#4: On the Women in Law Initiative conference

The Women in Law conference (hosted by The Women in Law Initiative) was a first for me:

- first online conference and first time teaching without seeing my students. Although I've been teaching online for a while now, I always get to see my students since I teach one-on-one or very small groups and primarily use my voice to teach (very little demonstration); and

- first legal conference as a yoga teacher (although I participated in quite a few in the past as a lawyer and as a doctoral student).

I'm happy to say that it went really well. Many people attended my classes (Managing stress: insights from yoga, which included a 20-min chair yoga session, and a 40-min "come as you are" yoga session), which tells me that many lawyers are curious about yoga and willing to give it a try.

I've also noticed that many of the conversations during the conference, whether the discussion on lawyer well-being that I moderated, or the talks on bias and equity, emphasized the need for greater self-awareness, not jumping to conclusions, etc., which are skills that we practice in yoga. I might suffer from a case of seeing the world through my yoga-teacher eyes, but again, the interest and enthusiasm I have felt tells me it is not just that.

Thanks to the organizers, in particular to Alix Frank-Thomasser, for bringing me on board. Thanks to the attendees for the nice comments. Thanks to the panelists Priyanka Dutta-Passecker (MBA, PhD), Gabriele Plickert, PhD Leida Matja, Katrina Kaktina, Ann Collier and Julie Gottlieb for giving your time so generously - I enjoyed working with you.

I'm currently in brainstorming mode, trying to find new ways to share yoga and its benefits with the lawyer community. Some questions I'd have for you: what do you understand yoga to be, to do? what do you think yoga could help you with (stress etc)? If you have been willing to take yoga classes but haven't so far, what has held you back? Do you feel that you are taking good care of yourself (mental + physical)? What class format would you be interested in (group classes, individual classes, weeks-long course exploring a specific topic, or for beginners, that would mix practice and talks)? If anybody has any input, please share! Thanks.