The title of this book says it all: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of the Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. In this book, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., presents you with the tools you need to make mindfulness and meditation a part of your daily life. The book provides a written blueprint of the eight-week program run at the Stress Reduction Clinic of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Patients with a variety of chronic health conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), have participated in this mindfulness-based stress reduction program.
About the Author
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., is a preeminent teacher of meditation. His scientific background and prolific writing have served to introduce mindfulness and meditation to countless individuals and institutions around the world. In addition to Full Catastrophe Living, he has also written Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life and Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and Our World Through Mindfulness.
Strong Points
- Mindfulness meditation is an age-old strategy for having a balanced mind and a healthy body. This book takes the mystery out of meditation with its easy-to-follow instructions as to what you are actually supposed to be doing when you meditate.
- Offers step-by-step instructions for following the eight-week stress reduction program.
- Discusses a variety of meditation practices, including sitting and walking meditation, the body scan, and yoga.
- Includes easy-to-read scientific discussions of the relationship between stress and illness, as well as the power of mindfulness to bring about healing.
Shortcomings
- To follow the program, one must make a serious time commitment, typically up to one hour per day.
- Benefits of the program are probably enhanced by purchasing the accompanying CDs, at an additional cost.
- Does not address IBS directly –- rather the focus is on mindfulness as a way to set the stage for health and as a means for reducing suffering.
Is This Book for You?
Let me answer this question by first telling you about my reaction to Full Catastrophe Living. As someone who has had a lot of interest in meditation, but could never find a satisfactory explanation as to how to do it, I loved this book! This book has the potential to change your life if you are willing to make the time commitment toward your own well-being. Just keep in mind that the book stresses that mindfulness is not designed as a treatment for conditions such as IBS. However, in my opinion, the inherent nature of the mind-body connection in IBS suggests that anything you can do to bring about a sense of peace and well-being in your mind is only going to have a beneficial effect on your body.
