A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook

Great workbook to work through problems and stresses in your life. It's very helpful to write things down, it makes you delve into your true feelings and focus on it to understand. The more you understand your own issues, the more you can begin to make changes and heal.

At first, some of the exercises suggested in this book seemed a bit silly, but once I tried them they really seemed to help me relax. I find that doing the "mindful check-in" exercise a couple of times per day really helps clear my mind, and it only takes three minutes.

Presented with practical steps and illustrations, this workbook provides a comprehensive collection of wonderful mind-body exercises, mindfulness information and background on stress reduction. Bob and Elisha cover in this book, a wholistic set of topics in a straight forward and practical style. Each chapter gives you just enough information to understand the subject and useful exercises that can be applied directly to your practice. I found each section enjoyable to read and found myself revisiting the ideas and exercises, as a good workbook will do. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to start or broaden their mindful practice and, for students of any program that focuses on mindfulness, stress or improving one's life-style.

Very useful audio file accessories can't be accessed since IOS7. The CD comes with book. Trying to access them now just takes you to the publishers website which makes you register there then doesn't even recognize the ISBN for its own book when you search!!

If I had to identify one quality that separates this book from the rest of the mindfulness resources in the self-help aisle, it's that these pages are so practical and can't help but provide the reader with plenty of "Aha!" moments. Reading through the chapters and exercises, I appreciate all the research that Goldstein and Stahl studied, material that illuminates how mindfulness exercises can alter and help shape your brain to be more optimistic and resilient. But what won my trust is that they have both been stress cases themselves at certain points in their lives, and can therefore communicate with empathetic language. They both know, on a very personal level, how stress can disable a person. Much like Kay Redfield Jamison, the famous psychologist who suffers from bipolar disorder, they speak both as expert and patient.

I understand mindfulness as forcing a bit of time and space between a situation and your reaction, or recognizing the snowball of thoughts that's forming in your mind before it becomes too overwhelming to sort through yourself. Goldstein and Stahl quote Vicktor Frankl, psychiatrist and holocaust survivor: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

Although mindfulness techniques aren't able to rescue me out of an acute, severe depression, if I diligently adhered to all the wisdom contained in Stahl and Goldstein's book, and designated a time of the day to do all the exercises, I could save myself some considerable heartache and headache.

Why?

Their mindfulness exercises allow the reader to take some of the files off of her cluttered and disorganized desk because the files relate to the past or to the future, and the present tense is the only one she should worry about now. According to the authors, mindfulness is about sticking to the here and now and banishing all judgment. It's also about breaking the job, day, or situation down ... into small parts, in order to better manage it.

Goldstein and Stahl's workbook uses a strong motivator for readers to learn the beneficial habit of mindfulness, and that is accountability. When you write things down and record your progress, you become accountable. Maybe that's why my kids hate homework so much, come to think of it. So what they have done for us is set up a system by which we can challenge ourselves to better integrate our body, mind, and soul. Or at least that's the plan.

I recommend this workbook to anyone who is stressed out ... um ... everyone I know.

Better book to get than this is "Mindfulness For Dummies." This book clouds the issue and definitely turns it in "work" which is just the opposite of what mindfulness is supposed to be about. Don't bother buying unless you want an involved "workbook." The title should have tipped me off. Guess that's why the "dummies" book was perfect for me! LOL

This was recommended by my therapist. I am not one to follow through with many disciplined things - this is one of them. I tried on about 4 different occasions this past year - to pick this back up and complete it.
I just can't get behind some of the exercises and practices. I can only "think" so much about chewing my food, or breathing.

Mindfulness is paying close attention to whatever you experience in the here and now. It does not necessarily mean doing things slowly, it simply means cultivating nonjudgmental awareness of your life one moment and one breath at a time.
Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein's insightful and practical exercises in "A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook" brings mindfulness into your daily life. Their helpful step-by-step training includes mindful breathing, eating, walking, self-inquiry, interpersonal communication, meditation and rest. The workbook provides a perfect companion to Jon Kabat-Zinn's book "Full Catastrophe Living." Kabat-Zinn, a molecular biologist with a long-term meditation practice, founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979. Today there are over 250 hospitals around the country and many more around the globe who use the mindful-based therapies. Unlike concentration meditation where the focus is on a mantra or concept mindfulness meditation focuses on the body and mind in the present.
The Mindfulness practice, originally an ancient Buddhist meditative discipline, is not only used for mental and emotional well being today but also helps people deal with stress, pain and illness.
Mindfulness flourishes when the following eight attitudes are present: Beginner's mind, non-judgment, acknowledgement, non-striving, equanimity, letting be, self-reliance and self-compassion.
Stahl and Goldstein say you can't always control or eliminate stressors but you can engage with them differently. The answer isn't to turn away but towards the mind traps like negative self talk, interpretations and thought patterns. The six negative thought patterns are: thinking of worst case scenarios called "catastrophizing," exaggerating the negative and discounting the positive, assuming without actual evidence called "mind reading," being the eternal expert, holding others responsible for your pain through "blaming" and feeling guilt and disappointment because of a list of unbreakable rules called "shoulds."
Other mindfulness tools include:
The body scan, investigating and working with pain, tension and emotions in the body.
Formal sitting mindfulness meditation that focuses on the breath, sensations, sounds, thoughts and emotions.
Mindful lying and standing yoga to bring awareness to the breath, movement, posture, thoughts and emotions. Yoga brings together the body and mind and keeps bones, joints, muscles, nerves and organs healthy, supple and flexible.
The "Transforming fear through loving-kindness meditation" helps access compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity to dissolve egocentricity, greed, resentment, jealousy and hatred creating more spaciousness and freedom in the mind and heart.
Observing thoughts to see how busy minds mostly rehearse and rehash instead of being in the present.
Interpersonal mindfulness brings nonjudgmental present moment awareness to your interactions with others. This includes mindful listening and the "Aikido" of communication. Aikido, a physical movement called entering and blending allows you to respond to an attack with a skillful deflection so no one gets hurt. There are four steps: "Align" and enter through empathy, (What's their point of view?), "Agree" on shared concerns (I'm also disappointed), "Redirect" focuses on shared goals, (What can we do to make it better?) and "Resolve" explores mutually agreeable compromises or agrees to disagree.
Stahl and Goldstein's groundbreaking program will not only help you alleviate stress but gently invites you to find "peace with your own soul" and discover the treasure within you.

Eons ago I took a couple of mindfulness classes and for a while I used to inconsistently practice mindfulness. Now years later this book caught my eye. This book is written in a comforting and patient tone as the authors explain the purpose and provide numerous useful exercises requiring your written response. If you are well versed in this topic, recently attended a workshop or read other books, then this book may be too simplistic for you. This process requires practice and patience with yourself as it really is difficult to quiet the mind. Yoga poses, well selected poems and quotes, and a MP3 CD are included to enhance the mindfulness learning experience. The first written exercise asks why did you purchase this book, what you are hoping to change and to list positive qualities about yourself. This is when I realized this wasn't going to be a quick and simple read, but one that required thoughtfulness and a time commitment. Deciding and acting on not making judgments, (I think this is the most difficult aspect), having intention, and becoming free of shoulds, rehearsals for the future and rehashing of the past are the gifts you earn from this process. You stay in the present moment which sounds so easy but it takes a lot of practice and even more effort until it becomes a natural mindset. The emotional, mental and physical benefits can become a positive life-changing experience.

Although I eat well, exercise regularly, and take overall good care of my health, my biggest shortcoming is that I allow stress to infiltrate my life to a very unhealthy degree. Knowing this, I've tried using yoga and meditation in the past, but have a hard time sticking to regular practices of any sort. This workbook, though, is helping me commit to a more regular focus on reducing the stress levels in my life.

The book opens with an assessment of your current stress levels, and from there it moves into topics such as how to practice mindfulness and meditation, how to work through stress, and how to use simple yoga and stretching postures to reduce stress. The workbook is also full of helpful worksheets, and, as with any self-help book, taking time to actually do the worksheets will yield the best results. The accompanying CD is also meant to be used along with the chapters and exercises in the book.

Speaking of the CD, one of the reasons why I picked up this book as opposed to several others about stress is because of the audio CD that comes with it, and I really do find the CD to be a big asset to this book. Just be aware that the CD is in MP3 audio format, meaning that it might not play on all of your audio devices. The meditation CD has twenty-two meditations on it, ranging in length from three to forty-five minutes (there are five meditations that are forty-five minutes long, a real bonus in my mind!). The meditations include loving-kindness meditations, body scans, mindful breathing, sitting meditation, and some check-ins. The diverse meditations included on the CD are worth the price of the book alone!

"A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook" by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein, both PhDs, has all one needs to reduce stress. I liked the format - a workbook and a MP3 CD. It was easy to transfer the MP3s to my walkman.

The workbook is easy to use and helps probe into your mind and gets to the bottom of reducing stress in one's life. The simple action of just being mindful was an eye opener. It helped keep me in the here and now and not in the past. I liked that the workbook encourages journaling which is essential to help one reflect. The workbook helps you to become mindful of things we tend to ignore such as eating and breathing. How many times have you eaten and not even thought about it? This book helped me to realize when I am over-eating and now I have cut down on my eating, so this book had an additional benefit for me.

The MP3 stress reducing meditations are helpful and even when I am in a hurry, I can pick a quick meditation to do and then be on my way. There are several longer meditations as well. There are over 8 hours of meditations to perform. Line drawings make it easy to follow any yoga poses.

I liked the Keeping Up Your Practice section in the back of the book to help continue stress reduction so this book will take you further than a few weeks to do. There is enough in here to take you further into developing healthy habits to gain peace and reduce stress. I also was impressed with a huge Resources section so one could continue delving further. It wasn't a slapped together book like so many self-help books. A well done book.

We are all aware that stress is unhealthy and that most of us experience far too much of it. Because we can't escape the ups and downs of everyday living, we must learn to cope and manage our responses. This book doesn't just explain what we need to do, it gives specific, concrete, and progressive instructions and examples to guide us to a more peaceful way of life.

I have only worked my way through the first two chapters so far, but I am committed to completing this workbook this summer. Although there is space to write responses in the book, I am keeping a separate notebook for writing responses so that I will be able to loan the book to other people.

I truly appreciate the systematic and logical organization and presentation of the material in a way that anyone can do the exercises. In addition, a very useful CD with guided meditations is included with the book. This can be copied onto any MP3 player and makes it very simple to do the meditations under the guidance of the authors.

I'm very excited about the journey that I am taking with this book and I look forward to sharing this book with friends and family. This book is well worth the small investment and I would recommend it without hesitation.

This workbook does a great job of identify stress, stressers and reasonable reactions what can feel like an out of control situation by grounding it in a bit of mindfulness every day. The key is meditation which is widely used around the world and which does not need to have a specific religious component to be successful.

There is plenty of space in the book itself to journal and go through the exercises. The drawings are solid representations of the various physical positions that can help you focus your mind and strengthen your body. The CD is a nice touch for those who want an verbal component as well as something written but not a visual as you'd get in a DVD.

The problem with having stress is that it makes you feel like you are being pulled in multiple directions at once. My only concern with this workbook is that it will require serious commitment from those who want to use it and that may feel like another pull in their lives. You can't just read this book through, you must use it or it will do you no good.

When you are ready to seriously tackle stress, then check out this book.

Reviewing this book and recommending it to my clients. always seeking different ways of reducing the difficulties that life throws at us.

Stahl and Goldstien present material that I have personaly gathered in 30 years of practice. The core of it is stress reduction. It is presented as a meditative approach. Low key and along the lines of yoga and sensory awareness, the later of which even the best of the knowledgable have difficulty.

I now look to my clients strengths and their best practices for self soothing and managing life's difficult times. If you are a reader and probably are or you wouldn't be looking for a book??, this is a good easy read.

Being a guy and liking tools I get irritated sometimes with "catchy phrases" but that's how we sell the concept. Getting beyond my prejudices I found this book informative, and stress reducing.

If that irritats you, as it had me, be a little patient, attempt the exercises, and maybe you will reduce your bias ..oh yes, and your stress.

Added bonus for this book is a cd, but with a caveate, it has to be played on your computer not the audio player. You can convert the many different guided relazation/meditation processes to your MP# player. Sigh I may be getting to old for "Hi Tech". But there is a lot and you can choose what works for you.

Some phrases such as "belly breathing" are still difficult for me to listen to. But that's my predjudice.

All in all it's an excellent all encompassing stress management tool.

Helped me remember what I already knew..LOL

Good buy!

This workbook/CD combo is a pragmatic solution for those in need of stress reduction (100% of the American population).

I suffered a ruptured appendix in December 2009 and it took several months to recover from the stress-induced (and medicine-induced) ulcers it precipitated. I ordered this workbook to help reduce my pain, and it (along with my own supplement plan) worked wonders!

This workbook was a wonderful introduction to MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) for me. I learned a lot about both myself and my body's physical clues to stress and how to eliminate them. MSBR is a clinical technique, used with great success at the University of Massachussetts Medical Center; Google to learn more. You can also learn more about MBSR directly from its founder, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, via his book, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness.

Here's what I liked best about Stahl and Goldstein's Workbook:

1. It's a real workbook! Lessons are broken into a series of 11 lessons that you can tackle, ideally one per week. No more excuses about being WAY to busy--you really can make time to do this!
2. 8 hours of guided meditations are included on the CD that accompanies the workbook--download to your ipod & learn to relax!
3. Each chapter/lesson has personalized worksheet questions/self-evaluations so that you can track your practice and become more MINDFULLY AWARE of yourself and your issues.

Even the busiest among us can make time for this workbook, and the techniques it teaches really, really work. Even during weeks when I was too busy to fully tackle a lesson, I was able to make use of the Guided Meditations via my IPod.

Highly recommended!

Despite the intimidating size and length of this workbook, I found it to be a simply helpful, readable, and encouraging resource for personal growth.

You may know of, and feel challenged by, the commitment of time or involvement with group experience related to the 8-week version of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs offered around the country (I completed one a few years ago). Or, like me, you may have experienced the program, enjoyed it, and yet find yourself drawn to particular aspects of mindfulness practice. So whether you want to learn about and experience mindfulness at your own pace and in your own space, or if you just want to focus on specific practices and have guidance with that, this is the book for you.

Like other reviewers, I also found the companion CD to be of great use (maybe more than the book itself).

Get this book, and get started!

This is a fantastic book for anyone wanting to help alleviate stress. No matter what you do there are things that cause stress in your life.

Maybe you have a new business meeting, getting ready to cold call someone, or about to do something as simple as write a new blog post.

You can always stress out over the these things (not to mention other things, like divorce, health, or something as mundane as which head of lettuce to pick up at the store).

Life can always be stressful. I've been practicing meditation for several years and this book is exactly what I could of used about 10 years ago before I got into this stuff.

This stuff works and it is VERY practical.

The main takeaway is to just break things out, don't take things to seriously, and when you have some free time, do an exercise. It is that helpful.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is popular today. Though I have not compared this to other such workbooks, I'm satisfied this is a worthy guide. The workbook is easy to read and provides clear instruction. In a concise manner it provides many examples to explore one's own thinking. The questions probe the inner workings of our thoughts, pointing out different ways to look at daily occurrences. The MP3 CD is a bonus.

In order to make the program work, one must spend time and be prepared to be honest with oneself. This is the most difficult part but worth it.

MBSR has become a phenomenal movement in which we are at last presented with detailed practical methods of processing stress effectively so that we do not become emotional victims of our habitual reactivity. The 'Mindfulness Movement' is beginning to have an impact at every level of society and our personal happiness and relationships are benefiting as more and more people learn how to apply mindfulness in their lives. To learn more about mindfulness meditation, I also recommend 'The Path of Mindfulness Meditation' available through the store.

This workbook is particularly useful for anyone who has never had any experience with new age philosophy. Most of the exercises consist of getting your mind and body involved in the present moment which, believe it or not, is very difficult when you are just starting with the concept.

Once you become 'trained' to be in the present moment, your stress levels will invariably become lower and your overall happiness and contentment will improve. This workbook will help you attain peace in your life, love, and work.

I've been following Mindfulness teachings for nearly 15 years now. I met Dr. Elisha Goldstein as I was searching for Mindfulness based teachers via Jon Kabat-Zinn's work for a film I was completing. I was looking for refreshing ways to teach a practice that I knew provided the doorway to help end suffering in the lives on millions... I was blessed to meet Dr. Goldstein.

The tools and exercises provided in this workbook are clear, concise and truly a direct passage to freedom which can only be found from the journey within, which is where all our resources for joy, happiness and clarity really lie. Isn't it time to begin a new possibility of being as opposed to the doing of everyday, autonomic responses of reacting from patterns, relationships and events in our lives that make life seem challenging, routine and filled with isolation and suffering?

The more we practice being alive and present with what is, the more life unfolds infinite treasures and wisdom, which has been there all along, but it 100% up to us to take the most amazing journey of a lifetime, your lifetime. Discover authentic life, love, wonder and passion, no one can do the work for us!

Highly recommended reading for creating a radical, free, liberating new story about the story of you and your life!

Dr. Goldstein, Thank you for providing a GPS to our internal map to love!

Carla Johnston, Director & Producer
The Truth, [...]

This is a wonderful workbook! It's filled with very clear and easy to understand exercises that help you heal from anxiety and stress. I've read many books on these topics seeking help and understanding and none, except Jon Kabat-Zinn's book "Full-Catastrophe Living" convey the wisdom and clarity and warmth that this workbook offers. In fact, it seems to me that this lovely work from Dr. Stahl and Dr. Goldstein would be a great companion to Dr. Kabat-Zinn's classic and enable readers to implement and make their own the many truths and skills he offers there. I would recommend this to everyone that is looking for help with stress and stress-related conditions.

Thrilled with this information-packed, easy to read, exceptional resource. What a wonderful workbook for all! I am especially taken with how Drs. Goldstein and Stahl have assimilated Jon Kabat-Zinn's renown mindful-based program with their own meditation background and professional knowledge and created something new and appealing. Their charts, pictures, and enjoyable exercises offer something for eveyrone and bring alive mindful practices to our everyday life. Worth the wait... will be kept in my waiting room for all my clients to benefit.
Charlotte Reznick PhD
Author of The Power of Your Child's Imagination
[...]

"A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook" is an excellent resource for either therapists to use with clients, or individuals interested in integrating mindfulness into their lives in a simple and effective way. The MBSR workbook by Stahl and Goldstein incorporates all the common elements of effective mindfulness based therapies (Fielding, 2009). The authors have done an excellent job of describing a fundamentally experiential approach to managing stress and related difficulties. The workbook provides very helpful exercises and worksheets to help the novice or more experienced practitioners in furthering their practice in the service of reducing suffering.
Lara Fielding, Psy.D., Ed.M.

This workbook is a wonderful and needed addition to mindfulness literature. It describes the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) with simplicity and clarity without sacrificing the depth of the teachings. It is a reader-friendly workbook and I recommend it wholeheartedly to patients and clinicians. If you are looking to reduce stress and enhance well-being in your own life, or in the life of others, this workbook is a great companion.

Lidia Zylowska, MD

I have a question about the kindle version of the book: Does it come with a link to the 21 mp3 meditation files? Seems important that it do so, and yet so often kindle versions don't have such a link.

thanks

I actually love this book and use it regularly when I teach the MBSR program. But I ordered 15 copies from the store and the CD was cut on almost all of the CDs. By the time I used the books for my class - and the students noticed the CD was cut - the books could not be returned because it had passed the date of return.

This book a great resource and excellent tool. The exercises are both effective and easy to follow. The techniques for MSRB (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) really work. I'm very glad to have this book and I've really enjoyed it.

I bought the book because of the good reviews. I started the first chapter and thought I should look into the "community of peers" they encourage the reader to join and participate in the introduction of their workbook.

In the introduction at the bottom of page 7:

"To enhance the effectiveness of your practice and the work you do with this book, we recommend that you connect with a larger community of your peers at [...]. There you'll find like-minded people who can support you in the process of cultivating your mindfulness practice. You're likely to find that others appreciate connecting with you for your support, and to share, discuss, and learn more about mindfulness."

When you go their website all you find is a link to their Facebook page. "What brings you here?" is the first discussion, with several people posting about how wonderful their seminars are. Other posts in the next discussion tab are equally flattering.

It seems to me for them to take time in the introduction of their workbook to encourage readers to participate and join this 'community of peers' is misleading. It feels more like self-promotion.

I really wanted to like this book, but I don't think I can get past the web site front for Facebook, why not be upfront in the introduction of the workbook and say it's a link to Facebook?

They've lost credibility with me.