Headshots for Professor, Consultant, Coach, Lawyer, and Yoga Teacher
I asked professor, consultant, coach, lawyer, and yoga teacher Kara Perry to share a bit about her journey during our photoshoot last December.
“The transformation in the last two years has been pretty substantial and courageous. I call it my midlife awakening. I went from corporate attorney to yoga teacher, laughter yoga leader, and personal development coach. Then I got back into law as a consultant and professor teaching a collaborative approach to negotiation and dispute resolution that incorporates contemplative practices. I started my own company focused on attorney well-being and helping others create a more expansive foundation for their lives.”
Like many, Kara was forced to pause and take time to examine her life during the pandemic. She used that time to find clarity instead of just getting through the week.
“Looking back now, I would tell my younger self to breathe deeply more often. I didn’t appreciate mindfulness before, but now I practice taking a pause and appreciate the little moments. I like thinking of life as a dance, as opposed to a journey. I always thought there was some destination I'd be happier at – some job or some place. The word journey feels so one directional. When you dance, you’re not trying to get to a spot, you’re enjoying the experience.”
“Second, I would tell myself to be kinder to myself. My new form of self-care is to talk to myself the way I talk to my dog and laugh a lot more. Life doesn’t have to be so serious. That’s how I got into laughter yoga.”
Now, Kara calls herself the laughing, lunging lawyer. “After all the self-reflection, I designed my new life and became a yoga instructor. I never thinking I’d go back into the legal world, but it was through the personal development program, Lifebook, and my teacher training that I began thinking about ways awareness, mindfulness and living more consciously could be incorporated into the law.”
Kara became part of the integrative law movement – an emerging worldwide movement to create a legal system that grants dignity and voice to everyone in the legal system, crafting values-based, creative, sustainable, and holistic solutions that build and strengthen relationships.
“I wanted to bring all this self-reflection into the legal work I was doing – to show up as my whole self, using my logical left brain and creative right brain (not necessarily showing up in yoga pants and a blazer, although it’s crossed my mind), and to see the whole person in the legal system, not just an adversary across the table. I became certified as a Conscious Contracts® practitioner focusing on the relational foundation of contracts and creatively resolving conflicts. I started my own company focused on attorney well-being and helping others create a more expansive foundation for happier, healthier lives.”
Thanks, Kara, for reminding me to pause, breathe, and enjoy the little things in life.
To learn more about Kara and her services, click here.