These are the books I reach for again and again personally and to share with students—those that have most impacted my practices and perspectives. They are ostensibly about mindfulness, meditation and restorative yoga, but hold far greater lessons about how stress and relaxation work in our bodies, living a balanced life, and finding more calm and joy.
In this time of year-end reflection and best-of lists, I feel compelled to share a collection of mindfulness, meditation and restorative yoga books that have shaped my life and path profoundly over the past few years. Books I've turned to over and over and over, both personally and to share with students.
(I’ve read and marked these up so many times, in fact, that one of my mentors/an author below actually asked to take a photo of the most loved copy of her book she’d ever seen!)
These books will likely change your understanding of mindfulness, meditation and restorative yoga...and their lessons span far greater. Together, they also share inspiring (and for me, deeply resonant) personal stories of healing, the science of how stress and relaxation work in our bodies, tools and perspectives for leading a more balanced life, and ways we might find more calm and joy on a daily basis.
In order of most frequently pulled off the shelf:
📖 “Deep Listening: A Healing Practice to Calm Your Body, Clear Your Mind, And Open Your Heart” by Jillian Pransky
About her journey of healing through discovering restorative yoga–a resting style of yoga, the practice (including illustrated how-to's), how stress and relaxation work in the body, and sooo much more!
One that resonated sooo deeply in my soul–about slowly reawakening from a broken place and rediscovering life’s (and nature’s!) tiny magic and the meditation of daily noticing.
My favorite of all the Buddhist monk’s books, this one speaks incredibly accessibly yet poetically about mindfulness, meditation and in general how to live with more peace and joy.
Another must-read personal journey about discovering restorative yoga, the path to healing, and respecting the darkness and where we are along the way.
An absolute classic for those interested in mindfulness and/or meditation, teeming with perspective-shifting how-to's and insights into the practices, ideas on integrating them into your everyday, and even extremely powerful specific meditations like the legendary Mountain Meditation.
My second-favorite by him, this one is a beautiful pocket-sized compendium of quick, easy-to-grasp tips and insights on meditation that can be read sequentially or just one at a time.
💖 Is one of these your favorite, too? Which one and why? And is there anything in this vein you’d highly recommend?!? I'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts via the comment form at the bottom of the page, or shoot me a DM on Instagram. 💖
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