Item: Just Sit
Rating: 2.00
Author: lovelybookshelf

by Sukey Novogratz and Elizabeth Novogratz

From the cofounders of The Well Daily, a playfully-illustrated, informative, and easy-to-use meditation guidebook-including an eight-week plan for busy novices-that helps even the busiest would-be meditator incorporate this practice into their lifestyle and enjoy its many physical and emotional benefits.

We've all heard the reports about meditation: that it helps us relieve stress and anxiety, improve our moods, lose weight, and sleep better. We know that it can make us healthier, nicer, a kinder parent, a better coworker, a more thoughtful spouse. But there's a catch-you actually have to do it.

Written for the many, many people whose schedule or skepticism has kept them from trying meditation, Just Sit is an approachable and visually engaging beginner's guide. Assuaging fears, answering questions, and providing real-world information to demystify the process, Sukey and Elizabeth Novogratz provide a hands-on look at what meditation really is, what is does, and how to do it. The authors make clear that meditation doesn't have to be complicated or follow a specific protocol. The most important part, to "just sit," can lead to a lifelong practice, tailored to anyone's lifestyle.

A perfect blend of information and instruction, Just Sit covers everything you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask. Sukey and Elizabeth address meditation myths and realities, offer advice on how to combat awkwardness, extoll the physical and emotional benefits of meditation, show readers how to find those precious minutes to meditate every day, and more. They also include an eight-week plan to get help readers kick start-and stay with-their own daily practice.

Time to ditch the excuses. With this warm, encouraging, sassy guide, everyone will want to show up-and sit down-every day.

I wanted to love this book. I'm a believer in the power of meditation, and the fun, colorful, magazine-like layout of JUST SIT is pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate, and motivating.

After the first two chapters, though, I was already frustrated. Exaggerated health claims came across infomercial-like at best, ableist at worst. There are no notes/citations to back up any of the claims in this book. If you're going to make huge claims with phrases like "studies show", you need to cite that and give readers a way to look into those studies further, to find out how they were conducted, what the sample size was, etc. Because there are plenty of junk "studies" out there. (See Ben Goldacre's book Bad Science.)

There were also a heck of a lot of microaggressions that appeared under the guise of humor, including jabs at taking medication for one's mental health, and other portions of the book that were flat-out appropriative. It didn't seem purposeful; it was more the kind of oversimplified advice and insensitivity that comes with a *lot* of privilege.

That being said, Chapter 3's "8 Weeks to Build a Practice" section is very useful. Think of it like Couch to 5K plan for meditation. Chapter 5, which talks about body positions and comfort, is also informative. And "Exercises in Mindfulness" in the last chapter was helpful as well. There are definitely good, solid suggestions to glean from this book.

But I couldn't help but feel that JUST SIT is aimed at a far narrower range of people than the authors intended or hoped. If you're brand-spanking new to meditation, cishet and abled, and/or upper middle class or higher, I think you'll enjoy this book and learn a lot from it.

If you're an intersectional feminist, belong to a marginalized group of people, and/or sometimes (or often) struggle to make ends meet, I'm not convinced there's enough here to make the book worth your time and energy. There's a good chance it'll feel more like a self-help book with out-of-touch advice (check out the free app
Insight Timer instead).

Just Sit

by Sukey Novogratz and Elizabeth Novogratz

Reviewed by lovelybookshelf on Dec 24, 2017

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