I was sent a review copy of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Bob Stahl, PH.D and Elisha Goldstein, PH.D. which includes a MP3 CD with eight hours of guided meditations. Of course as a yoga and meditation teacher I was ecstatic to receive such a book and looked forward to reading about this “groundbreaking program to alleviate stress”.

Let me start by saying I was very impressed by the scientific research that went into the forward especially the discussion of neuroplasticity and how it pertains to mindfullness. I was not a fan of the CD only because I did not find the voices used to be relaxing to me personally, however; the content itself was quality and followed along with the chapters of the workbook.

The content on the workbook itself was not groundbreaking, it is drawn from many modalities including yoga – as the small section on illustrated yoga poses attests. What is groundbreaking is the format and presentation.  Meditations were explained and provided in layman’s terms, easy to follow and achieve results.  I enjoyed getting back in touch with meditation techniques I haven’t used in a while – such as mindful eating, which I was taught as part of an eating disorder program.  This book is truly a blueprint to alleviating stress, it collects and distributes many techniques to its reader so the hard work is done for you, you can just sit back and relax.

Here’s just some of what the authors discuss:
    ·   Why mindfulness? What the data tells us about its effects on stress, anxiety,
    depression, and other common conditions.
    ·   How to beat the urge to binge with mindful eating
    ·   How washing the dishes, making dinner, driving to work, and other daily activities can be opportunities for cultivating greater mindfulness
    ·   How mindfulness practice actually changes the brain, so that it is rewired for greater happiness and ease.
    ·   How even the busiest, most stressed-out person can adopt a daily mindfulness
    program
    ·   How to practice mindful yoga
    ·   Myth vs. fact about mindfulness
    ·   Why they say that the lack of self-compassion is the great, unnamed epidemic, and how mindfulness can help
"This is an excellent, systematic, helpful, and practical workbook. Doing these practices brings many blessings. They will reduce your stress and truly transform your life."
-Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., author of The Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
"…There is no time like the present to bring these pearls and practices of wisdom into your life. Why not start now?"
-Daniel J. Siegel, MD, codirector of the University of California, Los Angeles Mindful Awareness Research Center and author of Mindsight and The Mindful Brain
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Bob Stahl, Ph.D., founded and directs mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs in five medical centers in the San Francisco Bay area. A longtime mindfulness practitioner, Stahl has completed MBSR teacher certification at University of Massachusetts Medical Center and has lived in a Buddhist monastery for more than eight years. Stahl also serves as an adjunct senior teacher for Oasis, the institute for mindfulness-based professional education at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., is a psychologist and MBSR and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy teacher in private practice in west Los Angeles. He is author of the audio CD series Mindful Solutions, which deals with issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and success at work. He is a professional blog writer for psychcentral.com and mentalhelp.net. Goldstein conducts workshops, radio interviews, and lectures on the therapeutic benefits of mindfulness.

April 20th, 2010 | Tags: Book, mindfullness, Review, Stress, yoga | Category: books, Daily Post, Review | Subscribe to comments | Both comments and pings are currently closed