Mindfulness & meditation books & resources

The following is a list of recommended books and resources about mindfulness and meditation. The Location(s) available column shows where these books are available, eg, from your local Christchurch City Library (CCL) and/or from the Mental Health Education and Resource Centre (MHERC).

Books can be reserved online and checked out by visiting CCL or MHERC. If a book is not available, a librarian may be able to suggest another book or place a hold on a book. To borrow or place a hold on a book, you must be a member of the library. MHERC can post books and other resources out to its users, including those living in rural areas, and will include a post-paid bag for returning books. Once read, books need to be returned to the library.

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Cover

Title & Author

Description

Year

Location(s) available

The Mindful Way Through Anxiety: break free from chronic worry and reclaim your life

By Susan M Orsillo & Lizabeth Roemer

Year: 2011

Subject: Anxiety

With clarity and compassion, this book describes clinically tested mindfulness practices specifically tailored for anxiety in its many forms. Learn step-by-step strategies for gaining awareness of anxious feelings without letting them escalate; loosening the grip of worry and fear; and achieving a new level of emotional and physical wellbeing.

2011

Location

CCL

MHERC

The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness

By Williams, Teasdale, Segal & Jo Kabat-Zinn

Year: 2007

Subject: Depression

In The Mindful Way through Depression, four uniquely qualified experts explain why our usual attempts to “think” our way out of a bad mood or just “snap out of it” lead us deeper into the downward spiral. Through insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern meditative traditions and cognitive therapy, they demonstrate how to sidestep the mental habits that lead to despair, including rumination and self-blame, so you can face life’s challenges with greater resilience. Jon Kabat-Zinn gently and encouragingly narrates the accompanying CD of guided meditations, making this a complete package for anyone seeking to regain a sense of hope and wellbeing.

2007

Location

CCL

MHERC

This one moment: skills for everyday mindfulness

By Marsha Linehan

Year: 2005

Subject: DVD. Practice skills

We’re often so caught up in our insecurities and fears–thinking about the past or worrying about the future–that we miss the very moment we’re in. Integrating practical wisdom from Eastern and Western traditions, this program helps clients learn and practice six fundamental skills for living fully and consciously in the present.

2005

Location

2005

Meditation: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World

By Mark Williams & Danny Penman

Year: 2011

Subject: Mindfulness

The book offers simple and straightforward forms of mindfulness meditation that can be done by anyone–and it can take just 10 to 20 minutes a day for the full benefits to be revealed.

2011

Location

MHERC

Quiet the Mind: An illustrated guide on how to meditate

By Matthew Johnstone

Year: 2012

Subject: Meditation In a world where finding even ten minutes to ‘do nothing’, the benefits of meditation can be profound. Meditation is simply a way of giving our brains a well-deserved break and can actually help our brains to function healthy and happily. This beautifully illustrated guide is an inspiring and practical book which shows you how to meditate without the need for uncomfortable lotus positions or prayer beads! With his typical gentle and insightful humour, Matthew’s guide to meditation will enable to you to feel more present, more youthful, have more energy and greater concentration, improve your mood and sleep more soundly.

Subject: Meditation

In a world where finding even ten minutes to ‘do nothing’, the benefits of meditation can be profound. Meditation is simply a way of giving our brains a well-deserved break and can actually help our brains to function healthy and happily. This beautifully illustrated guide is an inspiring and practical book which shows you how to meditate without the need for uncomfortable lotus positions or prayer beads! With his typical gentle and insightful humour, Matthew’s guide to meditation will enable to you to feel more present, more youthful, have more energy and greater concentration, improve your mood and sleep more soundly.

2012

Location

CCL

MHERC

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook

By Martha Davis

(SL only)

Year: 2008

Subject: Relaxation techniques

This new edition is updated with powerful relaxation techniques based on the latest research, and draws from a variety of proven treatment methods, including progressive relaxation, autogenics, self-hypnosis, visualisation, and mindfulness and acceptance therapy. In the first chapter, you’ll explore your own stress triggers and symptoms, and learn how to create a personal plan for stress reduction. Each chapter features a different method for relaxation and stress reduction, explains why the method works, and provides on-the-spot exercises you can do to apply that method when you feel stressed. The result is a comprehensive yet accessible workbook that will help you to curb stress and cultivate a more peaceful life.

2008

Location

CCL

MHERC

Full Catastrophe Living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness

By Jon Kabat-Zinn

Year: 2013

Subject: Mindfulness-based

Stress. It can sap our energy, undermine our health if we let it, even shorten our lives. It makes us more vulnerable to anxiety and depression, disconnection and disease. Based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s renowned mindfulness-based stress reduction program, this classic, groundbreaking work—which gave rise to a whole new field in medicine and psychology—shows you how to use medically proven mind-body approaches derived from meditation and yoga to counteract stress, establish greater balance of body and mind, and stimulate well-being and healing. By engaging in these mindfulness practices and integrating them into your life from moment to moment and from day to day, you can learn to manage chronic pain, promote optimal healing, reduce anxiety and feelings of panic, and improve the overall quality of your life, relationships, and social networks. This second edition features results from recent studies on the science of mindfulness, a new Introduction, up-to-date statistics, and an extensive updated reading list. Full Catastrophe Living is a book for the young and the old, the well and the ill, and anyone trying to live a healthier and saner life in our fast-paced world.

2013

Location

MHERC

Resilient: Find your inner strength

R Hanson

Year: 2018

Subject: Inner-Strength

In Resilient, he explains how to build the very foundations of well-being by harnessing the power of positive experiences to build an unshakeable core. Dr. Hanson poses that anyone can build up resilience, the key to a positive mindset, unshakeable sense of self and the ability to get back up again and withstand anything life throws your way. He has distilled 40 years of clinical work and teaching into 12 practical, highly effective tools to help you build your resilience. Working with these tools allows you to enter a positive feedback cycle, which creates a sense of well-being, which in turn establishes resilience, and ultimately powers itself to strengthen you. Developed from his incredibly popular online course called The Foundations of Well-Being, here is the groundwork you need to meet any challenge in life head on and to live with an open heart.

2018

Location

CCL

A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled

By R Wax

Year: 2016

Subject: Mindfulness

Five hundred years ago no-one died of stress: we have invented this concept and now we let it rule us. Rest has become a dirty word, and our idea of satisfaction is answering the last email. We’re sleepwalking through our own lives. Ruby Wax shows us how to wake up from this stupor with a scientific solution to modern problems: mindfulness. Outrageously witty, smart and accessible, Ruby Wax shows ordinary people how and why to change for good. With practical exercises for your daily routine, and a six-week course based on her studies of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy with Mark Williams at Oxford University, A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled is the only guide you need for a healthier, happier life.

2016

Location

CCL

Relaxations: Big Tools for Little Warriors

By Mamen Duch

Year: 2018

Relaxations is a guide on mindfulness techniques for children. Creative metaphors work to help children achieve a state of calm and concentration through breathing, relaxation, and visualization. This book uses gentle affirmations to improve and enhance confidence, self-esteem, concentration, and creativity!

2018

Location

CCL

Just Breathe: Meditation, Mindfulness, Movement and more

By Mallika Chopra

(SL & HL only)

Year: 2018

A meditation guide for teens offers specific mindfulness exercises to help deal with day-to-day challenges and includes tips to lead a happier, healthier, and more connected life.

2018

Location

CCL

MHERC

Happy: A Children’s Book of Mindfulness

By Nicola Edwards

Year: 2018

Happy gently encourages young readers to explore their emotions and the beautiful world around them, with stunning illustrations and thought-provoking rhymes on every page. This poetic journey to a place of happiness and calm will inspire and empower your child to enjoy the practice of mindfulness.

2018

Location

CCL

A Feel Better Book for Little Worriers

By Holly Brochmann

Year: 2017

Illustrations and simple, rhyming text provide young children with tools for dealing with feelings of anxiety, such as breathing deeply or replacing worry with happy thoughts.

2017

Location

CCL

A Feel Better Book for Little Tempers

By Holly Brochmann

Year: 2017

Illustrations and simple, rhyming text provide young children with tools for dealing with feelings of anger, such as pretending the anger is a baseball that can be batted away or breathing deeply.

2017

Location

MHERC