Episode 05 - Meditation for Busy Leaders: How Michael Miller Uses Vedic Practice to Reduce Stress and Gain Time
This week on The Lift, Ben is joined by meditation expert and teacher Michael Miller, founder of New York Meditation Center and London Meditation Center (and the first person to teach Ben to meditate 15 years ago).
Key takeaways:
Why practicing real meditation over simply going for a run is more powerful for stress relief and anxiety management
There are three main types of meditation, with Vedic meditation being ideal for busy, high-performing leaders
How a twice-daily 20-minute practice can improve sleep, reduce anxiety, and actually create more time in your day
Why most meditation apps and monk-style techniques don’t stick for people with jobs, families, and real-world responsibilities
How meditation helps executives show up as more present, creative, and emotionally regulated leaders at work and at home
Why becoming a “net giver” (not a “net taker”) starts with stabilizing your own nervous system first
This week, Michael Miller unpacks a big claim: the right kind of meditation doesn’t just help leaders feel calmer – it can actually give them more time back in their day.
When Ben met Michael, he was leaving a demanding corporate job and needed something that would help him manage anxiety, stay focused, and show up more powerfully for his next chapter. The practice Michael taught him – Vedic meditation – has been a daily anchor ever since.
Michael starts by debunking a line most leaders have heard (or said) at some point: “Running is my meditation.” Yes, intense exercise can quiet the mind temporarily as your nervous system finally gets to complete its fight-or-flight loop and you get a brief sense of relief. But that’s not the same as accessing a deep, restorative state that rewires your baseline for stress, focus, and emotional regulation.
From there, Michael breaks down the three main categories of meditation in clear, practical terms:
Concentration/focused attention: Trying not to think, staring at a candle flame, forcing the mind to stay on one object. It “works,” but it’s hard work and often leaves people feeling like they “can’t meditate.”
Open monitoring/mindfulness: Classic app-guided practices (watching the breath, feeling your feet on the floor, noticing thoughts like clouds in the sky). Helpful, but highly dependent on external guidance and often difficult to sustain in a stress-heavy life.
Automatic self-transcendence (Vedic meditation): The technique Michael teaches. You use a personalized mantra that gently attracts the mind inward. The mantra becomes subtler, thoughts quiet down, and you naturally “transcend” thinking into a state of pure awareness. No forcing, no concentration.
Vedic meditation, he explains, was designed for householders: people with jobs, families, and responsibilities, not monks living in caves. Instead of needing hours of practice or multiple 10-day retreats, this technique is done 20 minutes twice a day, eyes closed, anywhere you can sit. It’s meant to fit into a busy schedule and deliver a clear ROI on time and energy.
Michael shares his own before-and-after story. While working at Variety magazine in a relentless, deadline-driven environment, he was constantly wired and anxious. After learning Vedic meditation, he noticed he was sleeping better, feeling less anxious, and thinking more clearly – all without changing jobs or moving to a monastery. The anxiety “vibration” that used to run in the background started to quiet down.
Ben echoes this with his own experience as a CEO and executive coach. His morning meditation helps him start the day grounded and intentional. The afternoon or early evening meditation is often the difference between “I just need to go home and shut down” and actually enjoying a client dinner, a date, or a walk with his dog. Instead of reaching for extra alcohol or scrolling to numb out, he finds he has the capacity to be present.
Michael also addresses why most meditation apps don’t stick. Research he cites shows that 95% of users stop using an app within a month, and that most people complete only a handful of sessions. It’s not that apps are bad; it’s that techniques designed for renunciates (or for short-term relaxation) don’t translate well into the lives of overstretched leaders trying to juggle real-world constraints. In contrast, people who learn Vedic meditation in person quickly see the benefits, which makes it much easier to keep going.
The conversation then zooms out into leadership. Meditation isn’t just about feeling calmer for your own sake; it changes how you show up for others:
You have more space between stimulus and response, so you’re less likely to snap, shut down, or overreact
You’re more present and creative, which makes you better at complex problem-solving and decision-making under pressure
You can be a more consistent and emotionally regulated leader for your team, your family, and your broader community
Michael frames it as a question of impact: In a stressed, reactive world, are you a net giver or a net taker? If you’re constantly depleted, your presence drains others, even if your intentions are good. When you regularly reset your nervous system and reconnect with your deeper self, you’re able to give more attention, clarity, patience, and creativity – all without burning out.
The episode closes with practical pointers. Michael shares how listeners can learn more through his and Jillian Lavender’s work at the New York Meditation Center and the London Meditation Center, and why “well begun is half done” when it comes to choosing a technique and a teacher. Ben concurs: if you’re serious about leadership growth, mental health, and sustainable performance, meditation isn’t a luxury. It’s a core tool in your leadership toolkit.
If you’ve ever thought “I’m too busy to meditate,” this conversation might flip that script – and help you see how the right practice can give you back more time, presence, and capacity than it takes.
