Deconstructing the common misperceptions about meditation and offering valuable insight into what mindfulness does entail, the creator of the popular yoga blog OmGal.com challenges readers to dig deep and develop the tools that can ultimately lead to joy. Pacheco deconstructs common misperceptions about meditation. She offers insights into what mindfulness entails, and explains why the process of cultivating it can improve not only our own lives but the lives of others. Instead of submitting to distraction as a means of avoiding reality, we must cope with and be present for life, finding much-needed stillness amid chaos. -- adapted from jacket

Where to begin: start in the present. Meditation: what it is and why we need it ; Meditation and mindfulness: what's the difference? ; The story of the Buddha: tradition and context ; The benefits ; Mindfulness in modern life: changes, challenges, and opportunities -- Life myths (what the ego tells us). This will fix me ; I will get what I want ; Everything will be OK -- Meditation myths (what to remember about practice). Stopping thoughts ; Doing it wrong ; I don't have time -- the magic. Breathing ; Sensing and structuring ; Sitting ; Walking ; Yoga ; Running ; Nature ; Creativity ; Silence, prayer, and service ; Life practice.