A mindfulness guide for the frazzled - Ruby Wax

Mindfulness is something I've heard about sporadically over the last few years, from reading articles and from friends who have done mindfulness courses.  I tended to think of it as something that required lots of time and quiet, neither of which I have a large supply of. 

The title of this book appealed to me and I quite like Ruby Wax, particularly when she's discussing a more weighty topic.  I started out well, faltered a bit on the scientific how the brain works part and then sailed through to the end.  The personal anecdotes were a nice touch and I liked the conversational tone of the book.  It includes notes for a 6 week mindfulness course.  I did try some of the exercises but like any form of exercise, not everything is going to appeal to everyone.  It's good to try out a variety so you can pick and choose which are going to work best for you as an individual.  I liked the way that there wasn't a presumption that everyone would automatically like doing every activity.  There were options if you were a gym person, someone who commutes to work, basically anywhere you could possibly grab a couple of minutes to focus and there was a mindfulness exercise to fit.

I've been doing yoga for a while now so quite a few of the exercises were familiar to me.  I was already practicing mindfulness without even realising - bonus!  The main things I took from the book was that it is important to find the time to stop, take a breath and spend a minute or two mentally checking in to see how you are doing that day.  Mental health is often neglected and it can have such a huge impact on every other aspect of our lives so its never a waste of time to make sure your mind is in good shape.  In this age of having it all, yolo, fomo and all the other ones that end in o, we should all be a bit nicer to ourselves and each other.  No-one is perfect so why should I be any different?