Books like The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook — picked by fans

Reading this book helped me change my life for the better. Putting Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings into practice in my daily life helped me live a more mindful, more peaceful life at a time of great transition in my personal life.

One of the things I love the most about this book is how simple it is to incorporate its practices into daily life. There are sections on how to be mindful about washing dishes or answering the phone! There are also sections that went much deeper, which dealt with how to be mindful of my emotions, which I have found so valuable in dealing with anxiety, difficult situations, and fear.

One of my favorite experiences related to this book was guiding a group of middle school-age kids through a discussion inspired by the “Tangerine Meditation.” Instead of a tangerine, we considered a piece of paper and talked about the… show more.

My copy of the original, 1995 edition of this book (published by Rodmell Press), is filled with paperclips and sticky notes marking my favorites among these very nourishing practices. Lasater is a physical therapist, with a PhD in East-West Psychology, who has taught yoga around the world since 1971. Back when yoga was becoming popular in the West--and many people viewed it as a “work-out”—Lasater pioneered the relaxing practice of restorative yoga, which was designed to help heal the effects of chronic stress. The book features dozens of restful poses, where the body is supported with various props—such as bolsters and blankets—arranged to make you as comfortable as possible so you can relax, breathe easily, find your center, and release tension from your body and mind.  

During his very first yoga class, back in 1970, Richard Miller became enthralled with the final relaxation, a practice called shavasana (the corpse pose)—where you lie on your back, quiet your mind, and surrender your body to the earth. “For the first time in years, I felt free of all conflict, radiantly joyful, and attuned with the entire universe,” writes Miller, who was inspired to study yoga and understand this process of deep rest, which he would later learn as Yoga Nidra. Now a clinical psychologist, researcher, and yoga scholar, Miller presents a step-by-step guide to this deep relaxation, accompanied by a helpful CD that includes six guided Yoga Nidra practices. I’ve downloaded these audios onto my phone and enjoy letting Miller’s calm voice guide me into deep relaxation.   

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a rather complicated relationship with exercise.

It always felt like something I was *supposed* to do and as a person who’s never been particularly athletic, I just didn’t like it. Until I read The Joy of Movement. This is a love letter to exercise. And it’s all based in science. McGonigal is an absolute whiz at making research interesting and accessible.

By the end, I finally found my joy in movement and now I look forward to exercising most days of the week!

Mindfulness has become a more popular concept in the realm of relaxation training, wellness, spirituality, and health, but many books are focused on adults. Children can also practice mindfulness which is having a reflective stance in daily life including appreciating experiences in the moment, being mindful of how you speak to people and of your relationships, incorporating a meditative element to daily life, and reflecting deeply on experiences and learning from those experiences. The author was involved in developing a mindfulness curriculum for school children which has been deemed quite effective in increasing focus and calm and decreasing discord and behavioral problems among children in the toughest classrooms. Check out this book, then try a book on mindful parenting!

Dr. Chatterjee’s podcast Feel Better, Live More and The Stress Solution gives a fascinating insight into Dr. Chatterjee’s work with patients and how he has been coaching them into better health by reducing their stress levels. As a stress management expert myself, I am a huge advocate of learning techniques to help you reduce stress and, as Dr. Chatterjee says, it only takes a few small lifestyle changes to live a happier life. This book will give you simple steps to take that can really transform how you feel.

Another pioneer in the therapeutic humor field: this one written for the health professions. In spite of that, any reader can get a lot from this book. It introduces the benefits of humor not only as a healing tool for the patient, but as a stress management tool for the health professional as well. Certainly, any reader dealing with stress can benefit from the coping characteristics of humor.

It’s hard for me to explain just how important this book has been in Western culture. Part autobiography, part meditation manual, this book is what popularized the modern mindfulness movement, beginning with Jon’s first forays into teaching ‘secularized’ mindfulness practices in the basement of a medical school building in the late 1970s.

Rather than staying in that basement, Jon’s combination of scientific training, deep commitment to understanding the mechanisms of the mental joy and suffering, and passion for helping others came together to create one of the first and most influential Western meditation training programs: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. This program has been the foundation for decades of scientific research as western culture as come to appreciate the importance of training ourselves for mental health and wellness.

This book is the story of that program, it takes you firsthand through the rationale and practices that have helped so many people, acting… show more.

Our well-being is largely within our influence. But that doesn’t mean context doesn’t matter. Too often the burden of burnout is placed on the shoulders of educators; the reality is that burnout is made worse by unhealthy working conditions. This book will reassure you that burnout is not your fault, while giving you ideas on what schools need to make conditions better.

Moss does a great job breaking down decades of burnout research to help any reader realize the specifics of their burnout and what the biggest culprits are. Read this to feel affirmed. Then ninja-sneak it onto your principal’s desk as required reading.

I have probably purchased 150-200 copies of this book over the years, and it has been required reading for anyone in or supporting my last teams. 

The Empowerment Dynamic is an easy read about two guys who meet at a beach on a fateful day, and the story unfolds with excellent advice to eliminate drama from our lives.

When we adopted these best practices, the little dramas that are like cancer inside of companies shifted victims to empowered creators, perpetrators to challengers, and rescuers to coaches. 

Empowerment is a mindset, and the shifts outlined in TED are not only powerful – they’re also very easy to embrace and implement. This is the best $10 you can spend on Amazon to improve outcomes at work and in life!