Bruce Law Firm - October 2020

Bruce Law Firm - October 2020

FIND SOMETHING THAT YOU LOVE DOING Yoga Brings Peace to the Mind, Body, and Soul

When I was 19, I was involved in a very serious accident and struggled with my back and neck for many years afterward. By the time I went to law school, my back was so bad that I couldn’t do much. No gym, no bike rides, no dancing; in fact, I was in agony and could barely walk. I had a handicap placard, and I was even contemplating a serious and dangerous back surgery. Everything changed when my husband gave me a coupon to try something that I had never done before, yoga. Isn’t it interesting how one little gesture can change someone else’s life? At first, I was moved by his gesture, thinking: Aw, that is sweet of him. I was not a yoga person and found it difficult to sit and relax because I am very fast-paced, always in motion. But he saw what I did not — through yoga, I could heal my body and focus on mindful meditation. I could slow down both my mind and my body. With my coupon in hand, I figured I would give it a try. Why not, what is there to lose? After a few classes, I was hooked! Yoga eventually helped me deal with my back pain without drugs and heal my body without surgery. Now, whenever I find myself going through a stressful time and losing focus, yoga helps bring both my body and mind to peace. I can think more clearly, which allows me to excel in all aspects of my life, including turning on my ferocity as a lawyer when it is needed. Like my agonizing back pain, many of our clients also go through difficult challenges before, during, and after their divorce case. While counseling them legally, I often urge them to find an inner calm. If they are receptive and have that “let’s give it a try” attitude, then I will urge them to try yoga. It’s a discipline that has been around for thousands of years, and while it may have changed over centuries, its philosophy has stayed the same. Through exercise and meditation, yoga brings overall health and peace into the mind and body. With so many different forms of yoga — yin, Iyengar, vinyasa, and hatha, to name a few — many of my clients have found peace.

If my husband had not made such a thoughtful gesture, and I had not given yoga a try, my life would not be the same.

You should try it. It will truly change your life.

– Liana Carroza

561-810-0170 • 1

Shining the Spotlight on Kyla Galter

A Dedicated Worker and Mother of Twins

Pursuing a career in the law field has always been something Kyla Galter, one of our operations personnel working with our team, has always thought about doing. When she was younger, her dad encouraged her to go into law. “It was the field he said he could see me best in,” she remembers. With his inspiring words, Kyla followed that interest and it led her to Bruce Law firm.

At first, Kyla went to college majoring in criminal justice but soon realized that

When you lead a busy lifestyle, mental health often takes a back seat to other pressing matters. Thankfully, there are a number of easy-to-use apps to help address this concern. Even if you’re pressed for time, these apps can help you maintain your mental health. And if you’re just looking for some simple resources to guide you through mood-boosting exercises, they’ve got you covered there too. Moodfit (GetMoodfit.com) Think of this app as a fitness tracker for your mind. The mood tracker allows you to record your moods and thoughts and follow trends and changes over time. You can look at these trends yourself or set the app to monitor specific areas of your mood. This highly customizable app is packed with tools and resources to help you with your mental health. In addition to the mood tracker, Moodfit offers a range of breathing exercises and a guide to mindfulness meditation. MoodMission (MoodMission.com) If you’re struggling with mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, you may feel like this free, evidence-based app was designed just for you. MoodMission asks you a series of questions to assess how you’re feeling, then suggests a series of “missions” you can complete to help you get into a better state of mind. Missions are short, achievable tasks, like taking a walk around the block or cleaning up a room in your home. Of course, like all the apps listed here, it is not a replacement for professional mental health care, but it offers evidence-based exercises and a level of support that’s not often found in smartphone apps. Talkspace (Talkspace.com) While this app contains a number of mental health tools, its primary purpose is to connect you quickly with one of the company’s thousands of licensed and experienced therapists you can message on a regular basis. Unlike traditional therapy where you schedule an appointment and meet in person, Talkspace allows its user to communicate with their therapist through the app’s encrypted messaging system. It also allows you to request a check-in from your therapist and provides a place for them to upload your therapy notes. Talkspace is more costly than some other apps, but depending on your specific needs, it may be worth it. 3 Great Apps to Maintain Your Mental Health at Home

wasn’t an area of the law she enjoyed. “Some of the things I was seeing, I couldn’t stomach as well as I thought I could,” Kyla says. At this point, she had to think about her direction. “I knew I wanted to be in this field; I just wasn’t sure which way to go. That was when I started working in family law, and seeing how many people were being helped, I knew this is where I was meant to be.” After finding family law and joining our team last November, Kyla has thrived in the field. She has taken on so many roles in the firm: chief intake specialist, marketing, onboarding venders; she does it all. Kyla enjoys working with the rest of our hardworking team as we help clients each day. “The best part of what I do is work with Chris and Ashley,” Kyla says. Kyla has worked with other people, but our lawyers “are great people. They treat our clients like people, not parts of a machine. It makes a huge difference for everyone. Bruce Law is an amazing place to work.” When Kyla isn’t busy at the office, she spends a lot of her time going to the gym or reading. However, after having her twins, Kash and Ryder, in September, that’s changed. “Most of my free time [has been] taken over by babies and diapers,” Kyla laughs. “But I’m so excited. It’s really amazing being a mom. I was really scared when I found out I was having twins — it’s a whole other ball game. But it’s amazing.”We know Kyla will do great as a mom. All of us at Bruce Law are thrilled to have someone as dedicated as Kyla on our team and are excited for what the future brings her on this life-changing path. From all of us to you, Kyla, congratulations!

Is your friend or client in need of a guide related to recent job or income loss? The book can be downloaded for FREE at SupportModificationBook.com. If your friend or client lives in the South Florida area, we’ll mail them a hard copy of the book upon request. OUR SUPPORT MODIFICATION BOOK CAN HELP!

2 • BrucePA.com

How to Stop Procrastinating at Bedtime

And Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Though there are very real medical conditions, such as insomnia and sleep apnea, that deprive people of sleep, the reason most of us probably don’t get enough sleep is simply because we put off our bedtime. Instead of getting into bed, we opt to check off another item on our to-do list or watch another episode of our favorite show. This is sometimes called “bedtime procrastination.”We all know a good night’s sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, so how can we stop putting it off? A good place to start is by keeping track of your day. The human mind isn’t meant to internalize checklists and task reminders, so use your phone or journal as a scheduling assistant. However you decide to keep track, make sure to give yourself a set amount of time to accomplish your tasks, like letting yourself watch TV for just one hour or blocking out three hours to help your kids with their homework. It might even help to set alarms on your watch or on your phone to let you know when your time is up on any of your activities. Another big part is creating an environment that is conducive to a good night’s sleep, and that starts with turning your electronic devices off well before you get under the covers. Smartphone screens, computer screens, and even some energy-efficient lightbulbs emit blue light, which reduces the production of melatonin, the hormone that tells your body it’s time to go to bed. Instead of looking at your phone, try reading a book before going to sleep. If your screens prove to be too big of a draw for you

when bedtime comes, it might be a good idea to move your devices to another room so they’re out of sight and out of mind.

Finally, don’t get discouraged if you don’t start getting better sleep right away. Setting up good bedtime routines takes time. But if you stick with it — and maybe have someone else in your house hold you accountable to your commitments — you’ll start to get better sleep and have more energy to take on the day in no time.

Have a LAUGH

Spooky Strawberry Ghosts

These adorable chocolate-dipped strawberry ghosts will be the stars of your Halloween party!

Inspired by Candiquik.com

Ingredients

• • •

16 oz white chocolate, chopped

24 strawberries

1 package mini dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the white chocolate at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove it and stir, then repeat the process until melted. 2. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper. 3. One by one, dip the strawberries into the melted white chocolate and set them on the parchment. Allow the extra chocolate to pool to form a “tail” effect. 4. Before the chocolate coating fully cools, add three mini chocolate chips to each berry to form two eyes and a mouth. 5. Let chocolate set, then serve your spooky snacks!

561-810-0170 • 3

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

1601 Forum Pl. Ste. 1101 West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Yoga Brings Peace to the Mind, Body, and Soul page 1

The Best Mental Health Apps You Can Use From Home

Meeting Our Team: Kyla Galter page 2

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Spooky Strawberry Ghosts page 3 When ‘Star Wars’ Invaded Halloween page 4

The Spooky ‘Star Wars’ Shortage of 1977

A long time ago … in October of 1977 to be exact, Halloween was fast approaching and many parents faced a major dilemma. That year, kids didn’t want to go trick-or- treating dressed as vampires, witches, or ghosts. The classic costumes simply wouldn’t do. That Halloween, almost every child in the United States wanted to dress as their favorite character from the new hit movie, “Star Wars.” Today, you can walk into a Halloween City on Oct. 30 and easily pick up a costume for Rey, Darth Vader, or Princess Leia. But in 1977, less than five months after the release of the first movie in the popular franchise, getting your hands on “Star Wars” merchandise was a bit more difficult. Ben Cooper, a costume company in Brooklyn, had the foresight to license “Star Wars” for costumes right after the movie came out. Unfortunately, they didn’t foresee how great the demand for these costumes would be.

selling more “Star Wars” costumes than pumpkins. Kids who got their hands on an authentic Han Solo or C-3PO costume were considered lucky. But kids who arrived at the store to find the costume shelves empty didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, they went and found some brown towels to make their own Chewbacca costumes. In the current age of cosplay, homemade costumes based on movie characters are commonplace, but in 1977, this was uncharted territory. Kids searched for white dresses to be Princess Leia and bathrobes they could cut short to mimic Luke Skywalker. Moms everywhere broke out their sewing machines and created costumes using only action figures for reference. It was grueling work, but it showed how much kids wanted to spend Halloween in a galaxy far, far away. The “Star Wars” costume shortage marked a new era for Halloween — one where making your own costume was just as cool, if not better, than buying it.

Retailers across the country were selling out of “Star Wars” costumes as fast as they came in. Some stores reported

4 • BrucePA.com