Punk Rock Book Club: Miguel Chen's I Wanna Be Well

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t really associate the music of Teenage Bottlerocket with meditation. There’s something about their smart-ass, catchy, Ramones-core pop-punk that just doesn’t really jive with spiritualism or peaceful meditation. But bassist Miguel Chen is a yoga instructor and he shares his philosophy and story in the brief, but enlightening, I Wanna Be Well: How a Punk Found Peace and You Can Too.

For those not inclined to religion or spirituality, I Wanna Be Well might seem at first glance off-putting – it’s published by a publishing house focusing on Buddhism and weaves in Buddhist philosophy and yoga practices – but there is no pushing here. One of Chen’s biggest points, repeated throughout, is that you need to do what works, and is best, for you. He shares pointers and how these philosophies have impacted his life (if you’re looking for the story of Teenage Bottlerocket, you’ll get snippets, but that’s not the focus here), but stresses that you need to find out how to apply them to your life. It’s a refreshing take for those skeptical about quote-unquote religious texts.

Some of his deep philosophical ideas revolve around mindfulness and how you rationalize your life. And his revolutionary advice centers on things like focusing on your breathing and having a positive mental attitude. Yeah, deep religious stuff. Each chapter is essentially a lesson, with practice at the end. And most of his practices have, as a central role, focused breathing and positive mental attitude. Even when he includes yoga poses, they’re the more basic ones. You know about PMA from Bad Brains, at a minimum. And it’s not hard to focus on your breathing. So Chen makes it easy to practice. And you might notice that these are not overbearing religious treatises he’s imparting.

There’s something here that everyone can apply to their lives, regardless of what mental state you’re going into the book with or what you want to take out of its Buddhist philosophy. You can apply as much or as little as you want; like Chen stresses, do what works for you. But at its brisk pace – most chapters are under ten pages – you can learn something impactful. Give it a read. It’ll definitely impact your thinking at a minimum, or change your life at its most powerful.

Find it at your local library or buy it from the publisher here. Read an interview with Chen from RiotFest here if you wanna learn more.