Vanessa Potter

Vanessa Potter is a producer, author and meditation advocate. She has over 15 years of experience as an award-winning television producer. In 2012 she suffered a rare neurological condition that left her blind and paralysed for 12 months. The experience left her with a deep curiosity to understand her mind. She spent months researching, learning and trying to comprehend her brain, she wanted to recover as much of her vision as possible. Although she is still partially sighted, she has learned to walk again. Vanessa discovered meditation and used it to cope with the anxiety brought on by the effects of her illness. 

She decided to put meditation to the test, her research eventually led her to team up with scientists at Cambridge University. Together they developed an EEG science-art exhibition in 2015 that allowed people to see their meditative brainwaves as art and music. The exhibition gained notoriety, Vanessa delivered a TEDx talk in Belgium on her experience including the coming together of science and art to produce the art. Vanessa is a huge advocate for meditative practice and natural treatment. Vanessa is an eloquent, passionate speaker, her passion for her work to shine through with every talk.

The research she undertook resulted in her first book Patient H69: The Story of my Lost Sight which detailed her transition from waking up having completely lost her sight in 2012 and as her confused brain tried to make sense of the world around her as she slowly regained part of her sight. Eventually, she found her way by working through 10 unique methods to train her mind, including hypnosis, mediation and yoga. She inadvertently changed meditation research. Her second book ‘Finding My Right Mind’ gave detailed accounts of her practice alongside learnings from measurements of her brain activity as part of her continued study with Cambridge University neuroscientists. Venessa has written for Marie Claire, The Telegraph and Good House Keeping and has appeared on several radio stations. 

More recently Vanessa continues to further research in natural health with her latest initiative ParkBathe in collaboration with the University of Derby already has data that suggests that natural treatments are an effective health model. She has made several guest appearances including on BBC Radio 4 and her feature in Mosiac Science has over 100,000 downloads. Vanessa regularly delivers talks for people of all ages from children to adults, she is a particularly experienced speaker where mental resilience and mental wellbeing are concerned.