Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress

This is a great book primarily geared toward Western audiences by a highly respected figure in the mind-body arena. It covers a lot of ground and goes way beyond the subtitle of using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. What it actually seeks is a new paradigm of an integrated body-mind where the Cartesian dualism that we are so used to is transcended.

The book covers such topics as living in the moment, minfulness and the power of breathing in calming the body and mind. It could also have profound effects on physiology which I have seen many times working with my own clients using biofeedback.

This book is really a very practical guide to incorporating easy to make changes into your life. Specifically, it aims to teach basic meditation, a simple body-scan technique for relaxation and muscle tension awareness, walking meditation and new ways to look at the mind-body relationship. It also covers the basics of stress and stress management, a holistic approach to medicine and how to integrate these new ideas into your life. It also champions simple yoga as a means to relax and increase flexibility and peace of mind.

Overall, this book is well-organized and clearly written. It is an excellent and practical guide that aims toward helping people to change their lives. A nice accompanying read woud be HEALTHY AT 100 by Robbins which covers diet in great depth and reinforces some of the lifestyle choices that lead to longevity that are covered here.

I cannot give this book enough stars. Very well written and recommended reading for anyone interested in Mindful Based Stress Reduction methods and practices. He makes mediation easy to understand and to use to help reduce stress and allow your body to heal itself.

I like the simple way that this author explains mindfulness -- living in the present moment without judging the experience. In other words, just be present.

Anyone who wants to learn about this valuable approach to life should definitely read this book. It details real experiences with the practice as well as describes pleasant, effective methods for achieving mindfulness. The additional tapes are particularly helpful.

We are plagued by various psycho--somatic illnesses due to living under constant social and environmental stress. It is good to know that something can be done to help us survive and thrive. Follow the advice in this book to improve your health and well-being. The book is clear, persuasive and gives practical tips on how to get to the place of calmness and better mind balance.

Wonderful book! Bought it to read while taking a 10 week Mindfulness Mediation Class through Kaiser. Highly recommend taking a companion class while reading this book - together they will deepen your understanding of the concepts.

I bought this with some skepticism, but with the way things had been going for me, I was willing to do almost anything. I began applying the principals and techniques to my daily life and began to see an improvement almost immediately. There is more to meditation the one would think, but it's not my job to try to convince anyone, but it works for me.

My doctor recommended I read this book and as cliche as it sounds, it is life changing. I want to buy copies for everyone I know. Whether you have suffer from a physical ailment or one of the mind, you need to read this book.

A recipe for living life to the fullest no matter what else is going on in your life. It helps you to get the focus where it needs to be - on your blessings and not always on your problems. It also helps you discover the greatness within yourself. A wonderful book. Long, but worth every page.

A fairly academic book that sets forth a life style and thought process for people having difficulty coping with various aspects of life. The author is considered at the forefront in this area and I could it a learning experience.

Absolutely phenomenal must-read for anyone interested in mindfulness, meditation, or simply improving the way you live. When I started the book, I tried to highlight the important things along the way, but I ended up highlighting practically every other sentence. Cannot recommend enough!

I found out about Jon Kabat-Zinn initially from a book George Mumford & Phil Jackson wrote, about the mindfulness meditation experiences they had with their players on the Bulls and Lakers that they taught this stuff to. I was so intrigued in the stories and the results they described, that I truly wanted to dig deeper and learn what it really means to meditate and how to do it. Mumford credit Jon Kabat-Zinn for teaching him, so I naturally arrived at this book to kickstart my "meditation education".

It was one of the, if not the, best decision I ever made. My whole view and definition of what it means to meditate changed. I learned about how it's really about your level of awareness in your life, and how I viewed meditation as almost an "escape" from my life before I read this book. I learned how meditation can be used to face the full set of circumstances (both positive and negative) in my life with more awareness. I learned valuable skills to deal with negative events and stressors in my life, and to be more aware of when I'm feeling certain ways, both positive and negative.

There's so many more lessons I learned from this book. It really was amazing reading this and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have read it.

a coworker recommended this book to me. kabat-zinn eloquently introduces mindfulness in layman's terms and really generalizes the practice of mindfulness to all individuals, professionals, individuals with chronic pain and illness, and the average layperson. I am still on the beginning pages but i can already feel the emerging transformation and can't wait to see what unfolds as I continue reading

This is a great book for understanding mindfulness from many different aspects. Easy read and you can get caught up once you start reading the book. I suggest you use a highlighter or some sort of marking device because you will get some great points and suggestions.

Very well written and motivating with step by step instructions. If you are have been thinking (like me) " I'm stressed, I really need to try meditation" -- this book will help you get started. Use with Kabat-Zinn's Meditation CD's.

I liked the kindle book from start to finish. Stress as key. I underlined on kindle throughout. The book spoke to my situation and read it cover to cover. I plan to read it again after this review, reviews which I rarely do. The course was recommended to us by his neurologist, but time and traffic precluded our attendance. The book was perfect.

I highly recommend the books written by Jon Kabat-Zinn, especially Where Ever You Go, There You Are. This book, Full Catastrophe Living, follows the basic principles of the mindfulness stress-reduction program, and gives very thoughtful information on how to become more aware and mindful of the present moment. It is more detailed than Where Ever You Go, There You Are (which has nice short chapters, perfect for reading right before practicing the mindfulness exercises), the chapters are longer, and it goes into more detail on how to get into the habit of being more aware (and awake), instead of unconscious.
I highly recommend the Series 1 Guided Mindfulness Meditations (can be purchased in CD or MP3 format), to use in conjunction with the book. The Body Scan (the first meditation) is a wonderful way to practice present-moment awareness while learning how to get in touch with the body. I was able to cure a nagging right shoulder bursitis by visualizing breathing into this area after only a couple of days. I also woke up with a severe headache and was able to breathe into it and make it disappear. The Series 2 meditations go with the book, Where Ever You Go, There You Are, while Series 3 meditations go with the book, Coming to Our Senses, Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness.
I bought these books on the the store Kindle version, a great way to get it immediately, it is uploaded on my iPhone, I can read it whenever I want, and it saves my place when I exit the book.

I read this book upon my doctor's recommendation after serious childbirth injuries years ago. After a recent painful accident I purchased my own copy. It's more than a how-to. It is informative, serious, and humorous. It contains passages of extraordinary beauty, insight, and compassion.
Purchasing the accompanying CDs has allowed me to put this wisdom into practice.
I recommend this book and the guided mindfulness CDs without hesitation.

This book was recommended to by my physical therapist in hopes that the practices would help me control my pain. I have not been studying it long enough to know if they will work but I can say that I'm very happy I chose the audio version. It would be very difficult to follow along with the techniques if I had to read simultaneously, I am extremely satisfied with my selection and would recommend that anyone with an interest in learning to meditate get this book. But as mentioned before, I'd recommend the audio version.

Highly recommend this book to everyone. The series 1 CD's offered to supplement is also recommended. I have major depressive disorder and taking this 8 week class is helping tremendously and adding my tools to my tool box to combat depression and be well. Do yourself a favour and give it a try. You have to be ready to commit and do the exercises.

I heartily recommend this book. I purchased the updated and revised 2013 edition. I enjoyed Kabat-Zinn's Mindful Way Through Depression, Wherever You Go, There You Are, and Coming to our Senses. I started Full Catastrophe Living from the public library, and knew in the first chapters that I wanted to buy the book. Like all his books, Kabat-Zinn is easy to read, offering definitive approach to living a mindful life in the moment. This is a big book of 650+ pages. It is printed on cheap paper with ink that is too faint and small, but I bought it for the content. Too bad the paper and ink were second class. I get what I pay for. Bantam, the publisher, is not known for its quality products.
If you want the latest word from the Country's greatest mindfulness expert, this book is for you.

My naturopathic physician recommended John Kabat-Zinn's meditation tapes to my mother who is suffering through quite a bit of pain right now. I agree with everyone who has reviewed this book. It is definitelly a necessity to read this book prior to listening to the accompanying tapes.

I purchased this book as a request from my doctor and Having the latest version was a plus and packaged well. All need to do now is start to read it. I will most likely recommend this book based on my skimming through it to get a feel for the book I'm about to read.

My naturopathic physician recommended John Kabat-Zinn's meditation tapes to my mother who is suffering through quite a bit of pain right now. I agree with everyone who has reviewed this book. It is definitelly a necessity to read this book prior to listening to the accompanying tapes.

I purchased this book as a request from my doctor and Having the latest version was a plus and packaged well. All need to do now is start to read it. I will most likely recommend this book based on my skimming through it to get a feel for the book I'm about to read.

An excellent book. This is a systematically explained 'method book' on meditation. You will most likely order the CDs that are part of the process. I have been greatly helped by the knowledge I have gathered from the book.

The guidance in the book is wonderfully expressed. The guidance was clear, and it helped me to get in touch with relaxing and calming my life down. This is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get in better touch inwardly.

Great book. As a physician I am always looking for ways to help my patients deal with their medical problems, and this book gave me the tools to aid them that didn't require a medication. Already seeing positive results.

Excellent!!! I recommend it. It helps you to live your life to the fullest in the present overcoming all obstacles; and accepting everything that it is happening around you, eventhough you disagree with the moment. Connects body, mind and spirit to heal diseases and shows you how to make a chronic health condition part of your daily life by acceptance and positivism

This is the book that started it all for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (or Insight Based Stress Reduction). Lots of helpful hints - especially for those considering a retreat or discussing these techniques with a therapist.