I wholeheartedly recommend mindfulness. It is truly life changing.
Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world costs £8 and it is so much more than a book. You also receive an 8 week mindfulness course CD which is a great way to follow guided meditations.
The book is based on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). MBCT revolves around a straightforward form of mindfulness meditation which takes just a few minutes a day for the full benefits to be revealed. MBCT has been clinically proven to be at least as effective as drugs for depression and it is recommended by the UK’s National Institute of Clinical Excellence – in other words, it works. More importantly it also works for people who are not depressed but who are struggling to keep up with the constant demands of the modern world. MINDFULNESS focuses on promoting joy and peace rather than banishing unhappiness. It’s precisely focused to help ordinary people boost their happiness and confidence levels whilst also reducing anxiety, stress and irritability.
I started practicing mindfulness to help anxiety but when I no longer felt anxious I continued mindfulness meditation really just to help live a healthier lifestyle. It is so refreshing to be able to take 10 minutes out of the day and quiet the mind, to focus on the present moment.
I know a lot of people reading this are probably thinking, oh but I don’t suffer from anxiety and why do I want to meditate?
Mindfulness is for everyone. We can all benefit from looking after our mind, body and soul and switching off from work, social media and the worries of modern day living.
I was a little sceptical about buying a ‘self-help’ book as the only experience I have of these is watching Charlotte awkwardly look for self-help books before being too embarrassed to buy one in SATC. So yes, I had no experience and actually I just thought I would buy it and never read it.
However, this book is an easy read and breaks down the science of how the mind works in a simple but informative style. The facts they use are so enlightening and you start to reassess how you live almost instantly.
And it isn’t just an airy fairy world of meditators. A lot of well-known football players are using mindfulness to focus on the game. What’s more, many businesses are incorporating mindfulness in the workplace to increase productivity and employee wellbeing.
I can honestly say mindfulness has introduced me to a more peaceful, calm way of living. I now have no tolerance for crap yet at the same time I have more patience for things that I had often overlooked.
Go buy the book and let me know what you think.
PS. I was not gifted this book, I just love it!