The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day

Headspace combines a lot of great ideas.Mindfulness. There was a time in America when meditation was the domain of gurus and cults. After a bevy of research proved that meditation has long-term benefits for the brain, many practitioners began using the term mindfulness. Mindfulness is also a specific aspect of meditation which seems to have the most clear benefits. In short, even for the most jaded person who doesn't understand meditation, you can still see how beneficial it would be for someone to practice sitting still and being quiet for a few minutes a day. Do this every day, perhaps first thing after you wake up, and you're almost guaranteed to have a better day.A completely friendly approach. The author opens the book with a story about how he escaped by night from a monastic compound because- at that point in his life- silent meditation just wasn't for him. Keenly aware that other people might have a similar reaction, Headspace first and foremost builds a happy and safe environment for all. Cute animated characters, anecdotes, and self-reinforcement messages are sprinkled here and there to help you stick with this new skill.A lovely voice, and a lovely perspective. Andy Puddicombe has the sort of voice to put anyone to sleep. He's honed this talent into a relaxed, soft speaking method for guided meditation. I'd highly recommend anyone interested in this book to also download the Headspace app to try a guided meditation directly from the master. It's really something special. Failing that, there's plenty in the book to help you understand the ins and outs. I would at least encourage everyone to find a video of Andy speaking online, because reading the book in his voice will certainly make it a more enriching experience.The Headspace book covers it all. The benefits of meditation. The history of meditation. How to get started meditating. Roadblocks you might hit during your meditation- from your first session to your second decade practicing. It's all here, it's all friendly, and it exists to benefit you. Give it a try.

I have read several books about meditation and none is as good as this one. It is well explained, easy to read, to-the-point and concise. It is an excellent read that explains what is meditation, mindfulness, their benefits and the way to practice them. I highly recommend it.For many years I have dedicated considerable effort to meditation, with no results that I can be proud of. However, since I was a child I became familiar with those concepts for having read Timothy Gallwey’s books (The Inner Game of Tenis, Golf, etc.). At that time books did not mention the term “mindfulness” as they do now, but I understood the existence of different levels of consciousness, which Gallwey referred to as “egos”, inside our minds. I learned that it was necessary to quiet one of those egos in order to perform better at sports. Quieting that ego was no easy task though, but it was possible with the help of certain mental tools that ended up astounding me when I could perform considerably better than expected, with no effort, much pleasure, as if by magic, as if the performance was done by someone else. Such result is what today is called “being in the zone”.But in spite of this, I could never show such results in other aspects of my life just by practicing meditation. Mindfulness and other techniques helped me in sports, but I cannot say that I had a similar success in my professional or personal life. Up until now, meditation has been to me just another chore.Puddicombe says in his book that he is concerned about some people considering it a chore, but I am concerned about his concern. The great majority of meditation instructors insist on the importance of routinely meditating, time and again for longer periods, in order to get some results, which not always show-up. In fact, there is a section in his book in which he narrates the experience of a monk that invested a long time to improve his patience, just to end up comically showing that he did not succeed. Evidently it is easy to end up practicing many long meditation sessions fruitlessly and that is when meditation becomes a chore.Being deeply aware of life’s simple and not-so-simple experiences (mindfulness) is something that can be intellectually understood and I do have had the opportunity to obtain its benefits in a few occasions, although more frequently in sports. But what is important is to be able to apply meditation and mindfulness concepts to our everyday lives. In other words, we need to be able to export mindfulness tools to our jobs and personal relations in such a way that we can keep a good balance among our performance, learning and enjoyment in every aspect of our lives. To explain these tools and the means to export them is what Puddicombe does so well.Puddicombe says that no book can give you the benefits of mindfulness just by reading it. In fact, that same statement is mentioned in an 80’s movie “The Razor’s Edge”, when a miner hands a book (The Upanishads) to the main character, a monk-to-be. But I do not completely agree. I do have the experience of having consciously read Thureau's classic, “Walden”, and experienced a profound sense of acceptance of everything, that I am OK and that I do not need anything at all to continue being that way, only by reflecting about the writing and my own past experiences. Even so, I do agree that it must be easier to experience the benefits of mindfulness by practicing it.This is the best book I have read in this subject and made me want to come back to the practice, from a freshly new perspective. I have invested an important amount of time and money in books and apps and even so, I will try it again.

I began using the Headspace app, then bought the book. They are an excellent combination! The book compliments and explains in more detail than the app. I really have a great appreciation for both and would recommend both the Headspace app and the book! The stories/analogies Andy (author) shares beautifully illustrates the points he makes. It is a delightfully written book, very witty, interesting a a fast read. I have been using the app for about 40 days now. I am in the "anxiety" 30-day series currently and getting a lot out of it. Headspace mindfulness and meditation practice has really improved my mental health in just this short time. I am definitely a subscriber and look forward to doing other "packs," like the one on stress. I've also used the meditation exercise on "sleep" to get back to sleep in the middle of the night and it has worked every time! What I have learned and began putting into practice from the app and book have truly changed my life!!! I highly recommend both this book and the Headspace app / Headspace.com, including subscribing after doing the unlimited, lifetime, free "Take-10" - 10 Minutes a Day, 10-Day Free Trial" on the Headspace app on Google Play or Apple store.... I am actually in my 3rd reading of the book. I learn more each time I read through it (something I missed other reading) and it really helps "ground me" in my meditation practice while using the app each day...

Nice book. A lot of good information.

La compra y envío estuvieron perfectos.La lectura, edición, y desarrollo del libro, es preciso, iluminador, y por mucho el mejor libro de espiritualidad que se pueda encontrar en occidente, sobre todo para un nivel principiante.Recomendaría tener.ñ al menos un conocimiento básico de los fundamentos de la meditación budista previo a la lectura. En mi caso eso lo hizo una lectura más enriquecedora.

Uma leitura leve, mas baseada nas melhores pesquisas científicas sobre o assunto.Depois de mais de uma década tentando aprender a meditar, mas desanimando porque não tenho muito interesse em linguagem religiosa, o aplicativo Headspace e esse livro finalmente me fizeram adotar o hábito de meditar diariamente (há mais de quatro meses!).

Diversi anni fa nel tentativo di trovare un modo di ridurre l'ansia, il cervello pieno di pensieri, ho sospeso il mio cinismo, spento il cellulare e ho provato a seguire un corso di meditazione di due giorni. Dopo quarantotto ore imbarazzanti di canti, campanelli e silenzi mortali, sono stato mandato a casa con un mantra personale e una raccomandazione a praticare "farlo" per trenta minuti due volte al giorno. Indovina cos'è successo? Non l'ho fatto!Ogni volta che mi sedevo, sperando di ritrovare la calma, finivo per compilare liste mentali di cose da fare. Quando il tempo era scaduto, balzavo dalla sedia sentendomi frenetico e infastidito per aver sprecato mezz'ora della mia vita. Nel corso degli anni ho letto altri libri sull'argomento e sono entrato e uscito. A volte il consiglio di "immaginare i miei pensieri come soffici nuvole in un giorno d'estate" ha funzionato ma, il più delle volte, non ha funzionato. Ho iniziato a leggere Get Some Headspace dopo la raccomandazione entusiasta di un amico, che utilizzava anche l'app Headspace.Mi piace molto il linguaggio semplice di Andy e le sue storie personali. Posso riferirmi al suo desiderio di gestire la voce negativa / vagante nella sua testa e le sue lotte iniziali per ottenere risultati positivi dalla meditazione. Mi sono registrato online, ho scaricato l'app (il che è fantastica perché puoi avere una meditazione guidata sempre e ovunque) e mi sto godendo i miei dieci minuti ogni giorno. Penso che questo sistema funzioni perché offre supporto e incoraggiamento accessibile e mi consente di incorporare facilmente la meditazione in una giornata impegnativa. Con mio grande stupore, comincio a pensare che dieci minuti non siano abbastanza!💯 Voto: Penso sia un libro semplice, che arriva però dritto al punto. Se ti sei mai chiesto cosa significhi meditare e cosa possa portare, questo è il libro che fa per te, pragmatico e esplicativo al punto giusto.Vale un 8.5

I read many books about meditation but this one is one of the best, it is funny, and very helpful, Andy Puddicombe knows how to explain simply difficult ideas. He talks about what happened to him and the lessons he learnt from his experiences. At the end of the book, he gives us some examples of people who changed thanks to meditation. I had never realised how resistant I was to negative thoughts before reading this book ! Thank you Andy Puddicombe!