An amusing and at first glance lighthearted book, but one with serious undertones, The Lazy Guru’s Guide to Life by Laurence Shorter takes a fresh look at the very current subject of mindfulness and offers suggestions for de-stressing, and making life flow as it should.  By using the simple techniques described in the book and learning how to embrace your inner Lazy Guru, you can improve your quality of life and understand how to achieve more by doing less.

You can read this book (and appreciate the beautifully simple and very effective line drawings) at one sitting in less than an hour, or you can take it one page, one thought, one session at a time.  It’s the sort of book you can return to again and again. The way of the Lazy Guru is to make space in your life by stopping, tuning in and letting go.  Learn how to beditate, or to clear out the crud or to dump your shoulds (I should be doing this or I should be liking that).  I particularly enjoyed the illustrations of a thunderous herd of shoulds (aka wildebeests) first shown charging through our hectic lives and then slinking away quietly once they have been tamed.

Laurence Shorter is an author, leadership coach and stand-up comedian and this book successfully combines those diverse elements.  Recommended for anyone in your life suffering from depression, or  those energy-sapping, life-affecting illnesses like fibromyalgia or ME, but also one to buy for yourself if you want to improve the quality of your own life.

The Lazy Guru’s Guide to Life is published in hardback by Orion Books, priced £14.99 and available now.