Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition)

relaxation can be frustratingly elusive if you are unaware of your body. The stress of daily living often produces tension that tends to localize in particular muscle groups, such as the shoulders, the jaw, and the forehead.

paying attention to it systematically, we will be far more attuned to what it is telling us and better equipped to respond appropriately. Learning to listen to your body is vital to improving your health and the quality of your life.

physical symptoms are messages the body is giving us that allow us to know how it is doing and what its needs are.

is not that mindfulness is the “answer” to all life’s problems. Rather, it is that all life’s problems can be seen more clearly through the lens of a clear mind.

joy. Anyone can do it.

mindfulness is the most reliable source of peace and joy

Similarly, when we focus on our breathing down in the belly, we are tuning in to a region of the body that is far from the head and thus far below the agitations of our thinking mind. It is intrinsically calmer.

In MBSR, we generally focus on the sensations of breathing at the belly rather than at the nostrils or in the chest. This is partly because doing so tends to be particularly relaxing and calming in the early stages of practice

Your vision should be what you believe is most fundamental to your ability to be your best self, to be at peace with yourself, to be fully integrated as a person, to be whole.

The athlete trains regularly, every day, rain or shine, whether she feels good or not, whether the goal seems worth it or not on any particular day.