5 Best Books for Meditation

This bestseller has several accolades, including best book of 2020 mentions by NPR and The Washington Post. It also has tens of thousands of positive reviews online.

Reviewers like the book’s fast and fun pace. Others point out that it reads like a novel. While this book isn’t strictly about meditation, it explores the importance of our breath and lung capacity, and it gives the reader different breathing exercises to try.

This book is for those curious about breathing and its impact on the body, both mentally and physically.

If you’re not familiar with transcendental meditation (TM), it’s a practice that requires quiet and stillness for 20 minutes, twice per day, while a mantra is recited.

The technique was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi over 50 years ago and has touched the lives of more than 6 million people globally. It can only be taught by certified TM teachers in a course carefully personalized for each individual.

This is a book you can keep at the ready on your bedside table or coffee table in case you have some spare moments for a guided meditation. There are 52 guided practices in the book on a range of topics, from being a people pleaser to making health a priority.

If you don’t think you have time for meditation, this book is for you. Written by Andy Puddicombe, a mindfulness expert, former Buddhist monk, and the voice of the guided meditations in the Headspace app, it sets out to prove that you can change how you feel in as little as 10 minutes per day.

This book is specifically for those who have mastered basic meditation and are looking to reach new levels of awareness and consciousness.

The book starts with information on meditation, discussing why it’s beneficial to take your practice to the next level. It then moves into a handful of simple exercises you can do, a 7-day meditation course, and 52 mantras you can incorporate into your practice.