The ultimate practical guide to MBSR-with more than 115,000 copies sold-is now available in a fully revised and updated second edition. Stress and pain are nearly unavoidable in our daily lives; they are part of the human condition. This stress can often leave us feeling irritable, tense, overwhelmed, and burned-out. The key to maintaining balance is responding to stress not with frustration and self-criticism, but with mindful, nonjudgmental awareness of our bodies and minds. Impossible? Actually, it's easier than it seems. In just weeks, you can learn mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a clinically proven program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living . MBSR is effective in alleviating stress, anxiety, panic, depression, chronic pain, and a wide range of medical conditions. Taught in classes and clinics worldwide, this powerful approach shows you how to focus on the present moment and permanently change the way you handle stress. As you work through A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, you'll learn how to replace stress-promoting habits with mindful ones - a skill that will last a lifetime. This groundbreaking, proven-effective program will help you relieve the symptoms of stress and identify its causes. This fully revised and updated second edition includes new audio downloads, new meditations, and extensive chapter revisions to help you manage stress and start living a healthier, happier life. Reviews and Endorsements:
“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, PhD, author of The Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
“The biggest challenge for any do-it-yourself course is to include exercises that people will actually want to stop and do. In this book, the exercises are skillfully introduced along with spaces that remind the reader, ‘This part is up to you to do now!’ I think readers will start practicing immediately with confidence that the program will show results.”
—Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness Is an Inside Job, It’s Easier Than You Think, and That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist “I found this workbook informative, helpful, and user-friendly. It is filled with pragmatic tools to keep the practitioner on track, and would be beneficial to all who read it.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness, A Heart as Wide as the World, and Faith “This fine book is about the unburdening of the mind and the release of our inherent wisdom. It breaks the hard sternum of our resistance and opens the lotus of the heart. The method that ends our madness.”
—Stephen Levine, author of A Year to Live and Unattended Sorrow, and coauthor of Who Dies? “For anyone drawn to a path of mindfulness, this workbook will provide a clear and accessible companion. Authors Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein expertly guide readers through a rich assortment of mindfulness practices and reflections, providing invaluable tools for handling stress and living life with presence and heart.”
—Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance “We are such a stressed society that many of us are stressed about how stressed we are. Books abound that give us more information, but A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook takes a far more helpful approach. It takes you by the hand and leads you step by step. If you want your life to have greater balance and peace, if you want to live with less stress and more joy, I can’t recommend this beautiful offering highly enough.”
—John Robbins, author of Healthy at 100, Diet for a New America, and Reclaiming Our Health “This book is an excellent guide to the life-changing practice of mindfulness. In these pages, you will find the missing piece, the hidden truth, and the open secret. Mindfulness saved my life and transformed my world. This workbook offers the key to health, happiness, and freedom. Read it, work it, practice it, and be free.”
—Noah Levine, MA, author of Dharma Punx and Against the Stream “What a delight it has been to review this beautifully written, deeply important book that offers readers a path toward a new life balance. For those interested in knowing more about what it is that has excited so many in the fields of medicine, psychology, neuroscience, and education, this book is a mind-opening volume that will clarify the key concepts of mindful meditation. Those who simply want to find ways to reduce stress and anxiety will find it to be an extraordinary aid. Those in a program of mindfulness-based stress reduction will find this book an invaluable addition to their training. A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook adds depth to the practice of mindfulness for everyone, from beginning practitioners to experienced teachers of mindfulness stress reduction classes.”
—Marion Solomon, PhD, director of training at the Lifespan Learning Institute, and coauthor of Love and War in Intimate Relationships “This book, along with the CD giving guided mindfulness meditation sessions, provides an excellent overview of how the practice of mindfulness can be a very effective stress reduction intervention.”
—G. Alan Marlatt, PhD, professor and director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington “Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein have woven an inspiring tapestry of illuminating insights and practical exercises that can transform your life and even help you build a stronger brain. Inspired by their work as teachers of the research-proven MBSR program, the authors have provided a step-by-step approach to bringing this scientifically grounded approach into your daily life. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to effectively help us live with less stress, fear, and anxiety, and to cultivate more ease, connection, and well-being in our lives. This workbook makes mindfulness understandable, and offers a carefully laid-out plan to achieve a healthier and more meaningful life. 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 UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, and author of Mindsight and The Mindful Brain “Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein’s A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook is a practical, user-friendly guide to mindfulness meditation and stress reduction. If you feel that your life is spinning out of control and you can’t get perspective, if you are moving too fast and don’t know how to slow down, or if you are starting to have health problems related to stress, this program—which includes an excellent companion CD and access to an innovative online community—is for you. I am thrilled that this clarity, compassion, and wisdom will be available to a greater audience through this exceptional, life-changing guide.”
—Laura Davis, author of I Thought We’d Never Speak Again, and coauthor of The Courage to Heal “This is an incredible resource for anyone who is interested in reducing stress in their lives. We all live in a world where it is easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. This workbook and the accompanying audio program are the best resource I know of for helping us stay present and centered when so many forces would push us off balance. I highly recommend it for clients, fellow professionals, and any man or woman who wants to have more comfort, ease, and joy in their lives.”
—Jed Diamond, PhD, author of The Irritable Male Syndrome and Male Menopause “Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein have done a superb job bringing the cultivation of mindfulness to life in their excellent workbook. This workbook is a tremendous resource for those wanting to develop greater health, vitality, and peace. I highly recommend it.”
—Shauna L. Shapiro, PhD, coauthor of The Art and Science of Mindfulness “In their wonderful new book, Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein have provided each reader with wise, clear, step-by-step guidance for cultivating a personal mindfulness practice, and for applying the resulting awareness to the stress and challenges of living. This workbook is a perfect companion to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s well-known book, Full Catastrophe Living, which is the foundation text for all MBSR courses.”
—Jeffrey Brantley, MD, DFAPA, director of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke Integrative Medicine “A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook is a seminal work that does three things very well: It recognizes that the human condition makes stress inevitable. It teaches time-proven methods of traditional mindfulness for stress reduction. And finally, it presents the latest evidence-based refinements for relieving stress.”
—Patrick Fanning, coauthor of The Daily Relaxer and Mind and Emotions “In this second edition, Stahl and Goldstein cover the basics of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and so much more. Thoughtful exercises as well as guided audio practices offer a healing and compassionate path toward greater self-awareness, wisdom, and connectedness to the depth and richness of the present moment. With commitment, practice, and this book, you can learn to live a less stressful and more meaningful life. I highly recommend it.”
—Michael A. Tompkins, PhD, ABPP, codirector of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy; assistant clinical professor in the department of clinical psychology at the University of California, Berkeley; and author of Anxiety and Avoidance “When I struggle with anxious thoughts, and worry holds my body hostage, the most powerful tools in my mindfulness practice are found right here in this book. Who knew that following my breath moment by moment and noticing each thought, feeling, and sensation that arises without labeling it good or bad could radically transform my life for the better? It sounds so simple, but it actually takes hard work and practice. That is why this book is essential and effective for anyone who is looking for relief from life’s daily uncertainty and stress. The techniques can be found here and now.”
—Wendy Millstine, NC, coauthor of the Five Good Minutes® series, Daily Meditations for Calming Your Anxious Mind, and Calming the Rush of Panic “Together with straightforward exercises, reflections, and inspiring stories, the authors have beautifully composed a book to help you explore and learn one of the most important skills of human life: being present to it. We cannot control all stressors of life, but this book can teach you how to engage with them differently, creating more freedom, awareness, and choice.”
—Daniel Ek, MS, clinical psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and coauthor of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Stress Reduction “A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook presents a clear and insightful road map for those looking to manage and ease their distress. Whether you have years of experience with mindfulness or this will be your first introduction, Stahl and Goldstein do a masterful job of providing an easy-to-implement plan that has significant depth. I look forward to recommending this book to anyone interested in learning more about how mindfulness can help reduce stress and other emotional challenges.”
—Jonathan Barkin, PsyD, partner at the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy; assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley; and coauthor of The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens About the Authors: Bob Stahl, PhD, founded and directs mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs at Dominican Hospital, O'Connor Hospital, and El Camino Hospital. Stahl serves as a Senior Teacher for Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, HealthCare, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Stahl is a coauthor of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Living W ith Your Heart Wide Open, Calming the Rush of Panic, and A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook for Anxiety. He is the guiding teacher at Insight Santa Cruz and visiting teacher at Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. Elisha Goldstein, PhD, cofounded the Center for Mindful Living in Los Angeles, CA. He is coauthor of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, and author of Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion, The Now Effect: How a Mindful Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life, and Mindfulness Meditations for the Anxious Traveler . He developed the Mindfulness at Work(TM) program recognized by the National Business Group on Health for its success in stress management, the Mindful Compassion Cognitive Therapy (MCCT) program, and the premier eCourse Basics of Mindfulness Meditation, and codeveloped CALM (Connecting Adolescents to Learning Mindfulness) with his wife Stefanie Goldstein, PhD. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, CA. Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and author of numerous books, including Full Catastrophe Living, Arriving at Your Own Door, and Coming to Our Senses . |
