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Is Yoga Legal? New blog written by a "lawyer-yogi"

The tag line of the new blog written by lawyer Rebecca Stahl is "Where two worlds collide, one lawyer-yogi considers whether those worlds can coexist." She writes:

Since entering law school, I have struggled with being a lawyer-yogi. Lawyers have a tendency to view yoga either as fitness or just plain weird, and yogis have several pre-conceived notions about money-hoarding, unethical attorneys. While these are gross generalizations, I found myself bombarded by them, struggling to exist in both worlds, not only because I "had" to, but because I truly enjoy them both. Yoga was a spiritual sanctuary, where my body and mind were free, while the law provided the intellectual nourishment that I have craved my entire life. Deep down I know that the law can provide real justice, and I am driven to find ways to make that happen more often. And so, as I began a new legal job and entered a program to one day be able to (legally) share yoga with the world, I decided to chronicle my attempts to join the two. As we studied the first Yama (an ethical standard and how we conduct ourselves externally in life--one of the 8 limbs of yoga), Ahimsa (non-violence), I found myself thinking how wonderful it would be if more lawyers and their clients approached their cases with non-violence. And the idea of "Is Yoga Legal?" was born! Is Yoga Legal? will be a place to explore yogic principles and how they can be applied to the law, as well as daily life.

If you are drawn to that perspective and dilemma, you may want to follow Is Yoga Legal?.

Upcoming dates for NY City Bar Association's Contemplative Lawyers' Group

From their Facebook page:

Please join us at our monthly meetings. The meetings include guided mindfulness mediation followed by a talk by Robert Chender, a lawyer and a certified mindfulness meditation teacher. No meditation experience is necessary; everyone is invited.

Please feel free to write us at nycclg@gmail.com, or post on this Facebook page. We encourage you to share this news with anyone interested in learning more about meditation and its application to the practice of law; we'll look forward to seeing you at future meetings.

2009-2010 Meeting Dates:

Thursday, September 17
Tuesday, October 20
Thursday, November 12
Thursday, December 10
Thursday, January 21
Thursday, February 25
Thursday, March 25
Thursday, April 22
Thursday, May 20
Thursday, June 24
Thursday, July 15

Click to read more.

Next meeting of Colorado Contemplative Lawyers Society: December 9

The next meeting of CCLS is Wednesday, December 9, at 5:30 PM, in downtown Denver. E-mail for more information and/or to RSVP.

San Francisco Bay Area event: Meditation for Lawyers CLE

From the Web page:

Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Registration: 5:30 PM
Program: 6:00 - 8:30 PM

Presented by:
David Borgen
Doug Chermak
Judi Cohen
Hon. Mary Morgan (SF Superior Court)

At the law office of Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian
300 Lakeside Drive, Suite 1000
Oakland, CA

2 Hours CLE Credit: one hour of Detection/Prevention of Substance Abuse
and one hour of regular CLE credit will be available.

$35 for public service and low income attorneys; $65 regular rate.

Please RSVP by emailing raul@nlgsf.org.

Blog Glob: Mindfulness Practice and Stress Reduction

Excerpt:

Take away my trouble, take away my grief,
Take away my heartache, I go right to sleep.
“Crazy Love,” Van Morrison

How many of us long for a magic formula to do what Van Morrison’s lover does for him in this song? But a full night of restful sleep for a conscientious lawyer? “Preposterous!” we chuckle. Our legal careers and our responsibilities weigh too heavily on our minds and bodies. Yet we yearn for respite from the worries, pain, and pressures of our careers and our lives. We grasp at myriad promises of comfort and relief, however fleeting: 20-year-old Scotch, a nicely-rolled joint, a new boat, a computer program, the right vacation. . . . The promises seem endless and nearly all involve running away from the present, from the feelings of stress generated in our lifestyles. Mindfulness practice makes no such promises, but invites us into awareness of the present moment. Too often, our regrets and plans, our worries and hopes rip us away from enjoying the here and now. To live mindfully is to be present, in body and in mind, with every bit of pain and pleasure in our lives. The results of mindfulness include reduced stress, greater focus, and increased productivity, as well as a sense of stability, peace, and happiness.

Click to read the rest of Mindfulness Practice and Stress Reduction (Cutting Edge Law).

Are you a cognitive miser? Here are some ways to find out and some techniques to combat miserliness

Because our brain uses so much energy, it likes to be lazy to conserve. But that can get us into trouble. Fortunately we can learn to combat this tendency. In "Why smart people do dumb things" (Globe and Mail), writer Anne McIlroy looks at both cognitive miserliness and prevention. She also gives you several problems to test your miser propensity.

McIlroy writes:

[Keith Stanovich] studies why smart people do stupid things - or, in more scientific terms, how intelligence is distinct from rationality. His work offers insight into important cognitive abilities that are not measured by IQ tests. It also suggests that deficits in real-world reasoning can be corrected, whether in adults or in children.

...

"[D]ysrationalia" [is] a term Dr. Stanovich has coined for the inability to think and behave rationally despite adequate intelligence, as he details in his recent book, What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought.

There is, of course, an upside to being a cognitive miser - it means using the brain in an energy-efficient manner. It helps to explain why most of us get out of the house in the morning: We don't waste hours considering what colour socks to wear or what to have for breakfast.

But it also means that when faced with a more complicated decision or question, we tend to give the first response that comes to mind, rather than considering carefully. Most of us are also heavily influenced by how a question is framed.

...

However, we can also train ourselves ways to overcome our miserly tendencies. Studies have shown that people can teach themselves a number of techniques to help them consider all the possibilities when deciding among options:

Read the rest of the article to learn some of those techniques and test yourself to see if you are miserly.

Law school seminar - Religion, Spirituality, and Cognitive Science: Contemporary Establishment Clause Issues

This seminar taught by Stephanie Phillips and Jim Milles sounds very intriguing. From the Fall 2009 Course Descriptions [PDF] of University of Buffalo Law School:

The First Amendment begins with a prohibition: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." At minimum, Congress was forbidden to found an official, national church. Beyond that, there has been no unanimity, at any moment during more than two centuries, about what the Establishment Clause means or should mean. This seminar examines certain present-day proposals to loosen constraints on government action by narrowing the definition of "religion," some attempting to create a dichotomy between sectarian and non-sectarian religion, others positing a distinction between "religion" and "spirituality," still others throwing cognitive science into the mix. In addition to readings in legal doctrine, political theory, cognitive science and religious studies, the seminar includes a weekly practicum that explores a diverse range of practices referred to as "meditation," probing which, if any, pose Establishment Clause problems.

As a constitutional matter, when a meditative practice has been proven by cognitive science to sharpen intelligence, increase intuitive ability, and coordinate activity between the hemispheres of the brain, all of which are desirable and "secular" objectives, does it make a legal difference if some practitioners ascribe religious or spiritual meaning to these phenomena? Students will learn several meditation techniques and will integrate assessment of their experiences into comprehensive examination of the increasingly blurred lines between the material and the spiritual. Participation in the meditation practicum is a course requirement. Of course, a student will be excused from participation in any particular practice as to which a religious or conscientious objection is raised.

Upcoming international conference on contemplative practices in law and conflict resolution

I spent this weekend in Berkeley planning a spring conference, to be held in upper New York, on contemplative practices. The hours spent in planning were long, but the 9 lawyers in attendance are excited about next year's event. Tentative plans include tracks for lawyers, law schools, and mediators; and invitations to some extraordinary speakers. We are looking at the end of the week of May 9, 2010, including at least part of the weekend of May 15. Calendar it and I'll let you know right away if there is a change. Expect more news soon.

Send me an e-mail if you want to be sure to receive notification of the date and other details.

Note: We will be including related neuroscience.

Note (added November 30, 2009): It now appears that the conference will be held in the fall. I will post the date as soon as it is known.

Article from Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution: "Venting or Vipassana? Mindfulness Meditation's Potential for Reducing Anger's Role in Mediation"

I am adding another article to the growing collection of articles and resources focused on contemplative lawyering and mindfulness in the law. This one is entitled "Venting or Vipassana? Mindfulness Meditation's Potential for Reducing Anger's Role in Mediation" [PDF].

Contemplative practices: What's happening at Vanderbilt University Law School?

In an e-mail from Julie K. Sandine, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Vanderbilt Law, I learned of some programs her law school offers its students. I wanted to tell you about them so asked permission to post her e-mail; she graciously consented. Sandine writes:

We’ve just concluded our fourth year of offering Supportive Practices, a non-credit offering for 1L students that teaches mindfulness meditation, Qi gong, cognitive strategies and other techniques that can help reduce stress and enhance concentration, as well as one’s overall sense of well-being.  We meet once a week for an hour during the first 10 weeks of class.  
 
We have also offered a Professionalism in Practice non-credit offering for the past four years, which just concluded as well and is held once a week for an hour during the first 10 weeks of class.  (Its name was changed this year, as it was previously entitled “Ethics & Professionalism”).   In this offering, in addition to reading about and discussing many issues of ethics and professionalism in a small group setting, we ask students to engage in self-reflection and submit weekly journal reflections.
 
When I taught Professional Responsibility last year, I also required that students submit weekly journal reflections as a part of their final grade.  I feel self-reflection is an important part of the process of forming one’s professional identity (but not something people do regularly or even feel very comfortable doing) and so sought to encourage students to get into the habit of engaging in this process.  I also started each class session with the day’s reading from “The Reflective Counselor” in an effort to make students aware of the importance of quiet reflection, purposeful thought, and becoming more mindful of the many components of one’s life, personally and professionally.  I will be teaching PR again in the spring semester and plan to again incorporate contemplative practices to some degree.
 
Interestingly, Vanderbilt University has a Contemplative Pedagogy group (of which I am a part), which meets regularly and shares ideas for including a contemplative practice in the classroom setting.  One of our legal clinic faculty has also joined the group.

Excellent, Julie! Thank you. As I have said before, Tennessee seems to be cutting edge.

Note: Click to see what is being offered at other law schools.