Michael Miller, co-founder of New York Meditation Center, joins Ropes & Gray’s Culture & Compliance Chronicles podcast to discuss how meditation supports clear thinking in high-pressure environments.

Ropes & Gray’s Culture & Compliance Chronicles podcast examines questions of culture, risk and decision-making. For this episode, hosts Amanda Raad, Nitish Upadhyaya and Richard Bistrong turn their attention to meditation.

Amanda is a Ropes & Gray partner whose work spans crisis management, investigations and anti-corruption. Richard is an ethics and compliance consultant and CEO of Front-Line Anti-Bribery, while Nitish is Ropes & Gray’s Director of Behavioral Insights.

Amanda and Richard have both learned Vedic Meditation with Michael, so they bring personal experience to the conversation.

Amanda admits that she once considered herself “one of the least likely meditators.” Meditation apps had left her frustrated, but learning the technique properly changed her view completely. She now describes meditation as her “secret sauce.”

For Richard, the practice has changed how he deals with pressure:

“It has given me the discipline to just buy enough time to really think about what the issues are, to be more present, to be more thoughtful, and to be more kind.”

The conversation gets into a concern familiar to anyone with a packed schedule: if you already feel short of time, how can you give up 20 minutes twice a day to meditate?

Michael explains that the value is found in what happens during the rest of the day. The deep rest gained in meditation leaves us with more energy and a clearer sense of what needs our attention. We become less reactive and better equipped to make decisions when the pressure is on.

He also discusses the neuroscience behind Vedic Meditation, including what stress does to the brain and body and why regular meditation changes how we respond to it.

Listen to the episode and read the full transcript