By: Nancy Gentle Boudrie

What do AstraZeneca, Google, Rebok, and Dunkin’ Brands have in common? All have offered meditation programs to employees to improve their wellness as well as the company’s business edge, according to the Canadian Business Journal and the LA Times.

The turbulent economy, ever-present fear of job cuts and the demand to do much more with less has made fear and stress rampant in the workplace. This increased stress takes its toll on physical health, family and leisure time as well as business productivity.

Research has demonstrated that a twice daily meditation practice reduces cortisol, the hormone that causes stress. Once individuals tap into their inner calm through meditation, they can become responsive instead of reactive to their environment. This leads to sharpened focus and better decision-making. Perhaps most important, workplace meditation gives individuals an increased ability to identify and compartmentalize tension thus stopping it from spilling over into family and personal life.

For companies, meditation offers more than a sense of employee well being. When employees feel better, organizations benefit by increased productivity, greater efficiency and reduced absenteeism. For example, three years after employees of a Detroit chemical manufacturing plant were offered a meditation program, absenteeism fell by 85 percent, productivity increased 120 percent and injuries dropped 70 percent, according to the LA Times.

Google reports that its meditation program has strengthened employee’s business skills such as conducting difficult conversations and developing trust in teams, according to the Canadian Business Journal. An article in Business Week suggests that because meditation helps clear and focus the mind, employees who practice mindfulness may make fewer mistakes.

Awaken With Light offers affordable onsite corporate meditation programs that can be tailored to meet organizational needs. Each session begins with an exercise to center breathing. First, attendees learn to observe their breathing and then learn several breathing techniques. Next, attendees experience a guided meditation. The end of each session features an uplifting reflection so attendees depart with uplifting thought pattern.

Attendees are encouraged to bring water and a journal to capture thoughts and ideas created during each session. Both beginners and “mindfulness veterans” will benefit from the workshops. No prior experience is necessary.

A daily meditation practice of twenty minutes, twice a day is all it takes to begin feeling the effects of stress reduction. Contact us at Awaken With Light to design a program to improve the wellbeing of your employees as well as your business edge.

Nancy is a Reiki Master and Teacher and certified Transformation Meditiation instructor and provider. She is committed to enhancing the quality of life in others by illuminating the path to self-disovery, wellness and postive living. As a business owner, mother of two and former insurance company president, Nancy understands the demands and stresses created by today’s hurried world.

Nancy Gentle Boudrie
Awaken With Light, Inc.
15 Green Street, Downingtown, PA 19335
484-252-1150
www.AwakenWithLight.com

Testimonials:
“Nancy Gentle Boudrie has helped me become happier, more fulfilled and thankful than I have ever been in my life. She has provided resources for further exploration beyond her personal teaching and mentoring. With each session, my amazement grows as the clarity and sense of peace I experience continues to expand. By all means, connect with Nancy and find out for yourself how much your quality of life can improve. You will be truly grateful you did!”
~ Nancy Lynn Cotter, CEO and Coalition
Partnership Director at Self Worth Coalition

“Since starting my meditation classes with Nancy I have experienced a calmer state of mind and have a deeper feeling of peace and well-being. Participating in Nancy’s 45 minute to 1 hour class is one of the highlights of my week. In the past two months since starting with Nancy I have been more focused in my work and at the same time, more relaxed at home with my kids in the evening. Her class is time well spent.”
~ Jerry Moye, Senior Branch Manager,
Liberty Mutual Insurance