While the legal profession confronts the disruption triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, several lawyers are feeling heightened uncertainty, which can have adverse consequences on our safety. It’s up to you and your customers to take steps to reduce that stress and stay healthy. Mindfulness is an important means of doing that.
Mindfulness pays attention in a particular way, and meditation is a way of practicing conscientiousness.
You will develop your muscle of mindfulness with meditation, giving you a useful resource for fighting stress. Meditation also tends to enhance efficiency by allowing you to retain focus and making better decisions.
You have opportunities to meditate anywhere — even when operating from home with children nearby.
First, come to the quiet. Enable your body to live. Allow your eyes to close and make your breath more aware of it.
Of default, the mind may want to float. When this happens, just bring your awareness back to your breath. It could be convenient to use a timer so you don’t have to control the clock. Be compassionate to yourself; cultivate a mindset of non-judgmental observation.
Here are a few suggestions for improving your meditation:
Just a little bit of it every day. The effects of meditation grow when it is a normal practice. Start small and start with 5 minutes of mindfulness.
Train every morning. It is going to build a routine and set the stage for the day.
Monitor and study the results of meditation. Write about what you see in the consequences of the work.
Your most important tools are focus and energy. Use them smartly and replenish them often.
There are mediation methods for lawyers that don’t sound unique or unusual, and it can be done throughout the day or nighttime.
1. Meditation through breathing.
The emphasis is to breathe as deeply as possible, and to exhale as thoroughly as possible. There’s nothing else to ponder about. The benefits of this type of meditation include empowering the nerve of the Vagas (in the abdomen), resulting in lower blood pressure. Furthermore you increase the supply of oxygen to the frontal cortex by breathing deeply, which helps you to think.
2. Spot Concentration Meditation
Find a spot on your desk or wall, and just concentrate on that. Let your eyes soften (lower your eyelids) and let your attention fill in at the spot. Stay comfortable when you’re concentrating on this place and calmness can help alleviate tension or anxiety. Do so for a good ten minutes or more.
3. A meditation through walking.
That is something that you can do publicly. It just means you reflect on the body when you move. It’s really soothing and stimulating to note what your feet, knees, palms, back, shoulders and other aspects of your body are doing as you move. If you are walking on streets where vehicles are moving, you have to pay attention to the traffic.
4. Meditating through music.
It is really helpful to listen to the calming songs. As nothing else, piano, strings, orchestra or wind instruments can lift your spirits. I tend to avoid jarring music or mind-blowing music which would be counterproductive. The idea is to pick music which will calm down the soul. Only relax and focus on the album. There is also music specifically designed for meditation or yoga; for some choices, Google “Meditation Songs”
Meditation can alleviate pain, anxiety and wellness problems while at the same time growing serenity, concentration and relaxation. Using any of these methods will produce results that enhance life (and career!). Being calm and relaxed as a lawyer is very useful in building trust in your clients and colleagues. Be a Buddha on statute!