The authors of Mindfulness: The Basics will host an online launch event from 12:30 to 13:30, where they will introduce the book and address three central questions: What is mindfulness? Why practise it? And how is it relevant in today’s complex world? Guests will be invited to pause, reflect, and consider a profound question at the heart of the book: what are we really doing here?
Designed for students, professionals and general readers alike, Mindfulness: The Basics combines clear, accessible writing with academic depth. One of the authors, Dr Sophie Sansom, co-director of the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at 18ҹ, explains that the aim is to give readers a robust, well-rounded understanding of mindfulness. She co-authors the book with David Shannon and Taravajra.
Sophie says: “As stress, uncertainty and global crises increasingly shape our daily lives, this book offers a grounded entry-point into mindfulness—blending its history, theory, practice and contemporary relevance. It provides an excellent introduction, guiding readers from undergraduate-level background material to active practice and personal significance.
“We deliberately situate mindfulness within wider environmental, social and political challenges, asking how it might contribute not only to individual wellbeing but to broader human and planetary flourishing.”
In addition to practical guidance, the authors survey the empirical evidence behind mindfulness-based approaches and engage with key debates in the field—such as the cultural roots, ethical considerations and known limitations of mindfulness.
A dedicated practice section offers clear modules on clarifying intention, body-scan practice, movement and stillness, sitting practice, and weaving mindfulness into everyday life. This is supported by diagrams, chapter summaries and audio-guided e-resources.
Mindfulness: The Basics was first published on 23 November in hardback, with the publishers Routledge describing the book as helping readers bring mindfulness off the page and into lived experience.
If you would like to attend the launch, you can do this by clicking this link.
