Each day is an opportunity for a fresh start to live your life fully.  Practicing meditation in community to release unhelpful thoughts and quiet the mind can be strengthened by daily practice.  Join Ann, Michele and Bela each morning for a 15-minute practice, which will vary each day, to make mindfulness part of your life.

Have you experienced stress, anxiety, sleepless nights, worrying about work, relationships, or physical / emotional challenges?  Research has shown that the practice of mindfulness can: * Reduce stress, anxiety and depression; * Improve attention and focus; * Reduce reaction to physical pain; * Improve sleep; *Help meet needs which underlie strong emotions; and * Promote a sense of well-being.

In this 6-week series, you will learn tools that you can practice anywhere, anytime to address these issues.  Each session offers background information, guided experiential practices, discussion and observations. Gratitude, compassion, loving kindness and other states of spirit are integrated into the teachings.

Classes:  1). relax the body through breath and be more mindful in daily activities; 2). train your drifting mind for better focus and attention through breath, sound and body movement; 3). sleep better; 4). reduce physical pain and/or your reaction to it; 5). calm difficult emotions; and 6) notice and challenge unhelpful thoughts.

This series combines the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion, providing a powerful tool for emotional resilience. You will learn strategies, meditations, and quick self-compassion practices for daily life.  Mindful self-compassion has been shown to create mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, boosting happiness, reducing anxiety and depression, and decreasing burnout.

You’ll learn how to

• change your relationship with your inner critic
• handle difficult emotions with greater ease
• motivate yourself with encouragement rather than criticism
• transform difficult relationships, both old and new

Despite increasing focus on mental health in the legal profession, lawyers report dealing with more stress, anxiety and depression.  A 2023 ALM and Law.com Compass Mental Health Survey of 3,000 lawyers found:

• 71% reported experiencing anxiety, a 5% increase from 2022.
• 38% said they dealt with depression, an increase of 35% from 2022.
• 31% reported struggling with another mental health issue, up from15% in 2022.
• 50% “felt a sense of failure or self-doubt, lost emotion, felt increasingly cynical and negative, and had decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.”
• 60% said they felt overwhelmed, irritable, exhausted or struggled to concentrate.

MHA’s Wellness Program for Lawyers will address the following:  

• Neurobiology and Practices to Calm Your Nervous System
• Dealing with Challenging Thinking and Rumination
• Quieting the Inner Critic who Sabotages You
• Calming Difficult Emotions
• Navigating Uncertainty and Change