Fitness - brilliantlegalmind.com

Five Tips for Mindful Walking to Enhance Well-Being

Unintentionally over the last several months, I formed a nice self-care habit. Whenever I have time, I take a mindful walk after dinner. I wouldn’t call this walking meditation because it’s not quite so slow or focused. But I wouldn’t say it’s clearly outside of the realm of meditation either.

That’s because my mindful walking habit has become a real support for me. It helps me when my mind is busy, my spirits are low, or if I just need to move a little bit and enjoy a nice day.

If you want to try a making mindful walking part of your routine, this can tell you how. Here are the five key elements of a mindful walk.

1. Leave Your Phone at Home While Walking

This one is not a hard and fast rule. There’s no shame in using your phone for safety or to listen to a workout video or music to support your walk. Talking with a friend on your phone while you walk is also a great way to support a healthy habit.

If you don’t need it, though, I encourage you to leave your phone at home. One reason is that most of us are bombarded by screens in daily life. For that reason, taking a walk without your phone may feel really good. I leave my phone at home to avoid the temptation of looking at it and distracting myself from the walk.

In this way, the first way to to make your walk mindful is to leave your phone at home when you walk out the door.

2. Try Walking with No Destination

Another important thing to leave out of mindful walking is a destination. Sure, you can select a destination for a walk if you like, but it helps to leave the route open-ended.

Next time you walk somewhere, notice what happens when you walk with a destination. In my experience, having a set goal in mind means that the end location takes over. To really let the walk be about the journey, let the destination go.

If, like me, you don’t have the ability to walk “nowhere” easily, you can make this very simple. Pick the easiest two-way route you can and stick to that route. Over time, getting to your goal won’t be the thing; experiencing the walk will be the the most essential piece.

In short, if you want to take a mindful walk, it helps to let the destination go and just walk.

3. Take Your Time as You Walk

It should come as no surprise that the next aspect of mindful walking is slowing down. Most people these days rush through life. Most lawyers and professionals feel a constant state of time urgency.

One of the simplest things you can do to manage stress is to start to notice this tendency to rush. An easy way to do that is to start slowing down routine activities when you have the time. Most often, we walk for functional reasons and we forget how good it can feel to get outside and move.

It’s not necessary to move at a snail’s pace to make space for mindful awareness with walking. But it helps if you can move slowly enough that you feel like you are savoring the experience of walking. Next time you take a walk, try to consciously take your time and notice what a difference it makes.

Image of person walking in woods with overly of listing of five tips for mindful walking as shared in the blog post

4. Mindfully Observe Your Surroundings

I know that we all don’t live or work close to what most of us would call nature. We may live near busy streets or urban areas with lots of activity. Though natural spaces are ideal for mindful walking, they are not necessarily essential.

Mindfulness isn’t just about trying to achieve a peak state or perfectly calm state. Instead, it’s about awareness with things as they are. As you walk, pay attention to your surroundings. Notice all the sensations. If you can walk near a natural setting, take full advantage of it.

Sounds like water rushing and bird song are shown to lower stress levels because they signify safety. Whether I have nature sounds or not, paying attention to surroundings is great for mindful walking because it helps me reconnect with my body and get out of my thoughts.

5. Let the Thoughts Come and Go

Speaking of thoughts, my last tip is that you don’t have to fight them off during mindful walking. Inevitably as you walk, thoughts will arise. That’s no problem. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed at mindful walking. It just means you are human.

The good thing about thoughts when I am walking, though, is that it’s a bit harder to get sucked into them. When I walk, I am more in touch with my body because it is moving. There’s also a big wide world of space that makes any thoughts in my mind feel a little bit smaller.

Just as in meditation, you don’t have to clear your mind to take a mindful walk. Instead, with some time and patience, you can learn to let the thoughts come and go.

Give Mindful Walking a Try

Mindful walking can be a supportive way to get some movement, enjoy outdoors, reduce stress, and cultivate mindfulness. If you want to make mindful walking a habit, give these five tips a try.

Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer, for a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

Book Review: The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal

This was not always true, but I am now one of those people who cannot stand to go a day without exercise. A few years ago, I would have found this comment annoying. Over the course of time, though, I found a way to prioritize movement each day. Now, I don’t just enjoy exercise. I need it to feel physically good and to support my mental health.

The Joy of Movement Is Not Just Another Fitness Book

If you think this sounds like an artless humble brag, then you might want to read The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal (paid link). This book explains why movement is so essential to our well-being. It’s not a self-help book that tries to identify the “best” way to get fit or maximize calories burned.

Instead, The Joy of Movement is truly about the joy that moving can inspire in us as humans. The short book is composed of 7 chapters that each explain a different concept relating to movement. Most of the book discusses various exercise modalities, but other activities are covered as well.

About the Author, Kelly McGonigal

As I have written before, Kelly McGonigal is one of my favorite wellness authors. She’s a psychologist at Stanford and the author of other great books, including The Science of Compassion, and The Upside of Stress. As she explains in The Joy of Movement, McGonigal is also a fitness fanatic. She wrote the book in part to explain where her love of exercise originated.

This quest inexorably leads to a scientific analysis of the impact of movement on the body. McGonigal provides scholarly analysis on that subject in The Joy of Movement. But she also goes one step further. The book doesn’t just talk about cardiovascular and bodily benefits that arise from movement. It explains how movement offers us mental health, emotional, social, and even spiritual benefits.

The Joy of Movement Is Not Just a Science Book Either

In truth, though, McGonigal does not merely explain these benefits at all. Rather, she illustrates them with well-told stories. This is one of the reasons why I like McGonigal’s work so much. Her books do not merely cite studies or discuss concepts. She demonstrates the truth of the studies with stories.

For example, in The Joy of Movement, McGonigal explains the connection between the mythic “runner’s high” and our evolution from a hunter gatherer society. She examines popular fitness programs, including Orange Theory, Soul Cycle, and Peloton to explain how movement encourages social connection. And she shares stories of how real life people use exercise to build self-confidence, move past grief, or become more engaged in their communities.

A Health Book That Inspires Enthusiasm Rather Than Guilt or Shame

Most of us understand that exercise is good for us. Unfortunately, though, that message often inspires guilt, apathy, or even shame because it often comes with hidden pressure. Many discussions of exercise are linked, whether intentionally or not, to diet and fitness.

Those are certainly important, but I have learned that joy is a much better motivator than a “should.” In The Joy of Movement, McGonigal does not nag or scold. She does not emphasize health in the strict sense or longevity. And she does not waste time arguing about what form of movement is best for burning fat or calories or building muscle.

Image with a quote from the book review of The Joy of Movement as shared in the final paragraph of the blog post

How Movement and Joy Are Connected

Instead, as the title suggests, McGonigal’s goal is to help us see how movement cultivates joy in individuals and supports communities. If you read The Joy of Movement, you might think that you should start exercising again but only because it will remind you how awesome it feels.

In truth, The Joy of Movement is a book that feels good to read. It shares essential information about the human body and mind from an author with sufficient training to explain the concepts well. The book also shares stories that exemplify how good, generous, resilient, and kind the human race can be when it at its best.

The Joy of Movement Is a Great Read

If you read the book, though, it will be hard to forget that movement in its many forms is an important part of being at our best as humans. Whether you are a fitness fanatic or a reluctant runner, rower, or whatever, The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal is a great read. It may motivate you to start or keep exercising or help you understand why you never want to stop. Even more importantly, it will help you explore how to live a joyful life.

Founder’s Note: The link to the book mentioned in this review is an affiliate link. The review is unsponsored and sincere but the link to Amazon is paid.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

5 Ways to Decompress and Look After Your Mental Health When Applying to Law School

Image of student sorting through application with title for blog post "5 Ways to Decompress and Look After Your Mental Health When Applying to Law School"

It’s no secret that law students are seriously struggling—over 75% report increased anxiety, and over 50% experience depression. Other stats say a staggering 96% face significant stress—far more than medical students or other graduate students.

But the stress doesn’t start in law school—it begins long before. With admissions growing more and more competitive, students must craft applications that are both deeply personal and meticulously calculated.

They’re expected to be both authentically themselves and exactly what hard-to-impress admissions committees want to see. Balancing vulnerability with strategy, storytelling with structure, and passion with polish is exhausting.

And that’s only one hurdle. Students also juggle time-consuming extracurriculars designed to impress, competitive internships, near-perfect GPAs, months of LSAT prep, and applying to a dozen or more schools—all under the looming fear of rejection.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. While the pressure is real, there are ways to manage stress, protect your mental health, and set yourself up for success—strategies that can help you not just survive the process but maybe even beat the stats.

Prioritize Movement While Applying to Law School

It’s well-documented that regular exercise improves mental health, boosts emotional well-being, and lowers rates of anxiety and depression. It may sound too simple, but something as basic as walking around your neighborhood can help you decompress.

The science behind this link is complex. Some studies suggest exercise affects brain chemicals like serotonin, stress hormones, and endorphins, while others point to the connection between inactivity and mental health struggles. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that movement helps!

But this isn’t about forcing a strict workout routine into your already packed schedule. Exercise shouldn’t feel like another obligation—it should be something you enjoy. Whether it’s walking, yoga, pilates, or light stretching, find what lets you take a breath and quiet your mind. You can pair it with binaural beats or calming music for added effect!

Express Your Emotions During the Law School Application Process

The emotions you experience during this process—stress, anxiety, frustration, self-doubt—are valid. Bottling them up will only make them feel heavier. Finding an outlet to release these emotions can help prevent them from spiraling into overwhelming anxiety or burnout.

Talking to someone—a friend, family member, or mentor—can be incredibly helpful. If speaking to someone isn’t for you, consider journaling. Writing your thoughts down, even if no one ever reads them, can be a cathartic way to process your emotions. The simple act of transferring your worries from your mind onto paper can create a sense of relief and perspective!

Image of Jesse Wang, guest contributor, with quote from the blog post "While the pressure is real when applying to law school, there are ways to manage stress, protect your mental health, and set yourself up for success—strategies that can help you not just survive the process but maybe even beat the stats."

Take a nap—Without Guilt to Support Your Mental Health

You don’t need me to tell you how important sleep is, but when you’re buried under deadlines and LSAT prep, it’s easy to sacrifice rest in the name of productivity.

While getting a full eight hours every night might not always be realistic, ignoring your body’s need for rest only makes the process harder in the long run. Instead of running on fumes (or another cup of coffee), give yourself permission to take a nap if you need one.

Even a short 20-minute reset can improve focus, memory, and mood. And if you need a full hour or two? Take it. The time you “lose” to sleep won’t make or break you, but being well-rested will make everything else feel a little more manageable.

If you are the kind of person who struggles to nap during the day, a quick meditation or a restful practice like restorative yoga might be great alternatives. Remember, rest isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Get Outside for a Mental Health Break

We’ve all heard the joke of telling people who are chronically online to “touch grass” as a reminder that there’s a real world beyond their screen. But it’s more than just a joke—literally walking barefoot on grass is a common grounding technique that can help reduce stress, lower anxiety, and bring you back to the present.

Studies have shown that spending even a few minutes in nature can lower cortisol levels and improve overall well-being. Even if going outside barefoot isn’t your forte, just getting outside—feeling the sun on your face, taking a deep breath of fresh air, or going for a quick walk—can do wonders for your mental health.

When stress keeps you stuck at your desk, a few minutes outside can be the reset you need to clear your mind, refocus, and feel a little more human again.

Zoom Out to Remember that Law School Application Is Just the First Step

It’s easy to get tunnel vision when applying to law school. Your success starts to feel like it hinges entirely on getting the right grades, getting into the perfect program, and getting that coveted job. However, defining success solely through academic and professional achievements can set you up for more stress and disappointment.

Creating a vision board that extends beyond law school can be a great way to maintain perspective. Think about what else makes you feel fulfilled—hobbies, travel, personal goals, new skills you want to learn.

By diversifying your definition of success, you remind yourself that your worth isn’t solely tied to your legal career. Plus, updating your vision board with small wins along the way can help you feel a sense of accomplishment throughout the journey, not just at the finish line!

Image sharing the 5 ways to manage stress and support mental health while applying to law school that were shared in the post

Final Thoughts

Stress is an unfortunate but inevitable part of the law school journey. You’re entering one of the most demanding careers, and the path to getting there isn’t any easier. But you don’t have to do it alone.

Juris Education can help shoulder the burden—guiding you through applications, essays, and interviews—so you can focus on putting your best foot forward without burning out.

At the same time, small habits can make a big difference. Moving your body, expressing your emotions, resting when needed, getting outside, and maintaining perspective can help you manage stress in a healthier way.

Law school will come with its own challenges, but building these habits now will set you up for success—both in your application process and in your future career!

Author Bio: Jesse Wang is a published author and attorney based in New York City. He completed a JD/MBA from the USC Gould School of Law, where he was Secretary of the Student Bar Association, Co-President of the Diversity Committee, and Founder and President of Gould’s Legal Technology Association. Prior to law school, Jesse graduated magna cum laude from Emory with a Bachelor’s in business administration with dual concentrations in information systems and operations management and marketing and Chinese language and literature. In 2020, he published a novel titled “Underdog” about his law school experience, as well as the experiences of classmates, professors, law school deans, and startup founders within the USC Gould legal community. Jesse has a strong track record of supporting students in their writing processes, having tutored both undergraduate and graduate students across various subjects. Jesse excels at providing comprehensive strategies for the admissions process. He helps students craft persuasive narratives, optimally structure their arguments, and leverage their unique qualities to make an impression on top-tier law schools. He is committed to helping students reach their goals and become part of the nation’s elite legal community. Having faced and overcome the challenges of applying to law school himself, he understands the stress and pressure students experience and works diligently to give them the best chance of success.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

Enhance Your Workout: Syncing Breath and Movement

Over the last few months, I stumbled into a simple breath technique that has helped me enjoy exercise more. As a general matter, I usually enjoy exercise. I have written before about being a loyal Peloton user, especially the Power Zone rides.

The discovery I want to share here, though, relates to rowing. By accident, I started syncing my breath up to my movements during rows. I inhale slowly on the release and exhale when I push out with my legs. Despite being a meditation teacher, I have never been very good at syncing my breath during yoga.

To my surprise, all those yoga teachers turned out to be right. Syncing my breath to my movements really has made a big difference. In this post, I will share why and offer strategies that can help you explore this in your workouts.

How to Sync Your Breath During Exercise

Some activities lend themselves more easily to coupling breathing with movement. It came quite easily to me with rowing because the movement is segmented. In fact, when I got my Peloton rower, I spent time breaking my form down into pieces. This made it easy to inhale on the return, and exhale on the push.

Seeing the benefits of this approach, I also applied it to my strength workouts. I inhale on the release and exhale when I exert power to pull or push the weight.

For more complex or rhythmic activities, like cycling or walking, I focus instead on breathing deeply and maintaining steadiness. Focusing on the exhale during recovery periods is especially useful for this purpose.

Like with meditation, you likely won’t sync your breath perfectly or naturally at the beginning. That’s okay. You can always refocus and sync again when you notice you have strayed.

An image showing friends during exercise with smiles with a quote that says "Enjoying habits is the best way to make them stick."

The Benefits of Syncing Your Breath During Workouts

Some people argue that mindful breathing during exercise can enhance performance. This is believable since the respiratory and nervous systems are linked. Though I exercise in part for health, feeling good is my primary goal. As a result, the benefits I focus on here relate to maximizing enjoyment.

When I consciously align breathing and movement, I keep my attention focused on my workout. This is no small thing. Every time I walk in my gym, there are plenty of things in life to distract me. Keeping my breath synced to my movements keeps my mind with my body.

Over time, I have noticed myself more often in a flow state when I work out. This has enhanced the activities I enjoy, like cardio. On the other hand, it has also helped me get into the ones I enjoy less, like lifting.

This small amount of mindfulness helps make the most of my precious time in the gym. As a lawyer, I have only a few spaces in my day where I get to be with me. When I am working out, I want to experience it fully. Staying attentive for the experience helps me notice how good it feels to move.

Don’t Force It

Avoiding force is a standard instruction for meditation. I find that the same thing is true for syncing your breath during exercise. Much like pranayama, this involves some conscious breath control. But leaning too heavily on the control aspect will kill the enjoyment.

My advice to deal with this is like my advice for meditation: learn to play. Ideally, exercise is something that you do on a regular if not daily basis. This gives you time to explore new ways of doing it. Mixing things up can support your enthusiasm for the habit.

As you work out, play with ways to sync up the breath with your movements. Find what feels good. Start with the easiest modality for you. Once you have mastered one, you can always branch out.

Image showing a woman doing yoga and a list of the benefits of syncing breath during exercise

Conclusion: Sync Your Breath to Find Flow in Your Workouts

I firmly believe that enjoying habits is the best way to make them stick. Most of us want to make exercise a regular habit if it isn’t one already. Syncing breath with movement is a small thing you can do to cultivate mindfulness and enjoy exercise more.

Even better, it’s something you can play with over time to keep your exercise routine fresh. Next time you hit the gym, try syncing your breath and movements and notice how good it feels to move.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

What Is Body Scan Meditation and Why Should Lawyers Try It?

When people think of meditation, they typically think of the breath as the focal point. But in truth, meditation can use almost any focal point and the focal point doesn’t necessarily have to be a singular, stagnant object. One of the most beneficial practices that I incorporate in my routine is the body scan.

What Is Body Scan Meditation?

With this practice, the focus is on the sensations in the whole body, rather than exclusively focusing on the breath. Traditionally, this practice flows systemically through the body, flowing from one part or region of the body into the next.

Most commonly, body scan meditations start at the crown of the head and proceed down to other parts of the body until you reach the feet and toes. This is sometimes called a “top down” style of body scan.

There are a few reasons why teachers may commonly start the practice at the top of the head. It can be a trauma-informed risk mitigation strategy for those very new to practice, since trauma often affects the body. The theory here is that gradualism to cultivating body awareness is supportive to many students.

Similarly, starting at the top of the head may be a way to meet students where they are. This is because many of us new to mindfulness are accustomed to living life in our thoughts and brains.

Various Ways to Do a Body Scan.

There are, of course, many potential methods and starting points for body scans. For instance, you could start with the toes and work up or do a body scan that focuses on the chakras or plexuses along the spine.

Another way to start is by making a connection with your five senses and then branching out from there. Still other styles of practice, like yoga nidra, skip awareness from one body part to another rapidly. This can feel disorienting at first, but over time it may cause the mind to still and the body to relax.

Some body scan practices may also make use of progressive muscle relaxation, where one tenses the muscles and releases them. This is not required but can be a nice way to hasten relaxation or support the detection of body sensations if that is a challenge for you.

Regardless of the particular method you try, the object of a body scan meditation is to feel the sensations in the body and notice what you feel, rather than to think about the body.

Image of woman meditating with quote that says "body scan meditations typically start at the crown of the head and proceed down to other parts of the body"

Advantages of Body Scan Meditation.

Body scan meditation often feels more manageable to new meditators because the practice is more active than breath practice. Because the focus of body scan is to flow or cycle through sensations in the body, the mind has to work a bit more to stay focused on the sensations in the body. For this reason, it may not seem as hard to keep the mind engaged with the focal point as it does in the early phases of learning breath practice.

Even so, body scan builds focus, acceptance, and awareness like any other mindfulness practice. In this way, it can be a great alternative to breath-based practices if those present unique challenges for you.

In addition, in my experience, getting into the body is a great (perhaps the best) way to get out of your head. It is for this reason that resting in sensations during a body scan can be deeply relaxing even to new meditators and after relatively short periods of time.

Potential Challenges of Body Scan Meditation.

As mentioned above, body scan meditation can present some challenges. People with past trauma, whether diagnosed or not, should proceed gently and in small doses. Traumatic experiences can have lasting effects on the body even when we aren’t consciously aware of it. If you have concerns in this area, consult with a trauma-informed mindfulness teacher or your mental health support provider first.

Another challenge is that some people don’t feel much sensation when they do body scan. This can be normal for those new to the practice, since some of us may need some time to build awareness of bodily sensations. It also can be normal because there is a range of unique capacities when it comes to mindful awareness. If a lack of sensation is severe, chronic, or concerns you, though, you may talk to your doctor to ensure that your medical needs are being fully met.

Why Body Scan Meditation Is Great for Lawyers and Other Busy People

Body scan meditations are very useful for attorneys because they remind us to pay attention to and take care of our bodies. In law school, we learn to emphasize rationality in making decisions for our clients. While separating fact from emotion is critical, we lawyers are still human beings with human bodies.

To do our best for our clients, we need to understand and respect the limitations of our own bodies so we can fulfill our responsibility to our clients. As I’ve written before, emotions are sensations in the body, so body scan practices may also have the incidental benefit of building emotional intelligence and tolerance when powerful emotions arise.

Image of woman doing tree yoga pose on the beach with a quote that says "getting into the body is a great way to get out of your head"

Potential Benefits of Body Scan Meditation.

Even outside of emotions, however, the awareness that body scan practice engenders can have more fundamental benefits for lawyers and professionals. Some of the most common bodily issues that can impede us from doing our best work are represented in the acronym HALT, which stands for hungry, angry, lonely, tired. These symptoms are fundamental to the human condition, but in our fast-paced world it is easy to skip lunch, push our emotions to the side, miss out on social opportunities, and deprive ourselves of sleep.

Body scan meditations are excellent for lawyers because they remind us that we are not merely brains filled with legal strategy, but people who must be fed, rested, and cared for. If you practice body scan meditation, you will develop the skills to notice the symptoms of various conditions and emotions in your body in the early and more subtle stages before they get to the point where they affect your performance, outlook, or demeanor. These skills are not only necessary to performing our responsibilities as lawyers, but they are also beneficial for anyone who wants to be a top performer in a high-stakes environment.

Image with quote that says "emotions are feelings in the body" which you may experience if you do body scan meditation

Body Scan Meditation Can Be a Building Block for Mindfulness Cultivation.

Finally, body scan is building block to support further growth in your meditation practice or just when dealing with the difficulties of life. When you start a meditation practice, it can seem like the focal point is the object of practice. As your practice advances, you may learn, however, that the focal point is really a tool. In other words, the point of practice is not just to focus on the breath or the sensations of the body. It is, instead, to build the skill of resting with the breath or the body.

If you can learn to do this with body scan practice, then you have one more tool at your disposal when meditation or life throws you curveballs. For example, perhaps troubling thoughts or overwhelming emotions come up during your practice. A meditator proficient in body scan might be able to shift focus to a less reactive part of the body, such as the feet, to rest from the experience until they find enough stability and calm to proceed with normal practice. You could also do this in life, if for instance you have a tense meeting with opposing counsel and need to keep your cool.

Image with pictures of people meditating that has the quote "body scan is a building block to support further growth in your meditation practice"

Conclusion: Body Scan Meditation Is an Excellent Practice for Lawyers and Professionals to Try.

In short, body scan is a simple practice to learn and may be more accessible to new meditators than other styles of practice. It offers many benefits that support a meditation practice and build coping skills for life. Lawyers in particular could stand to benefit from the practice, so give it a try.

To understand more how important body-based practices are to lawyers and how to add them into your routine, check out the Personal Well-Being Worksheet, Stress Management Workbook, and Coping Strategies Ebook.

To try body scan practice, check out our meditations that incorporate body scan techniques.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

Need Motivation to Meditate? Try This Hack

It’s a Monday night and I am trying to get myself into writing mode. My weekend plans blocked my normal motivation to write. Now I am stuck in last minute work mode and trying to find the motivation to crank something out. Then it hit me. My own life advice suddenly went careening through my mind. “Just do five minutes,” it bellowed.

And that, dear readers, is the post for today. The five-minute rule-or hack or strategy or cudgel for those really bad days-is something that has saved many a healthy habit for me, including meditation. It’s very simple, which makes it a perfect for those low energy times.

What is the five-minute rule?

The five-minute rule is not really a rule. I am not sure it has any basis in research. It’s not necessarily a scientific thing. Rather, it’s a practical thing. Finding motivation can be a challenge for any healthy habit and it can be especially hard for meditation. Why?

Well, if you don’t feel like doing something, it can be especially hard to sit and pay close attention to exactly how much you don’t feel like it.

What’s the answer to this problem? One simple answer is to cut down on the time you spend noticing how much you aren’t feeling it. This is where the five-minute rule enters the chat in the form of a motivational GIF and a caption that says “bruh, you can do anything for 5 minutes.”

The five-minute rule as applied to meditation.

I’ll explain this in less figurative language in case my metaphor and old millennial text speak was confusing. The five-minute rule is this: you do the thing you don’t want to do even though you know you should, but only for five minutes.

If your normal meditation habits is, for example, 20 minutes, you don’t worry about that. Instead, you just commit to 5 minutes. Then at the end you notice how you feel.

In many cases, you may find that (magically) your mood has changed and you may want to do more. If that happens, go with it. If you do not feel better and hate every second, you should instead stop, let it be, and praise yourself profusely for trying.

Image explaining the five-minute rule, a hack for spurring motivation for healthy habits, including meditation

Why five minutes of meditation matters.

You skeptics out there may wonder why this matters. You may think 5 minutes of meditation or any other healthy habit doesn’t matter. Perhaps you may be right if you are thinking of the five-minute activity by itself.

But when we are talking about habits, we aren’t think of one brief session. Instead, we are talking about hundreds or potentially thousands of them over the span of time. This compounding effect is why research is starting to emerge that shows that even small bits of mindfulness practice can impart benefits.

Short sessions done strategically when needed, though, serve another arguably more significant function: they preserve the habit. If you meditate for five minutes, that’s another day you have meditated and think of yourself as someone who meditates. In fact, if you meditate for a short burst on the days you aren’t feeling it, that isn’t just practicing the habit but committing to it.

Does this work for other activities?

You may be wondering if this hack can work for other activities too. Yes it can. Case in point, I used it for this blog post. I wasn’t sure I felt like writing, but I told myself I would try a few minutes. A few paragraphs in, I found my flow and discovered I was enjoying myself while typing away.

I have done the same thing for exercise too. As I have written before, I usually love my Peloton workouts. Some days, though, I am not into it. My strategy on those days is to do a warm up, which is usually-you guessed it-5 minutes. By the end, I usually feel better. But if I don’t, I quit, praise myself for trying, and call it quits.

Does it have to be five minutes?

Lastly, you may wonder whether the five-minute rule truly has to be five minutes. I’m the meditation teacher that says self-discipline is overrated. Do you really think I am going to be strict on this one? Of course not.

For the hack to work, I recommend investing enough time and to give yourself time to adjust and assess how you feel. However, there’s no reason you can’t try a period less than 5 minutes. For instance, if your normal meditation practice is 10 minutes, a shorter period of 2-3 minutes might make more sense.

Remember: your meditation practice is your practice. The good thing about mindfulness is that it calls you to pay attention. If something doesn’t work for you, notice it and try something else.

Conclusion

In short, when motivation to meditate is low, you don’t necessarily have to fight it. Instead, you could try going with it by reducing the amount of time that you meditate. You may find after five minutes of practice and want to do more, but even when you don’t you may preserve your habit and your identity as someone who meditates. Next time you find yourself unmotivated to sit, remember the rule: just do 5 minutes.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

It’s Okay If You Meditate Just to Rest

I got up at 3:30 AM last week to catch a flight to New York City with my family. It was going to be a really long day. We had sightseeing and a Broadway show planned. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to sleep on planes, trains, or automobiles. Lucky for me, though, I had another plan: I knew I would be able to meditate on the flight.

Meditation is no substitute for good sleep.

Trust me, I am the last person in the world to try to convince you that meditation is a good substitute for sleep. The impetus for my own meditation practice was postpartum depression, in part induced by intense sleep deprivation while trying to breastfeed my newly born daughter. That experience taught me many things but the most important may be that sleep is a nonnegotiable for me.

Regardless, the reality remains that sleep is not always an option. As a lawyer, I frequently have deadlines or a hectic schedule that can affect sleep. Even when we make the best choices we can, insomnia happens on occasion for a variety of reasons beyond our control.

When sleep is not an option, meditation can help.

In times like these, meditation can really help. On days after a less than ideal night of sleep, I find that a few minutes of meditation really helps me. For one thing, closing my eyes helps them rest and can ward off headaches and tension in my face and neck. Reducing my heart and breath rate also helps my body recover from the extra strain of slogging through the day on limited sleep.

I won’t claim that 10 to 30 minutes feels the same as a good night’s sleep, but it is close to the benefits one might expect from a power nap. Unlike a nap (a luxury my body rarely lets me enjoy), meditation doesn’t leave me feeling groggy the rest of the day. To the contrary, meditating for a quick rest during the day often feels energizing.

Image listing 4 reasons meditation for rest is okay

Meditating for rest can improve your mood and mindset.

Even if I don’t get a big energy boost from meditation, it offers other benefits. Mediation will usually stabilize my mood and mind. This usually means less grouchiness and generally less conflict with any people I may happen to encounter. This can even include myself.

Many lawyers like me may have a habit of pushing past or through our own needs. Taking a few minutes to meditate for the express purpose of resting–instead of improving yourself or boosting performance–is an important recognition that your needs matter. Most of us need reminders like this every so often. When life throws you lemons with too much business or not enough sleep, you make lemonade by taking the opportunity to practice rest.

Conclusion

Some of us who meditate may think the practice has to have some noble purpose. I have a noble purpose for my meditation practice: I practice to create less suffering for myself and others. But, you know what? I am pretty awful at reducing suffering for myself or anyone else when I am tired. And I bet that I’m not alone.

This is why I say that it is okay to meditate just for rest. It’s okay to let go of your noble purpose and big goals, at least for a few minutes. It’s okay to rest your eyes and body and give your mind a break. If you try it out on a hard day, I bet you’ll find that this use of meditation is perfectly consistent with your nobler purposes for the practice.

If you want to try some Guided Meditations with the aim of rest of mind, check these out on Insight Timer or here on Youtube:

Book Discussion with Yoga Specialists This Saturday

Join me on Saturday afternoon for a discussion of my book How to Be a Badass Lawyer ht and Q&A session. This session is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about mindfulness and compassion, writing, or the process of crafting a book.

In particular, I will explain the title for the book and discuss the four practices I teach in it, including: breath, body awareness, joy, and loving-kindness.

This session is done in partnership with Yoga Specialists. It is free for anyone to join. Lawyers, professionals, students, yoga and mindfulness teachers, and anyone is welcome.

You can register here.

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

Self-Compassion Can Make Weight Loss Less Painful

I’m not stranger to soul-sucking things. After all, I am a lawyer. But when I got on the scale at a recent doctor’s visit, I knew I was in for another one. From years of experience going off the deep end with control issues, I have learned to be skeptical of numbers.

I knew the number on the scale didn’t correlate to my self-worth. I was on guard against the diet industrial complex’s ploy to make me place moral value on my weight. I’m an accomplished, self-respecting, grown ass woman for heaven’s sake. The number on the scale doesn’t define me.

All of this is true, but as soon as I saw the number I knew what I had to do. You see, even though life experience had told me to cautious against letting a scale push me around, I also had some other life experience to consider. Life experience, and medical advice, had given me an ideal weight range. The number I saw on the scale was about 15 pounds above that.

The Reckoning with Truth

I’m tall so this is not a huge amount, but it was enough that I had noticed it. I could see it in pictures. I could feel it in my energy levels. I noticed that some of my workouts were a little harder and some of my clothes fit a little less well. Thus, seeing the number just confirmed what I already knew: it was time to get back in shape.

The clarity of this conclusion, though, didn’t make me hate it any less. In fact, that is probably why I avoided thinking about it until the scale told me I had to face facts. Losing weight is hard. The very thought of weight management makes me nervous because I have wrestled with self-loathing about my weight before.

An image with a quote about how mindfulness and self-compassion can make weight loss less painful

So I started thinking. Does weight loss have to be terrible? Is it destined to be painful and awful? Or is there a way to do it that doesn’t hurt so much? In fact, is there a way to make healthier choices that doesn’t suck all the goodness and joy out of life? I think there is and it’s rooted in mindfulness and self-compassion.

Getting Motivated to Start

Habit change can feel really overwhelming at first. When it comes to weight loss, it can be extra hard because eating permeates so much of our daily life. Deciding to change how you eat, therefore, isn’t as simple as just deciding. Instead, it requires planning and commitment.

Self-compassion helped me find the motivation to get started because it helped me look at the factors nonjudgmentally to decide that now was an ideal time to try. Instead of wallowing in the feelings of overwhelm that told me change would be too hard, I examined the facts.

In truth, I got super businesslike about it and did an informal SWOT analysis.

Strengths: Solid workout routine including strength training means calories should be easy to burn. I’m skilled at cooking and enjoy healthy, nutrient dense foods. I have had success with weight loss in the past.
Weaknesses: I have 2 kids who won’t allow me to just stop buying snacks and treats. My schedule is busy and can impede healthy eating. I have to network a lot which means temptation is always near.
Opportunities: Warmer weather means more pleasant opportunities for movement and better produce for cooking healthy foods. I have a stable routine at work that will support habit change. I like experimenting with new things to see what works.
Threats: I’m over 40 and it may be harder to lose weight than in the past. I have had bad experiences with weight loss attempts in the distant past.

This may not sound very warm and fuzzy, so you may be wondering how this is self-compassion. In truth, though, self-compassion isn’t always about being soft with yourself. I think of it more as being clear with yourself instead of being unfairly biased against yourself.

An image with a quote about self-compassion

Identifying the Problem

Once I got motivated to start considering weight loss, self-compassion was also helpful in considering where the weak points were in my habits. There is so much pressure on most of us, especially women, to maintain a healthy weight that this can be really hard. We can easily slide into feeling totally out of control and worthless.

In my case, I was able to avoid it because I realized my struggles with weight were all caused by understandable factors. First, I have always loved food so it is an easy thing for me to unconsciously use food for comfort instead of nourishment. Second, the last few years for me have been a bit volatile with a few job changes.

Third, and most significantly, I still had lingering habits from the pandemic. During social distancing, I had to manage my own mood and the moods of my household. Having very few other options to do this, edible treats became one way of doing this.

Getting clear about where my habits went awry helped me avoid attacking my own character and judging myself. Instead, with self-compassion, I was able to clearly evaluate my habits so I could focus on improving my behavior.

Crafting a Plan

Once I got motivated and clear about where things went wrong, I was ready to craft a plan that would help me turn my analysis into actionable steps. The goal was fortunately clear to me: lose 15 pounds. My SWOT analysis and past experience, though, told me that I had to offer myself some extra supports.

First, I decided to try a food journal (specifically this one I found on Amazon) because I had success using one in the past. I avoid calorie tracking or a ton of precision on amounts. I don’t go in for diets or restrictive eating because it feeds my control issues. With the food journal, I keep track of what I eat, when I eat, and how the food makes me feel. This helps me be intentional about my choices.

Second, I decided to get help from an expert. As I have shared before, I loved The Craving Mind by Judson Brewer. He also has an app called Eat Right Now and a book about mindful eating. I bought a subscription to the app and decided to give it a try. Curiosity about the app and checking in each day motivated me and helped me establish my habit in the first few weeks.

A blog post about goals and supporting yourself with mindfulness and self-compassion

Third, I added healthier items for me to my grocery list. I replaced my normal snacks with more nutrient dense options. I stocked up on fresh fruits and veggies I enjoy. I also made sure to add a variety of foods that would be good for lunches and snacks so i could avoid eating out as much as possible.

Finally, I planned to eat more frequently. I knew from experience that my energy tended to flag at about 3 hours and hunger would usually set in by then. As a result, I started planning smaller but more frequent meals and snacks.

You may notice that this plan was not primarily about minimizing calories. Instead, it was about eating better and feeling better overall. Embedded in the plan was the assumption that habit change is hard so supports are necessary.

Imperfect Implementation

Implementation of the plan, of course, is the hard part. This is where self-compassion really gets to shine. Of course, I know that it would be nearly impossible to make healthy food choices 100% of the time for the rest of my life. I knew that there would be times when I’d struggle, make the wrong choice, or just feel unmotivated.

When I started implementing, perfection was not my goal. Instead, a positive trend line marked by negative weight change and positive improvements in how I felt was the goal. To get this, I knew from experience that treating myself well was important.

I noticed and celebrated successes. I noticed when I enjoyed my healthy food. I noticed when I ate a bit more than I needed and how it felt. I noticed when days were harder because I was tired. And when temptation comes up up, I didn’t resist or beat myself up and instead just let it come.

An image explaining mindful eating and the importance of self-compassion

In short, my big implementation strategy is that I assume it will be hard to establish and maintain a long-term healthy eating habit. Because I recognize every day that what I am doing is hard, I let go of perfection and remember that coaching myself with kindness must be a daily practice.

Conclusion (Well Sort of)

I wish I could wrap this post with a neat and tidy conclusion, but the truth is that this is an ongoing process. After about 5 weeks, I am about 2/3 of the way to my goal. I feel better. I have learned a lot just by paying attention to how I eat. I admit that I am proud too.

Of course, achieving goals and losing weight will usually inspire pride in most of us. This time around, I am proud that I treated weight loss like any other goal. I analyzed the issues, crafted a plan, identified supports, and implemented it.

Despite my history with struggles with weight and all the years doubting myself when it came to food, I was able to treat weight loss like any other challenging goal because I had self-compassion. So, if you are thinking about getting back in shape, I suggest that you start by being fair with yourself and focus on treating yourself well.

If you want some practices that may help with a weight loss effort or being good to yourself, check these out:

Did you know restorative yoga is associated with weight loss? Relaxation and restoration can have its benefits. Whether you have props or not, you can try it out with this practice here:

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:

How to Meditate When You’re Too Busy to Breathe

A cover image for the blog post How to Meditate When You're Too Busy to Breath

Lack of time is the excuse I hear most often from other lawyers who tell me that they wish they could develop a meditation habit. As a lawyer and mom who teaches mindfulness and manages this blog on the side, I know that’s understandable. Lawyers are among the busiest of people and we are often busy for very good reasons.

Even so, I have noticed a funny thing in my ten years of meditation practice. When I am the busiest, my meditation habit is the strongest. It is the times when my schedule loosens up that I struggle more.

My theory on this is that I implicitly know I need my meditation practice more when I am busy, and so I find ways to work it in no matter what. As a result, I have had lots of practice figuring out how to keep a meditation habit going even when I am too busy to breathe.

Here are the things that have helped me to continue meditation even in the busiest of times.

1. Preserve the Habit

An image about preserving the habit of of mindfulness during busy times for lawyers

If an intense schedule limits your time, it may help to simplify your approach. When this happens to me, I have learned to move into “preserve the habit” mode. What does this mean? I give myself slack in terms of what I might “normally” do. I accept that I don’t have as much time/energy/motivation now but set an intention to get back to it when things calm down.

At the same time, I find ways to reconnect with my habit in small ways every day so I can continue to see myself as the person who does that healthy habit. As the book Atomic Habits instructs, identity is an important part of habit formation and maintenance, so continuing this link can help us stay on track long-term.

For a meditation habit, continuing the link may mean sitting for just one minute, taking a few mindful breaths, or building in some small pockets of open space into my schedule. This is a small shift that does not take much time but it helps me keep my good habits alive for the long-term.

2. Self-Compassion

An image about the importance of self-compassion for a meditation habit

Sometimes when we get busy, doubt and self-judgment can arise and make things so much worse. We may start to criticize ourselves for not managing our schedule properly or remind ourselves how we “never” stick to healthy habits. Though human, these thoughts don’t help.

If anything, thoughts like this are self-defeating, unkind, and often untrue. Most lawyers and professionals don’t have total control over their schedules or their places of work. So many factors outside of our individual control affect our schedules that it doesn’t even make sense to put full responsibility for the situation on yourself.

In this way, self-compassion really comes in handy. By applying self-kindness (or at least dampening the harsh self-judgment) we can see more clearly and stop kicking ourselves when we are down. By simply remembering that we didn’t choose the situation and are only doing our best, it can make a big difference in shifting the focus to caring for ourselves in a difficult situation.

3. Do What You Need Now

An image about allowing one's mindfulness habit to serve one's needs

As I mentioned early, it’s kind of a shame that healthy habits suffer in busy times because that is when they are essential. So, in busy times, my advice is to let your meditation practice serve your immediate needs.

Do you just need a 1-minute breather between meetings? Do you need a body scan to help you get to sleep at night? Do you just need a 5-minute self-compassion break? Do you need a quick mindful walk around the block or a 10-minute yoga stretch?

Mindfulness practices can help you explore spirituality, acknowledge deep personal longings, and connect to something bigger than yourself. They can also help you survive hard times. There’s nothing wrong with using the practices as tools when you need them. In fact, seeing this practical value in times when the tools are needed most may sustain your practice more than anything else.

4. Pair Meditation with Another Activity

An image offering the idea that meditation can pair well with another activity

Meditation does take some time but it doesn’t always have to take extra time. One way to help yourself and maintain your habit is to be efficient with your meditation practice by pairing it with another activity.

The most obvious way to do this is to use those bits of time you might spend waiting in between activities. If you are sitting at the doctor’s office, take a moment to breathe. Turn off the radio driving to work and enjoy a few minutes of silence.

As I have written before, you can also pair meditation with your exercise routine or trying a walking meditation. Doing most activities, like cooking or washing dishes or even taking a shower mindfully, may open your eyes to how wonderful they can be. Let me tell you, a mindful shower is fantastic.

Because mindfulness can happen in any time, we can bring it into any life activity and this can help sustain us when life is busy.

5. Notice What Happens When You Miss Meditation

An image explaining that mindfulness can happen when you notice the effects of missing meditation practice

If you truly can’t find any time to meditate, you still have one ace left in your pocket. The number one instruction for mindfulness practice is to pay attention. It stands to reason, then, that if your mindfulness habit suffers, the next move is to keep paying attention.

This is not a gimmick. It’s practical. Lots of want to maintain a meditation habit to get mental or even physical health benefits. When we first start, we may notice that we feel better, rush less, or our thoughts are less scattered or even that we are a bit nicer to others. This recognition is often the best motivation to keep practicing.

The same thing can be true if your practice gets disrupted for a while. Years ago, I lost my practice for almost a year due to a series of life events. What did I notice? That many of my adverse mental habits and tendencies returned. I started ruminating a lot. I seemed to always feel angry and bitter and hopeless. When a loved one told me I may need to talk to someone, I decided to resume my meditation practice as a first line intervention.

The practice helped me immediately but the experience helped me internalize that I needed to make meditation a priority. This happened not just because I got started again, but because I paid attention to the difference between my life with meditation and life without it.

Conclusion

Busy schedules are a reality for many lawyers and working professionals. Even so, it doesn’t mean that our personal well-being and healthy habits have to go by the wayside. With some creativity, flexibility, and self-compassion, we can maintain a mindfulness habit even when life is hectic. In fact, as I have experienced, doing so may help us manage the hectic times with a bit more grace, kindness, and ease.

If you are short on time but want to work in a meditation, check out some of these guided meditations under 5 minutes:

Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media: