Five Good Minutes in the Evening

Five Good Minutes

by Jeffrey Brantley, Wendy Millstine

Discover the power of just five minutes—of mindful breathing, visualization, or positive affirmation&mash;to transform your hectic days into a lifetime of peace and vitality.

This collection of 100 simple but engaging practices will help you leave the workday behind, reconnect with loved ones, and rejuvenate yourself.

All you need is five minutes to try one of these today!

Be a tourist—on the way home
Don't wait to laugh
Give the gift of inner space
Tune out the negative tape loop
Lend a helping hand
Release this day
Say good night to your mind

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Meditation, Spirituality

177 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Jeffrey Brantley, MD, DFAPA, has practiced mindfulness meditation for over thirty years, and his work in medicine and psychiatry has emphasized mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions to promote individual health and well-being. He is a founding faculty member of Duke Integrative Medicine, and founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke Integrative Medicine in 1998. Brantley is the author of Calming Your Anxious Mind and coauthor of the Five Good Minutes series and Daily Meditations for Calming Your Anxious Mind.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I didn't even finish this book. I couldn't make it through the first section since it was written like they were trying to sell me the book. More times than I can count, they started a paragraph with "in this book I will show you how..." I've read 30 pages about you telling me how you're going to show me and you haven't yet. Instead of making a book longer by trying to convince me to read on, just get to the meat and potatoes of the book. If you feel like you need to sell the book to someone who is already reading it, then 1) it's probably not a good book, and 2) keep it to a 1 or 2 page forward, then get down to business.

[SC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of good tips on how to relax and unwind at the end of the day in order to ensure decent sleep, but a lot of it got to be very repetitive and was extremely annoying after reading 100 pages of breathing instructions. A bit of a disappointment.

Just drink some herbal relaxing tea and read a book instead.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here I go again...attempting to fill my self-imposed "not fiction" quota for the year. From these short, uniquely-shaped non-stories I am happy to learn one thing to justify the time invested in reading it or flipping through it. This book was a very pleasant surprise. It is divided into sections and offers guided meditations, as well as what I consider to be outstanding advice on things like active listening, embracing chores, increasing your energy, letting go of worries...I could go on and on. (As the title states, there are 100 exercises.). This is all very in keeping with the sort of mindfulness revolution that seems to be occurring now that so many are overstressed and overcommitted. I love it! I love the message and I love the fact that each page can be read in two minutes and pondered for five minutes but also put into practice for much longer. This is the kind of book I would like to have out on my nightstand...a gift book that I could see myself reaching for again and again.

[Jo Dunn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Based on the (sub)title of this book, I expected to find "100 mindful practices to help you unwind from the day & make the most of your night." What I found were TWO practices - breathe and/or listen mindfully - repeated (what appeared to be!) one hundred times! I didn't count but, trust me, it was *redundant*. I understood/appreciated the concept but found myself wincing each time I came across those key words.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

The gist of the 100 mindful practices is in the subtitle—mindful—mindful breathing, mindful listening and setting intentions. There aren't 100 unique practices here; what you're visualizing while breathing and listening mindfully will change according to what you're decompressing from. Likewise, your intentions will be set by what is causing you stress. The "practices" are repetitive.

[Amy | Recs from an ENFJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Mindful activities, short and sweet, and scripted for ease of use.

Takeaways: Great way to add a little mindfulness to your daily life. I enjoyed the routine, and looked forward to debriefing before bed.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times it was repetitive, but overall I enjoyed the mindful/breathing practices detailed in this book. A few of them I wrote down to have near my nightstand to help unwind and relax at the end of a long day.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read from these either at the beginning or the end of some of the yoga classes I taught where I wasn't teaching "gym yoga." I found them to be more accessible and appropriate for a variety of settings. Brantley's Five Minutes are great for beginning meditators. Small and portable.

[Nawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب خفيف اسلوب بسيط احببت بعض المواضيع واستفدت منها ..

[Marianthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. But hey don't knock it until you read it.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of repetitive but calming to take in a few of the pages nightly and put into practice for a more restful sleep and a more positive acceptance personally.

[Nettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When all you have is 5 minutes to recharge your soul, this is a wonderful book of mindful practices that will help you unwind and re-connect.

This book, to me, is in similar fashion to the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, however, not anecdotal. The practices in it are only one or two pages in length, and bring forth a question, thought or affirmation, that helps me recharge and gain strength over my being. I keep it by my bedside and flip through it when all I have is 5 minutes for my nightly meditation. I love it because no matter my mood, or my day's events, I am bound to find an inspiring topic that makes sense in that moment.

[صديق الحكيم · Rating 3 out of 5]

هل تغادر عملك وتتكبد شقة التنقل بالمواصلات والانكباب على العشاء ثم أخيراً السقوط على الفراش لتفاجأ أنه قد حان الوقت للذهاب للعمل من أخرى.

هذا ليس أسلوب حياة.

الدكتور جيفري برانتلي عبر كتابه (خمس دقائق مفيدة في المساء يقدم 100 تدريب على الوعي تساعدك على الاسترخاء من عناء النهار واستغلال المساء على نحو أفضل..

تخيل أن عودتك للمنزل من عملك مثل مرورك على واجهات المحلات التجارية وكل مرور لك أمام واجهة متجر أو مشية على الرصيف أو بجانب حديقة أو سيارة سيبدو كتمشية في متحف..

تأمل كل بناية على أنها تحفة بنائية تستحق منك الانبهار والتعجب.. لاحظ جيداً كل شجرة وشجيرة سوف تكون رحلتك للعودة للمنزل فرصة لترى العالم كما لو كنت تراه للمرة الأولى.

[Firefly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nah. Nada. Not that great. I like inspirational books. I like books that give you ideas of how to improve your life and your happy quota. I thought this would be that kind of book. But it fell flat for me. It may be very helpful to someone else. Too general for my tastes. The Mindful breathing and listening things are more Heart Math and Yoga techniques which I use, but just couldn't get the ideas to work for me.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a medical doctor and a holistic nutrition consultant, this book contains some helpway ways to reduce stress and live more peacefully. The title is deceptive, for the book contains more ideas on how to detress your life and how to live healthily and happily that on how to prepare for sleep each evening.

[W E J D A N · Rating 2 out of 5]

حسنًا ،. هذا ملخص 253 صفحة..
- تنفس بعمق
- أنصت بوعي
- إعقد النية: وأرسل رسائل السعادة لعقلك
- تأمل ولاحظ كل ما يدور حولك بوعي،. فكر بكل التفاصيل واستشعر كل عضو من جسدك،.
- اشعر بالإمتنان وتأمل كل ما قمت بتجاهله في إنشغالك اليومي.
- تخيل وحلق بفكرك وتنفس بعمق من جديد.

هذا كل شيء،. وكل ما تدور حوله التمارين المائة.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy introduction to meditation

This was a very nice introduction to meditation. I enjoyed the exercisers and everything suggested only takes about 5 minutes. Perfect for beginning meditation.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great 5 minutes mediatations!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely book, this one for ways to be present in the evening, let go of your workday and rest when it is time to rest.

[Trevor Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple and helpful. This book has 100 exercises to help you leave work at work and also to leave the stress of the day and fall asleep. Some of the exercises are a little weird. Some are spot on.

[AnnaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good tips. Very relaxing.

[Vishnupreethi Aravind]

Interesting

[Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this style. I want to look into the Five Good Minutes in the Morning and other books from this little series. Sweet, and important.