Although meditation is an ancestral practice, it is very present in our days. Much of the blame for this is that it brings many benefits to people’s health, especially in this day and age. For example, meditation mitigates the effects of stress , improves attention span, helps control emotions and pain management .

Books on meditation and relaxation

Seeing this, it is not strange that many people practice meditation. If you want to go deeper into this subject or you are a person who wants to be initiated into meditation practice, in the following lines you can find a list of books on meditation and relaxation that can be very useful.

1. 50 Exercises for Learning to Meditate (Géraldine Prévot-Gigant)

Meditation has been shown to be very effective in improving people’s well-being and health; however, some practitioners do not meditate well or do not adhere to the practice because of the irrational expectations they may have about it. This text provides a compilation of exercises so that both beginners and experts can meditate in the best way and achieve the emotional balance they need to live in harmony.

  • Are you interested? Get more information about him by clicking here.

2. Basic course for the practice of Zen (Robet Aitken)

Robert Aiken puts all his knowledge at the service of individuals who decide to initiate themselves into meditation practice. A very enjoyable guide in which the foundations of this millenary practice of Zen are reviewed and provides many tips to make us more aware of our internal and external experience. It helps us to relate better to our surroundings and empowers us to face life.

  • If you want to read more about this book, click here.

3. Meditate: Perennial Wisdom (Vicente Merlo)

This book deals with meditation from a practical point of view, as the work contains a CD that includes up to 10 meditations guided by Vicente Merlo. In addition, the book provides a lot of theoretical content, dealing with aspects of both Buddhism and Hinduism.

4. The Practice of Mindfulness (Jon Kabat-Zinn)

Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the great masters of meditation in the West and the character who popularized Mindfulness in the Western world as well. This book is a complete work that explains the theoretical and practical foundations that help to understand the practice of Mindfulness and the different types of meditation that are part of it.

  • In this link you will find more information about the book.

5. The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation (William Hart)

Vipassana meditation is a type of meditation that centers the awareness of the breath , tuning the air that enters and exits through the nose. It also focuses on labeling thoughts and experiences as they arise. This book is, without a doubt, ideal for learning to practice vipassana meditation, very useful for the rhythm of Western life.

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6. The Path of Care (Nyanaponika Thera)

This book aims to show us a direct and simple method to practice controlling attention, inspired by the ideas of Buddha. It is a book that serves as training and development of the mind, to be able to overcome those obstacles that are presented in daily life, always with an attitude of compassion and a non-judgmental mentality.

7. Initiation to Mindfulness (Vicente Simón)

Much is said today about Mindfulness, largely thanks to Vicente Simón, a doctor, psychiatrist and professor of Psychobiology, and one of the best known disseminators of this practice. This work is a short, manual-type book that helps beginners to enter into meditation practice and Mindfulness .

  • To read more about it, click here.

8. A New Vision of Buddhism: Synthesis of the Eastern Soul and Western Knowledge (Vichitr Ratna Dhiravamsa)

A text that aims to adapt the teachings of Vichitr Ratna Dhiravamsa to Western culture, to improve the psychological development of those people who wish to acquire greater well-being and, therefore, a greater emotional balance . A spiritual book, full of oriental teachings. Now, very useful for the current pace of life.

  • You will find more information here.

9. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (Suzuki Roshi)

This book was published in 1970, but it is still one of the best manuals for learning Zen meditation. In the opening chapters, it discusses topics such as, for example, the proper posture for meditation and how to connect with the breath, but then it goes deeper into key aspects of meditation and the Zen tradition. It is a perfect manual to browse through again when needed.

  • If you want to read more about the book, this is your link.

10. Living Crisis Fully (Jon Kabat-Zinn)

Times of crisis can make us go through delicate moments, which can make us lose our bearings a little and we need to find our emotional balance again. Jon Kabat-Zinn teaches us to live fully in those delicate moments of life.

  • Find out more about the book here.

11. Meditation: the development of positive emotions (Jon Kabat-Zinn)

Meditation is key to learning how to manage and regulate emotions in a more adaptive way, as it helps us to improve our self-knowledge and to find the ideal mentality to master emotions, thanks to the development of full attention. This work focuses on the Mettabhavana meditation technique , which has its origin in the beginnings of Buddhism and which, to this day, is still very effective.

12. There’s no right way to meditate and other lessons (Yumi Sakugawa)

It’s a cartoon book, and a brilliant work that introduces meditation practice While other books may focus more on theoretical knowledge, this book is more practical . It is suitable for all audiences.

  • If you would like to read more about this interesting meditation book, click here.

13. It won’t always be like this: the path of personal transformation (Shunryu Suzuki)

Shunryu Suzuki was a well-known Zen master, who in his talks often spoke of the importance of having a beginner’s mind, that is, a mind that is observant and not influenced by prejudice . In this book you will find some of his great teachings.

  • Are you interested? Follow this link.

14. I Walk with Heart (Jack Kornfield)

A well known meditation manual, which is in its 4th edition in Spanish. It mixes humour with recommendations and suggestions for the reader to learn to meditate and get the most out of this practice . A very useful book for psychotherapists.

  • Here you will find more information about the book.

15. To Be Peace (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most important figures of the generation that has allowed the Buddhist teachings to become known in the Western world. While the vast majority of his books focus on compassion, it is perfect for the beginner who longs to understand how to live in peace . His teachings on how to relate to everyday feelings and perceptions can be very helpful to the reader.

16. How to Meditate (Pema Chodron)

If your goal is to start meditating from scratch, this book by Pema Chodron is ideal. It is a work that deals with a fundamental theme, that of understanding and accepting strong emotions.Treating oneself with love can make the difference between living in well-being and suffering from discomfort.

  • To get it or learn more about it, click here.

17. Meditating day by day (Christophe André)

Day-to-day life can become difficult if we have a mindset that leads to it. Thinking negatively and living in unrealistic expectations can be detrimental to one’s emotional health. This text by Christophe André is an ideal meditation guide for those who wish to learn to practice Mindfulness with the guided meditations in CD format included in this work.

  • On this page you will find more information about the book.

18. Meditating with Mandalas (Michal Beaucaire)

Mandalas are one of the artistic and cultural elements associated with meditation, which you can learn about in this article: “Mandalas: the Buddhist wheels used in meditation”. This work makes it possible to meditate with these elements, as they facilitate and make meditation more effective. No doubt, a different text but very instructive.

  • Click here to learn more about him.

19. Meditation in 10 minutes (Sofia Correa and Vicente Nuñez)

In these times, the accelerated standard of living can lead to serious problems such as stress. The authors of this text, aware of this reality, have created this work full of content and techniques to reach a new level of peace in life. It is a practical text to reduce anxiety and revitalize the body.

  • To read its first pages, click here and then on its cover.

20. Story of an Awakening (David Smith)

This is an inspiring text for anyone who wants to get into Buddhism and to know the most important aspects of this way of thinking and behaving. The book has two distinct sections. One of them is a kind of autobiography of the author and the other is an interview that invites us to discover the soul of the human being.

  • If you are interested, click here.