Last month, I attended my fourth meditation retreat with teacher (and, for her sins, a former lawyer) Kate Cliff in the beautiful Byron Bay hinterland.
I’ve maintained a regular meditation practice for several years now. It’s not something I tend to share widely, particularly in a professional setting, but lately I’ve started to question why.
As lawyers, we value sharp minds. We prize clarity of thought. We operate in high-performance environments. Yet since my early days in the profession, I’ve come across countless studies highlighting that lawyers experience disproportionately high levels of burnout, stress, and mental health challenges, the very opposite of clarity and sustained performance.
As one colleague once put it, we expect our minds to perform like Ferraris while treating them like freight trains.
Meditation is a structured, deliberate practice that improves mental clarity. It’s well-documented as a tool for managing stress and supporting mental health. In many ways, it does for the mind what exercise and nutrition do for the body.
I now see my practice as foundational to how I perform at work.
If others view meditation through a similar lens, I’d love to hear your experience.
And if you’re curious about what happens when a lawyer develops ancient Jedi-like skills*, Kate Cliff is well worth connecting with. She’s running another retreat soon and I believe it can qualify as CPD.
*Disclaimer: No meditation practice I’m aware of is officially affiliated with the Jedi Order, and I have not (yet) achieved levitation” ~ Kate Minogue
Join the next Vedic Meditation retreat with expert teacher Kate Cliff The Byron Bay Retreat 3-6 August. Learn more here.
