ignoring her body's signals.
This led to severe leg swelling and pain, highlighting the dangers of external pressures.
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Taming Anxiety Series - Episode 4: Welcome to the final episode in our Taming Anxiety Series! Today's guest, Leslie Booker – who goes by "Booker" – is one of America's leading dharma teachers. She began sharing the practice with vulnerable populations back in 2005 and is a graduate of three different training programs at Spirit Rock, including their four-year Retreat Teacher Training Program. In this conversation, Booker will make the case that one of the most important, even life-saving, tools when it comes to dealing with anxiety is our ability to connect with our communities. She also brings our attention to yet another Buddhist list – the "three characteristics." And she explains how bringing awareness to our bodies can help settle us in our most anxious moments. This, I should say, is something she's worked on with me personally. If you'd like to see that, you can actually do so, because we filmed it as part of our new Taming Anxiety Challenge, a ten-day meditation challenge which begins today over in the Ten Percent Happier app. Booker is one of the core teachers in the Taming Anxiety Challenge, which features short videos and guided meditations about how to live with anxiety more intentionally. In the app, you'll see her share strategies with me – and you – for putting into practice everything we talk about on the podcast today — including ways to normalize the experience of anxiety in your community. In fact, by joining the Taming Anxiety Challenge, you'll be part of a community of thousands of meditators learning to cope with anxiety. You can even invite your friends or family to join you in the Challenge – for free! You'll get a notification each time they meditate, so you can be accountable to and supportive of each other. You can join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You should be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/leslie-booker-358
10% Happier with Dan Harris 