The best books on mindfulness and meditation 2017

In an increasingly busy world, it can be hard to forget our daily stresses and find moments of inner calm.

The term 'mindfulness' has become the word du jour recently, but what does it actually mean?

Using expert advice to guide you to greater inner peace and wellbeing can be really useful, but also daunting; after all, it's not likely that you're going to up sticks and move to a Tibetan monastery any time soon.

We've rounded up ten of the most accessible mindfulness and meditation books that can help anyone to lead a more peaceful life.

1. Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This bestseller will get you in the right frame of mind for 2016. Based on Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) – a successful form of brief meditation –this book's success relies on the way in which authors Mark Williams and Danny Penman optimistically focus on adding joy to your life as opposed to ridding it of unhappiness.

£9.84, Amazon, Buy it now

2. Anti-Stress Dot-to-Dot yb Emily Wallis

Always thought that dot-to-dots were an activity for children? Apprently you're wrong be wrong – the pictures in this book, featuring elegant buildings and nature scenes, will relax and focus your mind in a way you never thought a dot-to-dot book could.

£5, Amazon, Buy it now

3. I Am Here Now: A Creative Mindfulness Guide and Journal by The Mindfulness Project

This will help enhance both your observation and creativity; with an audio track (featuring musings from mindfulness teacher Tara Brach) and a field notes page for recording purposes, I Am Here Now will enable your thoughts and emotions to take on a new lease of life.

£6.99, Amazon, Buy it now

4. The Mindful Workplace by Michael Chaskalson

What better time to deploy the theories of mindfulness than at work? This book, filled with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques, provides an eight-week training course to keep your workplace attitude at its peak.

£30.50, Amazon, Buy it now

5. The Headspace Guide to Meditation & Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe

This book from Andy Puddicombe, founder of popular digital health platform Headspace, attempts to get people to take ten minutes out of their day for meditation purposes. Once the technique's been learned, these skills will stay with you for the rest of your life.

£9.99, Waterstones, Buy it now

6. The Mindfulness Colouring Book by Emma Farrarons

Much like the dot-to-dot book above, this pocket-sized adult colouring book is the perfect activity for a 10-minute breather. Consider your stress and anxiety soothed.

£5.59, Amazon, Buy it now

7. The Little Book of Mindfulness by Dr Patrizia Collard

In this day and age, it's more important to be in the moment than ever – this book will help you with that. From Dr Patrizia Collard, these brief practices will rid your day of stress and have you feeling more optimistic.

£4.79, Amazon, Buy it now

8. Body Calm by Sandy C. Newbigging

The saying ‘mind over matter’ derives from the idea that our minds have the power to control our bodies if we really want them to. Equally, mental stress can have a damaging effect on our bodies. Newbigging teaches us a new self-healing meditation technique to help keep our bodies healthy and to understand the source of common stress and anxiety triggers.

£11, Amazon, Buy it now

9. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now has become one of the most famous mindfulness books out there. Helping us to tap into our innermost Being, Tolle guides us through various techniques to help us understand that the present moment is all that really matters.

£5.99, Amazon, Buy it now

10. A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax

An ambassador for mental health awareness, Ruby Wax OBE has helped to make mindfulness accessible to all. Having suffered from depression herself, in this book she explores how modern living is causing us more stress and anxiety than ever as we know and see too much. Included are mindfulness exercises and tips for everyone from babies to adults; all with sound underlying scientific reasoning.

£3.85, Amazon, Buy it now

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