Still Life: The Myths and Magic of Mindful Living

(Paperback)

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From renowned yogi meditation teacher and author of Do Your Om Thing Rebecca Pacheco comes Still Life, offering an in-depth exploration of mindfulness and meditation misconceptions to arm the reader with inspirational and practical tools for cultivating a consistent mindfulness practice.

For years Rebecca Pacheco has taught readers and students alike how to embrace the wisdom of the yoga sutras and reap the mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of the ancient tradition. Now, inStill Life, she turns her focus to mindfulness, demystifying a seemingly esoteric practice and giving readers practical, real-life tools to implement mindfulness in their own livesregardless of experience level or lifestyle.

Pacheco begins by deconstructing the common misperceptions about meditationincluding the idea that is a cure-all for every maladyoffering valuable insight into what mindfulness does entail, and why the process of cultivating more of it can improve not only our own lives, but also the lives of others. Pacheco also takes aim at the reductive good vibes only veneer commonly heard in the contemporary wellness community, which suggests mindfulness is steeped in positivity. A contemplative life, Pacheco argues, isnt synonymous with bliss, but rather requires a degree of mental, emotional, and spiritual grappling.Still Lifechallenges readers to dig deep and develop the tools that can ultimately lead to joyincluding to waking up in the present, reclaiming the moment, and living life fully.

Reviews

"Brimming with personality, expert guidance, kindness, and revelatory AHAs on every page,Still Life feels like an intimate and illuminating conversation with a wise friend. Thisis an important book and will be transformational for everyone who reads it. And everyone should read it." Lisa Genova, PhD, author of Still Alice and Remember Rebecca Pacheco's writing is miraculous: simultaneously accessible and devourable but also beautifuland richly complex as the ideas she's demystifying. In Still Life, she has given readers a uniquely practical blueprint for incorporating mindfulness into their lives, while always acknowledging that doing so is not a panacea, nor is it easy. But her compassionate and often warmly funny prose makes her readers feel supported and welcomed, no matter where they are in their journeys. Emily Gould, author of Perfect Tunes "In a world heavy with inauthenticity, where meditation, yoga, and mindfulness have become competitive sports, Rebecca Pacheco's Still Life is air and water. A born teacher, Pacheco not only gets it, but she shares it, with tough wisdom, clarity, compassion for human foibles, and a wide-open heart. Still Life is a brilliantly-written instant classic, rich in metta --- benevolence --- and a book that I will turn to again and again for its insight not only into meditation and mindfulness, but the modern human heart in search of peace." Elissa Altman, author of Motherland and contributor to Lion's Roar If you're yearning to move from the frenetic busy-ness and overwhelm of life to greater calm, ease and joy, Still Life is an incredibly accessibleand practical resource with applications for both the beginner and those who wish to deepen and expand their experience of creating a life they love." Elisha Goldstein, PhD, founder of the Mindful Living Collective Reading Still Lifeis akin to sitting down for coffee--or wine--with your warmest, wisest, kindest friend. This timely, necessary book reads less like a primer on meditation and more like a graceful, hilarious memoir of a life supported by the practice. It reminded me, more than anything, of Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things. Joanna Rakoff, author of A Fortunate Age and the international bestseller My Salinger Year Mindfulness is a beautiful but often misunderstood practice, and Rebecca Pacheco strips away all the myths that have made it daunting, with a fresh, entertaining perspective that makes learning fun. With wit and wisdom, she presents options for leading a more balanced life without over promising or over simplifying the profound teachings that make that possible. Priscilla Warner, New York Times bestselling author of The Faith Club and Learning to Breathe With intelligence, directness, and humor, Still Lifepoints to meditation as an accessible yet profound path to transformation. Rather than giving us a self-help hack, Pacheco presents the practice as a means to living fully, including what is brilliant, messy, knowable, and beyond knowing. Susan Piver, author of Start Here NowandThe Four Noble Truths of Love Pachecocompassionately details the path for even the most busy-minded of us to connect to peace through meditation.It is not unlike sitting down to tea with a gentle friend; this book serves as a guide toward the calm and innate goodness that we all deserve and, indeed, as she points out, we can experience right now. Lodro Rinzler, author of The Buddha Walks into a Bar and Take Back Your Mind

Author Bio

Rebecca Pacheco is the author ofDo Your Om Thing,as well as a yoga and meditation teacher and speaker. Previously, she founded and wrote the popular blog OmGal.com (2008-2015) and created the Runners World Yoga Center. She studied English Literature at the University of Richmond and frequently writes forThe Boston Globe on a range of mind-body topics. She lives in Boston.