For about a year now, the MCBA’s Wellness Programming Committee has been offering regular activities such as yoga and walking. Maybe the benefits are not intuitive to you. We’re lawyers, we’re tough and no nonsense, and tough. We don’t cry. We make other people cry.  

Until our own well runs dry. We’re not immune from the effects of stress and strains and age either.  

1)   Yoga, breath work, and meditation have a 5,000 year history in Ayruvedic medicine, and are now backed by modern, Western science for benefits that include stress reduction. Yoga is so good, there have even been a number of successful prison programs incorporating yoga.  But let’s not go there.

More and more lawyers are turning to yoga for its health benefits, stress reduction and for enhanced focus and effectiveness in their law practice. And it is not about flexibility.  You do what you can, and maybe more than you thought you could.  Building strength is included.

A quick internet (“google”) search should bear that out.  And if you can’t find the information, contact me.

2)  Walking?  “Come on,” you may be thinking.  However, the science is that walking is one of the best all-around activities we can do for our health. You don’t even have to pay for a gym membership or worry about being near others during a time of Covid-19.

Walking and exercise help keep you mentally sharp and emotionally balanced.  They stave off depression, mental dullness, weight gain, and dementia.   Walking helps your circulation, stamina and endurance.  This may translate to staying up later and longer, getting that contract done, better trial preparation, and being sharper during trial.  Yes, simple walking.

"’Exercising also helps your mood,’ says Dr. Takahashi. ‘People who exercise briefly each day — maybe get some sunlight — certainly have better moods.’ During the day, you'll be more awake, more alert and quicker on the mental draw. And chances are if you're exercising regularly, you'll sleep better, too.”

Even if you don’t walk with the MCBA, do walk on your own or with a friend or family member, even when that family member is your dog.  For at least 30 or more minutes, and at least at  a moderate pace, not a slow shuffle.  If your work takes you into the federal building, you may have seen the signs in the elevators telling you to take the stairs - for your health.

“Exercising with a friend makes time fly, and you're more likely to stick to your routine if you make a date to do it with someone else.”
 

Come on a MCBA walk this season. Get exercise, and meet people. And try a few sessions of the yoga (Mondays are conveniently online while you are at your desk). These help us to be and stay a better lawyer.

Wishing you vibrant health.

~ Jere Fletcher
member, MCBA Health & Wellness Programming Committee