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Mindfulness in Life and Law

To be mindful

to be mindful... to focus your attention, your awareness on the present moment, on your thoughts, on your body, on your feelings – a powerful skill, a way of living, a concept to help improve your physical and mental health and your overall wellbeing. If and how one “practices” mindfulness is personal – only we know what works best for ourselves.

But this does not mean we are alone – build connections with your FIU Law family. Support, motivate and inspire one another.

Explore upcoming events for mindfulness and well-being

Mindfulness Resources

FIU on-campus services

Going Green 

  • Recycle: Help the FIU community reach the state-mandated goal of recycling 75% of waste by 2020 and be mindful of making a positive impact upon our planet.

Health and wellness 

Outdoors @ FIU 

PantherFIT 

  • Yoga / Mind&Body: Yoga provides a holistic approach to building strength, stamina and balance while teaching breathing techniques and meditation to support health and relaxation. 

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Mindfulness Task Forces

Mindfulness in Law Joint Task Force: The Board of Directors of the Dade County Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association’s South Florida Chapter’s mission: “To work together to introduce the South Florida legal community to information on mindfulness, mindfulness programming, and to support the formation of mindfulness practice groups.” Browse  articles on mindfulness in law. 

National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being: The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change 

Stress Management

  • iCope: Dr. Anthony R. Ciminero, Ph.D. is a psychologist whose “research and practice has focused on stress related issues and the skills needed to cope effectively with every day problems as well traumatic life events.” His iCope book series covers “four core strategies needed to effectively manage and conquer stress” along with “comprehensive coverage of the various factors and learning experiences that can improve success and increase your resilience.”

The Wellness Wire

Click here to visit the Wellness Wire.

Additional Resources

Explore additional resources here.

Mindful Meditation

Meditation Guides

“There are many different types of meditation — insight, mantra, counting, body scan, centering prayer, and Metta or Loving Kindness. In each meditation, you’re intentionally focusing your mind to the object of attention (for example, the breath, mantra, sensations, etc.). This is why meditation increases focus and concentration, because you’re literally training your brain to continually focus on one thing.” 

View 6-step guide to meditation and links to 1-minute and 6-minute meditation SoundCloud recordings. 

See also How to Meditate: A Guide for Lawyers (Part II). 

Meditation Apps

Brian Hamman, How to Pick a Meditation App, The New York Times, Nov. 14, 2015. 

Calm 

Headspace 

Lizzie Widdicombe, The Higher Life: A Mindfulness Guru for the Tech Set, The New Yorker, July 6, 2015. 

Insight Timer 

Meditation through Art

Dr. Kimberly Wulfert, clinical psychologist: “In coloring, you’ve got this physical sensation of the tool you’re using touching on the paper. You also have the feeling in your hands and fingers holding this tool, and moving in different rhythms as you fill in the space. . . . [Y]ou’re being mindful, and when you move in a rhythmic fashion for an extended period of time, that becomes a meditation.” Ashley Welch, Anxious? Break Out the Coloring Book, Everyday Health, May 28, 2015. 

mandala-meditation 

Mandalas are sacred circles that have been long been used to facilitate meditation in the Indian and Tibetan religions. People create and look at mandalas essentially to center the body and mind.” Cathy Wong, Coloring Mandalas as a Meditation Technique, About Health, Dec. 11, 2014. 

Mandalas are entering medicine as a healing tool. An increasing body of clinical trials suggests that meditation may boost the immune system, reduce stress, combat depression, reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and stimulate the release of melatonin, a hormone believed to slow cell aging and promote sleep. 

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