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    How to Relax

    Part of Mindfulness Essentials

    Author Thich Nhat Hanh
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $10.95 US
    Parallax Press
    On sale Sep 18, 2015 | 120 Pages | 9781941529089
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    Stop, relax mindfully, and recharge to control stress and renew mental freshness and clarity. 

    The fifth book in the bestselling Mindfulness Essentials series, a back-to-basics collection from world-renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice.

    Thich Nhat Hanh says that when we relax, we "become calm water, and we will reflect reality as it is. If we’re not calm, the image we reflect will be distorted. When the image is distorted by our minds, it’s not the reality, and it causes lots of suffering." Relaxation is essential for accessing the tranquility and joy that lead to increased personal well-being. With sections on healing, relief from nonstop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, being peace, and more, How to Relax includes meditations you can do to help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are.

    Scientific studies indicate that meditation contributes tremendously to well-being, general health, and longevity. How to Relax is a unique gift for those who want a simple guide to achieving deep relaxation, controlling stress, and renewing mental freshness and clarity, appropriate for those practicing in any spiritual tradition, whether seasoned practitioners or new to meditations.

    With sumi-ink drawings by celebrated artist Jason DeAntonis.

    AWARENESS OF BREATHING



    Your breathing is a stable, solid ground where you can take refuge. No matter what thoughts, emotions, and perceptions are going on inside you, your breath is always there, like a faith¬ful friend. Whenever you’re carried away by thinking, overwhelmed by strong emotions, or feeling restless and dispersed, return to your breathing. Bring body and mind together and anchor your mind. Become aware of the air coming in and going out of your body. With awareness of the breath, our breathing natu¬rally becomes light, calm, and peaceful. At any time of the day or night, whether you’re walk¬ing, driving, working in the garden, or sitting at the computer, you can return to the peaceful refuge of your own breath.
    Copyright © 2016 by Thich Nhat Hanh. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
    Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned spiritual teacher and peace activist. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he published more than 100 books, which have sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. Exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for promoting peace, his teachings on Buddhism as a path to social and political transformation are responsible for bringing the mindfulness movement to Western culture. He established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the heart of a growing community of mindfulness practice centers around the world. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.
    Thich Nhat Hanh View titles by Thich Nhat Hanh
    The Mindfulness Essentials have appeared on the NPR Bestseller list, the San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller list, the Boston Globe Bestseller list, the LA Times Bestseller List and the extended New York Times Bestseller List.

    “The monk who taught the world mindfulness.”
    —TIME

    “Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal inner peace and peace on earth.”
    —His Holiness the Dalai Lama

    “Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”
    —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    "How to Relax calls out our fast-paced society for its seeming inability to stop and smell the flowers. Through his easily digestible instruction and no-nonsense delivery, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us how to incorporate mindfulness and gratitude into our everyday lives, asserting we can center ourselves and meditate anywhere—in front of the television, in our seats at work, or even on a crowded train."
    —Marie Claire magazine

    About

    Stop, relax mindfully, and recharge to control stress and renew mental freshness and clarity. 

    The fifth book in the bestselling Mindfulness Essentials series, a back-to-basics collection from world-renowned Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice.

    Thich Nhat Hanh says that when we relax, we "become calm water, and we will reflect reality as it is. If we’re not calm, the image we reflect will be distorted. When the image is distorted by our minds, it’s not the reality, and it causes lots of suffering." Relaxation is essential for accessing the tranquility and joy that lead to increased personal well-being. With sections on healing, relief from nonstop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, being peace, and more, How to Relax includes meditations you can do to help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are.

    Scientific studies indicate that meditation contributes tremendously to well-being, general health, and longevity. How to Relax is a unique gift for those who want a simple guide to achieving deep relaxation, controlling stress, and renewing mental freshness and clarity, appropriate for those practicing in any spiritual tradition, whether seasoned practitioners or new to meditations.

    With sumi-ink drawings by celebrated artist Jason DeAntonis.

    Excerpt

    AWARENESS OF BREATHING



    Your breathing is a stable, solid ground where you can take refuge. No matter what thoughts, emotions, and perceptions are going on inside you, your breath is always there, like a faith¬ful friend. Whenever you’re carried away by thinking, overwhelmed by strong emotions, or feeling restless and dispersed, return to your breathing. Bring body and mind together and anchor your mind. Become aware of the air coming in and going out of your body. With awareness of the breath, our breathing natu¬rally becomes light, calm, and peaceful. At any time of the day or night, whether you’re walk¬ing, driving, working in the garden, or sitting at the computer, you can return to the peaceful refuge of your own breath.
    Copyright © 2016 by Thich Nhat Hanh. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

    Author

    Thich Nhat Hanh was a world-renowned spiritual teacher and peace activist. Born in Vietnam in 1926, he became a Zen Buddhist monk at the age of sixteen. Over seven decades of teaching, he published more than 100 books, which have sold more than four million copies in the United States alone. Exiled from Vietnam in 1966 for promoting peace, his teachings on Buddhism as a path to social and political transformation are responsible for bringing the mindfulness movement to Western culture. He established the international Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism in France, now the largest Buddhist monastery in Europe and the heart of a growing community of mindfulness practice centers around the world. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 95 at his root temple, Tu Hieu, in Hue, Vietnam.
    Thich Nhat Hanh View titles by Thich Nhat Hanh

    Praise

    The Mindfulness Essentials have appeared on the NPR Bestseller list, the San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller list, the Boston Globe Bestseller list, the LA Times Bestseller List and the extended New York Times Bestseller List.

    “The monk who taught the world mindfulness.”
    —TIME

    “Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal inner peace and peace on earth.”
    —His Holiness the Dalai Lama

    “Thich Nhat Hanh is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”
    —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    "How to Relax calls out our fast-paced society for its seeming inability to stop and smell the flowers. Through his easily digestible instruction and no-nonsense delivery, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us how to incorporate mindfulness and gratitude into our everyday lives, asserting we can center ourselves and meditate anywhere—in front of the television, in our seats at work, or even on a crowded train."
    —Marie Claire magazine

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