Following on the success of last year's Happy, Lonely Planet publishes Calm: Secrets to Serenity from the Cultures of the World.

Calm is an exploration on the multitude of ways different cultures contend with the stresses of daily life and features 50 of these calming cultural secrets as well as ways to implement them. Calm takes the reader through a journey of some the world's most serene practices, festivals and traditions including:

• Accessing theta brain waves through drumming (West Africa)

• Studying the ancient art of archery (Bhutan)

• Playing backgammon with friends (Egypt)

• Gliding through the water in a kayak (the Inuit people of Canada and Greenland)

Calm is broken into themes including Nature, Rhythm, Sharing and Focus. Each thought-provoking profile contains suggestions on how to bring a little slice of serenity into readers' own busy lives.

As the book says, "The collection of traditions in this book is not definitive, but a sampling that showcases the world's approaches to calm. It is also a practical ideas manual. We've avoided some obvious practices, such as yoga and t'ai chi, offering instead unexpected activities that you might not immediately associate with calm."

Calm is the perfect gift this busy holiday season, when we all especially need to keep our cool.

About the Book:
Calm: Secrets to Serenity from the Cultures of the World
ISBN: 978 1 74321 845 7
128pp, full color, $14.99
Available November 2013

Notes to Editors:
Lonely Planet's Editor at Large, Emily Wolman, available for interview
Excerpts available with permission
Review copies available upon request
Media Contact: Press.USA@Lonelyplanet.com