"How to Relax is part of The Mindfulness Essentials series of how-to titles by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, introducing beginners and reminding seasoned practitioners of the essentials of mindfulness practice. Pocket-sized, with original two color illustrations by Jason DeAntonis, How to Relax shows how critical it is to regularly interrupt the hub-bub and routine of our lives to stop, relax mindfully, and recharge. Thich Nhat Hanh says that when we relax, we "become calm water, and we will reflect reality as it is. If we're not calm, the image we reflect will be distorted. When the image is distorted by our minds, it's not the reality, and it causes lots of suffering." With sections on healing, relief from nonstop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, being peace, and more, How to Relax includes meditations you can do to help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are. …
"How to Relax is part of The Mindfulness Essentials series of how-to titles by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, introducing beginners and reminding seasoned practitioners of the essentials of mindfulness practice. Pocket-sized, with original two color illustrations by Jason DeAntonis, How to Relax shows how critical it is to regularly interrupt the hub-bub and routine of our lives to stop, relax mindfully, and recharge. Thich Nhat Hanh says that when we relax, we "become calm water, and we will reflect reality as it is. If we're not calm, the image we reflect will be distorted. When the image is distorted by our minds, it's not the reality, and it causes lots of suffering." With sections on healing, relief from nonstop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, being peace, and more, How to Relax includes meditations you can do to help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are. It's a unique gift for those who want a simple guide to achieving deep relaxation, controlling stress, and renewing mental freshness and clarity, appropriate for those practicing in any spiritual tradition, whether seasoned practitioners or new to meditations. With fifteen two color drawings by celebrated artist Jason DeAntonis. "--
This book is good. Especially for people in cities who are so used to a busy schedule that keeps them on the toe. Mostly this book deals with relaxing the body and letting go of fear, anxiety, stress. However, it could have been nicer if the book had also offered insight on how to handle excitation and happiness as well. Like as in you are so excited and happy about something that you are constantly thinking of it. Even in such cases how to be relaxed and mindful, the book could have dealt on those as well. But I guess we could try breathing practices when overwhelmed by happiness or excitation as well.
"How to fight" is my favorite of all mindfulness essentials series.
I've seen this book circulate fairly often, and I love my pocket Pema Chodron book on mindfulness and intention, so I figured I'd give this series a try too. I have the rest of the books on order and I'm very excited to read the rest and see how they resonate with me.
I ironically just got back to work from a week-long vacation where I ultimately ended up realizing that I truly don't know how to relax!
Before working at a library, I spent almost a decade working in food service: everything from barista jobs to hosting, to catering and eventually managing a bakery department at a vegan diner. Sometimes I was working one job, sometimes I was working 3 jobs. Sometimes, I worked 35 hours a week and barely made rent, sometimes I worked 75 hours and barely slept. I was so used to this fast-paced, grueling lifestyle …
I've seen this book circulate fairly often, and I love my pocket Pema Chodron book on mindfulness and intention, so I figured I'd give this series a try too. I have the rest of the books on order and I'm very excited to read the rest and see how they resonate with me.
I ironically just got back to work from a week-long vacation where I ultimately ended up realizing that I truly don't know how to relax!
Before working at a library, I spent almost a decade working in food service: everything from barista jobs to hosting, to catering and eventually managing a bakery department at a vegan diner. Sometimes I was working one job, sometimes I was working 3 jobs. Sometimes, I worked 35 hours a week and barely made rent, sometimes I worked 75 hours and barely slept. I was so used to this fast-paced, grueling lifestyle that when I was hired at a library, I didn't really know how to slow down to a new pace. It's still a process to adjust.
Before I started my staycation, I made a list of tasks I wanted to accomplish, ranging from small chores around the house to massive DIY projects, even trying to teach myself languages. I realized that I was trying to do the impossible, and not only would I not have enough time to even scratch the surface of my list, I wouldn't have any time to truly relax either. So, I pared my list down to what I thought was still "doable" and started my vacation. I got plenty of rest in, did plenty of projects I'd been procrastinating on, but I ended up feeling much more anxious as the days went on that I wasn't doing "enough" with my time and always needed to be busy or I was "wasting time" and "wasting my vacation" on "nothing."
This book was really refreshing, and while I wish I read it before my time off, I still valued reading it after and realizing that yes, I didn't know how to relax then, but I have more tools in my toolkit to relax in the future.