‘Building Resilience’ workshop encourages mindfulness in times of stress

With exam time around the corner, the Career Office at the College of Law hosted a workshop aimed at providing students with tools to deal with negative stress they might encounter in law school and in their legal careers.

The event was also open to college faculty and staff.

Jeanne Corrigal, a mindfulness trainer from Saskatoon began the session taking attendees through a five-minute body scan that encouraged concentration on the body and breathing. This exercise, explained Corrigal, was one example of how students could achieve mindfulness, which according to Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MSBR), is paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment, non-judgementally.

Craig Kinsman, Manager of Professional Development and Student Programs for Bennett Jones, then spoke to the students about his experience dealing with stress as a lawyer. He highlighted things each person can do to reduce negative stress in both the short term and long term including mindfulness, eating, sleeping, exercise, healthy distractions and reaching out to family, friends or colleagues for support.

Corrigal followed with a brief overview of the science behind mindfulness and explained how regular practice of mindfulness and meditation can provide long-term benefits when it comes to concentration, communication and overall health. She concluded the session with a three-minute exercise that promoted awareness of breath.

Kinsman and Corrigal left attendees with the following links to online resources promoting wellness and mindfulness: