All of the “best of” lists are coming out, including Mindful Magazine’s Best Mindfulness Books of 2021!

I am happy to announce that Savor Every Bite: Mindful Ways to Eat, Love Your Body and Live with Joy made the list! This was such an honor and wonderful surprise recently that I wanted to share my delight with you. If you haven’t bought it yet, go to your local, independent bookstore and ask for a copy. If all else fails, buy it from you know where. And don’t forget, if you read it and liked it, please post a review on Amazon. It is the best gift you can give an author. Thanks!

So far I’m two for two. My first book, The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution: Proven Strategies to End Overeating, Satisfy Your Hunger, and Savor Your Life made the Top Ten Mindful Books of 2016. I guess I’m on a roll! This book is used in my ten-week mindful eating class called, Eat for Life.

Buy the books and if you want more, join my Eat for Life class and get an in-depth experience of how mindfulness and mindful eating can improve the life you’re living. It covers everything from listening to your body when you eat and loving your body now to understanding your connection to the world through the way that you eat and much much more. Go to my website and check out the page entitled Eat for Life for more information and to register.

I also recommend checking out the other books on the “best of” list. You can go here for the complete list.

Among them, here are my favorites:

1) Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind by Judson Brewer, MD, PhD

I have known Jud Brewer for many years and have followed his work on smoking cessation, mindful eating, and anxiety. Everything he offers is backed up by rigorous research and dedication. If you have anxiety, you can break the cycle of worry and fear with mindfulness.

2) Yoke – My Yoga of Self-Acceptance by Jessamyn Stanley

I don’t personally know Jessamyn but I am very familiar with her work. This is on my “must read” book list for 2022. She brings real authenticity to the yoga mat and to life–sharing her path of “living her yoga in a fat, Black body under a white supremacist system.” She writes about her own uneasiness about the cultural appropriation of yoga as well as her journey to self-acceptance and self-love.

3) Outsmart Your Pain: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to Help You Leave Chronic Pain Behind by Christiane Wolf, MD, PhD

I have known Christiane Wolf from Insight LA and am happy to see her on the list with her book about pain. If you have chronic pain or have clients or patients with chronic pain, get this book. She features stories from patients, 10- to 15-minute guided practices designed for those coping with pain, and straightforward, research-supported advice to shift how we experience chronic pain using mindfulness and self-compassion.

4) Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive by Kristin Neff

Speaking of self-compassion, Kristen Neff is the authority. I met her at a mindfulness conference many years ago and have been fascinated with her work ever since. I can’t wait to get this book and use it in my own work. I have added a section on self-compassion in my Eat for Life classes in the past years and it has been extremely beneficial for my participants.

5) Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day by Amishi Jha, PhD

Amishi Jha is also someone that I saw present at mindfulness conferences for many years. She has been a leading neuroscientist studying the effects of mindfulness on the brain. I love that she has concluded you need only 12 minutes of meditation a day. Yes, folks, that’s all you need for more attention and focus. If you think you could benefit from a little less distraction in your life, buy this book!

Of course, I’m sure the entire list is fantastic. Check it out and create your own reading list. If you haven’t started a mindfulness practice, this list will surely get you started. It would be an investment that gives back many times over.

Stating the obvious mildly, the world has been a difficult place to live in these past couple of years. Make sure you are taking care of yourself by being more present, not less. Your presence is your best skill to use in difficult times and with challenging emotions.

Happy New Year and may your 2022 be the BEST YET!!!