Spiritual Practices for the Brain: Caring for Mind, Body, and Soul by Anne Kertz Kernion is a valuable collection of doable ways to infuse our everyday events and activities with Spiritual power. The author delves into common areas such as Taking Deep Breaths and Meditation while also expanding into areas such as Compassion and Service, and Allowing Leisure and Play. While many of the Practices advocated were not new to me, it was helpful and convenient to have so many doable actions compiled in one book for easy and quick reference. I'm looking forward to trying out the Practices that were new to me. What I like best about all of them is that they are simple to implement--no complicated steps to remember.

Each category of Practice includes scientific research and statistics about how that Practice benefits the physical body as well as the spirit. These explanations are sprinkled with quotes from well-known people from Louisa May Alcott to Soren Kierkegaard. The additional data is fascinating and motivating for me. I want what these Spiritual Practices for the Brain can offer me!

I also appreciated the author's list of suggested Apps that can be used to enhance soul care.

Note: A copy of this book was given to me by Loyola Press for my honest review.

This was a nice quick read that was simultaneously about how many of the practices of Christianity/Catholicism are actually quite good for one's health independent of spirituality, and how to practice those practices. It covered quite a bit of ground, from meditation to self-care to service. It was a quick and interesting read, and I picked up a couple of new practices, and quite a bit of new information, especially about modern research on meditation and so on.

I do wish she had elaborated more, in places, on the link between the practices she was talking about and the Christian ideals...there were chapters that seemed a bit too secular for the title and stated purpose of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy--my review was my own opinions and thoughts.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Wow. I wish I could order several copies and hand them out to people. Anne Kertz Kernion has written a wonderful concise but oh so thorough and life giving book of spiritual practices. I finished this one in a couple sessions of reading but found myself taking numerous notes. Her book is so timely and she makes it so accessible to her readers with a variety of simple and practical exercises and applications. While Loyola Press is a Catholic publisher - this book would benefit all Christians. As an Anglican spiritual director, I found this book to be a great resource personally as well as a resource I can recommend to my directees as they tend to the care and nurture of their souls. Wholistic, winsome and anchored in scriptural truth - the author has crafted a most valuable resource for personal soul care in a world that is ever moving at a pace that is not sustainable for any human’s. physical, psychological, emotional or spiritual health and well being.

I am grateful to have read this book and grateful to NetGalley and Loyola Press for an advanced reader copy. My honest review is my own personal opinion.

Kernion has delivered a book that has wide application to people across the spectrum of faith. As a Christian, I was able to adopt some of these practices into my own life. Mental health conversations are desperately important activities that are unfortunately not often experienced in the church. I'm thankful to see robust treatments of this topic in the literary market.

A lovely book to help readers find to inner peace through practical activities based around things like mindfulness and nurturing relationships.

This Christian book is easy to read, and filled with helpful suggestions and exercises to assist readers to care for themselves. It is especially useful during this difficult time. Anne Kertz Kernion discusses the importance of self-compassion, relaxation, meditation and avoiding distractions. She also suggests ways to cultivate spiritual values and support our spirituality, as well as spending time in nature and living in the present.

This is a must-read not only for Catholics, but for any Christians looking for help in living through the pandemic, and afterwards - and there will be an afterwards!

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

As several other reviewers have stated, this is an excellent book for the times. When people usually look externally for comfort and entertainment and development, it is good to learn how to care for one's self emotionally and spiritually. Our hyper-digital society has all but lost the ability to focus. This book encourages the reader to focus on proven ways to reduce stress, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I found it very helpful going into another year of lockdown and rampant fear among so many.

I gratefully received a free ARC digital copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion.

This was a fascinating book! I've never thought about the neuroscientific benefits of spirituality before and found that intriguing. Will be keeping these practices in mind as a mental health boost.

This book provided many useful ideas about spiritual practices and how we can find ways in our everyday lives to spend time with God and enrich our lives.

Headline: Be PReSENT
I recently started my practice of mindfulness, paying attention on purpose, that is why I wanted to read this book. In my practice I struggle with my spirituality it feels like I’m going to get in trouble for meditating. My guess is because I was told that meditation was bad. After reading this title I’m grateful the idea I had about Spirituality and meditation has been squashed.

The practices shared by Kertz Kernionare drawn from science, psychology and spirituality including bonus information on being mindful of gifts in our everyday ordinary day. The Practice at the end of the chapter brings together all you read and helps the reader add to their mindful practice. One of my favorites was Mindful Waiting; yes much of our day is spent waiting to be able to make use of that time mindfully would be a blessing.

A galley copy of this book was provided by Netgalley/ the publisher In exchange for my honest and thoughtful review.

It’s nice to read a book that covers the topic of spiritual practices and links those practices to the studies showing the resulting well-being of people. I found some of the studies referenced to be fascinating. As stated on the introduction, “The Christian tradition possesses rich insights that research is now proving enhances not only our spiritual lives but also our health and well-being.” Written from a Christian perspective, other religious traditions are also referenced.
Among others, some of the topics covered are Paying Attention, Understanding Meditation, Living with Gratitude, Learning Compassion and Service, Nurturing Community and Relationships, and Enjoying Nature and Awe, Within each chapter the author also gives suggestions for putting what was just read into practice.
I found some of the writing to be a bit repetitive, but overall found the book to be interesting and helpful.
#SpiritualPracticesfortheBrain #amazon #Loyolapress

Thank you NetGalley, Loyola Press and Anne Kertz Kernion for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Spiritual Practices for the Brain: Caring for Mind, Body, and Soul is the book I have needed since 2020 started! As a long time fan of Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila, I recognize the value of spiritual and meditative practices. But as it goes in life, I often forget to use the tools and examples I have been given, forgetting is so easy. This book is a fantastic reminder, encourager and set of tools to bring me back to nurturing these all important habits that are salve to my soul.

The book is broken into chapters that focus on intentional steps to take to improve spiritual and physical health. She supports her views and suggestions with current research. As a professor, I always enjoy cited sources. She provides suggestions including focused breathing, gardening, practicing kindness, living in gratitude, exercise and even play as opportunities to improve our lives, mind, body and soul.

I love the practical and friendly style of her writing. I love the quotes she included. Every chapter was so relatable and practical. Beginning the book with the information about the importance of taking a minute to breath is huge. Breath work has such a huge impact on our state of mind, whether we are in fight or flight or using our breath to bring us to the present moment- how we breath influences everything! Anne Kurtz Kernion demonstrated a wealth of knowledge in the topics she discussed, the research she cites and the wisdom she shares.
This book is truly written for everyone. You do not need to belong to a specific faith group to find value in the practices outlined in this book. Given how chaotic 2020 has proven to be, I cannot help but think we all can benefit from tending our mental, spiritual and emotional health. I definitely recommend this one!

The opening quote grabbed my attention and held it throughout. It is true that we don’t need more light, we need to put into practice the light we already have. With reminders to slow down and breathe, I genuinely appreciated the instruction and permission to practice types of mindful breathing and awareness exercises. The barriers to meditation are expressed in terms that seemed to come straight from my mouth, and just as relatable are the meditation exercises. I love how the suggestions start simple and build in complexity as the skill begins to take root. I am often a more of a head than heart person, so I appreciated the wealth of science presented to add strength to the wisdom being shared. Living with gratitude was a perfect reminder to not take all my many blessings for granted. Learning compassion and service was affirmative of my approach to patients and families as a nurse. Nurturing community and relationships was so timely as a major move just occurred and I find myself on the frontline of starting over. Sometimes, the exhaustion of it all makes me wonder if it is worth it, but these writings and simple reminders point out and reaffirm that, yes, it is! Developing empathy and kindness was just a delight to submerse myself into and look for new ways to bless others, especially those who are different from me. Discovering Self-Compassion is where I would like to park some extra time and mental space. Enjoying Nature and Awe as well as Engaging Creativity and Solitude are two things I have been learning about being more intentional, so these chapters were refreshing reminders of the importance of allowing this aspect of my person to grow in maturity. These naturally lead into the discussion of dealing with distraction and technology and I am looking forward to employing some new lessons learned. A call to allow leisure and play brings balance and perspective to all the previous lessons. I love how it is all tied together in Exercises for Brain Health. All in all, this is wonderful tool to help bring Spiritual Practices out of just my head and into my heart as well.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own and freely given.

I wa hoping for a book that was more focused on Christian forms of meditation but other than the first chapter & occasional Bible quotes the "spiritual practice" applicayion of this book is so broad as to be almost meaningless. in addition, the author fails to every draw conclusions between religion and brain healt but seems to find it sufficient to cite studies and then give us ideas that sort of apply to them.

i was very disappointed.

This is the book that everyone needs to in 2020. Yes there are bible verses but I love how anyone can use the information in this book to help with the stresses in life and who doesn’t have stress in their lives especially these days. The exercise’s are detailed so anyone can follow and they are easy enough even for beginners to use. I also love the background and personal stories spread throughout the book to give it a more intimate feeling. It’s a really good book to have for your de-stress arsenal.