Slowing down is not a luxury, it is a necessity Have you ever felt as though everyone wants too much from you? Does your life feel so full there is no room to do the things you enjoy? Do you feel as though life at full throttle is consuming you? Occupational therapist Angela Lockwood shows you how to recognise overwhelm and overstimulation, build habits that help you flick the switch, and re-energise both your mind and body. With Switch Off and Find Calm, you will learn to recognise when it's time to switch off and discover practical ways to make that happen.

A modern-day guide to slowing down in a fast paced world. Switch Off shows you how to take that sorely-needed time-out. We all know about the benefits of slowing down and disconnecting: reduced stress, higher satisfaction, better performance, higher productivity, tighter focus, reduced depression and innumerable other positive health effects. The big question is, "How?" When we're all stuck in a cycle of demands and pressure it feels hard to prioritise slowing down. How do we step back and find the time to take care of ourselves? This book shows you how to let go of the guilt, turn off the phone and step away to re-energise and re-focus. Whether you need a true vacation or just an uninterrupted cup of tea, you'll learn how to integrate the skills of slowing down into your life so you can do what you need, when you need it. Written by a health professional who has witnessed the impact of being constantly switched on both professionally and personally, this book gives you more than permission to disconnect – it gives you a real-world blueprint for taking the time that you need. This book shows you why it's so important to slow down, and how it actually is possible in what can be a pressured and overwhelming world. Choose how you use your time Stop feeling guilty for practising self-care Boost your energy and productivity levels Harness the power of perspective and focus Learn how to create an environment that supports your health and wellbeing From the executive needing time to contemplate big decisions, to the teenager closing their bedroom door to be alone, we all need time to disconnect. Switch Off shows you how to do just that, with expert guidance with you the whole way.

This e-book is a shorter version of the paperback, with the same beautifully designed content excluding the practical exercise pages - perfect to dip in and out, and choose which bits work best for you. Join the Calm revolution. Modern life is hectic and relentless: trains delayed, endless emails filling the inbox, kids squabbling before bedtime... There has never been a more important time to rediscover your pause button. Calm is the book that will show you how to take back a little bit of peace, space and all-important calm. This book contains the simple tools, tricks and habits that will change the rest your life. It is a practical and pleasurable guide to twenty-first century mindfulness. Regular meditation is medically proven to be good for you - it increases focus and creativity, productivity and job satisfaction, mental and even physical health. But in reality most of us don't have time to sit on a cushion with our eyes closed for half an hour every day. And many people associate meditation with hard work and huge lifestyle shifts: you might be imagining Buddhist monks locked in a mountain retreat and living off gruel... This is where Calm comes in. Calm is about simple, achievable habits that work with the demands of your busy life instead of pretending those demands don't exist. Calm does not require specialist training: it uses abilities that every single one of us is born with, like creativity, spontaneity and simply noticing the world around you. Calm is not a set of rules that you need to worry about following or breaking. It is inspirational, practical and non-prescriptive. Onerous, time-consuming meditation might seem out of reach but everyone can achieve calm - including you. Calm combines extracts from fascinating neurological research with wisdom from history's great thinkers and the real-life experiences of individuals across the globe. It demystifies mindfulness and shows you the many simple ways to be mindful while carrying on with your life. It is also a beautifully crafted object, filled with artwork and artistry, that will change your perspective by showing you the pleasures of the world anew. Take a walk with nowhere to go, savour a chocolate on the tip of your tongue, plant a seed, doodle aimlessly, turn off your mobile phone for five short minutes. Smile, breathe and go slowly. Michael Acton Smith has written a game-changing book, one that will finally balance everyone's need for calm with the realities of modern life. Join the Calm revolution. Calm your mind; change your world. Calm.com @calm

Bursting with tips, centring statements and soothing activities, Find Calm will help you to feel more at ease in the world and better equipped to deal with the things that really matter.

A therapeutic and consoling workbook with exercises to soothe anxiety and create a state of calm. Most of us long to be a little calmer: too many of our days are lost to agitation and worry, stress and discord. Yet we know that we are at our best when we can manage not to panic and take challenges in our stride. Fortunately, a calm state of mind is not a divine gift. Even those of us starting from a more agitated position can systematically understand and lay claim to it. Too many books on this subject simply explain what it would be like to be calm. This is a workbook that takes us through the practical steps required to actually become calm. It is filled with exercises and prompts that deliver the self-understanding and self-compassion on which true serenity depends. Furthermore, the book invites us to build calming routines into our daily lives so that what we learn can stick with us and change us for the long term. Based on years of The School of Life's work in the area of anxiety and calm, this is a landmark workbook guaranteed to bring about the calmer state of mind we long for and deserve.

Knitting is a relaxing and therapeutic pastime, and this winning combination focuses on mindfulness and the perfect stress-busting knitting projects. Whether you choose a portable project to knit on the go, a group project to do with friends, or one that introduces new skills to stimulate a creative mind, this book is the perfect path to keeping calm. The book is aimed at beginners as well as more advanced knitters, but does not include anything more complex than basic knit and purl stitches, increasing, decreasing and some simple colourwork.