Sit, Stay & Heal with Phyllis Coletta

Stacey Chillemi
  • 0.0 (0)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Train your “puppy mind” with humor and heart to learn to sit, stay, and actually heal. Your mind’s a wild puppy—let’s train it. Former trial lawyer turned Zen chaplain and laugh-out-loud storyteller Phyllis Coletta, JD, uses real-life stories to make meditation simple, secular, and doable—no special postures or mantras, just sit, stay, and (yep) heal. If you can love a dog, you can love your mind… and watch it become your best friend.

Episodes

  1. 12/16/2025

    When You Grow and They Don’t: Use Mindfulness to Heal Your Relationships

    When you finally start becoming who you truly are, not everyone will like the new you. This episode is about how to stay grounded, kind, and clear, regardless. Host Lisa Urbanski sits down with author Phyllis Coletta to explore what it really means to bring a “trained mind” into real life — family, work, friendships, and all the messy in-between moments. You’ll learn how to:Use mindfulness to calm your reactions and stop taking everything so personallyNavigate relationship changes when you start growing, and others don’tSet healthy boundaries without drowning in guilt or people-pleasingRepair and deepen parent–child relationships after years of stress or controlWalk through identity shifts (at home and at work) with more courage and clarityIf you’re in a season of growth and it feels like your life is being rearranged, this conversation will help you feel less alone and more supported as you become the person you truly are. 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    33 min

  2. 12/09/2025

    Self-Guided Healing: Train Your Mind Like a Good Dog

    What if you could stop outsourcing your healing and finally learn to calm your own mind? In this episode, host Lisa Urbanski talks with Phyllis Coletta, author of How to Be a Good Dog, about what real healing looks like in everyday life. Through powerful stories of marriage, cancer, grief, and caregiving, Phyllis explains how meditation, stillness, and self-guided practice can help you move from chaos to calm—without pretending your trauma isn’t real. In this episode, you’ll learn how to: 🧠 Understand what self-guided healing is and why guided meditations aren’t enough on their own 🧘‍♀️ Use meditation, stillness, and awareness to regulate emotions instead of numbing out 🚨 Recognize when trauma and anxiety need professional support (and why that’s not a failure) 🌊 Face long-standing fears—like illness, loss, and being alone—without getting swallowed by them  🍃 Shift from “woundiness” to wisdom and build a calm, reliable inner presence 🐕 See how energy, mindset, and calm leadership affect not just people, but animals and relationships 🌍 Make small daily choices that support your nervous system, resilience, and impact on the world Instead of another quick fix, this is a gentle, honest roadmap to building an “alpha mind” that leads with wisdom instead of reactivity… even when life feels overwhelming. 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    40 min

  3. 12/02/2025

    Stop Doomscrolling: Train Your Brain to “Leave It”

    If your thumb lives on your phone and your brain never shuts up, you’re not “busy”—you’re being trained like a dog. Host Stacey Chillemi sits down with Phyllis Coletta to show you how to flip the script, retrain your mind, and use her playful “Leave It” protocol to handle intrusive thoughts and phone urges like a boss. You’ll learn: 📵 How to catch “fake news” thoughts before they hijack your day 🐶 How to use the “Leave It” puppy protocol on your own mind 📱 How to surf phone urges instead of drowning in doomscrolling 🌬️ A 60-second breathing reset to calm anxiety on demand 💛 How kinder self-talk and self-compassion rewire old patterns 🔥 If your phone and thoughts are running your life, this episode hands you the leash. 🔗 Show Notes & Resources Mind training + “Leave It” support doc: https://95f72eee-8948-4bb1-ac4d-a4728ea4d29a-1.tiiny.site/ Additional resource / guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1du-qRPVDMlQz6z8gzHP7oHE8Qh3OVX46/view?usp=sharing 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    46 min

  4. 11/25/2025

    Can You TRAIN Your Brain to STAY Focused Like a Dog?

    If your brain bolts like an untrained puppy, this episode is the leash that finally snaps it back into calm, focused power. Host Lisa Urbanski sits down with author Phyllis Coletta to turn the dog command “stay” into a no-nonsense training plan for your mind. You’ll learn: Why “stay” is the hardest mental command—and how to finally nail itSimple mind-training moves that beat digital distraction and busynessHow to find the tiny gap between thoughts and turn it into your superpowerThe “dog breed” of your mind today—and how to upgrade it over timeDaily sit-and-stay habits that lower drama and raise peace on commandDownload a free chart on what kind of dog you are here: https://tinyurl.com/bd7dtrey 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    33 min

  5. 11/18/2025

    Sit Your Brain Down: Puppy Mind Tricks you NEED To Try

    If your brain’s bouncing like a puppy, this episode is your leash; simple moves to sit, breathe, and feel peace fast. Host Lisa Urbanski sits down with Phyllis Coletta, author of How to Be a Good Dog, for a heartfelt conversation. You’ll learn: 2-minute “landing” to stop the frenzyPuppy-mind training (love > force)Tiny habits for daily mindfulnessHow stillness heals stress + old hurts 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    42 min

  6. 11/11/2025

    Tame Your Puppy Mind: Meditation Made Easy

    Do you sit down to meditate and instantly start thinking about laundry, emails, and everybody else’s problems? 😂 You’re not bad at meditation — you just have a puppy mind. In this episode, host Lisa Urbanski and author Phyllis Coletta ( How to Be a Good Dog ) show you a super simple way to calm your mind in just 2 minutes a day. You’ll learn: • what a “puppy mind” is (and why it’s normal) • a 2-minute meditation anyone can do • how to stop scrolling and get present • why meditation helps healers, moms & busy women • how to build a daily practice without guilt Get your own Micro-Meditation freebie: https://tinyurl.com/bddv7xhx 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    29 min

  7. 10/30/2025

    Calm your Racing Brain with this Puppy Mind Trick

    If your brain bounces like a puppy, this one’s for you. Author and teacher Phyllis Coletta, JD shows you how to turn the “puppy mind” into a calm companion—using humor, compassion, and tiny habits you can do anywhere. What you’ll get: SIT: posture + breath + a 60-second resetSTAY: gentle “leashes” (breath, counting, mantra, hand-on-heart) when thoughts boltHEAL: meet tough emotions with kindness (not shutdown)Starter plan: a playful 7-day momentum builder📲 Download Phyllis' FREE Micro-Meditation Guide HERE 🔗 Links & Resources Website: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/ Blog: https://www.howtobeagooddog.com/blog Contact: phyllis@howtobeagooddog.com 📘 Get the Book — How to Be a Good Dog: Learning to Sit, Stay, and Heal BookBaby: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Good-Dog-Learning-Stay/dp/B0F86PDJ3R Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/be/book/how-to-be-a-good-dog/id6745525078 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-be-a-good-dog-phyllis-coletta/1147392035

    48 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

Train your “puppy mind” with humor and heart to learn to sit, stay, and actually heal. Your mind’s a wild puppy—let’s train it. Former trial lawyer turned Zen chaplain and laugh-out-loud storyteller Phyllis Coletta, JD, uses real-life stories to make meditation simple, secular, and doable—no special postures or mantras, just sit, stay, and (yep) heal. If you can love a dog, you can love your mind… and watch it become your best friend.

Information