This is a short post this week, but it is a great one. The next step in the publication of my new book is here. The Kindle format of my first work of fiction, A New Year’s Present, is available for pre-order!
I’ll briefly explain what the book is about, why you may want to read it, and then I will explain how you can find it.
In this case, A New Year’s Present is a fable about mindfulness. I wrote it about a lawyer to address the specific challenges that lawyers face. In truth, though, the themes and ideas are appropriate for anyone.
In the story, a lawyer finds herself in personal crisis. Her boyfriend leaves her. Her mom is sick. She’s alienated from her sister. And she’s rude to a new associate at work. She goes on a meditation retreat for questionable reasons.
I’ll be the first to admit that a novel set during a meditation retreat is a challenge. That’s because most of know that meditation can be boring. It’s one of the inherent challenges of the practice.
Why on earth would you read a story about a meditation retreat? Well, one reason is that it gives you a chance to learn about mindfulness while reading a nice holiday story.
I’ll be upfront here. I’m new to fiction writing. Even so, I think the story has some heart. If you ever try meditation, you start to realize that our inner lives actually can be fascinating to watch.
The good thing about this book, though, is that just slightly longer than A Christmas Carol. That means you can learn these insights in just a few hours.
Where Can You Get the Book?
Eventually, A New Year’s Present will be available in various formats and on most online booksellers. For now, the book is only available for pre-order in the Kindle format on Amazon.
That means if you prefer hardback or paperback, you need to wait until November when the book is fully released. Likewise, if you prefer other booksellers, like Barnes and Noble or BookShop, that won’t be available until November either.
However, if you are fine with purchasing on Amazon and like to read on your Kindle, now is the time. The pre-order price on Amazon is likely to be the lowest price ever for the book. It is currently listed at $2.99 for the Kindle edition.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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I admit it. The word “joy” used to make me cringe a little bit inside. For a while, it was plastered on the walls of so many homes along with signs reading “Live. Laugh. Love.” and showed up in the titles of countless self-help books.
The frequency with which I saw that term used, often inaccurately, gave me the distinct and bizarre impression that “joy” was somehow omnipresent, yet also mythical and unattainable. After all, how could conflict, unhappiness, and social problems be so prevalent when everyone seemed hellbent on praising joy?
Don’t Let the Misuse of the Word Fool You. Joy Is Powerful.
The overuse of the word had made joy seem frivolous and meaningless, but when I feel it—especially in response to suffering—it is nothing short of magic. Joy has a potential to connect us in good times and to bind us, to ourselves and others, in hard times.
Joy Is More than an Emotion.
Many of us may think that joy is an emotion that simply arises without warning and lasts only a moment. This is true but also incomplete. We can cultivate joy and in so doing, cultivate compassion and a greater sense of well-being. For many of us, joy may seem like a temporary and elusive state because we aren’t accustomed to staying present with the experience of strong emotions.
As a result, savoring the good aspects of life and taking the time to celebrate can be some of the most powerful things that lawyers can do to improve our mental health for the long-term.
You can also be on the lookout for joy in your daily activities. One of my favorite savoring activities is to watch the kids run to the parents at daycare pickup time. Watching their love and excitement turns what might have been wasted time into a joy break for myself and it prepares me to greet my own kids with love.
Lawyers Can Even Savor and Share Joy at Work.
In the work setting, one simple way to savor experiences is to acknowledge a win and congratulate your team. When the praise is directed to you, you could practice savoring joy by learning to simply say “thank you” when you receive a compliment and allowing the warm feelings just wash over you, instead of deflecting or talking to hide your embarrassment. If you struggle with paying or giving compliments, a simpler place is to establish a habit of internally congratulating yourself for a job well done.
So, does this mean that I am telling you to go put a big “joy” sign on your wall? Not quite, unless hanging a sign like that reminds you to cultivate joy in your own life. The object here isn’t the performance of joy or convincing others that you feel joyful. Instead, the power of joy comes in when we fully experience it and prioritize it in our lives.
Here’s a Guided Meditation to Help Lawyers Practice Joy
If you want to experience the power of practicing joy for yourself, check out this new guided meditation. This ten-minute guided meditation walks lawyers (and anyone else who wants to try it) through the process of noting and experiencing joy in the body. The first reason to do this practice is that joy feels good. It may be a great way to rest and relax.
In addition, though, lawyers may find this practice beneficial for other reasons. First, as a practice that trains sustained attention in a directed way, it is a practice that cultivates mindfulness. Second, the practice is also likely to cultivate wisdom. It’s hard to do this practice and not have insights about what causes joy for you, so you can get more of it in your life.
You can check out the meditation here or find it on my YouTube channel:
Are There Other Ways for Lawyers to Practice Joy in Meditation?
The answer to this is a definite “yes.” The direct experience of joy in the practice shared above is one way to cultivate it. Other options include:
Embedding a joy practice into your normal meditation session as offered in this guided practice;
There are so many ways for lawyers to bring more joy into life and meditation. Try them all out to see which one you enjoy the most.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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Sometimes I have to remind myself that big projects come down to completing a million tiny steps. As I have shared before, I am working on a new book. It’s my first novel. My update is that I have finally settled on a title.
I will share that at the end to keep you in suspense. But for now, I am taking a moment to celebrate the milestone. The writing of this book has been much slower, and in some ways harder, than my first book. I keep finding that I need ways to motivate myself.
A Novel Is Written in a Series of Small Steps
So, today I am sharing a post about the importance of small steps. This is something that you would expect a mindfulness teacher to say. A meditation practice starts with a single breath. If you get off track, I teach that you just need to bring yourself back.
This same approach has been serving me well with this book. It took me over two years to write it and I had to keep letting the story come out, paragraph by paragraph.
I finally decided to publish the book earlier this year at a time when my law practice did not feel so busy. By the time that plan was up and running, so were all my cases. This means that I have had to literally find some stolen moments to do a Zoom call with my coach, read the feedback from beta readers, or fill out the form for my book cover.
Life Gets in the Way but I Keep on Writing
The good news is that this is very much like meditation. I keep getting distracted by other things in life and having to drag my attention back, even if only for a few moments.
Of course, this is hard and frustrating. Even though I love writing and enjoy learning about writing fiction, I’d be lying if I pretended there wasn’t a little voice of doubt that asked “what if you just quit? Would anyone care?”
Instead, I use it as an opportunity to recommit by answering the questions that doubt asks me. What if I just quit? Well, of course, the world would not end. Most other people would not notice or would be too polite to say anything. But I would know. I would care. I would be sad that I didn’t finish the project.
And so I keep looking for an extra few minutes here and there. I have committed myself again to finalizing the editing this summer so I can publish by the end of the year. It is sometimes hard to make myself take each of the tiny steps.
Milestones Build Momentum for Writing Success
Even so, the milestones are racking up. I am starting to see a clearer vision of how this book will come together. Now I have a title, a foreword, the beginnings of a cover, and some good feedback to guide my editing. Even more significantly, I also have some friends, a coach, and an editor to cheer me on and answer my questions when I am stuck.
By the end of this year, you will be able to read my second book called A New Year’s Present. It is a mindfulness fable for lawyers inspired by A Christmas Carol. I can’t wait to to see how it turns out and I hope you can’t wait to read it.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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This week, I traveled to a conference out of town. Due to the storms on the east coast, my flight was delayed and stressful. As I scanned my phone trying to find a way to make this situation less awful, I found a new documentary on Netflix that combines my two favorite things: mindfulness and cooking.
I quickly downloaded both episodes of The Philosopher’s Kitchen Jeong Kwan to watch during my flight. It did more than eat up some travel time. It was beautiful, refreshing, and full of reminders that even the busiest of lawyers can appreciate. Consider this post my recommendation for you to watch the show. Here’s why I loved it.
What Is The Philosopher’s Kitchen and Who Is Jeong Kwan?
In case you are unfamiliar, Jeong Kwan is a South Korean Buddhist nun and world-famous chef. She is an icon of Korean Buddhist Temple cuisine. This may sound like a small niche which appeals only to people like me who love mindfulness and cooking in equal measure.
In fact, Jeong Kwan’s skill in the kitchen has been praised for years. She was featured in Season 3 of Netflix’s Chef’s Table and has influenced numerous Michelin Star winning chefs. As you can see in The Philosopher’s Kitchen, Jeong Kwan clearly embodies her values as a Buddhist nun in her cooking.
The meals she prepares are vegetarian, used with local and often foraged ingredients, simple, and crafted with time and close attention. Watching Jeong Kwan work was certainly a nice change of pace for most lawyers. Here are the four mindfulness lessons I learned from the series.
1. Mindfulness and Simplicity
In mindfulness practice, one of the most common teachings you are bound to receive is to keep things simple. Of course, mindfulness practice often shows us lawyers that simplicity is easier said than done.
In our culture and profession, simplicity takes discipline and even courage. We are regularly encouraged to upgrade and increase, rather than scale back and reduce. The thought process underlying this tendency, of course, is that more is better.
Jeong Kwan shows us that this assumption is often wrong. Her dishes are simple in technique and execution. They usually contain only a few ingredients, usually rice, vegetables or tofu and they rely heavily on a small combination of seasonings.
Even so, Jeon Kwan makes food that people relish and enjoy. She demonstrates that food does not have to be complicated to be good and that simplicity allows the beauty of ingredients to shine through. This simple approach is a nice reminder for lawyers who so often deal with complexity.
2. Limits Can Be Blessings
Another thing that stands out is how Jeong Kwan navigates limits. Many lawyers and, most Americans for that matter, don’t like limits. We sometimes see them as burdens or difficulties.
In the culinary world, limits are not always seen as positive either. How often have you seen a menu that boasts about size or quantity? How often have you been tempted by “endless” offerings or a long list of toppings? We all have. But if we are being honest this is not always healthy and it can get old.
In The Philosopher’s Kitchen, Jeong Kwan has many limits. She avoids meat and strives to avoid even killing plants in her dishes. She uses what is in season and available. She also does not use certain staples, such as garlic and onion, which are believed in Temple Cuisine to disturb the mind.
As you can see in the show, though, Jeong Kwan uses her values and training in mindfulness to greet these limits with creativity and a smile. She shows that it is possible to make delicious food with few ingredients if you appreciate each one.
3. Resourcefulness
One of the reasons that Jeong Kwan is able to handle the limits in her kitchen so well is that she is remarkably resourceful. As you would expect for someone living in Korea, Jeong Kwan is a master of fermented food. She is shown making her own soy sauce (ganjang), danjang (fermented soy bean paste), and kimchi.
But even the byproducts of these staples gets put to use. Jeong Kwan grinds the crystals formed in the soy sauce barrels into an umami-laced salt. She dries and then rehydrates greens into a special dish. And during the lean winter months, Jeong Kwan makes heavy use of seaweed to craft a variety of dishes for her temple community.
In mindfulness practice and in the kitchen, I have learned to frequently remind myself that “everything is workable.” Jeong Kwan shows with her cooking how this is really true.
4. Take Your Time
Of course, the biggest difference between Jeong Kwan and lawyers like us is time. As a Buddhist nun, Jeong Kwan’s life is certainly very different from the lives of most lawyers. In fact, the reason she is able to be so creative and skillful with limited ingredients is that she has a huge advantage: time.
But this distinction is not a criticism of the show. To the contrary, this difference may be the biggest reason why lawyers may want to watch it. Lawyers are in general time poor.
The Philosopher’s Kitchen most likely won’t convince you to adopt Buddhist Temple Cuisine at home. But it might encourage you to slow down in the kitchen a little bit and make better use of the time and ingredients you have.
The Philosopher’s Kitchen Is an Enjoyable and Valuable Watch for Lawyers Interested in Mindfulness
Even if you aren’t obsessed with mindfulness and cooking like me, The Philosopher’s Kitchen Jeong Kwan on Netflix is a good watch. It shows a different way of life that many lawyers may enjoy as a nice change of pace. Despite the clear differences between Jeong Kwan’s lifestyle and our own, the show also offers inspiration for small ways we can all incorporate traits from our mindfulness practice into our everyday lives.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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If balance isn’t what you escape to, but what you build from, then the next question is obvious: How do you build it?
Not just in theory.
In a world that runs on overstimulation, scarcity mindset, and status games:
How do you actually live differently?
The answer isn’t in hacks or habits. It’s in philosophy.
The kind that orients you when ambition is loud and clarity is quiet. The kind that helps you walk away from things that reward you for abandoning yourself.
Balance isn’t just about rest. It’s about rhythm, resistance, and re-centering, again and again.
1. Rhythm: You Are What You Repeatedly Do
Aristotle said it best: “Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
What he really meant is: the shape of your life is formed by what you do consistently, not what you feel inspired to do once in a while.
2. Resistance: You’re Allowed to Not Want the Same Things
Stoicism is often misunderstood as suppression.
But Epictetus wasn’t telling people to be numb.
He was teaching them to guard their energy, to distinguish between what’s in their control and what’s not. Because the more noise you react to, the less signal you can hear.
What values are actually yours, and which ones were just inherited from the environment?
Are you okay with being seen as “less ambitious” if it means being more intact?
3. Re-centering: You Need a Philosophy, Not Just a Schedule
Viktor Frankl wrote, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.’”
He was writing about survival under the worst conditions imaginable, but the lesson holds in everyday life: if you don’t choose what your life is for, something else will choose for you.
The point of balance isn’t to feel relaxed.
The point is to remain aligned, so that your output reflects your values—not just your fear or momentum.
What would my week look like if it reflected my actual priorities?
What am I tracking, and is it helping or distracting me?
Design the Balance Before the System Designs You
You need a structure that protects your time before law school starts—not after. You need to know what hours are yours. What thoughts are yours. What parts of your identity aren’t up for negotiation.
You need:
Mornings that belong to you, not your inbox.
A body that isn’t treated like a taxi for your brain.
Relationships that don’t just tolerate your goals—but remind you who you were before them.
If you don’t set that rhythm early, the default will become your design. And once you’ve built your ego on that design, it’s much harder to undo.
Bonus: You Don’t Have to Be Chill to Be Balanced
There’s a trap that shows up, especially for high-performers. We think if we’re anxious, tense, or reactive, we must be “off-balance.”
But balance doesn’t mean calm. It means not losing the thread.
Tricia Hersey, in Rest is Resistance, reminds us: the system was not built for your healing.
So of course rest feels unnatural. Of course silence feels boring. Of course boundaries feel selfish.
That’s not a personal failure. That’s conditioning.
Balance isn’t a vibe. It’s a discipline.
One that protects your clarity, even when you don’t feel clear. One that steadies you, even when you’re overwhelmed.
Balance isn’t just the absence of stress.
It’s the presence of structure, space, and sovereignty.
You build it by remembering, daily, that your life is not an accident.
It’s a design.
And it’s still yours to shape.
Author bio: Moshe Indig is the founder of Sharper Statements, a premier law school admissions consulting firm known for its depth, strategy, and results. A former litigator, Moshe helps aspiring lawyers craft powerful narratives that reflect both who they are and where they’re headed—without sacrificing voice, clarity, or balance. Drawing from years of experience inside and outside the legal system, he teaches applicants to center precision and authenticity in every part of the process. Read more at sharperstatements.com.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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Though I often teach strategies that individual lawyers can take to manage stress, I always balance this with the reminder that law firms have a big impact on attorney well-being. When I joined my law firm, Bricker Graydon, a few years ago I saw this first hand. While I had generally positive experiences at prior firms, the firm’s commitment to well-being was deeper and more explicit.
Many staff members at the firm help make this happen, but one I want to mention today is Mina Jones Jefferson. She’s the Chief Culture and Engagement Officer at my firm. I’ve worked and presented with Mina on topics relating to stress management and attorney well-being. She’s so knowledgeable on these subjects that I asked her to join me on the FDCC FedSpeaks podcast to discuss steps law firms can take to support attorney well-being.
Keep reading to learn more about the insights from the interview, where to listen, and how to learn more about this subject.
Attorney Well-Being Should Be a Law Firm Priority
One of the things that Mina shared first in the interview is why law firms should make the well-being of lawyers and all staff a priority. In the interview, Mina explained that supporting attorney and staff well-being was not just the right or feel-good thing to do.
In general, Mina explained, happy lawyers and staff members are more productive and do better work for clients.
How Law Firms Can Monitor Attorney Well-Being
The idea of mental health can sometimes seem hard to define, but Mina didn’t skip a beat when I asked her about this. First, Mina explained that there are many signs that firms can monitor to gauge the well-being of their employees. As noted above, these include sick days uses, absences, and productive work hours.
To get more information, though, Mina suggested that firms should consider asking their employees regularly how they feel about work. She shared about the value of employee engagement surveys to gather information from attorneys and staff members directly. This can help law firms identify practical steps that may need to be taken to make the work life of their employees better or more satisfying.
Simple Steps Law Firms Can Take
Armed with this qualify information, Mina explained that law firms can make good decisions to support employees better. This can include reviewing internal policies, benefits plans, wellness offerings, and employee assistance programs.
It can also include leadership strategies that keep mental health a top priority in the law firm’s culture. These can include things like “leaving out loud”, where firm leaders don’t hide the fact that they prioritize things outside of work. It can also include simple strategies, such as honoring business hours for email and text communications.
As Mina also shared, however, it should also include a review of broader firms policies and procedures and leadership. In some ways, Mina explained that attorney and staff well-being is a function of a well-run organization.
Where and How to Learn More
This blog post was just a summary of the insights that Mina offered in the interview, but I strongly encourage you to listen to the full episode to hear it straight from her. If you want to listen to the full interview, you can find it on Apple Podcasts here. You can learn more about Mina Jones Jefferson and her work at Bricker Graydon on LinkedIn.
For more great interviews relating to lawyer well-being, check out the following episodes of FDCC Speaks:
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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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.
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.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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 try body scan practice, check out our meditations that incorporate body scan techniques.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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Join me on Saturday afternoon for a discussion of my book How to Be a Badass Lawyerht 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.
Like this post? Subscribe to the blog here or follow us on social media:
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, A New Year’s Present, to learn about mindfulness from a heartwarming story. For a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days, try How to Be a Badass Lawyer. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
I wasn’t looking for a new meditation app, but one came looking for me. The lovely people at Moments of Space reached out to ask if I would be willing to check out their blog and do a sponsored post.
As a busy lawyer, mom, and author, it’s not an easy thing to just add a new task on my to-do list but they appealed to all my favorite things. Am I curious by nature? Absolutely. Did they offer me a chance to try something new? Yes, indeed.
What is Different about Moments of Space?
Moments of Space is a relatively new entrant to the meditation app market, but it offers a fresh take. Unlike most other apps, Moments of Space encourages an “eyes open” style of practice. You read that right. The meditations cue you not to close or lower your eyes, but instead keep them wide open.
This invitation, I have to admit, made me nervous at first. I had heard some really great teachers suggest meditating with eyes open before, but my eyes always seemed to close on their own whenever I meditated. Could I even meditate with my eyes open? What would it be like? Would I be so distracted with visual information that my mind would never settle?
I had to get answers to these questions, so I quickly agreed to explore and write a post about my experience. And, yes, keep scrolling because I share my answers below.
Who Is Behind This App?
The first thing I was curious about when I started exploring Moments of Space was the people behind it. The creator is Kim Little, a long-time meditator and London tech entrepreneur. Kim’s experience with Tibetan Buddhism, a branch with which I am familiar and has bestowed upon the world some of the most transformative heart practices, was immediately appealing to me. I also liked his goal of making the teachings practical and accessible and building a business based on ethics.
A more recent addition to the app is someone who does not require an introduction: Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow, known first as an actress and now as the purveyor of all things lifestyle on Goop, is a co-owner and Global Community Director. Though not a teacher, Paltrow is a long-time meditator and was drawn to the app when she discovered eyes open practice.
One thing I noted about this relationship that I appreciated was that the app indicates that the meditations lead by Paltrow were “read” by her. It’s a small thing that only a meditation teacher would notice. Yet, I appreciated this subtle reference to differentiate between practice with a trained teacher and a celebrity using her influence and well-loved voice to promote the practice of meditation.
What Was the App Like?
Like many apps, Moments of Space offers a seven-day free trial so that you can check it’s features out for yourself before you decide to subscribe. Here are the features that I noticed when I gave it a shot.
Seamless Set Up
The download and set up for the app couldn’t have been easier. I created an account easily and did the quick questionnaire to identify my path with a few screen taps.
Nice Features
After getting set up, I went through all the tabs on the app. I first looked for an unguided timer, since silence is my jam, and surprisingly all meditation apps don’t have this. I was pleased to see one there with options for setting the time and selecting sounds if desired.
Like any good app, Moments of Space also tracks and rewards and achievements to help keep you motivated to practice and explore.
Skills Pathways
The app also has “paths” which are a structured journey through the realms of Body, Mind, Heart, and Space. I liked the inclusion of “space” as an option, since open awareness practice–where no particular focal point is selected–has helped me learn to find deep relaxation and inner peace. Instruction on this practice is also particularly helpful since open awareness, due to its utter simplicity, may be the hardest to grasp.
I was not able to try all 4 paths but I worked through the first level of the “heart” and “mind” pathway. I enjoyed the “learn,” “practice” and “apply” model for each lesson. They included a short conceptual teaching paired with a practice and then a very short (1-3 minute) debriefing to drive the concepts home.
Check-In Opportunities
On the home page, you will be prompted to reflect on how you are feeling. Checking in with how you feel regularly is a good practice in itself. However, if you try it on the app, you will also get an AI-generated recommendation. In a tiring world, anything to help fight the battle against decision fatigue is appreciated.
Clean Appearance and Calming Animations
Meditation apps come in a lot of flavors. Some are very subdued and others whimsical. Pun fully intended, but Moments of Space picks the middle path on this. Neutral to warm tones are featured prominently and it has an energized but clean appearance. Animations are added to most meditations but they are calming concentric circles. Overall, the feel of the app is one of ease, simplicity, and harmony.
To learn more about the app and how it looks, check out this video here.
A promotional video for the Moments of Space app.
How Were the Meditations?
The app is for meditation, after all, so you may be wondering how they were. As someone who doesn’t prefer to use guided meditations most of the time, I have to say I enjoyed them. Here are the big reasons why.
Soothing and Neutral Voices
You know how musicians tend to wear black when they perform so you can focus on the music instead of what the musicians are wearing? That’s how I would describe the voices for the meditations. They are soothing and neutral. The voices are pleasant in their own right but they don’t steal the show from the practice.
Unobtrusive Guiding
The style of guiding for the meditations is similar too. Sometimes guided meditations leave little room for awareness or insights and Moments of Space, as its name would imply, avoids this trap. The guiding is measured, calm, and includes enough pauses so that you still feel like you are practicing meditation instead of listening to a podcast.
Nice Options
The mediations also offer options. You can add music, set them for sitting or walking, and select a male or female voice. I also enjoyed that some of the “Moments” meditations included practice for real life activities, like cooking, writing, or walking. This can make those activities more enjoyable and they help you learn to do an eye open meditation any time, anywhere.
Is Eyes Wide Open a Good Thing?
So at last we have reached the final test. What about all this eyes wide open business? Though I was skeptical at first, I have to say that it did help me reshape my perceptions of reality. Of course, there were a few times when my eyes got tired and I had to close them to take a break. This was not a problem, since most of the practices include gentle reminders that closing your eyes is okay too. In general, though, I was able to keep them open.
Having meditated for more than 10 years, it was nice to see how this subtle change could have an impact. Until I tried meditating with eyes open, I would have assumed the visual information would clutter my experience too much. Not so, I was able to focus just fine.
I also would have assumed my brain would get confused between thoughts with any visual content and the things I was actually seeing with my eyes in the moment. Again, this wasn’t what happened. To the contrary, it seemed that my eyes being open made the visual content in my mind more detailed. Despite this, I was able to find my way back to presence and start to see the difference between mental images and real visual perception.
In other words, mediation with eyes open is a real chance to literally see how our attention can color our perception. It’s seeing realities like this that I have found leads to wiser choices, as well as peace and serenity. In the end, I plan to continue exploring eyes open meditation and am glad to have had the opportunity to explore this with the app.
Want a Preview?
If you have had enough of me sharing my opinion about the app, here’s a chance to sample it for yourself. Check out the “Awareness of Space” meditation with usuals from the app read by Gwyneth Paltrow here.
A video with the “Awareness of Space” meditation ready by Gwyneth Paltrow with visuals from the Moments of Space meditation app.
Conclusion
Moments of Space is an app that offers a modern day approach to meditation, clean presentation, helpful instruction, and style of practice that may be new to many users. It’s worth a try for anyone looking to learn meditation or add a new app to support their meditation habit. To try it for yourself, download the app here or search for “Moments of Space” on the app store for your smartphone.
