1. Simple Mindfulness Solutions for Every Law Library
Learning to Exhale
Do you constantly feel like you are rushing around without a sense of purpose? Do you often feel anxiety when confronting unpredictable situations, meetings, or confrontations with students and faculty at your institution? Do you feel like the legal profession has lost its sense of civility? If you answered “yes” to any of these situations, then this is the session for you. We plan to give you hope in the form of mindfulness that will better focus your work and bring peace to your workplace and home as well as inner peace.
Simple Mindfulness Solutions for Every Law Library

2. Welcome and Introductions
Heidi Frostestad Kuehl, Law Library Director, Northern Illinois University
Susan Urban, Head of Access Services, Oklahoma City University

3. A few brief meditations:
1) The Three Minute Breathing Space
2) Five minute meditation ( meditation/ )
3) The Body Scan (from The Anxious Lawyer)
Begin with examples of short, medium, and longer meditations and have participants reflect on these exercises.

4. Inspiration for this program
ALL-SIS Student Services Committee Question of the Week
See all answers on their homepage on AALLNET.org
Highlights from other Law Libraries

5. Misperceptions Mindfulness as eliminating thoughts altogether
Mindfulness is selfish “me” time and unnecessary in the practice of law
Don’t have enough time to be mindful = don’t have time to get my regular work done
Mindfulness doesn’t really minimize stress or anxiety
Mindfulness is just yoga/meditation and can’t be enjoyable with all of life’s stressors
There’s too much conflict and pain in the world that mindfulness can’t fix
Libraries can’t play a role in mindfulness; that’s for other business entities to figure out
In fact, mindfulness is the act of observing thoughts and questioning those thoughts before they pass

6. Why Mindfulness
Medical studies have proven that it reduces stress, anxiety, and also provides other health benefits
Lawyers need mindfulness when dealing with highly stressful encounters in practice
Mindfulness brings peace, reduces conflict, and can bring harmony and happiness to the individual and those around them
Law students need mindfulness to reduce stress and anxiety with test-taking and while feeling overwhelmed during law school
Improves focus, attention, and cognitive performance

7. Why Mindfulness Improves relationships with others and self-awareness
Helpful for preparing for stressful interactions at work or at home
Personal transformation
Creating a “safe place” and feeling of calm on a regular and intentional basis
For law students and members of the legal community, may aid in combatting stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues
As Jeena Cho puts it in the Anxious Lawyer, meditation leads to greater confidence, spontaneity, and pleasure in our work.

8. Mindfulness Resources
The Anxious Lawyer -
Headspace -
Calm -
Mindfulness in Law Society -
ABA article - the-practice-of-mindfulness-to-improve-your-law-practice-.html
ABA Resources for Wellness, Mindfulness, and Work-Life Balance -
Chicago-area retreats and training:
Center for Mindfulness (UMASS):
Mindful.org (with free meditations):

9. What We’re Doing at NIU Additions: Law Library Display:
Mindfulness Collection
Coloring books and attention to mindfulness in the law library
Meditation room
Student lounge in the law library

10. What We’re Doing at NIU
Mindfulness in the Law class taught by Prof. Laurel Rigertas
Professionalism series and class on mindfulness/civility in the law
Law Library displays:

11. What We’re Doing at OCU Law School Mental Health Awareness Week
Yoga for staff and students
“Procrastination Station” during finals
Training library staff on mindfulness techniques
Will offer a mindfulness workshop as part of our Practice Workshop series in the spring

12. What are you doing?
Give us your ideas and anything your library is doing to promote mindfulness and wellness!

13. Mindfulness Exercise
4-7-8 Hands Exercise (from Mindfulness for Law Students)
Sending Good Wishes to Others and Meditation Logs handouts
Do first exercise and then have groups think of practicing sending good wishes to others

14. Questions?
Spread peace, harmony, forgiveness, and recognize our common humanity
Mantra: “May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you know ease and joy, and may you be free from suffering.”
Mantra: from The Anxious Lawyer, pp Common for exercising compassion toward others. Would also be great for law students and our training of lawyers with an emphasis on civility.