MINDFUL WELLNESS

A Book Review: The Anxious Lawyer by Jeena Cho and Karen Gifford

Meditation and mindfulness have become hot topics over the last few decades. Yet some people still seem to turn their nose up at the idea that meditation and mindfulness have a place in their lives. It is certainly no secret that the practice of law is stressful. Add the general stress of the practice to the stress and uncertainty of being in the midst of a global pandemic and it could certainly push people over the edge. No one knows what our future holds and we need to cope with the present-- enter: meditation.

The benefits of meditation are multifold, but getting a meditation practice started can be challenging. Maintaining a meditation practice can be even harder (trust me; I have re-started my practice many times over). This is where the book The Anxious Lawyer can help. Written by lawyers for lawyers, it offers a pathway to a meditation practice and gives the reader several different types of meditation to try along the way.

Author Jenna Cho is a bankruptcy lawyer in San Francisco, CA with a passion for meditation. Karen Gifford is COO of Ripple Labs and former attorney for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who also has a passion for meditation. Both authors have experience teaching others to meditate. Their book, The Anxious Lawyer, is set up as an eight-week course with each chapter representing a different week.

The first thirty pages offer background information about the authors and some basic ideas surrounding meditation. Each of the following chapters spend several pages digging deeper into meditation as a practice before offering a different type of meditation to focus on for that week.

Chapter One introduces the body scan, a meditation practices which focuses attention on different parts of the body. It is typical to start with the feet and work up the body. This type of meditation was my first introduction into meditation some eighteen

years ago. Meditation can be easier when the attention is focused, which is the goal of the body scan. I personally find this type of practice more difficult to do without an instructor walking me though the scan. Thankfully, the authors have that covered and a guided body scan is available on their website www.theanxiouslawyer.com. Chapter One asks the reader to practice the body scan every day for seven days. The book provides a log to record your thoughts each day of the week. 1 Each chapter also offers an “off the cushion” practice, which challenges the reader to be mindful during normal aspects of their day (riding an elevator, walking to work, showering). It is a nice way to work toward incorporating small moments of mindfulness into your daily life.

Chapter Two introduces “Following the Breath” meditation. True to its name, this meditation focuses on your breath. Set a timer and focus on the sensation of your breath as it moves in and out of your body. It is a simple practice but it is high on my list of favorite types of meditation. It gives a mind that easily wanders something simple and constant to focus on.

Chapter Three focuses on “Following Your Thoughts,” which is pretty much exactly as it sounds. Follow your thoughts as

By Elizabeth D. Wilfong Esq. Bieser Greer & Landis LLP edw@biesergreer.com 937.250.7791

they come and go for a specified period. The goal with this practice is not to focus on the content of your thoughts but rather the quality of your thoughts. As the authors instruct, “are your thoughts coming quickly or slowly, do they sound loud or quiet?” This was the first time I had tried a practice like this and I found it rather difficult to focus on my thoughts without focusing on their content. 2

Chapter Four introduces loving kindness meditation. Loving kindness meditation focuses on compassion towards yourself and others. It asks the meditator to focus on himself or herself, a friend, a loved one, a stranger, or someone with whom you are having difficulty. The authors point out that lawyers tend to struggle with compassion.

continued on page 9

ENDNOTES: 1 While I write this, I am looking back over the notes I made during the first week. Several days I noted that focusing was difficult! 2 The authors ask if your thoughts feel smooth, gentle or fuzzy, and I just could not wrap my mind around a fuzzy thought. While this practice might work very well for some people, I struggled with it.

BOOK REVIEW: "THE ANXIOUS LAWYER" continued from page 8

In this practice, you imagine the individual of your choice and repeat, “may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you know peace and joy, may you be free from suffering.” For me, the first few days of this practice felt a little odd. However, as the week went on, I found I enjoyed this one more than most. I have continued to use this practice since my completion of the book.

Chapter Five is an extension of Chapter Four with the focus of the compassion being yourself. This chapter offers some good insight on the importance of self-compassion and learning to live with our inner critics. The authors also focus on the importance of rest, which means setting aside some time to be unplugged from work (here is looking at you 11:30 pm email checker!).

Chapter Six introduces mantra repetition. In doing mantra meditation, a word or phrase is repeated over and over during your dedicated meditation period. The authors suggest using the phrase “let go” in time with focused perspective for those of us in the your breath. Personally, I found that mantra legal profession. My only criticism is that the repetition helps my wandering mind and “let chapters, while full of good insight, tended go” was an easy mantra to use. to be long. Some weeks reading the entire

Chapter Seven builds upon the mantra chapter felt like a bit of a chore. repetition learned in Chapter Six with the If a lawyer-focused meditation book is addition of a heart-centered focus. The not for you, I’d recommend you try 10% authors are quick to point out that they do Happier by Dan Harris and the compannot mean your actual heart, but rather the ion how-to book, Meditation for Fidgety energetic space at the center of your heart. If Skeptics. So many books on meditation you practice yoga, this idea will be familiar seem unrealistic or aspirational. I have read to you. several and thought, “I am a real person. I

Chapter Eight focuses on gratitude. The can’t do this.” Ten Percent Happier is a down meditation for this week is another mantra to earth, “if he can do it, I can do it” kind of repetition, an extension of Chapter Six and book. It is a great way to get a meditation Did You Know? Seven. While this week did not introduce a new meditation, it offers in-depth insight into the benefits of gratitude and I think it practice started. If you are a dedicated meditator, a so-so meditator, or a wannabe meditator and you is one of the more important chapters of the want to connect, feel free to reach out, I book. would love to chat. Meditation is a practice,

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Since both and I am still practicing. authors are lawyers, this book offered a nice,