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ABA Journal E-Report, February 15, 2002

PUTTING A PREMIUM ON MEDITATION
Law School’s Program Offers Students a Labyrinth, Yoga

BY STEPHANIE FRANCIS CAHILL

Nirvana is where you find it, and some have found a little bit in Flushing, Queens, at the City University of New York School of Law.

A labyrinth was built there last year, behind one of the campus buildings. The labyrinth is a low garden, with bricks outlining the maze. The area can be used as a quiet spot to think about things, says Frederick P. Rooney, director of the law school's Community Legal Resource Network. Rooney created the law school’s Contemplative Practice for the Urban Law Community program. Or people can enjoy the challenge of working their way through the labyrinth, he says.

Natasha Johnson-Lashley, a first-year student at the law school, enjoys the quiet of the labyrinth. She visits it three times a week, weather permitting. "I like to sit out under the trees, in the shade," she says.

No other law school campus offers a labyrinth, Rooney says. It may not be a trend yet, but he says it is popular at CUNY.

"It’s a place for students and faculty to enjoy the garden," Rooney says. "It creates a very warm space. … It’s really quite beautiful, because it’s carved out of something that used to be not so sightly–the back of the law school."

Besides the labyrinth, the year-old program offers meditation and yoga classes. It’s designed to teach law students how to deal with the stress of practicing law. The program is also open to CUNY faculty and staff, as well as lawyers involved in the law school’s Community Legal Resource Network, an assistance program for private attorneys dedicated to serving low-income areas.

"There seems to be a growing revelation that yoga and meditation are very natural ways of dealing with the stress and anxiety that we feel in the practice of law," Rooney says. "Instead of looking to alcohol or drugs, people are trying to make their lives more balanced."

Rooney estimates that 45 people take the school’s meditation and yoga classes, which are free. Classes are offered once a week.

"When you clear the mind and create space for yourself, your heart really opens," says Roberta Wall, a lawyer who has taught the meditation class. "To be able to go through the day feeling that your heart is open, instead of closed and armored and barricaded, I think can really help us," she says.

Wall is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk who specializes in "engaged Buddhism." She also studied Buddhism with the Dalai Lama and is writing a book about the meditation training she’s done with Vietnam veterans. Previously, Wall was in private practice, representing plaintiffs in employment matters.

Her lesson plans for the CUNY meditation classes–which do not carry law school credits–include instructing people to take at least 30 minutes a day to meditate.

"At least two times a day, at your desk, turn off the phone and the lights," she says. "Sit at your desk, close your eyes and follow your breathing for 15 minutes.

"As someone coming from private practice, I understand how precious 15 minutes can seem," Wall continues. "But when you take those 15 minutes, when you come back you’re far more efficient, and your mind is clear."

Some lawyers are resistant to the idea of incorporating yoga and meditation into their practices, Rooney says, but the notion is increasingly accepted.

Penelope Andrews, a CUNY law professor, takes the program’s yoga classes. Some of her students are also in the class, and she thinks it "gives them a kick" to see her there.

"I find that in the middle of the day, it helps me to just stop and calm down a bit," says Andrews, who teaches international law and torts. She also visits the labyrinth for the solitude.

"It gives you time to reflect," she says.