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Easy to read.get the CD's directly from Zinn, 4 of them, they walk you through the program. Is working on me so far, 2 weeks in.6 to go.
Very detailed regarding mindfulness in structured activities as well as during the routine of daily life. I have returned to a daily meditation practice and find myself being more in the here and now during the morning hussle as well as in traffic. This book has helped me do that.
For example, you'll be doing things such breathing exercises or yoga postures (I can also recommend Exercise Beats Depression as another good resource for those struggling with depression).Since the mind plays a factor in stress-related disorders, and very undertreated in Western medicine, I feel like this book will fill a much needed niche for many people. Through mindful meditation, one can gain new kinds of control and wisdom in their lives.
It is based on the author's experience with thousands of people who have participated in a course called the Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program at the Univ. This is a great resource for people who suffer from any type of chronic (long-term) health problems.
The book's tool is mindfulness meditation- a form of meditation originally developed in the Buddhist traditions- defined as a moment-to-moment awareness. of Massachusetts Medical Center.
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness is intended to be that program rolled up into a book. The book is very "hands on", so don't expect to just read it and be done with it.
With over five-hundred pages, there's plenty of wisdom here to suck up.
It is packed with lots of insights which are now CBT techniques. Given that this book was written nearly 20 years ago it is incredible. He was way ahead of his time in examining the mind body connection and I have found it very helpfull in my meditation practice and daily living.It has helped me keep perspective in facing pain and enjoy life dispite the pain. I found this a very helpful book. I now "be" rather than "do" all the time and I marvel at how I used to run around like a fool being busy and not enjoying the moment.
The book includes the valuable details of Kabat-Zinn's 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (e.g., sitting meditation, body scan meditations, Hatha yoga), which may prove extremely useful for those that don't have the resources to partipate directly. This is one of the most personally influential books of my lifetime. Full Catastrophe Living is THE seminal manual on mindfulness meditation as Jon Kabat-Zinn applied it to modern day medical and psychological problems. The only downside to this book is that some of the mindfulness concepts are difficult to grasp. It introduced me to the world of mindfulness meditation and as the title implies, the book taught me how to more fully embrace the present moment (good and bad). You will not only learn how to cultivate a non-judgmental, non-goal directed, manner of present moment awareness, but also gain important knowledge regarding the mind-body connection. Like learning any other type of skill, mindfulness ability develops through practice. I recommend using some type of mindfulness meditation training aid to accompany this work.Mindfulness Meditation and Stress Reduction for Beginners: The Garden of NOW
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