With a Single Breath

“This remarkable book is a comprehensive and rich guide to mindfulness in the 21st century. It reveals a clear path to living an ethical, caring, and awakened life.”
–Joan Halifax, PhD, author of Standing at the Edge.

“In With A Single Breath Melvin McLeod has brought together world-class expertise on mindfulness. This practical guide will be a boon to practitioners at any point on their path.”
–Daniel Goleman, PhD, author of Emotional Intelligence.

“This is a masterful guide to a peaceful, resilient, and contented life. Melvin McLeod is clear, practical, encouraging, and heartfelt—a trustworthy friend on the path. Informed by both modern science and ancient wisdom, he offers an original brilliant way of looking at mindfulness as well as deep dives into the insights and experiential practices that can bring us home to the heart, and home to our underlying beautiful true nature.”
–Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Hardwiring Happiness.

“Mindfulness is all helpful,” said the Buddha. This skillful book shows how you can directly benefit from the powers of mindfulness and use it to bring care to all you touch.”
–Jack Kornfield, PhD, author of A Path With Heart

“With a Single Breath offers a pioneering vision of mindfulness—not as a technique, but as a doorway into who we truly are. Drawing from a treasure trove of teachings and practices, it reveals how presence opens into inner freedom and an intimate belonging with all of life. Here mindfulness becomes a way of living with wisdom, courage and compassion in our world.”
–Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance.

“With a Single Breath is both intimate and expansive, weaving together practical guidance with the collective wisdom of many of the world’s leading meditation teachers and experts in human well-being. Melvin McLeod serves as a gracious guide, distilling their insights into a clear, heartfelt path that begins with a single breath and unfolds into a deeply compassionate way of living.”
–Dr. Robert Waldinger, author of The Good Life and How to Live It

“Bravo to Melvin McLeod for his foresight and vision to create With a Single Breath. Using his vast knowledge and experience from years of editing Lion’s Roar, McLeod has woven together the disparate strands of the mindfulness movement—the incredible work of countless individuals over decades—to create a whole cloth: a vision for a comprehensive mindfulness path. I love the community feel of the book—so much wisdom is contained in multiple voices. And I love that he shows us mindfulness is not merely a stress reduction technique but a new and authentic contemplative tradition much needed in our times.”
–Diana Winston, Director of UCLA Mindful and author of The Little Book of Being

“I have been hoping for such a book for years—bringing together mindfulness meditation with relationships. social action, and community. Thank you!!!”
–Mirabai Bush, author of Almost Home.

“With a Single Breath is a beautiful invitation into the transformative power of mindfulness. It presents mindfulness not merely as a helpful meditation technique, but as a complete path for living with greater wisdom, compassion, and purpose. What makes this book especially rich is the way it gathers the voices and practices of leading mindfulness teachers, weaving their insights together into a clear and accessible guide for readers. This is an inspiring resource for anyone who wants to cultivate a more peaceful mind, an open heart, and a life that truly benefits others.”
–Kristin Neff, PhD, author of Self-Compassion

“This wise and eloquent book is medicine for our times. Melvin McLeod, one of the most respected authorities on mindfulness and meditation, brilliantly reframes mindfulness as an integrated, whole-life, approach to inner and outer transformation. He fills the book with well-known voices in the field of mindfulness, carefully woven into a seamless tapestry. Readers new to mindfulness will find a trustworthy step-by-step guide, and seasoned practitioners will be invigorated by the author’s bold, refreshing vision. If you want to reboot your life, or enrich and expand your mindfulness practice, this book is a great place to start.”
–Christopher Germer, PhD, author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion


“In a time when the word mindfulness is everywhere—and often misunderstood—Melvin McLeod brings us back to its true heart. With a Single Breath distills this profound practice with rare clarity, wisdom, and authority. Few people are as uniquely positioned to tell this story. After more than three decades as editor-in-chief of Lion’s Roar, McLeod has had a bird’s-eye view of the remarkable unfolding of Buddhadharma in the West. Reading this book was honey on my heart. It tells the story I have lived—from my early days teaching MBSR to the extraordinary global flowering of mindfulness today—and it brought me back to the essence of the path I have been walking for forty-five years. A beautiful accomplishment and important contribution to the unfolding of mindfulness in the modern world.”
–Margaret Cullen, author of Quiet Strength