Quick Calm: Easy Meditations to Short-Circuit Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroscience

by Jennifer R. Wolkin PhD

Overview

Calm the chaos and rewire your brain in just five minutes a day!

Do you ever feel like your stress levels are off the charts? You aren’t alone. Every day it feels like there’s something new to juggle or a fresh crisis to avert. And just keeping everything in the air requires an exhausting amount of attention and a dizzying amount of responsibilities. The more chaotic life becomes, the more we tend to forget what we truly value—from family and friends to mental and physical health. Fortunately, there are things you can do to stay grounded that won’t eat away at your increasingly precious time.

Quick Calm is a practical and fun guidebook designed to fit perfectly into a fast-paced lifestyle. You’ll discover the what, why, and how of developing your own mindfulness practice. You’ll learn all about the essential, life-affirming benefits of this ancient practice, including mindfulness meditation’s positive effects on both mind and body. And, most importantly, you’ll find daily practices you can do in just five minutes a day!

So, if you’re ready to discover the gift of mindfulness, but you don’t have the time to attend a meditation retreat, set aside five minutes a day with this handy little guide. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better return on your time investment!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684036103
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	04/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	5 Years

About the Author

Jennifer R. Wolkin, PhD, is a licensed clinical health and neuropsychologist, writer, speaker, and mental health advocate. She founded a private practice with an appreciation that our mind, body, spirit, and brain are intimately intertwined and impacted by one another. She draws heavily on tools such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based techniques. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in creative writing with a poetry focus. You can find her on Instagram @drjenpsych_.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Part 1 Prepractice

Chapter 1 Just Give Yourself Five! 3

Chapter 2 What Is Mindfulness, and Why Practice? 9

Chapter 3 The How-Tos of Practice 29

Part 2 Formal Practice

1 Diaphragmatic Breathing (Focused Attention) 44

2 Body Scan 47

3 Progressive Muscle Relaxation 51

4 Autogenic Training 55

5 Guided Imagery 58

6 Rooting 62

7 Rectangle Breathing 65

8 Loving-Kindness Meditation 67

9 Grounding 70

10 Receptive Attention 73

Part 3 Informal Practice

11 Mindful Waking 78

12 Mindful Toothbrushing 82

13 Mindful Coffee Time 86

14 Mindful Showering 89

15 Mindful Eating 93

16 Mindful Dishwashing 98

17 Mindful Sweeping 102

18 Mindful Walking 106

19 Mindful Doodling 111

20 Mindful Coloring 115

21 Mindful Reading 121

22 Mindful Bedtime 125

Part 4 Mindful Living

23 Radical Acceptance 130

24 Self-Compassion 134

25 Self-Love 137

26 Mindful Listening 141

27 Mindful Media 144

28 Gratitude 148

29 Appreciation 150

30 Beyond the Sixth Minute 152

Afterword 155

Acknowledgments 159

Endnotes 163

Interviews

Wolkin resides in New York, NY.

Editorial Reviews

I would say that this book is a ‘must-have-by-your-bedside’ book anyway, but the fact that it’s arrived during a global pandemic feels all the more fitting. Buy it for you and buy a copy for friends. Full of wisdom and grace, it’s like an exhale when you’ve only been inhaling.”
—Jennifer Pastiloff, author of On Being Human

Jennifer Pastiloff

Quick Calm is a wonderful book for your meditation tool kit. With meditation ‘how-tos’ and thirty mindfulness exercises, it provides a dive into the present moment anywhere.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Change

Sharon Salzberg

In Quick Calm by Jennifer Wolkin, the reader is gifted with practical tools to cultivate a mindfulness practice. She outlines the importance of meditation and gives you the power to cultivate a more peaceful, less stressful life. I highly recommend this to people who are seeking to have deeper awareness and more fulfillment.”
—Nicole LePera, PhD, holistic psychologist, and author of How to Do the Work

Nicole LePera

Jennifer Wolkin has taken the guesswork and excuses out of getting in touch with your inner self and staying there. She has broken down the art of mindfulness in practical, easy-to-use ways that, if consistently incorporated, will enhance your everyday living for a lifetime. Everyone should have a marked-up, tattered copy of this book by their bedside. It’s not a book; it’s a survival guide.”
—Spirit, PhD, LPC, NCC, national board-certified and licensed therapist, owner of T2S Enterprises, media personality, and mental health expert

PhD Spirit

Quick Calm is an excellent resource that empowers us to approach our lives with more compassion and loving-kindness. The easy-to-follow steps are informative and nourishing. From seated meditation to mindfulness with everyday life tasks, this book enhances the journey to self-awareness and balance.”
—Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD, licensed psychologist, ordained minister, author, and host of The Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema

Thema Bryant-Davis

Jennifer Wolkin is a competent and kind guide who will accompany you on a journey to integrate mindfulness into your everyday life. She combines practicality and originality, offering both education and unique exercises designed to cultivate a consistent practice. Quick Calm is a resource you will return to again and again to help you live with less stress and more purpose.”
—Alexandra H. Solomon, PhD, clinical assistant professor at Northwestern University, licensed clinical psychologist, TEDx speaker, and author of Loving Bravely and Taking Sexy Back

Alexandra H. Solomon

This delightful book will help you infuse all parts of living with a wakeful, open heart.”
—Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion

Tara Brach

Quick Calm is a practical, accessible guide to help us leave the well-worn paths of stress and anxiety and navigate toward greater peace. This book reads like a wise friend speaking to you—and not just any friend, but one who’s a brilliant neuropsychologist. Quick Calm is exactly the book we need right now. This very minute.”
—Maggie Smith, best-selling author of Good Bones and Keep Moving

Maggie Smith