Although meditation is an ancient practice, it is very present today. Much of the blame for this is that it provides many benefits to people’s health, especially in these times. For example, meditation mitigates the effects of stress improves attention span, helps control emotions and pain management…
Books on meditation and relaxation
Seeing this, it is not surprising that many people practice meditation. If you want to delve deeper into this topic or are a person who wants to start meditative practice, in the following lines you can find a list of books on meditation and relaxation which can be very useful.
1. 50 Exercises to Learn to Meditate (Géraldine Prévot-Gigant)
Meditation has proven to be very effective in improving people’s well-being and health; However, some practitioners do not meditate well or do not adhere to the practice because of the irrational expectations they may have about it. This text provides a compilation of exercises so that both beginners and experts can meditate in the best way and achieve the emotional balance they need to live in harmony.
2. Awakening the heart: The art of loving yourself well (Sandra García Sánchez-Beato)
The book “Awakening the heart: The art of loving yourself well”, written by psychologist Sandra García Sánchez-Beato is a practical manual in which we will find a wide variety of therapeutic resources, reflections and meditations with which to connect again with our innate goodness.
This book is aimed at all those people who want to learn to find the way to awaken their hearts and incorporate new ways of loving themselves and others into their lives.
3. Basic course for the practice of Zen (Robet Aitken)
Robert Aiken puts all his knowledge at the service of individuals who decide to start meditative practice. A very enjoyable guide that reviews the foundations of this ancient practice of Zen and provides many tips to make us more aware of our internal and external experience. It helps us relate better to the environment and empowers us in life.
4. Meditate: perennial wisdom (Vicente Merlo)
This book deals with meditation from a practical perspective, since the work contains a CD that includes up to 10 meditations guided by Vicente Merlo. In addition, the book provides a lot of theoretical content, dealing with aspects of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
5. The practice of mindfulness (Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the great teachers of meditation in the West and the person who popularized Mindfulness also in the Western world. This book is a complete work that explains the theoretical and practical foundations that help to understand the practice of Mindfulness and the different types of meditation that are part of it.
- In this link you will find more information about the book.
6. The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation (William Hart)
Vipassana meditation is a type of meditation that focus awareness of breathing, tuning the air that enters and leaves through the nose. It also focuses on labeling thoughts and experiences as they arise. This book is, without a doubt, ideal for learning to practice vipassana meditation, very useful for the Western rhythm of life.
- To find out more, access this link.
7. Initiation to Mindfulness (Vicente Simón)
There is a lot of talk about Mindfulness today, largely thanks to Vicente Simón, a doctor, psychiatrist and professor of Psychobiology, and one of the best-known disseminators of this practice. This work is a short, manual work that helps beginners to delve into meditative practice and Mindfulness
- To read more about him, click here.
8. A new vision of Buddhism: synthesis of the eastern soul and western knowledge (Vichitr Ratna Dhiravamsa)
A text that aims to adapt the teachings of Vichitr Ratna Dhiravamsa to Western culture, to improve the psychological development of those people who wish to acquire greater well-being and, therefore, greater emotional balance A spiritual book, full of eastern teachings. Now, very useful for the current pace of life.
- You will find more information here.
9. Zen mind, beginner’s mind (Suzuki Roshi)
This book was published in 1970, but it is still one of the best manuals for learning Zen meditation. In the initial chapters, it talks about topics such as, For example, the proper posture for meditation and how to connect with your breath, but then delves into key aspects of meditation and the Zen tradition. It’s a perfect manual to flip through when necessary.
- If you want to read more about the book, this is your link.
10. Live Crises Fully (Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Moments of crisis can make us go through delicate moments, which causes us to lose our bearings a little and need to find emotional balance again. Jon Kabat-Zinn teaches us to live fully in those delicate moments of life.
- Learn more about the book here.
11. Meditation: the development of positive emotions (Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Meditation is key to learning to manage and regulate emotions in a more adaptive way, as it helps us improve our self-knowledge and find the ideal mindset to master emotions, thanks to the development of full attention. This work focuses on the meditative technique of Mettabhavana which has its origins in the beginnings of Buddhism and which, today, continues to be very effective.
12. There’s no right way to meditate and other lessons (Yumi Sakugawa)
It is a cartoon book, and a brilliant work that introduces meditative practice. While other books may focus more on theoretical knowledge, this book is rather practical It is suitable for all audiences.
- If you would like to read more about this interesting meditation book, click here.
13. It will not always be like this: the path of personal transformation (Shunryu Suzuki)
Shunryu Suzuki was a well-known Zen master, who frequently spoke in his talks about the importance of having a beginner’s mind, i.e. an observant mind and not influenced by prejudices In this book you will find some of his great teachings.
- Are you interested? Follow this link.
14. I Walk with a Heart (Jack Kornfield)
A well-known meditation manual, which is in its 4th edition in Spanish. Mix humor with recommendations and suggestions so that the reader learns to meditate and get the most out of this practice A very useful book for psychotherapists.
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Here you will find more information about the book.
15. Be Peace (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most important figures of the generation that has allowed Buddhist teachings to be known in the Western world. While the vast majority of his books focus on compassion, this one is perfect for the beginner who longs to understand how to live peace His teachings on how to relate to everyday feelings and perceptions can be very useful to the reader.
16. How to meditate (Pema Chodron)
If your goal is to start meditating from scratch, this book by Pema Chodron is ideal. It is a work that deals with a fundamental theme, that of understanding and accepting strong emotions. Treating yourself with love can make the difference between living in well-being or suffering discomfort.
- To get it or learn more about it, click here.
17. Meditate day by day (Christophe André)
Everyday life can become difficult if we have a mentality that leads us to it. Negative thinking and living with unrealistic expectations can be detrimental to one’s emotional health. This text by Christophe André is an ideal meditation guide for those people who want to learn to practice Mindfulness with the guided meditations in CD format that this work includes.
- On this page you will find more information about the book.
18. Meditate with Mandalas (Michal Beaucaire)
Mandalas are one of the artistic and cultural elements associated with meditation, which you can learn about in this article: “Mandalas: Buddhist wheels used in meditation.” This work makes it possible to meditate with these elements, as they make meditation easier and more effective. Without a doubt, a different but very instructive text.
- Click here to know more about him.
19. Meditation in 10 minutes (Sofía Correa and Vicente Nuñez)
In these times, the accelerated standard of living can lead us to suffer serious problems such as stress. The authors of this text, aware of this reality, have created this work full of content and techniques to achieve a new level of peace in the life. It is a practical text to reduce anxiety and revitalize the body.
- To read its first pages, click here and then on its cover.
20. Awakening Story (David Smith)
This is an inspiring text for anyone who wants delve into Buddhism and know the most important aspects of this way of thinking and behaving. The book has two very different sections. One of them is a kind of autobiography of the author and the other is an interview that invites us to discover the soul of the human being.
- If you are interested, click here.
