Resources
We have compiled a list of retreat centers, training, online resources, and Southwest Virginia mindfulness-related organizations for you. Use the navigation below to sort by resource type.
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More is being discovered about the effects of mindfulness all the time, and the American Mindfulness Research Association is at the forefront of that research.
An intentional community that holds a range of programs, events, and retreats. Keep an eye on their calendar to see what they’re up to next.
A nonsectarian Buddhist center that offers weekly programs in Vipassana, Zen, Tibetan, and Western Buddhism.
Sacil believes that everyone can be mindful and creative, and uses the Zentangle® Method to relax, build confidence, and recognize each person’s unique talent.
A contemplative-progressive school right here in Southwest Virginia! You don’t find too many schools where mindfulness is a central focus of the curriculum.
Immerse yourself in the internal martial arts, such as Xing-Yi and Ba-Gua. Mindfulness for the whole body!
Teaching Buddhist philosophy and meditation to all who are interested in Rockbridge County, on 45 acres of hilly forested land.
A Nature Center and Woodland Garden located in Lexington, with a mission to educate and inspire people of all ages to become effective stewards of the earth. Boxerwood sponsors many educational programs, special events, and community activities, some of which are mindfulness-based.
Run by InStill teacher and board member Anna Pittman, The Breathing Space offers a broad range of mindfulness-related workshops and activities to stimulate the consciousness residing in you.
An engaged practice community, following the Bodhisattva path in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Contemplative Higher Education Alliance for Research, Teaching, and Service supports the growth of contemplative practices in higher education by providing opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to engage in cross-institutional events and activities in the mid-Atlantic region.
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning is the home of social-emotional learning.
A center for experiential education, rooted in the Gospels, encouraging the transformation of human consciousness through contemplation, and equipping people to be instruments of peaceful change in the world.
The Center for Mindful Self-Compassion provides information about Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), an 8-week program designed to cultivate self-compassion skills for daily life. It is a place where people can learn about self-compassion, find out where to train in MSC, continue to practice MSC skills, and explore how to teach MSC to others.
The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society is the home of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.
Providing non-sectarian mindfulness instruction, keynote presentations, and organizational consulting and training for criminal justice professionals and employees in all arenas.
Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest is a community engagement experience that invites people around the world to challenge one another to reveal and promote acts of compassion that better our lives, our communities, and all life on Earth.
A documentary and accompanying eBook dedicated to a lifestyle that integrates fitness with spirituality, created right here in Southwest Virginia
A central hub that brings many different practices under one umbrella, to easily find what’s right for you and connect with others of like mind.
This University of Virginia center explores contemplative practices, values, ideas, and institutions, with a mandate to engage the whole institution in mindfulness.
An innovative approach to professional artistry, inspiring creatives to be more professional and professionals to be more creative by providing tools, concepts, and a process for cultivating and sharing your excellence through work that matters.
A small, comfortable space dedicated to promoting the well-being of all who enter. Featuring small classes in Yoga, Tai Chi, and Middle Eastern drum rhythms, plus massage therapies, Reiki, energy healing sessions, and weekly group meditations.
The Work is a powerful tool that can help you find peace in any situation. Trained facilitators are available to Work with you for free at almost any time. InStill ED, Jamie Reygle, used to be one of these.
Founded on the science and philosophy of Ayurveda, Eupepsia combines Advanced Health Screenings with Traditional as well as Progressive Therapies and Fresh Vegetarian Fusion Nutrition, tailored to each person’s body type, in a unique setting tucked in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, USA.
Focusing is a way of living confidently connected to your own inner knowing in relationship to yourself and others. Led by expert teacher Sandy Jahmi Burg, the only Certified Focusing Professional in SWVA.
Liberating peers from addiction & mental illness through acudetox, peer counseling, anxiety/depression groups, and payee services.
Join thousands of others in a weekend of mindfulness, yoga, and music, each Labor Day weekend.
Helping teachers, caregivers, human service providers, environmentalists and others succeed through their Contemplative Teaching and Learning, Transforming Trauma and Transformational Ecology initiatives.
A Chiropractic clinic with a difference, also offering CranioSacral therapy, Laughter Yoga, and regular meditation sessions.
Through Heart Based Therapeutics training and research programs, Heart Based Institute is committed to improving and transforming the quality and effectiveness of Whole-Person Care by supporting its five fundamental dimensions–physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual.
A mindfulness practice community based in Roanoke that meets weekly, for practice, meetings, mindful movement, family hikes, and other social events.
A living container for the realization of the Buddha’s teachings, also promoting interfaith and multi-lineage dialogue.
Offering up to 75% funding to attend meditation retreats for educators, school administrators and other staff, health care professionals, artists, first responders, employees of 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations or private foundations, employees of government or non-governmental organizations providing direct services, members of active or retired military, and reservists.
With a particular focus on mindfulness, Hokie Wellness aims to foster a healthier Virginia Tech community by providing prevention services, education, outreach, and resources to employees and students.
Offering a range of holistic natural and/or energy based services to both people and animals, including Reiki, Aura Clearings, Color Therapy, Home Clearings, workshops, group meditation sessions, Reiki Shares, Canine and Equine Massage, and Animal Communication.
Bringing kindness to some of the people who need it the most – prisoners.
Inward Bound Mindfulness Education is dedicated to improving the lives of teens, parents, and professionals, through mindfulness retreats. You may even find someone from InStill staffing one!
Get the Insight Timer app, and join our SWVA Mindfulness group, providing an opportunity for residents of Southwest Virginia to connect, to sit together, and to share information about mindfulness-related activities in the region.
A form of conscious movement that practices the awareness of body, emotions, thoughts, and our relationship with the world in the present moment.
A hub for serious peace initiatives, a platform that actively supports, advertises, promotes and aids in financing them. It offers a forum where its community debates, discusses and educates each other on what projects to support.
A place for meetings, celebrations, social & group gatherings, workshops, youth, music, retreats, quiet days, and training in Abingdon, with space for overnight, day, hostel, and short and long-term sabbatical stays.
A professional certified life coach since 1999 and former therapist, Doro is one of our teachers, and is dedicated to supporting people mindfully. Sessions can be conducted over the phone.
A counseling and wellness center dedicated to serving the New River Valley and surrounding communities with Mental Health, Wellness, Education, Mindfulness, and Mind, Body, and Spirit Enhancement.
With compassion and humor, Jeff Foster speaks about the journey of healing and spiritual awakening in an unassuming and practical way.
A practical, contemplative, and welcoming intentional community that is open to visitors and interns during the warmer months of the year.
Jessie Benson is a life fulfillment coach, helping people discover who they are and build their own dream life. She also helps people connect with meaning in their life by serving as a meditation and yoga teacher.
A Yoga & Wellness center in Floyd, Virginia, dedicated to providing a sacred space for education and practices that promote a life in balance. It even has a bed and breakfast onsite!
Based in Elkin, NC, Luminous Mind Meditation is run by dedicated meditator and a McLean Meditation Institute certified meditation & mindfulness instructor, Denise Lyon. Most of her teaching occurs there, and she is happy to travel to run workshops and retreats.
A 53-acre retreat center in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Meadows of Dan, Virginia, offering guided programs in forest therapy, meditation, art, yoga and more.
Christiansburg-based counselor with over 25 years’ experience, specializing in helping people with marriage and relationship issues, parenting concerns, and stress management. Trained and certified in mindfulness-based psychotherapy techniques.
A Roanoke-based a psychotherapist with a focus on serving the transgender community. Also a peak performance coach, and group facilitator on topics including Emotional Freedom Techniques, discovering your life purpose, goal-setting, and overcoming emotional eating.
Formed under the guidance of the Tibetan Buddhist Master Lama Norlha Rinpoche, MOCD offers practitioners of various levels and interests the opportunity to develop and sustain the practice of meditation. The organization also provides the meeting ground for teachers across many spiritual paths and disciplines.
Fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between Western science, philosophy, humanities, and contemplative traditions, to build a scientific understanding of the mind as a way to help reduce suffering and promote human flourishing.
If it’s related to mindfulness, they’re talking about it at Mindful.
Sara Yun offers massage therapy and yoga classes exclusively for women over 40, in an effort to break the cycle of putting themselves last.
Mindfulness-based coaching in Mooresville, NC from Dr. Assaad Mounzer, a well respected Physician and Surgeon who has transitioned from Urology to Coaching.
Providing courses designed for under-resourced public schools, and offering educators practical skills for self-care, facilitation, and connecting with youth, with simple, effective mindfulness practices that can be integrated into the school day and adapted for diverse environments.
Offering a variety of classes, as well as daylong and residential meditation retreats throughout VA, WV, and the greater D.C. area – all designed to help you reduce stress and pain (emotional and physical), and discover more calm, joy, and sense of well-being.
A network was established to facilitate communication among all educators, parents, students and any others interested in promoting contemplative practice (mindfulness) in educational settings.
Promoting the science and practice of mindfulness throughout our community, with the vision of becoming a primary source of scientific and practical information regarding mindfulness.
A not-for-profit project with a mission to make mindfulness mainstream, by providing a comprehensive and practical free online guide to mindfulness, featuring leading teachers and experts.
The home of Dr. Dan Siegel’s Interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB), an interdisciplinary field which seeks to understand the mind and mental health.
Dedicated to providing emotional support, fellowship, and information for parents, relatives, and friends of those with mental illness, as well as for consumers themselves. We continue to provide quality programs and events for our community through your support.
Integrating traditional academics, contemplative practice, and experiential learning, Naropa University is this country’s first contemplative university.
A peer-led, weekly group-meeting gathered in the spirit that all individuals have the power and potential to free themselves from the suffering that is caused by addiction(s) of any kind. This is a support group for anyone who has been affected by or are suffering from the disease of addiction.
Wednesdays | 7pm to 8pm
Meetings are on Zoom due to COVID. If interested in joining zoom meetings contact birxellen@gmail.com
A group of people who support each other in Zen practice. Emphasis on strong zazen and the integration of Zen in daily life. Strong zazen involves both discipline and beauty. The beauty of zazen is a mind that is open, attentive, fresh, vital, and sensitive.
Contact
Ellen Birx: 540-230-4955
A place to explore the extraordinary potential that exists in all of us as individuals and together as a human family.
Publishing books on mindfulness in daily life with a committment to making these teachings accessible to everyone and preserving them for future generations.
Providing K-12 educators with innovative practices and principles that integrate social, emotional and academic learning, promote mindfulness, and assist teachers to develop and sustain their own authentic and reflective teaching practice.
Hundreds of articles about mindfulness.
How you look at the world determines what you see, so read some good news for a change.
Providing prisoners, prison staff and prison volunteers with proven effective mindfulness-based interventions.
Creator of easily accessible, open educational resources and curricula, as well as a range of training options, from daily classroom integration to stand-alone health and wellness courses. Their Pure Power Curriculum is freely available to any non-profit that teaches strategies to achieve success through focus.
Offering a unique blend of courses designed to provide the skills and knowledge necessary for becoming a knowledgeable, thoughtful, skillful and caring counselor, including a course on Mindfulness and Counseling.
Offering retreats in the Bön tradition throughout the year, and offering many other opportunities to engage, including daytime visits, service retreats, individual service retreats, and residency programs.
A spiritual education and retreat center dedicated to providing a safe, beautiful and tranquil haven for individuals seeking to awaken to a deeper experience of body, mind, heart and spirit. It is a place to connect profoundly with the natural world and with other like-minded people who are committed to authenticity, exploration, transformation and self-revelation.
Licensed psychotherapist specializingin MBSR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, EMDR, Integrative Yoga Therapy, Acupressure, and Energy Healing.
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Southern Dharma offers affordable, teacher-led retreats in a variety of spiritual traditions with a unifying thread of meditation, contemplation, and silence.
Founded by InStill teacher and adviser, Joe Klein, Springhouse is an independent learner-centered environment that supports 7th through 12th grade students to discover their unique gifts, and also offers programs that foster the holistic development of youth, young adults, and adults.
An inter-faith prayer and retreat center located in Stoneville, NC, featuring a 25,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility situated on 140 acres of beautiful and peaceful wooded property that offers a natural setting for prayer, reflection and meditation.
Tuesdays 6pm-7:15pm;
Thursdays 6pm-7:15pm;
Saturdays 9am-10am
Christ Episcopal Church | Franklin Rd SW & Washington Ave SW
A place where people can learn about Zen Buddhism, find support for their own home practice, and connect with a teacher in a fully established Zen Center. No preliminary training or long preparation is necessary to join.
Contact
Richard Normand: 540-345-5932; tainormand@verizon.net
A yoga studio in Floyd, VA offering several types of yoga, meditation and mindfulness classes, and massage therapy.
This international center for meditation and well-being in Boone, NC, hosts events and programs that help strengthen individuals and relationships, and contribute to individual and world peace.
An educational charity dedicated to building a new world based on interfaith unity and a culture of peace by promoting pluralistic programs and progressive values. They operate a multi-faith spirituality school, an award-winning publishing house, and a peacebuilding practice with programs designed to foster spiritual ascension and social activism.
A multi-faceted program of clinical care, professional training, education, research and outreach intended to further the practice and integration of mindfulness into all aspects of society.
Fostering mindful awareness across the lifespan through education and research, to promote well-being and a more compassionate society.
Find your center at this safe, nurturing yoga community in Roanoke. Uttara’s goal is to help their students become healthier, happier, and more comfortable with their bodies; to teach them ways to calm and focus their minds; to help them become stronger and more vital; and to re-connect to their inner divine light.
Well of Mercy offers a spiritual environment, respectful hospitality, and quiet sanctuary for those in need of a temporary respite from daily demands, expectations, and stresses or those who may simply wish to move apart for a time of prayer, rest, and renewal.
Yoga studio in Abingdon offering a comprehensive array of classes, including short free guided meditations.
A Wytheville-based nonprofit that provides holistic services for optimum health and healing, as a community that integrates complementary alternative medicine into universal health care.
A Dharma practice group that you can join from anywhere in the world. Each Sunday, renowned Insight Meditation teachers offer meditation instruction, teachings, and live Q&A on video.
The home of Integral Yoga® synthesizes the various branches of Yoga into a comprehensive life style system in a residential setting.
We are compiling the most comprehensive playlist of mindfulness-related videos on the web. Choose from dozens of insightful talks and meditations from masters of the mindfulness universe, or simply put the playlist on Random, and see what happens! Either way, keep coming back – we are adding new videos all the time.
Mindful Media
The best way to understand mindfulness is to practice it, and learning from those with oodles of experience is a great way to support your practice. Here are number of books, podcasts, videos, and apps that can help you go deeper into your mindfulness journey. Use the navigation below to sort by resource type. (Books are below and can be sorted by genre.)
Alan Watts is one of the most widely read philosophers of the 20th century. In addition to his 28 books, Alan Watts delivered hundreds of public lectures and seminars the recordings of which have been preserved in the archives of the Electronic University, the highlights of which are featured here.
Dharma talks at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. Each talk helps guide us toward the end of suffering and the attainment of freedom.
A unique biopic about Yogananda, telling the story of his life and influence on yoga, religion and science, combining re-enactment, interviews, and verité.
A simple, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful businessman and an insider in Washington politics, all through being ‘there’ (or ‘here’, for him).
Check in with how you’re feeling, and try short activities tuned to your emotions with this app that utilizes the slogan: Stop Breathe Think.
Brightmind expands the boundaries of human potential through tailored meditation instruction from world-class meditation teachers Shinzen Young and Julianna Raye.
Featuring over 100 guided meditations to help you manage anxiety, lower stress and sleep better, Calm is a great mindfulness app for beginners, and also includes hundreds of programs for intermediate and advanced users.
Relationship therapist Rebecca Wong invites fabulous, big-thinking guests to talk about what it means to be human together. Featuring deep conversations about the big stuff — life, love, and legacy — and how to foster connection for yourself and with yourself.
An overcrowded maximum-security prison-the end of the line in Alabama’s correctional system-is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. A spark is ignited for convicts who will never see the light of day through an extended Vipassana retreat.
The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of Vietnam, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, and an ability to remain present through it all.
This documentary takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy.
Headspace is meditation made simple, teaching you the life-changing skills of meditation and mindfulness in just a few minutes a day.
Jack Kornfield trained as a monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma, and has taught meditation since 1974. He co-founded the Insight Meditation Society and the Spirit Rock Center, and has taught in centers and universities worldwide, working with many of the great teachers of our time. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.
Sermons by Fr. Richard Rohr, a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation. His teaching is grounded in practices of contemplation and self-emptying, expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.
Director Tom Shadyac speaks with intellectual and spiritual leaders about what’s wrong with our world and how we can improve both it and the way we live in it.
A story of soul searching, science, nature and creativity, InnSæi takes us on a global journey to uncover the art of connecting within in today’s world of distraction and stress.
After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school. This is a great way to see how the mind works, and the message – to allow your emotions, rather than deny them – is central to mindfulness practice.
Joseph Goldstein has been a leading light for the practice of Insight and Loving Kindness meditation since his days in India and Burma where he studied with eminent masters of the tradition. In this podcast he delivers these essential mindfulness teachings in a practical and down to earth way that illuminates the practice through his own personal experience and wonderful story telling.
Featuring the largest free library of guided meditations on earth and an excellent meditation timer, all for free, Insight Timer is one of our favorite apps. If you install it, please join our group, SWVA Mindfulness.
A film about finding true happiness and wellbeing through the practice of meditation, pulling back the curtain on what it means to meditate, on what modern science reveals about its benefits, and on how meditation and mindfulness can be used in workplaces and schools.
A documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all. This is a valuable warning for anyone seeking answers outside of themselves.
Focusing is an empowering tool that helps you improve your life by tapping in to the wisdom of your own body. No special tools are needed, you just need to be willing to learn simple techniques that bring you back to your natural state of being.
Susanne Marie offers a space of meeting in the open nature of the heart, where our own humanity is celebrated as the divine and where nothing is excluded. Her work is transformational and empowering as she points to the guide within each of us. She specializes in helping others deconstruct their beliefs of what living a life of freedom looks like, with deep personal insight, humor, and grace.
Clark Kent is an alien who as a child was evacuated from his dying world and came to Earth, living as a normal human. But when survivors of his alien home invade Earth, he must reveal himself to the world. Check out the training Clark receives early in life: a teacher who gets him to focus and visualize, and then later when he explains to General Zod that his parents taught him to focus when dealing with suffering. Once Zod understands this, he is able to change the focus of his perception for positive results.
A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
This documentary is about G.I. Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher and mystic who, after a lifetime study, developed a form of meditation incorporating modern dance.
Bringing ancient wisdom to everyday life in a practical, common sense vernacular. From everyday experiences to pithy revelations, each podcast is a journey on the path of self-discovery led by Sharon.
Join the New York Times bestselling author of The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment for this free series of five curated teaching sessions, recorded at the yoga and meditation center known as Temple of the Universe.
Rachael Kable shares her personal stories and experiences with mindfulness, including how mindful living helped her manage stress and improve her wellbeing. Described by her listeners as “genuine, down-to-earth and encouraging”, Rachael is passionate about empowering people to live more mindfully in fun, simple and meaningful ways.
A podcast offering free guided mindfulness meditation and talks about the subject from somebody out there doing their best to live by it.
Hosted by Krista Tippett, this is a Peabody Award-winning public radio show and podcast. What does it mean to be human? How do we want to live? And who will we be to each other? Each week a new discovery about the immensity of our lives.
Conversations about creating a life worth living. Open-minded discussions of habits, meditation, wisdom, depression, anxiety, happiness, psychology, philosophy, and motivation.
A chance encounter with a stranger changes the life of a college gymnast. The tagline for the film is “There are no ordinary moments”. ‘Nuff said.
A podcast and website dedicated to the exploration of contemporary mindfulness in society.
After Richard Alpert was fired from Harvard in 1963 for conducting psychedelic drug research, he journeyed to India, found a guru and was renamed Ram Dass (“Servant of God”). This documentary details what he has learnt since then.
Ram Dass first went to India in 1967, where his intense dharmic life started, and he became a pivotal influence on a culture that has reverberated with the words “Be Here Now” ever since. This podcast features lectures and spiritual talks Ram Dass has given all around the world.
A surprising story of transformation as troubled kids in a San Francisco public middle school are introduced to the practice of mindfulness meditation in a nearly impossible learning environment.
Satsang, which means ‘association with the highest Truth’, is the invitation to step into the fire of self-discovery. With Mooji, this fire will not burn you, it will burn only what you are not, and set your heart free.
The true story of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber who became friends with the Dalai Lama at the time of China’s takeover of Tibet. This movie gives some great insights into the ways of Tibetan monastics, and the depth of their mindfulness practice.
Tara Brach’s teachings blend Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practices, mindful attention to our inner life, and a full, compassionate engagement with our world. This podcast is a collection of dharma talks that help reveal the possibility of emotional healing and spiritual awakening through mindful, loving awareness as well as the alleviation of suffering in the larger world by practicing compassion in action.
A clear, simple approach to meditation with highly respected meditation teachers, and featuring daily videos and guided meditations; a range of content for coping with day-to-day existence; regularly updated content; practical advice; quick meditations; offline access to guided meditations and videos; and Apple Health App integration.
Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical ABC newsman who had a panic attack live on Good Morning America, which led him to something he always thought was ridiculous: meditation. In this podcast, Dan talks with smart people about whether there’s anything beyond 10%: Can you be an ambitious person and still strive for enlightenment (whatever that means)?
The Force is, in many ways, just another term for mindfulness, so we could have picked any of the Star Wars movies. We chose this one, because this is the one in which Yoda trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi.
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager, who eventually learns the power of presence.
An ordinary Lego construction worker, thought to be the prophesied as “special”, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the Lego universe into eternal stasis. It is when they enter Emmett’s brain and find it to be “prodigiously empty” that they realize he has what is needed to be a ‘master builder’.
Mindfulness is referred to implicitly throughout these films. Frodo goes in and out of being mindful of the effect of the ring has on him; Sam remains mindful of his situation; and Gollum could use some mindful awareness, as could Saruman and Wormtail.
An entertaining, secular, and educational look at the benefits of mindful practice, bringing together an unprecedented group of the world’s leading neuroscientists, psychiatrists, authors, and others to decode mindfulness.
Talks given by world-renowned dharma teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh.
A meditative film about a community of Zen Buddhist monks and nuns who have dedicated their lives to mastering the art of mindfulness with their world-famous teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.
Based on a Bhutanese folk saying that to be a happy person one must contemplate death five times daily, this app helps you contemplate your mortality by sending you five invitations at randomized times with a quote about death from a poet, philosopher, or notable thinker.
This podcast focuses on the things we don’t talk about enough, starting with death, but not ending there, and features interviews with philosophers, health workers, comedians, tech visionaries, and more.
A chronicle of one woman’s one thousand one hundred mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy, that details a personal transformation made possible through confronting “the mix-tape radio station in my head”.
Yoga scholars, teachers and medical experts explore the history of yoga from ancient times to recent history as well as its therapeutic potential.
Books
We have categorized our book selections by: developing your practice, mindfulness in the world, developing your understanding, embodied mindfulness, contemplative Christianity, mindful fiction, mindful poetry, mindfulness for children, and for the classroom. Use the navigation below to sort by genre.
After a nationally televised panic attack, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes, and eventually stumbled upon meditation. 10% Happier takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.
MBSR is the benchmark for mindfulness training, and this workbook gives you the opportunity to practice much of it in the comfort of your own home, in your own time.
Outrageously witty, smart and accessible, Ruby Wax shows ordinary people how and why to change for good, with mindfulness advice for relationships, for parents, for children and for teenagers, and a six-week course based on her studies of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy.
The magical story of an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. The story of the treasures he finds along the way teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts.
A set of immediate, illuminating, and hopeful talks on breaking America’s cycle of racial trauma. In these short reflective essays, Ward offers his insights on the effects of racial constructs and answers the question: how do we free ourselves from our repeated cycles of anger, denial, bitterness, pain, fear, violence? He looks at the causes and conditions that have led us to our current state and finds, hidden in the crisis, a profound opportunity to reinvent what it means to be a human being.
A beautifully written account of an exceptional life, and a profound introduction to the ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Profoundly inspiring, it is at the same time vastly entertaining, warmly humorous and filled with extraordinary personages.
Integrating the wisdom of ancient mystics and the insights of contemporary thinkers, May examines the spiritual longings that are often hidden and controlled by society’s pressures and expectations.
A collection of conversations with the many seekers who came to Maharshi for guidance, encapsulating the essence of Sri Ramana’s teaching: that self-realization is the quest we must all pursue to truly understand the world.
In 1970, Ram Dass’ Be Here Now became the counter-culture bible for thousands of young people seeking enlightenment in the midst of the darkness of Vietnam. It was a pioneering bridge, written in colloquial language, from the psychedelic ’60s to eastern spirituality.
In this lucid classic, beloved teacher Ayya Khema introduces the reader to the how and why of meditation, providing a clear framework for understanding mindfulness practice. With specific, practical advice she illuminates the practices of compassion and sympathetic joy, and offers forthright guidance in working with the hindrances that we all encounter in meditation. Few introductory books are as simple and profound.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu have survived more than 50 years of exile, violence, and oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on Earth. In 2015, they celebrated the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday by creating this book, in which they look back on their lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.
In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as “the younger brothers of creation”. As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.
Razzaque explores an entirely new way of understanding psychological and mental distress based on clinical case studies from a mental hospital. His extraordinary conclusion: mental illness can be a form of spiritual awakening. The book posits that treatment of psychological difficulties should go beyond just “treating” episodes of mental illness but also, where possible, help the individual to complete the process of spiritual growth they have begun.
By using Buddhism as a lens to examine NASCAR racing—and NASCAR as a means to illustrate Buddhist teachings, this book provides a unique new perspective to the field of sports and spirituality. It considers mindfulness, handling setbacks, patience, discipline, heightened awareness, impermanence, equanimity, and how we face death.
At once a love letter to the sport and an engaging introduction to mindfulness, it shows how baseball teaches us deep truths about the world, about ourselves, and about each other. Lopez provides a lens for us to see baseball in a new way, a way that makes us ponder profound questions about winning and losing, about who we are, about finitude and infinitude, about birth and death.
Written by the mother of social-emotional learning, Linda Lantieri, this book offers a breakthrough guide for helping children quiet their minds, calm their bodies, and identify and manage their emotions.
A complete guidebook for all who wish to know the practice of Centering Prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault goes further than offering an introduction: she examines how the practice is related to the classic tradition of Christian contemplation, looks at the distinct nuances of its method, and explores its revolutionary potential to transform Christian life. The book encourages dialogue between Centering Prayer enthusiasts and those classic institutions of Christian nurture—churches, seminaries, and schools of theology—that have yet to accept real ownership of the practice and its potential.
Anonymous
This anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in the 14th century is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer. The underlying message of this work suggests that the way to know God is to abandon consideration of God’s particular activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one’s mind and ego to the realm of “unknowing”, at which point one may begin to glimpse the nature of God.
Batchelor paints a refreshingly doctrine-free, life-informed portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author’s unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker—showing us the Buddha as a flesh-and-blood man who looked at life in a radically new way.
With humor and empathy, Easwaran explains how the mind works, and how it can be changed, using meditation and other spiritual disciplines to shape a secure personality and a resilient, loving mind.
A unique spiritual self-study program designed to awaken us to the truth of our oneness with God and Love. Would you like to feel peaceful even in difficult circumstances? Would you like all of your relationships to be loving? Would you like to feel more connected to your Source? These are the goals of A Course In Miracles. They are achieved by learning to heal all of our relationships through the inspired practice of forgiveness.
The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O
The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O
This work brings together for each day of the year three prayer practices for contemplative living: first, a brief “active prayer”; second, spiritual reading; and, third, Lectio Divina. The brief introductory prayer sentences are from various sources – the Bible, church traditional prayers, or from well-known spiritual writers. The spiritual readings come from Father Keating’s books and talks. Each day’s entry concludes with a brief selection from the Bible, (Lectio Divina).
Brené Brown is a champion of vulnerability, and this book goes into detail how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead.
How can we bring an effortless yes to this moment? How do we stop running from “the mess of life”—our predicaments, our frustrations, even our search for liberation—and start flowing with all of it? In this book, Foster invites us to discover the ocean of who we are: an awareness that has already allowed every wave of emotion and experience to arrive.
Mary Oliver has touched countless readers with her brilliantly crafted verse, expounding on her love for the physical world and the powerful bonds between all living things. Carefully curated, these 200 plus poems showcase the poet at her edifying best.
The story of two men engaged in a passionate search for Dharma—or truth. Their major adventure is the pursuit of the Zen Way, which takes them climbing into the High Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude.
Prison activist and meditation teacher, Fleet Maull, shares his journey of transformation and service amidst the anger, violence,darkness and despair of a maximum security federal prison. This collection of writings from his 14 years behind bars vibrates with kindness, hope and the triumph of the human spirit. It is a testament to the truth that all human beings possess basic goodness.
The story of a young man and a generation of angry youths who rebelled against their parents and the unfulfilled promise of the sixties. Noah Levine’s search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn’t end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society.
This book points us directly to the diamond of truth that we really are. It offers us clear support in allowing any seeming obstacle to become a conduit for deeper awakening as the diamond is “polished naturally by life itself.”
In this memoir, Moorjani relates how, after fighting cancer for almost four years, her body-overwhelmed by the malignant cells spreading throughout her system-began shutting down. As her organs failed, she entered into an extraordinary near-death experience where she realized her inherent worth . . . and the actual cause of her disease. Upon regaining consciousness, Anita found that her condition had improved so rapidly that she was able to be released from the hospital within weeks . . . without a trace of cancer in her body! She shares all she has learned about illness, healing, fear, “being love,” and the true magnificence of each and every human being!
Edited by Tracy Heilers, Tim Iverson & Barbara Larrivee
This collaborative book contains dozens of stories of school transformation through mindfulness, in a multi-perspective exploration of the emergence of mindfulness in US education.
Written by local Zen roshi and Christian, Ellen Birx, this will appeal to Christians who are interested in the interspiritual practice of Christianity and eastern forms of meditation and mindfulness. Also included are sections on prayers and practices for those wishing to explore and apply the thoughtful insights Birx offers to their own interspiritual practice.
Goleman argues that our emotions play a much greater role in thought, decision making and individual success than is commonly acknowledged. He defines “emotional intelligence”—a trait not measured by IQ tests—as a set of skills, including control of one’s impulses, self-motivation, empathy and social competence in interpersonal relationships.
The life and teachings of the wandering lama, Patrul Rinpoche—a highly revered spiritual master and scholar of nineteenth-century Tibet. Patrul’s life story reveals the nature of a highly realized being as he teaches both simple nomads and great lamas in ways that are often unconventional and even humorous, but always with uncompromising authenticity.
Through his lyrical translations, Coleman Barks has been instrumental in bringing this exquisite literature to a remarkably wide range of readers, making the ecstatic, spiritual poetry of thirteenth-century Sufi Mystic Rumi as accessible as possible.
Rohr us the belief that we have no real access to who we really are except in God. Only when we rest in God can we find the safety, the spaciousness, and the scary freedom to be who we are, all that we are, more than we are, and less than we are. Only when we live and see through God can “everything belong.”
In the same way that we fall into the arms of a loved one or drop our heads on the pillow at night, we can surrender into the beauty and truth of who and what we really are. Adyashanti shares what he considers fundamental insights that will “spark a revolution in the way we perceive life,” through a progressive inquiry.
A fantastic toolkit for becoming as engaged as possible in the classroom. What are the five dimensions? Cultivating an open heart; engaging the self-observer; being present; establishing respectful boundaries; and developing emotional capacity. Sounds like mindfulness to us!
Renowned for the beauty and simplicity of his teachings, Ajahn Chah was Thailand’s best-known meditation teacher. His charisma and wisdom influenced many American and European seekers, and helped shape the American Vipassana community. This collection brings together his most powerful teachings, including those on meditation, liberation from suffering, calming the mind, enlightenment, and the ‘living dhamma’.
The Four Agreements are simple: Be impeccable with your word; Don’t take anything personally; Don’t make assumptions; and Always do your best. This book gives you their background, and some handy tips on how to keep them.
A rich composition that expands the spiritual vision introduced in The Waste Land. Here, in four linked poems, spiritual, philosophical, and personal themes emerge through symbolic allusions and literary and religious references from both Eastern and Western thought. The culminating achievement of a man who has been called the greatest poet of the twentieth century.
Thich Nhat Hanh has lived in exile from his native Vietnam since 1966. These remarkable early journals reveal not only an exquisite portrait of the Zen master as a young man, but the emergence of a great poet and literary voice of Vietnam. An elegant and profound glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world’s most beloved spiritual teachers.
