Welcome to the Law School Toolbox Podcast! Today, we're talking about something that's incredibly important for everyone who's preparing for the bar exam, which is self-care. Because, let's face it, studying for the bar exam is stressful and, actually, so is legal practice. So, working on self-care during the bar exam study period is one thing that will probably help you pass and also help you in your career later.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Paying attention to your breathing, and using breath work for mental wellness and stress relief
• Making time to exercise – it’s good for your brain and memory!
• Laughter therapy – tricking your brain to produce more serotonin
• Mindfulness: what it is, why it works, and how to incorporate it in your daily routine
• Simple yoga poses for stress relief
• Allowing yourself breaks – you’re not a robot
• Real life ways of getting adequate sleep and nourishing your body with food and water

Resources:

• Yoga Breathing: Alternate Nostril Breathing Video Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VwufJrUhic)
• Breath + Sound: 30 Minute Guided Breathwork Experience (https://eastsidebreathers.bandcamp.com/track/breath-sound-30-minute-guided-breathwork-experience)
• Harvard Health Blog, “Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills.” (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110)
• Cancer Treatment Centers of America – Laughter Therapy (https://www.cancercenter.com/treatments/laughter-therapy/)
• Kitten Therapy: The Prescription for Stress (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35T8wtmTbVg)
• Getting Started with Mindfulness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35T8wtmTbVg)
• Being with Stressful Moments Rather Than Avoiding Them (https://www.mindful.org/being-with-stressful-moments/)
• Insight Timer App (https://insighttimer.com/)
• Free Guided Meditations: UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22&fr=true)
• Living Peace: Connecting Your Spirituality with Your Work for Justice (https://www.amazon.com/Living-Peace-Connecting-Spirituality-Justice/dp/1499798024)
• com (https://www.yogaglo.com/)
• Yoga Outlet - How to do Child’s Pose in Yoga (https://www.yogaoutlet.com/guides/how-to-do-child_s-pose-in-yoga/)
• Yoga Journal - Yoga for Inner Peace (https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-for-inner-peace-stress-relief-daily-practice-challenge)
• Get a Good Night’s Sleep by Filtering Your Phone’s Blue Light (https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/get-good-nights-sleep-filtering-phones-blue-light/)
• Mind Over Bar (http://mindoverbar.com/)
• Bar Exam Mind (http://mindoverbar.com/)
• Bar Exam Toolbox’s own Mindfulness archives (http://barexamtoolbox.com/tag/mindfulness/)

Episode Transcript: Download the Transcript  (https://lawschooltoolbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Episode-129-Self-Care-During-Bar-Prep.pdf)

If you enjoy the podcast, we'd love a nice review and/or rating on iTunes  (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/law-school-toolbox-podcast/id1027603976) (or your listening platform of choice). And feel free to reach out to us directly. You can always reach us via the contact form on the Law School Toolbox website (http://lawschooltoolbox.com/contact). If you're concerned about the bar exam, check out our sister site, the Bar Exam Toolbox (http://barexamtoolbox.com/).

Thanks for listening!

Alison & Lee