Eff This! Meditation

I love this! The book makes meditation seem like less of a big deal with simple and quick ways to start.

You could work you way through from the short exercises to the longer ones, you could dip in and out. I think it'd be ideal for someone who wanted to start meditating but didn't know how. I like the no nonsense approach from the author as well.

If you are used to meditation I'm not sure you'd learn anything new necessarily but it might spark off a new type of practice or remind you that there are other ways to approach it.

I wouldn't recommend this to my students, but I _would_ get a copy for my best friend's birthday. :) There aren't really any new ideas in here, but they're all nicely compiled, with pretty little pictures to make you smile, and done in a way that eloquently pulls off being both lady-like and snarky at the same time. Definitely a good gift book.

This is a gorgeous book, one that will be the most effective in print form, not Kindle. It is also a short book (can easily be read within an hour) with practices to help you become more mindful in your daily life. Sitting meditation is just one of the practices, the book has others too.

The book is divided into a few sections - one minute meditations, five minute meditations, fifteen minute meditations, thirty minute meditations, one hour meditations and longer meditations. The tips have been told with enough details as to not obsessively research them and enough brevity that one doesn't procrastinate the reading part. Overall, this is how to do a tips book right.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.

With thanks to Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point for letting me review this ARC copy!

Let me begin with one small critique: I'm not a fan of the current trend in self help books to begin all titles with cursing. It isn't that I'm a prude, but, as I tell my students, constantly relying on these words diminishes their shock value. Furthermore, language is so rich that they should really be in your reserve arsenal for the really bad, the ugly, and the unexpected (I've banged my elbow against the car door #$%!). That being said, I understand that this trend is a marketing ploy. Coupled with the cutesy cover art, it can make the reader feel like he or she is getting away with something (or maybe sticking it to someone - eff you, other meditation books!)

With that out of the way, let me say that Liza Kindred won me over in the very first sentences of Eff This! Meditation. Her tone is the accepting tone of a best friend and she emphasizes that readers should take what's useful to them and apply it - and ditch the rest without feeling guilty. In a genre that too often scolds its readers (if your life didn't radically improve after reading this, you're doing it wrong, for example) she has a refreshing and honest voice. I'm fond of the quote "if you're not angry about something, you just aren't paying attention" and her introduction reminds us that those of living in the Western World are dealing with a lot: politics, advertising, unhealthy food, media pressure... So, if you're feeling less than stellar, it probably isn't you. The good news? Eff This! Meditation contains practices ranging from just one minute (do these in the elevator on the way to that meeting you're dreading) to over an hour (do these when you finally get a weekend to yourself and want to reset).


Each exercise is laid out in an easy to understand format and most include helpful tips that function as examples. Above all, each exercise and section reminds readers that this is a practice that builds on yourself. We've all heard that meditation can rewire the mind, but you don't have to rewire in one day, or one session, or even one read through of this book. I highly recommend this as a gift to a stressed out coworker, a book club that wants to try something interactive - or to yourself if you're feeling burnt out on, well, all the things. When you've finished it, think about picking up Sharon Salzberg's Real Happiness. It has a similar tone and would make a great companion read.

You know the kind of supportive friend that always encourages you to take care of yourself and not be so hard on yourself. This book is like that friend. Written in an informal and friendly style, author Liza Kindred skips over all that complicated science behind meditation and self-care and gets right to the good stuff - activities you can do that work. She encourages you to do the ones that feel good, skip the ones that don't. The practices are separated by time (from one-minute to an "hour-ish" and longer. I received a review copy on the computer from NetGalley; I'm going to buy this book so I can flip through it when I need a boost. I can't give it a higher compliment than being willing to spend money on it (I'm very stingy, hehe).

Eff this! Meditation had me at the title.

A clean looking, calming, self help style book with ideas to calm from anywhere from one minute to days at a time.

I felt this book was a hit for me where others failed in the way that it is not a memoir disguised as a self help book. The ideas were really short and simple. All ideas were feasible. There were no outlandish tips and I think that it’s a great guide book for anyone.

I would change the title of this book to "Eff This! Mindfulness, Inspiration and Motivation: 108 Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for When You're Feeling Stressed Out, Anxious, or Overwhelmed". I think the current title implies a focus on meditation and although there are plenty of good meditation exercises scattered throughout the book they seem to make up a minority of the 108 trips,tricks and ideas.

Beyond the mistitling this is a lovingly created book that many people will enjoy. It offers a wide array of self care practices that are organized by the amount of time they take. This is a great starter book although readers who are already familiar with self-care may wish it went a little deeper (this is a breadth book not a depth book).

Super approachable and accessible meditation guide for those in all walks in life! I enjoyed reading through the book, learning more about myself, and stowing away some best practices for the future. I would definitely recommend to those who are new to meditation or just want to read a different approach to the practice.

One of the first parts of the book mentions being able to turn to any page when you're stressed or overwhelmed for a practice that will help. This is so nice for when you just need to try something new and get a clear head.

This is a beautiful book I'd love to own a physical copy of, or give as a gift. It takes what can sometimes be overwhelming concepts for mindfulness and breaks them down into understandable, manageable chunks. There are mindfulness activities broken down by time, for when you have: 1 minute, 5 minutes, 20, 30, or 60+ minutes. The guidance is clear and positive. Plus there are lots of pretty images. This will be a very useful tool for those who have good intentions yet struggle to bring mindfulness into their daily routines. These activities are fairly attainable for just about anyone.

Ask and you shall receive! This was a "Wish Granted" book and I am most thankful to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a gem! Whether you have a short amount of time or all day long, there is a practice in this book for you. Divided into one-minute, five-minute, fifteen-minute, thirty-minute, one-hour, or longer exercises and tips, Liza Kindred has provided a warm, familiar voice - much like a close friend - that helps guide you to finding a more peaceful state of mind.

Some of my favorites? #6 Message in a Bottle, #11 Forgive Someone, #38 Change the Actual Air, #44 Diaphragmatic Breathing, and #62 Body Scan.

I will definitely be purchasing this book for a couple of friends and family members (and myself!) as gifts when it comes out.

I loved this book. I think the best part is that it's so practical and it includes 1-minute tips! Being able to relax, meditation, mindfulness, even just stop for a while - All of this is so difficult for me. With this book, it feels as all of this can be easily integrated as part of my daily life.
I also feel this book is so much more than meditation as it gives practical tips to a healthier and "calmer" lifestyle overall. I'd recommend this book to any meditation newbies like me.

Love the options for meditations of varying length and how detailed the meditations are. Would be great for people who are looking into beginning meditation or are looking to extend their practice.

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Eff This Meditation is a book about how to take care of yourself, relax more, acceptance, meditation and mindfulness. I feel like the title is a bit misleading or doesn't give you the full scope of the book. To me it felt like it was about so much more than meditation or maybe the author uses a different definition of the word than I do. It's not just about sitting and focusing on your breathing or being present in the moment, it's about that, but also much more. It's about self care in general, relaxing and being accepting of things and not judging.

I liked the authors tone in which she wrote this book and how she makes it clear that not every tip is for you and if it doesn't feel right you should stop with it, she even encourages this. I liked that and how it wasn't a plan or guideline you had to follow and how you have do what feels right for you. I also think that this book is very accessible, especially for those new to meditation. The book is written in an easy to follow style, with a very accepting and encouraging tone. It isn't too deep or complicated and the tips start with things that take as little as 1 minute of your time.

I felt at times it was almost a bit too accessible,if that makes sense? I felt a bit too easy to jump into and not deep enough at times. And on the one hand I think this is great as I think everyone can find something they can take away from this book and it's not too daunting for those new to meditation. I think the problem is more that I expected it to be all about meditation, going more in depth and offering various techniques and picking up new techniques I didn't know yet. It also had a bunch of ideas or concepts I was already familiar with, so I felt like I didn't get as much of the book as some others might.

This book contains 108 tips, tricks and ideas as the title states. Basically you have usually one page per one of these things, sometimes two at max and with a little bit of explanation. For most things this worked really well, but for others I would've liked a bit more in depth knowledge or a variety of ways to achieve that thing. It almost seems a bit too simple this way? But that's also what makes it so accessible. I also found myself liking the longer ideas better as they seemed more effective somehow, but I realize that's probably my own bias too, as at the same time I can definitely see how the short ideas will still be better than nothing when you only have a bit of time.

While there are a lot of ideas, tips and tricks in this book, there definitely are a bunch of them that I felt wouldn't work for me or didn't make me excited to try them, add to that a bunch of ones I already was aware of or even already do and it just felt like I didn't get as much out of this book as I would've liked. I think this is mainly because I already have read a bit about this topic and those who are pretty new to this won't have the same issues.

This is one of those books that would be even better in physical format I think. It's one of those books you can place in an easy accessible place and pick it up and pick one of the tips to try when you have a moment. Although it's definitely great to read it from start to finish as well to get a feel for all that's in the book. It's also beautiful formatted, each page is pleasant to look at and is nicely decorated. The formatting really adds to the book.

To summarize: Eff This Meditation is a very accessible book for those new to mediation or who want to work more on relaxing or self care. This book uses a very broad definition of meditation or in my opinion goes a bit beyond that and covers everything from self care, acceptance and relaxing. For me I felt like it didn't add as much new ideas as I had hoped for, I also thought the book seemed almost a bit too simple at times and I would've liked a bit more in depth information. I went into this book expecting something different than what I got and that made it harder for me to fully connect with this. From all the tips, tricks and ideas in this book there were a bunch I already knew, some I already incorporate in my life and some I don't feel like are for me and I feel that there wasn't as many new ideas left that I was excited to try. Having said that I do think it's a good book, just not exactly the type of book I was looking for. It is a book that works even better in physical format I think and the formatting is very beautiful and adds to the relax atmosphere of the book. I liked the accepting encouraging tone of the book and how the author makes clear not every tip is for everyone and to only do what feels right. I liked the focus on acceptance and not judging yourself and others. If you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed and are new to the meditation and mindfulness it's definitely a good book to check out. It's very accessible and has a lot of tips.

I’ve always liked meditation but I never read a book about it. This was a cool learning tool for new techniques that are quick and easy.

Let’s make this short: I enjoyed it!

Short on time but need help getting yourself together so you won’t spazz out? Or, you just need to get centered because you’re anxious or overwhelmed? This cute, short book is just for you!

Your girl here is always looking for ways to add peace to my life. This book of meditation tips and tricks gives us the option of choosing how much time we have ,or want to spend, getting ourselves back to a place of peace. I found many of these tips useful. In fact, I used a few of them today! My day has been more peaceful and enjoyable, too.

If you’re anxious, overwhelmed, or overworked and have a minute or more to spare, try one of the meditations in this book to get back to you.

I was provided an ARC copy to read and review from NetGalley.

[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I really liked this book! It was short and sweet and the meditation ideas were very cute :)

LOVE THIS BOOK! I love the well organized and sorted ways to bring more mindfulness and awareness when things are hard. The ideas are creative, outside of the box, and valuable. (ARC via NetGalley, but the opinions are mine.)

Eff This! Meditation is the book I needed! Author Liza Kindred get it. We are busy and sometimes we only have a minute for self care. While she breaks down activities by time frame, she is always encouraging you to take more time for your self. By taking the first short step, it is easier to take the longer steps.
This book lets you decided what works best for you. Are you a yoga mediator or a forest bather? Doesn't matter! She has activities for both of you! I love her open attitude that not everyone will be helped by the same tasks and we are the ultimate source of what we can and want to do.
The book is gorgeous Lots of calming pinks and purples with lovely pictures. Reading the book itself takes you ot of the hectic moments. I would absolutely recommend this book to all my girl friends!

This is the perfect little handbook to meditation, simplifies it and makes it understandable to even the biggest novice. Divided into helpful sections for short meditation and longer targeted meditation, helpful tips and you can dive into any section as needed. A great pocket guide.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

WOW this book is a must have. I loved it from the moment I picked it up.

Its full of fantastic ideas for meditation and has lots of added extra ideas and helpful thoughts. The Author has though the book out well and you really relate to her while reading it. Loved the fact that it was so self compassionate and made you realy want to look after yourself.

It was brilliant that you could pick and choose whether you had 1 minute to grab for yourself or much longer.

Thanks to Netgalley and Rockpoint for the ARC. My review is my own opinion.

The ideas in this book can be a helpful tool for a few moments in the day or wanting to make a day or two of the tip/idea. A lot to choose from. don't have to do all but could work your way into some. Nice book.

This book is surprisingly useful.
A list of quick descriptions, this book contains real, practical mindfulness techniques a real, practical person can use. Every technique is organized by the time it "should" take to use that technique. So that minute you have in your car before walking into work? That five minutes when you walk in the door at the end of the day and usually stare at the wall? There are real-world practices you can use to help settle your mind and soul.
Honestly really useful, this book seems like a bunch of Instagram posts bound together, but practically this book is super useful. I have it on my phone, and I've been skimming it in line at the store and other times I usually stand awkwardly. I've always been able to find a technique I can try... as I get more comfortable with the techniques I won't need to look them up, but I want to try several techniques to see which ones I find the most useful.
Highly recommend.
**I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point for the ARC!

Being completely honest, I can tell you that this book doesn't bring us any new ideas. If you're feeling anxious and you've been looking for help, you probably heard all this before. And so you must be wondering, "Why are you giving it 4 stars then?". Well, because... It works.

On each page you'll find a suggestion of things you can do to feel better. Don't say you don't have time for this, because you can actually start by making one-minute practices. The book is divided in: one-minute, five-minute, twenty-minutes, thirty-minutes, one hour and longer practices.

If you're looking for a meditation guide, this book isn't for you. You won't learn much about it here. But you'll find other important lessons that even though might seem obvious are often ignored by most of us, and that's why we've been feeling so off lately.

And also, the graphic work is really good. It's a beautiful book to look at. Everything is so nicely organized. That also brings me peace. lol

I think I might ask for a copy of this book for Christmas. It's beautiful, with lots of drawings and explanations to go with the actual anti-anxiety tips and tricks, and full of useful information - nothing groundbreakingly new, yes, but all grouped together in a way that makes you want to actually use this advice and put this book on your nightstand. As someone who would definitely benefit from a lower level of anxiety and stress in her life, I'd definitely recommend this book.

Eff This! Meditation is a handy quick guide with centering and mental grounding practices. It’s not really a book on meditation as the title suggests, but rather an accessible book of quick tips that you can use to help calm yourself. The practices range from a minute to more than an hour, which I appreciated. It’s something you can flip through and mark your favorites for when you’re feeling overwhelmed and/or stressed. Author Liza Kindred has a very easygoing, nonjudgmental voice and her tips and tricks are not going to scare anyone off. The practices Ms. Kindred lists aren’t new or innovative and I will say that I’ve seen many of them on Pinterest before. Still, taking Eff This! Meditation for what it is, it’s a good resource written in an accessible way that will appeal to anyone looking to have a few quick tips to help when they’re stressed or anxious.

108 practical ideas to relieve from our stressful lives. The tips are divided by length so they are accessible even with people that do not have time for an hour length meditation.
Meditate can be difficult and intimidating but the book presents different ways to approach meditation, be it pranayama (breath) or physical activity.

A great introduction to the world of mindfulness and self-discovery.

This is the most realistic book on meditation that I have read, as it is written for those of us who are stressed and don't have time to breathe, let alone meditate. I found the techniques to be useful and have recommended this to friends.

EFF THIS! MEDITATION was like a gift I didn't know I needed. It takes a lot for me to focus and sit still long enough to meditate. My mind doesn't turn off completely. But the little lessons in EFF THIS! MEDITATION are powerful tools that actually helped me. Thanks to the author for my meditation break-through. I will refer to this book for months to come.

Eff This! Meditation is a fantastic book that gives practical advice to help with stress. While some ideas are not knew , the other ideas are interesting. This is a book I would buy people for the holidays.

Eff This! Meditation by Liza Kindred is a self-help, self-care guide giving various little activities and tricks that the reader can use with stressed, overwhelmed or anxious. This little guide is a quick, easy read that isn't truly based on meditation. Instead, this has dozens of little practices that can be rewarding.
Everything is laid out in an easy to understand format, and organized by time. Practices that take hardly any time, to practices that can take an hour or more. It's a great little guide to help you find what feels good.

It's so easy to get overwhelmed by the pace of the world these days, and thankfully Liza Kindred has created the Eff This! Medition guide for those of us who are over it and need a push in the right direction. This book has a number of ideas for self-care and meditations that are laid out in an approachable and entertaining way.

The exercises and tips are perfect for meditation novices and good reminders for different ways to live mindfully for the more experienced among us. I love that this book is one you can just open up and flip through to find one that speaks to you in your present circumstances.

Taking care of yourself is doing your part to take care of our world and make it better. It's such a beautiful message, and this book gives us practical advice and motivation to do just that.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rock Point Publishing for the advance copy.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

Let's be real... who has time to meditate or even worry about yourself these days? i'm an overly stressed out single mom... and i'll be honest.. i look at books like this and scoff..
so i challenged myself to actually read this book and TRY IT. while i can't say it was a fix-all to my stress and anxiety, it definitely taught me a FEW ways to calm down in the moment.
and the title rocks.