Showing posts with label jon kabat-zinn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jon kabat-zinn. Show all posts

32% Off Discounts: Lowest Price Mindfulness for Beginners Review

Mindfulness for Beginners

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Mindfulness for Beginners Review

This CD is an introduction to mindfulness that is aimed at an audience of Westerners who are not familiar with Eastern philosophy. This audio provides the foundational concepts necessary to have a meditation practice and gives a taste of several different types of practice.
The first CD covers concepts such as the present moment, the definition of mindfulness at attending to what is arising in the moment, awareness, the relationship between mind and heart, etc. It also covers the importance of openness and curiosity vs. judgment and identification with what is going on. That is to say, it distinguishes between a witness of what is arising and the phenomena in question. In other words, it makes the point that there is something standing behind the mind, emotions, sensations, etc. and that this something is a type of consciousness called witness consciousness. This CD also goes into the important of allowing (non-striving) vs. a desire that pushes toward acheiving something. In the last section of CD Zinn contrasts awareness which is passive and accepting with thinking which arises out of desire.
The second CD provides an introduction to some minfulness practices such as mindful eating, breath meditation, mindfulness of the body as a whole, mindfulness of objects such as sounds, thoughts and emotions. It also introduces the notion of meditation as pure awareness without judgment. One might compare this to pure experience without desire or aversion. Although one is given a taste of each of these practices, none of them are comprehensively covered and the guided meditations are not long enough for practice purposes except for a complete beginner.
In general, meditative practices are divided into concentration practices (narrowing the attention) and mindfulness practices (awareness is expanded in a detached way). On the this CD, all of the practices are termed mindfulness practices, but the CD actually contains both types which in essence are about attending to different aspects of reality in different ways.
As someone who teaches meditation to Westerners myself, I find this an excellent, gentle and easily accessible introduction. It achieves what it sets out to do, which is to provide a philosophical framework for a meditation practice and the very basics of starting one.
If you enjoy this tape and you want to take things deeper, then Guided Mindfulness Meditation (Guided Mindfulness) by the same author would be a logical continuation. The book Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation would also be a great next step. Something complimentary that build on it, but is a bit more heart-centered would be Meditation for Beginners. There is also a listmania list on my profile for meditation that has other recommendations.

Mindfulness for Beginners Overview

Perhaps no other person in America has done more to bring mindfulness meditation into the mainstream than Jon Kabat-Zinn. Through many research studies and his pioneering work at the University of Massachusetts where he is founder of its world renowned Stress Reduction Clinic, Kabat-Zinn has served as a recognized bridge between science and meditation. With Mindfulness for Beginners, he offers the definitive course designed specifically to introduce new students to the proven benefits of mindfulness practice, including: stress reduction, alleviation of depression, chronic pain relief, and more.

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34% Off Discounts: Best Price Guided Mindfulness Meditation Review

Guided Mindfulness Meditation

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Guided Mindfulness Meditation Review

I have purchased this CD set despite some of the really bad reviews it got from some users. I have just started using it, and I list some of the good and some of the not so good impressions about it:
Good:
- The sessions are adequately long. 45 minutes is really required to achieve optimal state of relaxation and mindfulness. Many of the other meditation CDs I found way too short (eg. 10-15 minutes a session)
- Kabat-Zinn is a renowned researcher in his field, he really knows what he's talking about. You can indeed reach deep levels of relaxation with his CDs.
- The set mixes Midfulness Meditation with Mindfulness Yoga. This is great, because it makes the practice more interesting.
Not so good:
- I really like meditating with some ambient music in the background, to block out disturbing noises. This meditation CD set is recorded with narration only - there's no music. I have however resolved this easily by digitalizing the CDs and mixing them with David Miles Huber's excellent meditation music. This resulted in MP3s that are truly excellent to listen to on my MP3 player.My advice is that you buy the companion book, "Full Catastrophe Living" from Kabat-Zinn. Read the book first, and then start practicing with the CDs. It is very important to understand how Kabat-Zinn recommends you approach meditation, and without reading the book you will not be able to take full advantage of the CD.
Finally, although some said that Jon Kabat-Zinn's voice is annoying, I did not find it so. It comes down to individual tastes I guess. Rather than concentrating on the quality of the voice, just listen to the message it carries. After all, meditation - among other things - is about being non-judgmental, right? :)
More later, when I used the CDs for a couple of months.
Update:
I promised I'd be back with another review once I completed the entire program of MBSR using this CD set and the book "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn. So, here I am, past 8 weeks and I am so glad I embarked on this journey. I have been struggling with stress for several years and a couple of months ago it got out of hand. That's what led me to this program. In 8 weeks I am off of prescription medication, I have about a tenth of the stress level I had before and I feel much more balanced and relaxed than ever before. If you have GAD, I truly believe this program can help you and bring dramatic changes to your life. All you have to do is stick with it and don't give up. No magic pills here - 8 weeks of dedicated practice is needed. Plus, as Jon Kabat-Zinn says in his book, the 8th week lasts the rest of your life. I'd say this program is probably designed for the novice meditator and it does a particularly good job in getting a novice meditator like me up to speed. Here's why I found it particularly helpful in starting my meditation practice:
- The CD set which is the subject of this review is just a part of the overall program material. "Full Catastrophe Living" is also an essential part of the program and I would say don't even start the practice with these CDs until you read the book at least once. Coupled with the insight you get from the book however, this CD set will be a very powerful tool.
- The meditations are heavily guided and some lamented on this fact. On the other hand, for a novice meditator, it is this "heavy" guidance that offers a tether to hold onto. For the novice, it is a blessing, rather than an annoyance.
- I found that the mixture of yoga and meditation exercises on this CD set gives a great balance and variety to the meditation practice. I am glad to have learned about yoga at the same time. The Hatha yoga exercises are really easy, and for the first time I finally understood that yoga is not about flexibility of body, rather flexibility of mind.
- Previously I commented that the lack of background ambient music was a negative. Actually, I have a different view on this now. Since the CDs have no background music, I am free to choose and mix my own background music with it. This is great, because I choose the exact music I like, rather than having just one choice - whatever the program comes with.
In my opinion, this CD set coupled with the equally valuable book is an excellent introduction to meditation and mindfulness. Anybody deciding on starting a meditation practice would benefit enormously from Jon Kabat-Zinn's program.
I tried meditation on my own, before I purchased this program. I successfully entered mindless states of trance every time, and even dozed off many times. Then I took Jon Kabat-Zinn's program, and finally I understand what is meant by the slogan they used on some T-shirts: "Meditation - it's not what you think!"
Buy the book, buy the CDs and fall awake. This program is worth 10 times its price.

Guided Mindfulness Meditation Overview

Perhaps no other person has done more to bring mindfulness meditation into the contemporary landscape of America than Jon Kabat-Zinn. Th rough a number of research studies, and through Kabat-Zinn's pioneering work at the University of Massachusetts Medical School where he is founder of its world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic, mindfulness is finally being recognized as a highly effective tool for dealing with stress, chronic pain, and other illnesses. Today, with a four-part home training course, Jon Kabat-Zinn offers listeners the definitive mindfulness meditation practice on CD. ?We are not trying to actively achieve a state of deep relaxation?or any other state for that matter?while practicing mindfulness, ? he teaches. ?But interestingly, by opening to an awareness of how things actually are in the present moment, we often taste very deep states of relaxation and well-being?of both body and mind.? Join the bestselling author of Coming to Our Senses (Hyperion, 2005) and Wherever You Go, There You Are (Hyperion 1995) to develop and deepen your personal mindfulness practice, and to taste the universal aspects of stillness, clarity, wisdom, compassion, and well-being that Guided Mindfulness Meditation offers.

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