The Science of Mindfulness

The Great Courses presents 24 lectures in which Professor Siegel, a Harvard Medical School clinical psychologist, explains how mindfulness works in scientific terms. The starting point is the brain's built-in drive to seek pleasure and avoid pain, a survival mechanism that helped early humans but now lies behind depression, addiction and compulsive behavior, chronic pain, stress and anxiety. The course reviews recent research showing that mindfulness practice changes how the brain is built as well as how it works, and which brain regions it affects. Siegel then applies these findings to psychological, social and medical problems, and teaches practical mindfulness techniques for daily life, linking ancient practices to their modern uses.

Life and Limb Gel founder Chelsea Frank listed it among books that shaped her outlook on life, love and happiness, while noting that the books do not reflect her own views.