Speakeasy book review: Mind Your Life by Meg Salter

I have been on a bit of a mindfulness jag lately. I took a class on Coursera called 'Demystifying Mindfulness'. It was a good precursor to this book as it gave me a basic understanding of the more contemporary study of mindfulness which this book is geared toward. I was drawn to this title because of the aim to make mindfulness practice more easily accessible throughout the day rather than being limited to a certain time and place. The book is based on a particular brand of mindfulness training begun by Shinzen Young.

What I liked: The book is very well organized. Salter lays out each chapter clearly and includes a reference chart which she builds upon as the information and practices become more complex. She also gives her own background and journey into mindfulness, sharing her own struggles with settling her body down (dealing with the 'itchy-scratchies')  in order to practice. Once you start to become familiar with the process and the vocabulary that makes up the basis of the practice it all starts to fall into place. It does take some study and thinking. The differences between practices such as "Just See", "Just Hear", "Just Feel" and "Focus In", "Focus Out", etc. are kind of subtle.
I especially liked her description of how to de-tangle ourselves from our emotions. Many people think mindfulness is about shutting off our feelings or ignoring them or even fighting with them. This is not true but it can be hard to come up with a way to explain what mindfulness training is trying to accomplish. Salter explains it as learning to look at our emotional filters rather than through them. For instance, it is very easy to act out based on how we are feeling (seeing through or with emotions). We might find ourselves often reacting through anger by saying things we don't mean or kicking things. By learning to step back -- to observe ourselves and our habitual patterns of action/reaction -- we can learn to look at those emotions more objectively and without judgment toward ourselves. We become more able to just observe: I am feeling angry, what is the anger doing to me physically? What has angered me? Why? How can I handle this situation gracefully despite how I am feeling? The more we practice mindfulness whether during a time we set aside each day or as we go through our day, the easier it becomes to handle all the ways life pushes our buttons.

What I didn't like: Overall, I very much like this book. I will reference it often. I didn't find as much 'going throughout your day' stuff as I had hoped. The author emphasizes the importance of finding specific time during the day for formal, seated meditation. Still, many of the practices can be 'taken with you', and she lists ways in which you can incorporate them on the go. I also wasn't a fan of the cutesy nicknames DAN and MoMo to refer to the two different ways we function in life (habitual patterns vs. moment to moment mindfulness) but that's just me - I don't usually like cutesy nicknames.

What I learned: A whole ton of stuff! If you are interested in pursuing a mindfulness practice, put this on your list of must reads along with John Kabbat-Zin's books.

Image Credit: amazon.com

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.