The Science of Steady:

Mind-Body Skills to Regulate Stress in Challenging Times

Five-Week NO COST CLE series exclusively for members of the Buncombe County Bar

Course Dates: Tuesdays Oct 14, 21, 28 and November 11, 18, 2025

NOTE: No class on 11/4

Time: 12:00-1:00pm via Zoom

Enroll now: Click this link to register on Zoom

The Science of Steady: Mind-Body Skills to Regulate Stress in Challenging Times is a five-week program designed specifically for attorneys and judges who want practical, science-backed strategies to navigate the demands of legal practice with greater calm, clarity, and resilience.

Grounded in neuropsychobiology—the study of how the brain, body, mind, and emotions interact—this course offers a blend of theory and practice, and new tools and content. Participants will discover why mind-body strategies support well-being and are foundational for clear, professional decision-making, especially during the complex and demanding times we face today.

What to Expect

Throughout the course, you will:

• Develop somatic intelligence and the role of the mind-body connection in law practice
• Expand your Window of Tolerance and optimize stress recovery through interoception
• Understand the impact of stress and underlying emotions on major physiological systems and learn strategies to restore balance to the mind, body, and emotions
• Practice practical, time-efficient tools to regulate stress and return to calm during the workday
• Build a sustainable toolkit for resilience in legal practice and daily life

How You’ll Learn

Each week, Laura will introduce the core principles of neuropsychobiology and guide you through mind-body practices and meditations designed to regulate the nervous system and enhance focus, steadiness, and well-being.

The course integrates three cutting-edge, evidence-based frameworks:

• Mindfulness Meditation – cultivating present-moment awareness to calm
• Somatic Experiencing (SE) – restoring balance through mind-body awareness
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) – cultivating inner clarity and self-leadership
• Applied Polyvagal Theory (PVT) – using the science of safety and connection to regulate stress

Join your colleagues for the newest well-being course created for the Buncombe County Bar by attorney and well-being expert Laura Mahr. This is the ninth consecutive year that the Buncombe County Bar and Laura Mahr of Conscious Legal Minds LLC are partnering to bring you a cutting edge mindfulness series. New and experienced participants are welcome!

Course Logistics: Attending each week is recommended, as the material builds on previous sessions, though each session is designed to stand alone and drop-ins are welcome.

The theme for each week is as follows:

• Week 1: The Science of Steady: Regulating Stress in the Nervous System (10/14/25)
• Week 2: The Science of Steady: Regulating Stress in the Respiratory System (10/21/25)
• Week 3: The Science of Steady: Regulating Stress in the Musculoskeletal System (10/28/25)
• Week 4: The Science of Steady: Regulating Stress in the Digestive System (11/11/25)
• Week 5: The Science of Steady: Regulating Stress in the Endocrine System (11/18/25)

Fee: This course is offered at no charge to all members of the Buncombe County Bar thanks to the Buncombe County Bar.

CLE Credits: Each week of this course has been approved for one hour of North Carolina State Bar CLE credit, and may be applied to the North Carolina State Bar “Professional Well-Being” CLE requirement (formally called “mental health credit”) and/or general CLE credits. You will receive one hour of CLE credit for every class in the course that you attend in its entirety. A Zoom poll will be administered at the end of each class to collect your name and Bar number for submission to the NC State Bar for CLE.

Meet Your Instructor: Laura Mahr is a North Carolina and Oregon lawyer and the founder of Conscious Legal Minds LLC, providing well-being consulting, training, and resilience coaching for attorneys and law offices nationwide. Through the lens of neurobiology and neuropsychology, Laura helps build strong leaders, happy lawyers, and effective teams. After bringing herself back from the brink of burnout with the tools she now teaches, Laura brings lived experience and compassion to thousands of lawyers, judges, and support staff each year in her coaching, writing, and presentations. Her work is informed by 13 years of practice as a civil sexual assault attorney, 30 years as a teacher and student of mindfulness and yoga, and nine years studying neurobiology and neuropsychology with clinical pioneers. She authors the Pathways to Well-Being column in the North Carolina State Bar Journal and the Mindful Moment column and podcast for the North Carolina Lawyer Assistance Program’s Sidebar publication, and is a frequent contributor to other legal publications and podcasts. Find out more at www.consciouslegalminds.com

Enroll now – Click this link to register on Zoom