WINNER OF BEST BOOK (POPULAR MEDICINE) AT THE BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION'S BOOK AWARDS 2014 Pain, suffering and stress can be intolerable - but it doesn't have to be this way. Mindfulness for Health reveals a series of simple practices that you can incorporate into your daily life to relieve chronic pain and the suffering and stress of illness. Clinical trials show that mindfulness meditation can be as effective as prescription painkillers and also enhances the body's natural healing systems. Mindfulness can also reduce the anxiety, depression, irritability, exhaustion and insomnia that can arise from chronic pain and illness. Mindfulness for Health is based on a unique meditation programme developed by Vidyamala Burch to help her cope with the severe pain of spinal injury. Taught at Breathworks in the UK - and its affiliates around the world - this programme has helped tens of thousands of people cope with pain, illness and stress. Breathworks' pioneering approach is praised by Professor Mark Williams of Oxford University, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Professor Lance McCracken of King's College London. The eight-week programme at the heart of this book takes just 10-20 minutes per day. It is particularly effective for the biggest causes of pain - back problems, arthritis, migraine and diabetes but works equally well for cancer (and its associated chemotherapy), heart disease, fibromyalgia, celiac disease, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, IBS, labour pain and even tinnitus. You will be surprised by how quickly your suffering melts away, leaving you able to live life to the full again.

Practical and informative, this hands-on manual clearly depicts the relationship between mindfulness and compassion, demonstrating how one supports the other. The book offers a fresh perspective on mindfulness that resonates with a human approach and helps practitioners to validate their work by giving a sense of grounding and direction, and providing a safe, appropriate and transformative process in which to conduct inquiry. Including chapters on the meaning of Compassionate Mindful Inquiry and the Model of Inquiry, Atkinson facilitates transformational change and offers guidance for those incorporating mindfulness teaching into their own professional practice.

Vidyamala Burch has suffered with chronic pain for over 30 years due to congenital weakness, a car accident and unsuccessful surgery. She is now a wheelchair user. In this positive and reassuring new book, she identifies that it is our resistance to pain which causes it to be so distressing and miserable. We don't want it to be happening to us, and we wish we weren't experiencing it. LIVING WELL WITH PAIN AND ILLNESS is a practical guide to living with and managing chronic pain through the principle of mindfulness. By developing a calm awareness of your body and your pain, you can learn to let go of the frustration and suffering that you associate the pain with, and the pain will reduce.Vidyamala Burch uses easy-to follow breathing techniques and powerful mindfulness meditations which teach you how to live in the present moment. LIVING WELL WITH PAIN AND ILLNESS includes helpful illustrations, offers effective ways of managing chronic pain and is a must-read for all sufferers.