THE RELUCTANT MEDITATOR

Viv Speers

RIGHTS AVAILABLE: All rights available and handled by the bks Agency

A must-read for anyone who has ever said ‘I know I should meditate, but…’

The excuses are there, but you can't ignore a nagging feeling that this meditation lark might be worth a shot. You also feel this book might be speaking to you directly. Some of your friends meditate occasionally—and swear by it, but ‘God knows how they find the time.’ Besides that, you don’t feel spiritual enough and have too much on your mind to even think straight—let alone sit down and try to find calm, or whatever it is that's meant to happen when you meditate. ‘What about all those thoughts and does it work for anxious people?’ The Reluctant Meditator explains why it is worth a shot, but also understands the reasons why you may be holding back. ‘I feel it’s important to close the gap between the lesser known academic abstracts, detailing the proven benefits of a meditation practice—for everybody, and what appears to be a more mainstream view, spiritually prescriptive, yet ironically less inclusive. We all have a physical body and a brain. Our breath, our thoughts, and our actions provoke the same neurological and physical responses no matter who we are. Therefore, if one person can meditate, then there is no physical reason why another can not. It’s simply a matter of attitude and application. There you are—you have been told.’ It can be a liberating revelation when you realise you don't have to follow certain rules and that finding the ‘calm among the chaos’ does not have to mean closing your eyes and chanting ‘Om’...unless of course, you feel like it. 

Viv has been guiding mindfulness and yoga for the last 12 years and although based in London, has been bouncing around the globe for even longer—occasionally pausing for long enough to live in Sydney, Thailand, and New York. In all these places, mindfulness meditation has been Viv’s anchor—her throughline if you like. Not being one for rule books, Viv loves to encourage students to be the Captain of their own ship, no matter how stormy the waters. Human connection is so important to Viv and throughout her travels, she has discovered that there is no distinction when it comes to matters of the heart and mind. We are all on the same page. When you have a class full of people from all walks of life sharing the same space, there is no room for ego, and certainly no room for spiritual clichés or esoteric cliques. These experiences have led to this book. And in terms of writing experience: In a previous life, Viv was a copywriter for a big ad agency in London, gained a Diploma in Freelance Journalism, and is currently an active member and session host of London Writers Salon. This is her first nonfiction book.