Unfuck Your Mindfulness & Meditation: Exercises to Calm Your Body, Mind, and Vagus Nerve

by Faith G. Harper

"All therapy is at some level about mindfulness," writes Dr. Faith. She offers encouragement here to make a regular time to slow down and take a close look at exactly what is happening in your body and mind, so that you can gain better understanding and healing. She starts by disambiguating the often-interchangeably-used terms mindfulness and meditation, and offers exercises for each practice (and some that combine both), then shows what is scientifically happening in our brains when we do these things. There's a section of advice for scientific practice, so you aren't sitting there trying to meditate and just getting triggered. And then there are nine different exercises, with descriptions of how to do them, and what situations they might be especially effective for--for instance one is good for migraines and another is especially suited for managing anger and aggression. Some of the exercises come from her Buddhist practice, but all are presented in a non-religious manner and with accommodations for various needs.

26 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2021

About the author

Faith G. Harper, PhD, LPC-S, ACS, ACN is a bad-ass, funny lady with a PhD. She’s a licensed professional counselor, board supervisor, certified sexologist, and applied clinical nutritionist with a private practice and consulting business in San Antonio, TX. She has been an adjunct professor and a TEDx presenter, and proudly identifies as a woman of color and uppity intersectional feminist. She is the author of the book Unf*ck Your Brain and many other popular zines and books on subjects such as anxiety, depression, and grief. She is available as a public speaker and for corporate and clinical trainings.

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this Zine. There's a lot of exercises to try out and the language is very accessible. I really appreciated that there were considerations for those who need mobility aids in the section about walking meditations.

I do intend to try out the exercises, and I feel like it has a lot of potential to help people.

The only concern that I have is that there are medical claims made with little to no sources cited. A couple studies were referenced, but I would have really liked to see a bibliography or at least citations as footnotes.