I wouldn't have expected less than a great wellness/mindfulness book from Deepak Chopra, but this one was really helpful. I've found a lot of meditation books to be a bit too woo-woo or hard to digest, but this book was very easy to understand. I think it would be helpful for anybody who wants to try meditation or deepen their practice.

Many readers are going to be familiar with Deepak Chopra, because of his work with Oprah Winfrey. He offered a wonderful series of free recorded meditation sessions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I think a lot of people will remember his name from that as well. Not to mention that he is an established and respected name in his field of mindfulness and meditation. This is a great book for anyone looking to enhance the quality of their life with meditation, and it includes a 52-week series of meditations for a year of mindful living. Looking forward to recommending this to a lot of stressed out readers! The author takes a kind and compassionate approach.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have read Chopra in the past so I knew what I was getting into. This one is very thick and "intense" and a lot of information to receive and process- but in a very good way! Also, love the practical tips and exercises. I need a book like this every once in a while to shake things up and make me reflect Mediation is a subject I am always looking more to learn about.

have started meditating after reading Gabrielle Bernstein's The Universe Has Your Back and therefore became interested in reading Deepak Chopra. I recently started listening to Chopra's podcast called Daily Breath which is actually featuring highlights from this book. It enhanced my reading experience by reinforcing the ideas with short, daily meditation exercises.

I really liked the main take-away from this book: to live an awakened life. Being more aware of your mind and body and how they connect is the gist of it. I really like this approach and this has truly helped me shape my life in a different way. I saved many quotes that stuck out to me and that I wanted to remember.

The book had an interesting structure, with different formats throughout. I often felt like I was reading a lot of filler and was waiting to get to the meat. I don't know that I needed the whole book. I found many gems throughout but I was not captivated by every section. The first part of the book talks about the evidence and benefits of living an awakened life but I mostly found myself just waiting to figure out how to live an awakened life.

The last part of the book is set up as daily exercises in practicing the concepts. I have not physically practiced the exercises but I did like the examples of implementing them into your life.

Overall, I thought this book was OK. There were many interesting things to read in it that I am adapting to my daily life but I would have preferred the cliff notes on this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harmony for providing me with an ARC of this book.

TOTAL MEDITATION is the perfect book for someone who has dabbled in mediation, but has never been able to maintain a consistent practice. It is straightforward and easy to absorb and genuinely helped me start on the path toward a consistent practice with good results.

This book offered some really great insights about getting the most out of meditation. I always like Deepak Chopra's works. This book was no exception.

The exercises in this book are great, but I found the author's writing style to be distracting from the enjoyment of the book.

Total Meditation by Deepak Chopra is a book designed to help the reader develop their meditation practice and make a part of their daily life. I am familiar with Deepak Chopra's work and approach to meditation through his podcast and have enjoyed his guided meditations. The author provides a variety of breathing exercises and mini-lessons throughout the chapters. One unique lesson was lesson 2 which points out how our experience and consciousness are simultaneously "in here" and "out there", using dreams as an example which we typically don't consider "real" despite how vivid they may be. I found the examples to be powerful throughout the book and have helped me reconsider the state of being, experience, and presence, which feels a bit woo-woo for me but demonstrates the power of the author's writing. I also found the chapter defining self-inquiry, reflection, contemplation, concentration, prayer, quiet mind, controlled breathing, and bliss helpful as some of these words are used interchangeably which is not accurate. This also provided a deeper understanding of how to approach different aspects of my meditation. Overall I enjoyed this book and highly recommend for anyone hoping to get into meditation!

Many thanks to the publisher Rodale Inc. - Harmony and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a very in-depth book on meditation, great for beginners and advanced. Offers many lessons and techniques on how to incorporate not just meditation, but total meditation into your life. This book has a lot of great information and is definitely a book to savor.

I often listen to Deepak Chopra's guided meditations that he does with Oprah, so I was looking forward to this book. I am so glad that I read it because I have learned a lot more on how to incorporate meditation into my life daily. It is important for us to find ways to "self soothe" throughout these trying times, and this book is very helpful in learning how to integrate meditation into one's life. I recommend it highly.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy, all thoughts are my own.

I look forward to putting into practice some of the exercises but found it a bit difficult to connect with the authors writing style.

Definitely worth the read if you're interested in meditation

While I appreciate Chopra's idea of bringing meditation to every aspect of one's life—living the "awakened" life”— I didn’t connect with his writing style in much of the book. I look forward to experimenting more with some of the exercises Chopra suggests. I hope that Total Meditation will bring readers a greater sense of peace and a desire to further explore meditation. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Rodale for the review copy.

I just started this book and am completely hooked. I've always struggled with meditation because I can't sit still or quiet my mind, and Chopra's introduction has changed my perspective in a way I did NOT expect. I'll keep reading and continue to give mediation a chance based on this book. Definitely recommend this to anyone looking to try meditation or who, like me, has struggled with anxiety, especially in these very hard times.