[.ca] Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body ... (ISBN 0739358588)

From Amazon.com:
Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is perhaps the best-known proponent of using meditation to help patients deal with illness. (The somewhat confusing title is from a line in Zorba the Greek in which the title character refers to the ups and downs of family life as "the full catastrophe.") But this book is also a terrific introduction for anyone who has considered meditating but was afraid it would be too difficult or would include religious practices they found foreign. Kabat-Zinn focuses on "mindfulness," a concept that involves living in the moment, paying attention, and simply "being" rather than "doing." While you can practice anything "mindfully," from taking a walk to cleaning your house, Kabat-Zinn presents several meditation techniques that focus the attention most clearly, whether it's on a simple phrase, your breathing, or various parts of your body. The book goes into detail about how hospital patients have either improved their health or simply come to feel better despite their illness by using these techniques, but these meditations can help anyone deal with stress and gain a calmer outlook on life. "When we use the word healing to describe the experiences of people in the stress clinic, what we mean above all is that they are undergoing a profound transformation of view," Kabat-Zinn writes. "Out of this shift in perspective comes an ability to act with greater balance and inner security in the world." --Ben Kallen

This book made a difference.:
I read this book and did not like it. I found it described a life I did not want to know about so I put the book aside having skipped a number of the chapters. Six months later when my wife was admitted to the ER with severe headaches I remembered the central message in this book. The message is clear and simple, the "bad" times in life are as valid an experience as the "good" be there, be aware,accept,don't wish for better times, don't run away from catastrophe. I was aware and present for the next three weeks, the most important three weeks of my life. I felt so lucky that I had read this book. It could be a lot shorter and more focused but the central message is invaluable.

For use teaching prenatal, gentle yoga:
This book was required reading for a prenatal yoga training that I was to take. Before attending the training I had a miscarriage and this book really helped me move to a more peaceful place more quickly, with more awareness. I have used it as a reference in teaching a gentle yoga class to a pain support group and will use its mindfulness-based techniques to empower women for the birthing process. This book will really change the way you relate to yourSelf and the life you are given. It contains powerful tools for taking charge of your life. What's missing from your life may well be YOU! Embrace its teachings to live your life more FULLY!

Amazing Book:
Amazing book for anyone that has lived a difficult life. In my case I was a victim of abuse. This book has done so much for me. I am enlightened and inspired to move forward with my life. Great Books: Running With Scissors,Dry and Nightmares Echo

A must read for people living with chronic conditions.:
This is one book I refer back to again and again. It teaches a new way of dealing with the physical body by listening to it and working with it. It improved my understanding of my physical condition and greatly reduced my frustration level.

Feeling empowered again:
This book helps even the most distressed of us learn about self-healing and self-nuturing. I recommend it for heavily stressed people to help settle and relax them, and find ways of mastering one's mind and circumstances. I also highly recommend "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Book of Wisdom" by Taro Gold which is another great reading tool to regain one's feelings of empowerment. Excellent.