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Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief
Mindfulness can transform pain. Over the past three decades, Jon Kabat-Zinn has clinically proven it. Now, with Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief, the man who brought mindfulness into mainstream medicine presents for the first time on audio his original practices for using conscious awareness to free us from physical and emotional suffering. This long-awaited two-CD program begins with an overview of how mindfulness changes the way our bodies process pain and stress. Listeners will learn tips and techniques for working with the mind and embracing whatever arises in our lives, however challenging. Then Jon Kabat-Zinn leads us in guided meditations drawn from his pioneering Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) methodology to help us work with and find relief from chronic pain, everyday stress, and emotional challenges, as well as to read and act appropriately in the face of acute pain. "Mindfulness can reveal what is deepest and best in ourselves and bring it to life in very practical and imaginative ways--just when we need it the most," explains Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief gives us a ready tool for overcoming even the most extraordinary difficulties.
2 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2009
143 people are currently reading
765 people want to read
About the author
Jon Kabat-Zinn
206 books2,083 followersJon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., is founding Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also the founding director of its renowned Stress Reduction Clinic and Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He teaches mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in various venues around the world. He received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from MIT in 1971 in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate, Salvador Luria.
He is the author of numerous scientific papers on the clinical applications of mindfulness in medicine and health care, and of a number of books for the lay public: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness (Delta, 1991); Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994); Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness (Hyperion, 2005); and Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness (Hyperion, 2007). He is also co-author, with his wife Myla, of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting (Hyperion, 1997); and with Williams, Teasdale, and Segal, of The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (Guilford, 2007). Overall, his books have been translated into over 30 languages.
His major research interests have focused on mind/body interactions for healing, clinical applications of mindfulness meditation training, the effects of MBSR on the brain, on the immune system, and on healthy emotional expression while under stress; on healing (skin clearing rates) in people with psoriasis; on patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation; with prison inmates and staff; in multicultural settings; and on stress in various corporate settings and work environments. His work in the Stress Reduction Clinic was featured in Bill Moyers’ PBS Special, “Healing and the Mind” and in the book of the same title, as well as on Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and NPR. It has contributed to a growing movement of mindfulness into mainstream institutions such as medicine, and psychology, health care and hospitals, schools, corporations, the legal profession, prisons, and professional sports.
He has trained groups of CEOs, judges, members of the clergy, and Olympic athletes (the 1984 Olympic Men’s Rowing Team) and congressional staff in mindfulness. The Stress Reduction Clinic has served as the model for mindfulness-based clinical intervention programs at over 200 medical centers and clinics nation-wide and abroad.
Dr. Kabat-Zinn has received numerous awards over the span of his career. He is a founding fellow of the Fetzer Institute, and a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He received the Interface Foundation Career Achievement Award, and the New York Open Center’s Tenth Year Anniversary Achievement in Medicine and Health Award (1994); the Art, Science, and Soul of Healing Award from the Institute for Health and Healing, California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco (1998); the 2nd Annual Trailblazer Award for “pioneering work in the field of integrative medicine” from the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla, California (2001); the Distinguished Friend Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (2005), and an Inaugural Pioneer in Integrative Medicine Award from the Bravewell Philanthropic Collaborative for Integrative Medicine (2007).
He is the founding convener of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, and serves on the Board of the Mind and Life Institute, a group that organizes dialogues between the Dalai Lama and Western scientists to promote deeper understanding of different ways of knowing and probing the nature of mind, emotions, and reality. He was co-program chair of the 2005 Mind and Life Dialogue: The Clinical Appl
He is the author of numerous scientific papers on the clinical applications of mindfulness in medicine and health care, and of a number of books for the lay public: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness (Delta, 1991); Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994); Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness (Hyperion, 2005); and Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness (Hyperion, 2007). He is also co-author, with his wife Myla, of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting (Hyperion, 1997); and with Williams, Teasdale, and Segal, of The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (Guilford, 2007). Overall, his books have been translated into over 30 languages.
His major research interests have focused on mind/body interactions for healing, clinical applications of mindfulness meditation training, the effects of MBSR on the brain, on the immune system, and on healthy emotional expression while under stress; on healing (skin clearing rates) in people with psoriasis; on patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation; with prison inmates and staff; in multicultural settings; and on stress in various corporate settings and work environments. His work in the Stress Reduction Clinic was featured in Bill Moyers’ PBS Special, “Healing and the Mind” and in the book of the same title, as well as on Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and NPR. It has contributed to a growing movement of mindfulness into mainstream institutions such as medicine, and psychology, health care and hospitals, schools, corporations, the legal profession, prisons, and professional sports.
He has trained groups of CEOs, judges, members of the clergy, and Olympic athletes (the 1984 Olympic Men’s Rowing Team) and congressional staff in mindfulness. The Stress Reduction Clinic has served as the model for mindfulness-based clinical intervention programs at over 200 medical centers and clinics nation-wide and abroad.
Dr. Kabat-Zinn has received numerous awards over the span of his career. He is a founding fellow of the Fetzer Institute, and a fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He received the Interface Foundation Career Achievement Award, and the New York Open Center’s Tenth Year Anniversary Achievement in Medicine and Health Award (1994); the Art, Science, and Soul of Healing Award from the Institute for Health and Healing, California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco (1998); the 2nd Annual Trailblazer Award for “pioneering work in the field of integrative medicine” from the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla, California (2001); the Distinguished Friend Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (2005), and an Inaugural Pioneer in Integrative Medicine Award from the Bravewell Philanthropic Collaborative for Integrative Medicine (2007).
He is the founding convener of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, and serves on the Board of the Mind and Life Institute, a group that organizes dialogues between the Dalai Lama and Western scientists to promote deeper understanding of different ways of knowing and probing the nature of mind, emotions, and reality. He was co-program chair of the 2005 Mind and Life Dialogue: The Clinical Appl
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
January 24, 2020
This is an audio book that one would listened to over and over again as it is guided meditation, but it also explains the process and how the process may not feel like it’s doing anything and you may not like it etc., but those who were forced to follow it despite not feeling comfortable with it etc in tests reported that despite struggles etc., found that there were effective. Any reduction of pain is going to have the attention of those who have chronic pain. So, like most meditation, even if it seems like a bad session, will still have positive effects. I got this from the library but having listened to it once will give it another one before returning it and perhaps purchasing it for my permanent collection.
I think that it would be useful if followed according to the instructions.
I am not sure if it is the way the Library set up the audio book from a CD or if this is the way it came, but there were not clear chapters or markers for the different guided or meditations. It was a bit haphazard, so finding them again and cueing up at the beginning is challenging if you want to go back and do the exercises over and over again, Or you wanted to just find a specific one that you wanted to do. Otherwise it was pretty good with explanations of why this could work etc., and how you just had to bully through it for 6 weeks whether you liked it or not or thought it was interesting. It's like medicine, it needs time to work.
I think that it would be useful if followed according to the instructions.
I am not sure if it is the way the Library set up the audio book from a CD or if this is the way it came, but there were not clear chapters or markers for the different guided or meditations. It was a bit haphazard, so finding them again and cueing up at the beginning is challenging if you want to go back and do the exercises over and over again, Or you wanted to just find a specific one that you wanted to do. Otherwise it was pretty good with explanations of why this could work etc., and how you just had to bully through it for 6 weeks whether you liked it or not or thought it was interesting. It's like medicine, it needs time to work.
July 18, 2012
I bought this on the recommendation of my doctor. I have lumbar arthritis, and it causes me daily, constant pain. And I really hate narcotics; they don't help, they just make me sleepy and stupid. If I hurt badly enough, I might take one, but I go to sleep hurting, I wake up hurting, and I get cottonmouth in the bargain. Yech, right? So the doctor recommended directed meditation.
I purchased the audio book so I can put it on my iPod and use it when I'm away from the house if necessary. After my first run-through, I think that's a great idea, really. Kabat-Zinn has a very gentle voice, to start with. He also makes sense. He uses loose visualizations so that the listener can make adjustments as needed. He also recommends being comfortable, not necessarily sitting in some pretzel-like position.
After listening the first time through, I think this will work. I need more practice, because I'm (evidently) easily distracted by noises, but I can see exactly where the author is trying to lead me. His intent is very clear, and that seems to make the process simpler.
The meditations are only a few minutes long - 3 or 4 minutes, really. That's perfect for people in pain, as we tend to have difficulty holding still for too long. And the format is such that, ideally, you'd get good at this and be able to duck into a nursing room or other quiet corner at the office and do a quick meditation for your pain.
I have high hopes.
I purchased the audio book so I can put it on my iPod and use it when I'm away from the house if necessary. After my first run-through, I think that's a great idea, really. Kabat-Zinn has a very gentle voice, to start with. He also makes sense. He uses loose visualizations so that the listener can make adjustments as needed. He also recommends being comfortable, not necessarily sitting in some pretzel-like position.
After listening the first time through, I think this will work. I need more practice, because I'm (evidently) easily distracted by noises, but I can see exactly where the author is trying to lead me. His intent is very clear, and that seems to make the process simpler.
The meditations are only a few minutes long - 3 or 4 minutes, really. That's perfect for people in pain, as we tend to have difficulty holding still for too long. And the format is such that, ideally, you'd get good at this and be able to duck into a nursing room or other quiet corner at the office and do a quick meditation for your pain.
I have high hopes.
July 3, 2018
This is probably a 3.5 star book in my opinion, but it was worth listening to, especially when my pain was at its worst. At the very least it provided a distraction from the head, neck, shoulder pain, and crippling headaches I was experiencing. The symptoms affected every aspect of my daily life, and much of the night, but I could often get back to sleep with an extra dose of ibuprofen and listening to this mindfulness meditation. I didn't find it a cure-all, but I do think it was a valid part of treatment that includes ibuprofen, topical arnica, Traumeel, Aspercreme, and physical therapy. Things are better (not perfect), but so far I've avoided surgery for cervical herniated discs. Mindfulness meditation may not fix everything in your life, but it can help in many ways.
October 12, 2024
There is some rehashed material from previously published books by Jon Kabat-Zinn in here, and quite a lot of pages that are either blank or featuring some generic scenery; otherwise this is an excellent read.
Even for first timers, this will pack quite a punch!
Even for first timers, this will pack quite a punch!
August 9, 2018
Having suffered chronic pain for several decades there was nothing here that I hadn't already instinctively worked out for myself.
December 2, 2022
Loved this book, it was very to the point and it helped with a few more pointers on consistency to meditate.
I do try to meditate daily some days are harder because of the time, but the more information I get on it, it makes more sense and it helps to know that even a little everyday can help and to try to live more in the moments that sometimes you can totally miss.
If you're initiating or already know it doesn't hurt to always remember why you're doing this and how to live through your pains more effectively.
I do try to meditate daily some days are harder because of the time, but the more information I get on it, it makes more sense and it helps to know that even a little everyday can help and to try to live more in the moments that sometimes you can totally miss.
If you're initiating or already know it doesn't hurt to always remember why you're doing this and how to live through your pains more effectively.
July 30, 2025
Love JKZ and his teachings on mindfulness meditation for pain. Read the physical copy, not audio book, which came with beautiful quotes and illustrations. Definitely will continue to use in my work!
October 26, 2017
Chronic pain is no fun -- and I'll try anything to feel better about having it. I'm a Kabat-Zinn fan since taking a course in Mindfulness. As I have the audio version (I can't even imagine how you'd use a format other than audio...?) I need Goodreads to add a "listened to" option.
April 4, 2021
Very helpful!
March 22, 2014
This audio-book is good for a beginning meditator. I was expecting more in the way of insights into pain and how meditation would be beneficial, or directed meditations that could be used daily. The book is setup more as instructions, so you can take them and form your own practice if you do not have one.
The actual meditations are short, perhaps 3 or 4 minutes, but he talks at length beforehand. If I'm in pain I'm not going to have the physical or mental energy to forward the audio to the correct place. Its a little thing, but big when you're dealing with pain.
The actual meditations are short, perhaps 3 or 4 minutes, but he talks at length beforehand. If I'm in pain I'm not going to have the physical or mental energy to forward the audio to the correct place. Its a little thing, but big when you're dealing with pain.
March 5, 2023
As a counselor who works with several individuals suffering from PTSD and chronic pain, I found this book to offer fantastic mindfulness meditation strategies and guided meditations to aid these individuals in their personal healing journeys. Jon Kabat-Zinn is an extremely gifted writer and does such a masterful job of explaining scientific concepts in an easy-to-understand manner that will resonate well with both clinicians and those who are in pain but have no science background.
Kabat-Zinn grabs the reader's attention with the line, “All our capacities for healing and transforming our lives are based on our ability to pay attention and to cultivate intimacy with our innate capacity for awareness," and then he wonderfully guides us on a step-by-step journey of how we can work to achieve increased awareness, presence, and attentiveness to transform our relationship with pain and, thus, improve our well-being. Kabat-Zinn provides a realistic roadmap and does not oversell the challenge of this journey toward improved attentiveness, emotional regulation, and self-awareness. But it is through a compassionate and optimistic voice that Kabat-Zinn is able to paint this journey as a realistic and achievable goal for anyone willing to consistently practice the guided mindfulness meditation practices provided with this book.
One of the biggest obstacles I have with my patients is helping them develop healthy alternatives to the maladaptive coping skills they have been using (in some cases for several years) to cope with emotional and physical pain. Kabat-Zinn captures this struggle well with this passage: “As a consequence, we might find ourselves turning toward familiar sources to dull the pain, such as alcohol, drugs, food, endlessly getting lost in our phones, binge-watching television, scrolling and posting on social media, going down one rabbit after another, even if these coping strategies and perpetual distraction opportunities deliver anything but an enduring sense of satisfaction and contentment.” As Dr. Jud Brewer emphasizes, it is very difficult to change these behaviors without developing a bigger better offer that can provide similar benefit to our unhelpful behaviors but without the negative consequences. In this book Kabat-Zinn provides not only the tools but a roadmap toward that bigger better offer for individuals suffering from pain. The guided meditations in this book are very helpful in challenging individuals to turn toward their pain to help foster "less emotionally reactive, less critical in our judgments, kinder, and more accepting of ourselves and our moments, whatever they may be, gradually becomes our go-to mode, our ‘default setting.’”
I highly recommend this book to all mental health professionals and clinicians working with patients suffering from chronic pain. I would also recommend this took to those individuals suffering from invisible illnesses that cause chronic pain (including but definitely not limited to complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)) who have exhaustively sought out ways to improve pain management but have only found minimal success in being able to thrive with their pain. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an unrealistic quick fix or who is not willing to practice mindfulness 5-7 days a week for at least 8 weeks.
Kabat-Zinn grabs the reader's attention with the line, “All our capacities for healing and transforming our lives are based on our ability to pay attention and to cultivate intimacy with our innate capacity for awareness," and then he wonderfully guides us on a step-by-step journey of how we can work to achieve increased awareness, presence, and attentiveness to transform our relationship with pain and, thus, improve our well-being. Kabat-Zinn provides a realistic roadmap and does not oversell the challenge of this journey toward improved attentiveness, emotional regulation, and self-awareness. But it is through a compassionate and optimistic voice that Kabat-Zinn is able to paint this journey as a realistic and achievable goal for anyone willing to consistently practice the guided mindfulness meditation practices provided with this book.
One of the biggest obstacles I have with my patients is helping them develop healthy alternatives to the maladaptive coping skills they have been using (in some cases for several years) to cope with emotional and physical pain. Kabat-Zinn captures this struggle well with this passage: “As a consequence, we might find ourselves turning toward familiar sources to dull the pain, such as alcohol, drugs, food, endlessly getting lost in our phones, binge-watching television, scrolling and posting on social media, going down one rabbit after another, even if these coping strategies and perpetual distraction opportunities deliver anything but an enduring sense of satisfaction and contentment.” As Dr. Jud Brewer emphasizes, it is very difficult to change these behaviors without developing a bigger better offer that can provide similar benefit to our unhelpful behaviors but without the negative consequences. In this book Kabat-Zinn provides not only the tools but a roadmap toward that bigger better offer for individuals suffering from pain. The guided meditations in this book are very helpful in challenging individuals to turn toward their pain to help foster "less emotionally reactive, less critical in our judgments, kinder, and more accepting of ourselves and our moments, whatever they may be, gradually becomes our go-to mode, our ‘default setting.’”
I highly recommend this book to all mental health professionals and clinicians working with patients suffering from chronic pain. I would also recommend this took to those individuals suffering from invisible illnesses that cause chronic pain (including but definitely not limited to complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)) who have exhaustively sought out ways to improve pain management but have only found minimal success in being able to thrive with their pain. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an unrealistic quick fix or who is not willing to practice mindfulness 5-7 days a week for at least 8 weeks.
November 15, 2022
Jon Kabat-Zinn, an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the stress reduction program mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), is also a founding member of the Cambridge Zen Centre. In this small volume titled “Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief”, Kabat-Zinn offers a few techniques revolving around the practice of mindfulness, to alleviate both the physical distress as well as the mental anguish suffered by people gripped by chronic pain. These are patients who have been advised at various stages in their lives by a myriad of medical practioners to “learn to live with pain”. This “community of the afflicted”, according to the author can take recourse to MBSR whose objective is to strive to be at ‘home’ with pain if not transcending it.
The recognition that living with pain is a type of ‘minuet’ is the first stage in overcoming an attitude of resignation and a defeatist reconciliation. Urging his readers to “tune in”, Kabat-Zin appeals to them to turn pain into an ally. If one was to experience pain experientially and experimentally then the attribute of pain ceases to be an irritant. The once dreaded usurper of hopes transforms first into a trusted ‘teacher’ before donning the mantle of a friend.
The MBSR therapy spans eight weeks in its entirety and requires the eager beaver to unfailingly devote a certain stretch of time on a daily basis. There are no set limits for the number of minutes or hours that one ought to engage on MBSR. So long as the practice is sustained and consistent, even a few minutes each day in the initial phases would suffice, according to the author. The concept of MBSR took shape for the first time in the year 1979 at the University of Massachusetts. Currently, MBSR is being implemented across medical centres around the world.
At the nub of MBSR is the concept of ‘moment-to-moment awareness’. In the same vein in which we come consciously or even unconsciously aware of bodily sensations such as sound, smell, sight, touch etc. one can also develop an acute awareness of the pain in the ‘now’. Developing awareness does not mean recognising the pernicious nature of the pain and wallowing in it but being non-judgmental about the entire experience. The key is to develop an awareness of the pain, in pain. The book lays out seven principles to alter the experiencer’s relationship with pain.
Living and inhabiting the present moment, tuning away from default options such as self-blame and a compulsive recourse to drugs etc are some of the suggestions. There is also a guided meditation technique that is available in the book for the interested and the uninitiated. The potential of MBSR seeks to rend asunder ‘outcomes’, and not being attached to outcomes, including those that are as natural and understanding as it is to ‘want some.’
Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief is a reliable primer for all those who are interested in engaging in the practice of MBSR.
(Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief: Practices to Reclaim Your Body and Your Life – Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is published by Sounds True Publishing and will be available for sale on the 4th of April 2023)
Thank You Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy!
The recognition that living with pain is a type of ‘minuet’ is the first stage in overcoming an attitude of resignation and a defeatist reconciliation. Urging his readers to “tune in”, Kabat-Zin appeals to them to turn pain into an ally. If one was to experience pain experientially and experimentally then the attribute of pain ceases to be an irritant. The once dreaded usurper of hopes transforms first into a trusted ‘teacher’ before donning the mantle of a friend.
The MBSR therapy spans eight weeks in its entirety and requires the eager beaver to unfailingly devote a certain stretch of time on a daily basis. There are no set limits for the number of minutes or hours that one ought to engage on MBSR. So long as the practice is sustained and consistent, even a few minutes each day in the initial phases would suffice, according to the author. The concept of MBSR took shape for the first time in the year 1979 at the University of Massachusetts. Currently, MBSR is being implemented across medical centres around the world.
At the nub of MBSR is the concept of ‘moment-to-moment awareness’. In the same vein in which we come consciously or even unconsciously aware of bodily sensations such as sound, smell, sight, touch etc. one can also develop an acute awareness of the pain in the ‘now’. Developing awareness does not mean recognising the pernicious nature of the pain and wallowing in it but being non-judgmental about the entire experience. The key is to develop an awareness of the pain, in pain. The book lays out seven principles to alter the experiencer’s relationship with pain.
Living and inhabiting the present moment, tuning away from default options such as self-blame and a compulsive recourse to drugs etc are some of the suggestions. There is also a guided meditation technique that is available in the book for the interested and the uninitiated. The potential of MBSR seeks to rend asunder ‘outcomes’, and not being attached to outcomes, including those that are as natural and understanding as it is to ‘want some.’
Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief is a reliable primer for all those who are interested in engaging in the practice of MBSR.
(Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief: Practices to Reclaim Your Body and Your Life – Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is published by Sounds True Publishing and will be available for sale on the 4th of April 2023)
Thank You Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy!
December 17, 2022
Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief
By Jon Kabat-Zin, PhD
Sounds True Publishing
Publication date: April 4, 2023
I was drawn to this book because I have chronic pain, have had it for over 20 years. And believe me, I’ve tried everything. Well, everything EXCEPT mindfulness meditation. In fact, I’ve always done the opposite while in pain- detach and dissociate. But I keep coming back to the idea of mindfulness because it makes sense, and maybe it’s the missing piece in the treatment of my chronic pain.
I know of Jon Kabat-Zin as the foremost authority of mindfulness meditation, so if anyone can teach me about this, I know it can be him. He created MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) in 1979 and it’s been gaining momentum ever since.
There are so many just deeply profound words in this book. So many new ideas and revelations.
It is all about actually turning towards pain, holding it in our awareness, and changing our relationship towards in. As Jon Kabat-Zin states, if we constantly turn away from the pain we are turning away from what the pain has to teach.
This book includes the written out guided meditations and provides access to audio guided meditations as well. These medications are incredibly soothing, restorative and intensely liberating.
I encourage you to give this a try, open yourself up to a new experience and discover a way to reclaim your life.
By Jon Kabat-Zin, PhD
Sounds True Publishing
Publication date: April 4, 2023
I was drawn to this book because I have chronic pain, have had it for over 20 years. And believe me, I’ve tried everything. Well, everything EXCEPT mindfulness meditation. In fact, I’ve always done the opposite while in pain- detach and dissociate. But I keep coming back to the idea of mindfulness because it makes sense, and maybe it’s the missing piece in the treatment of my chronic pain.
I know of Jon Kabat-Zin as the foremost authority of mindfulness meditation, so if anyone can teach me about this, I know it can be him. He created MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) in 1979 and it’s been gaining momentum ever since.
There are so many just deeply profound words in this book. So many new ideas and revelations.
It is all about actually turning towards pain, holding it in our awareness, and changing our relationship towards in. As Jon Kabat-Zin states, if we constantly turn away from the pain we are turning away from what the pain has to teach.
This book includes the written out guided meditations and provides access to audio guided meditations as well. These medications are incredibly soothing, restorative and intensely liberating.
I encourage you to give this a try, open yourself up to a new experience and discover a way to reclaim your life.
February 21, 2022
Life changing. I now ask myself if my awareness of pain is in pain and it reduces my perception of pain significantly. Read by the author in a slower cadence than the previous book of his that I just finished.
My only complaint about the Audible is that it doesn’t break the meditations into chapters and they tend to be included with long explanations that are helpful but difficult to know when the guided meditation begins and ends. It’s good modeling though and hopefully if I listen enough I will be able to naturally do the meditations.
My only complaint about the Audible is that it doesn’t break the meditations into chapters and they tend to be included with long explanations that are helpful but difficult to know when the guided meditation begins and ends. It’s good modeling though and hopefully if I listen enough I will be able to naturally do the meditations.
December 11, 2023
NetGalley ARC review
This book could be very beneficial to someone who is new to meditation and using it as a mindset for pain. I do however find books like this lack the knowledge and understanding that Meditation comes from Yoga & the lack of giving Yoga and Indian philosophy credit. There were aspects of yoga the author remained and used instead of giving credit. Ex 7 principles is very similar to the 7 laws of yoga. Again even western Doc take from Eastern philosophy and never give credit.
This book could be very beneficial to someone who is new to meditation and using it as a mindset for pain. I do however find books like this lack the knowledge and understanding that Meditation comes from Yoga & the lack of giving Yoga and Indian philosophy credit. There were aspects of yoga the author remained and used instead of giving credit. Ex 7 principles is very similar to the 7 laws of yoga. Again even western Doc take from Eastern philosophy and never give credit.
August 21, 2025
This book was lovely to hold and look at and contains some great information. I found the author's writing style difficult to read, and I often had to reread sentences to figure out what was being conveyed. Although I appreciate his efforts to get chronic pain sufferers to identify the difference between pain and suffering, I didn't find this as helpful as I hoped it would be. However, I also didn't follow his suggestion for doing a 6-8 week guided meditation course before realizing significant results, so that's on me!
April 20, 2024
Ok. Good tips overall. But, the mediations were repetitive and not very specific. I do not like that he referred to pain as “your pain” about 50 times before finally changing it to “the pain you’re experiencing”… then later back to “your pain”. This book lacks current awareness of how important language is when referring to pain. Otherwise, I do think this book would be helpful suffering from chronic pain, especially if it was their first time trying mindfulness to help.
January 12, 2025
Much as I adore Jon Kabat-Zin's voice when leading a meditation, and with the greatest respect to his experience and credentials, this book was of little used to me. I loved the idea of using mindfulness for pain, but the nuts and bolts of how to do this are not in the book. It’s a little too hippie dippy. Or maybe it would be better to say that he’s like a specialist who has trouble explaining things to people in plain English.
June 13, 2022
A nice short overview of how to use meditation to help with pain with the second portion of guided practices. I've been looking for an accessible resource for my dad who has a chronic health issue and think that mindfulness may be helpful if delivered in the right way. Will give this a try and see how we go.
January 3, 2025
72%
This is a super simple book. All will focus on breathwork, activating the vagus nerve. This gives a very loaded phrase sometimes. But it's all about parasympathetic activation. So that you can relax, ease tension, ease stress, and be happy. And it's really not more complicated than that. Let's keep it simple.
This is a super simple book. All will focus on breathwork, activating the vagus nerve. This gives a very loaded phrase sometimes. But it's all about parasympathetic activation. So that you can relax, ease tension, ease stress, and be happy. And it's really not more complicated than that. Let's keep it simple.
February 2, 2019
I have listened to this book for 6 years again and again. It’s my aid if pain takes over my being. Kabat-Zinn’s voice is very soothing and his method in this book keeps my total attention somehow managing the worst.
June 7, 2020
He’s my original guru. I love his voice. I love that he speaks to my chronic pain. I love relaxing into (and under) his voice and guidance. If you have any pain in your life, this is an absolute must!
December 2, 2022
An I triguing look at the use of mi dullness for chronic pain. As a sufferer for years of chronic pelvic pain, I was I terested in learning new ones to cope and this book delivered. Well-written and engrossing.
October 23, 2025
Nice book, well written and interesting read for beginners probably. I like the summaries on every other page. I did not learn much after already reading many books about pain management without medication. Hence three stars for me.
June 1, 2017
This is a good read only if you know absolutely nothing about mindfulness, otherwise - you'll be gravely disappointed.
Pretty cover though.
Pretty cover though.
September 15, 2021
listened to this 2 hour book, guiding and teaching mindfulness over the pain in our bodies. Very helpful and good. The type of book you could listen to several times. 4 stars
March 22, 2023
I'm just at the beginning of my journey with this book and its techniques to manage chronic pain but find the concept good and can see how it will help me.
April 4, 2023
What an amazing book. As a person who lives with chronic pain I was happy to learn how to manage without medication. I loved this book and can not wait to read another book from the author
July 14, 2023
A simple, beautiful, and effective book on mindfulness!
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