Book Review: One Minute to Zen | Ali Katz

“We carry the heavy burden of expectations from the outside world, and expectations that we put on ourselves, creating a (large) load to carry.”

As readers of PhDiva may know, I am a doctoral student in psychology. Mindfulness, meditation, and the power of positive thought are such a part of my belief system, it’s easy to think that I must have it all figured out. But I am far from having it figured out. I mismanage my stress, and I take on things that deplete from my well-being, just like anyone. What is so beautiful about Ali Katz’s One Minute to Zen is her frankness and authenticity.

Ali Katz is a mindfulness coach and a certified meditation teacher. She could have written a book of best practices for meditation and it would be great. But what Ali chose to write about in her book is the raw realities in her life. The times she had a tantrum as an adult, or had a meltdown over something that wasn’t nearly as big of a deal as she built it up to be. But all of these moments are so critical. They don’t detract from the knowledge Ali has to share, they add to it. Because Ali lives this every day. She knows what it is like to bear the burden of not being perfect. And she has found ways to reset her mindset—something we all could do.

Mindufulness is truly a conscious choice. Just as you have to choose every day to make healthy eating choices, exercise, and go to bed at a reasonable hour—you choose to practice mindfulness and meditation. And that means that as it is with all of these other choices, sometimes you may slip. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up. It means that you recommit to your choice to practice mindfulness. And as with these other choices, it does become easier over time.

I once attended a lecture on decision making. The more routine a decision becomes, the less it detracts from our mental focus. Finding those ways that we can trigger mental calmness is important. For me, Katz’s chapter on nature really resonated. Nature has always been a place that after just a few moments, helps me feel at peace. But nature isn’t always an option. I work at Willis Tower, the epitome of corporate chaos in Chicago—and when I say there isn’t a calming nature moment free from people nearby, I mean it. So that means I find other ways to meditate.

I’ve been practicing many of Katz’s tips and I must say, it is giving me so much. I’m someone that already meditates, so I have the advantage of being committed to it easily. But I also tend to fall victim to the false belief that I need to have ten minutes of quiet to meditate. That just isn’t realistic always—whether you are a working person, a mom, a student, or any other hat you may wear in your life, you won’t always get ten minutes of quiet to yourself. But you can find 60 seconds. At a traffic light, in between meetings, during your morning coffee—you can find the time.

If you are someone who hasn’t tried mindfulness or meditation because you don’t know where to begin, or whether you’re someone who practices it daily, I highly recommend this book.

About the Book

From the political climate to natural disasters, to managing the stress and overwhelm of everyday life, women have more to deal with than ever. Life feels overwhelming and exhausting much of the time. The third in her Hot Mess to Mindful Mom series, One Minute to Zen will provide numerous tools to help deal with stress in one minute, the same amount of time it can take for all hell to break loose!

When teaching moms across the country, while giving talks to corporations, and across Ali’s thriving social media channels, people are asking for more tools to use quickly and effectively to help recover from the stress they face in daily life.

In One Minute to Zen, Ali has compiled a list of tools that make it possible to recalibrate, achieve balance, and recover from stress quickly and with ease, in order to live a more mindful and joyful life. Known for her authenticity and relatability, Ali shares personal stories and anecdotes to help connect her audience and show how to really put her suggestions to use.

The goal is to put these tools into the hands of every mother who needs them (we all do!) and also teach them how to pass them on to their children, thus creating in each family a chain reaction of calm and confidence when faced with challenges big and small.

Thank you to Book Sparks for my copy to review.