Virtual Warren

We asked Elizabeth Emens, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and director of the Columbia Law School Mindfulness Program, for suggestions about how to destress and take care during this difficult time.

“Listening seems more important now than ever. This means listening to each other [and] this also means listening to ourselves. In this moment, what do you most need? Do you need to feel one breath? Or do you really need a glass of water? Helping others right now can also be so important. Is there action you can take? . . . Or is there gratitude you can express for someone else’s action? Asking ourselves these questions and really listening  to the answers . . . seems most important right now. This is why we have expanded the offerings of the Mindfulness Program during this critical time.”

Elizabeth Emens, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law

“Practice moments of mindfulness. Before you log on to your computer or sign on to social media, pause to take a few deep breaths and feel down into your body, being aware of sensations and sense perceptions. Eat your food mindfully for a few moments, bringing full attention to color, shapes, texture, aroma, and taste.”

Patricia A. Bloom, M.D., associate clinical professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai

“Practice bringing mindfulness to your daily activities. Try picking one thing you do each day, whether it’s taking a shower, drinking coffee or tea, or walking your dog . . . [and] cultivate an awareness of all of the sensations of that activity. . . . You might be surprised how these little shifts in awareness can transform these daily activities and bring some measure of calm to a scattered and anxious mind.”

Caroline Voldstad ’18, litigation associate, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, and program builder, Mindfulness Program

“Especially during a time of chaos and uncertainty, we can always come back to the truth of this moment: How do we experience the reality of this moment? We can always return to the awareness of the breath, awareness of bodily sensations and emotions, [and awareness of] our intentions and attitude, our sense of gratitude, our childlike curiosity.”

Home H.C. Nguyen, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor, Columbia Teachers College, and founder, MindKind Institute

“Move your body! The lymphatic system does not have its own pump and therefore needs our movement to circulate. Take a walk, if you can do so safely, or walk inside. Do a seated side bend on each side. Even three deep breaths will help shift the stagnancy.”

Magi Pierce, yoga and meditation instructor

John Steinbeck

What better book to read when you’re quarantined than this classic about traveling across America? Plus, there’s a large black standard poodle as a travel companion and excellent instructions on how to make coffee with chicory!

Meddling Kids
Edgar Cantero

The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man
Jonas Jonasson

Strange Weather in Tokyo
Hiromi Kawakami

The Hike
Drew Magary

The Mirror and the Light
Hilary Mantel

Circe
Madeline Miller

Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire: A Story  of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival
Peter Stark

A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles

N.K. Jemisin

Now’s the perfect time to read a story about the world ending! In the first book of the Broken Earth trilogy, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in a postapocalyptic world where the power of “Father Earth” is wielded as a weapon.

The MaddAddam trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam)
Margaret Atwood

Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel

Joan Didion

Because we are all going to contend with loss and grief before the crisis is over. Didion is her usual unflinching self, offering a detailed account of the treacherous journey she experienced the year after the sudden death of her husband of nearly 40 years.

New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World—and How to Make It Work for You
Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms

Tartine Bread
Chad Robertson