Mindfulness for Health

A Practical Guide to Relieving Pain, Reducing Stress and Restoring Well-Being

By: Vidyamala Burch, Danny Penman

Narrated by: Vidyamala Burch

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Pain, suffering, and stress can be intolerable - but it doesn't have to be this way. Mindfulness for Health reveals a set of simple practices that you can incorporate into daily life to relieve chronic pain, suffering and stress. Clinical trials show that mindfulness meditation is at least as effective as the most commonly prescribed painkillers and can be more powerful than morphine. Mindfulness can also significantly reduce the anxiety, depression, irritability, exhaustion and insomnia that can arise from chronic pain and illness.

Mindfulness for Health is based on a unique meditation programme developed by Vidyamala Burch to help her cope with the severe pain of a spinal injury. The Breathworks Centre founded by Vidyamala - and its affiliates around the world - have helped thousands of people cope with pain, illness and stress. Its pioneering approach is praised by Professor Mark Williams of Oxford University, Jon Kabat Zinn, and Professor Lance McCraken of King's College London. The eight week programme at the heart of this book takes just 10-20 minutes per day. You'll be surprised by how quickly your suffering melts away, leaving behind a deep-seated love of life. This title includes eight guided meditations which appear throughout the audio, as well as being collected at the end.

©2013 Danny Penman and Vidyamala Burch (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A beautiful and compassionate book, Mindfulness for Health will put you back in touch with the extraordinary person you already are" (Professor Mark Williams, University of Oxford)

"This book provides an extremely effective and elegant mind-body approach to healing... Highly recommended" (Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author of Full Catastrophe Living and Coming to Our Senses)

"In a world of much suffering, this book is a gift of wisdom and practical help" (Professor Paul Gilbert, PhD, OBE, author of The Compassionate Mind and Mindful Compassion, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, UK)

"If you have chronic pain or another persistent health problem, if you struggle, feel stuck or feel alone, read and follow this book. It will encourage, guide and liberate you" (Lance M. McCracken, PhD, Professor of Behavioural Medicine, King’s College London)

"An excellent resource for people in the community who live with pain and long-term health conditions, and also for those health-care professionals who support them" (Peter Moore, co-author of the Pain Toolkit)

"Through simple exercises, well explained and prepare... they guide the reader through the principles and practice of mindfulness applied to pain, and towards self-understanding, gentle control and connectedness" (Dr Amanda C de C Williams, Reader in Clinical Health Psychology, University College London)

"Vidyamala and Danny have written an inspiring book... It is alive with heart-warming stories and practical and engaging ways of managing your distress and finding more joy, peace, wisdom and compassion for yourself and others - from day one of this excellent programme. It is a guidebook for thriving and not just surviving each day" (Timothea Goddard, MBSR teacher, Psychotherapist – Openground, Australia)

" Mindfulness for Health offers those who struggle with the painful loss of health much support to become more alive and compassionate and not trapped by pain and ill health. This truly resourceful book will help people grow their own sense of self... and lessen their suffering" (Dr Frances Cole, GP, Pain Rehabilitation Specialist and CBT therapist, Leeds Community Trust, Spinal Pain Management Service, UK)

"Thoughtful and practical... This will be an important resource for the mindfulness community" (Dr Elizabeth Foley, Senior MBCT Facilitator & Researcher, Sydney, Australia)

"Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman... show how the benefits of mindfulness can bring a different kind of healing so that the mind-body can be calmed, focused, refreshed and renewed" (Liz Lobb, Professor of Palliative Care, Sydney, Australia)

"Mindfulness offers a distinctly compassionate and authentic way to reconcile our experiences of pain... I would really encourage you to give yourself eight weeks with this book. You will be rewarded with a profound change" (Dr Margaret Macky, FAFOEM, Occupational Medicine Specialist, New Zealand)