Stress in the workplace

September 19th, 2007

I’m a reporter with Investor’s Business Daily. I write the “News For You” column, which gives practical advice to our readers.
Does the Institute have any statistics or studies to show that more business people are meditating as a way to relieve stress? I gather this may be a slight trend, but I need to cite some fact to support this.Thanks for your help.
Morey Stettner

Dear Morey,
Thanks for writing. I’m the co-founder of The Institute for Applied Meditation; I’ve also had a long career in business, including serving as the VP at a mutual fund company in Boston. I read IBD occasionally, and it’s an honor to have this contact with someone from such a respected paper.

Those who come to our Institute are primarily business people. I teach a few thousand people a year. Beyond the numbers, Morey, I have some qualitative information. You might be interested to know that there are two different directions in meditation, and their physiological effects are quite different. What most people know is the “Upward” type of meditation, popularized by “T.M.”, “The Relaxation Response” of Dr. Herbert Benson and “Insight Meditation” from Buddhism. The aim in upward meditation is to transcend the body, and the effect is that circulation is reduced, Heart Rate Variability is increased, and generally the body is abandoned to fend for itself. The feeling is one of lightness and disembodied awareness.

The other type of meditation is “Downward”. This is explained in detail on page 32 of my book, Living from the Heart.

In downward meditation, awareness is held in the body by concentrating on sensation. Consequently, circulation is increased, Heart Rate Variability is reduced (the heartbeat is steadier), and the feeling is one of centered power and magnetism. Downward meditation was developed much later than upward meditation, nurtured by the mystics of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and modern day science. The focus of downward meditation is the nexus of the heart (circulation system), the thymus gland (endocrine system) and the cardiac plexus (nervous system), all roughly in the middle of the chest.

A scientific group that is doing work on heart-based meditation is The Institute of HeartMath.

The practical difference of these two directions in meditation is that when presented with stress, downward meditation increases the body’s ability to handle stress, whereas T.M. and other upward meditations produce detachment from the stress. For example, in a medical experiment, my right arm was packed in ice to cause physical stress. (Page 60 in my book) But I experienced no stress because my arm got hot from the meditation and when my arm was pulled out of the ice, it was bright red. In contrast, the subjects using Relaxation Response had pain from the freezing ice, and white arms. So there are two ways to deal with stress exemplified by these meditations: detach from the stressor (upward meditation) or reorganize bodily energy to counter the stressor (downward meditation). A third method is the “fight” response: increase adrenaline and consequently heart rate.

This is a very important distinction for business people who want to relieve stress. The “fight” response is undesirable because the adrenaline rush is hard on the body, leads to very short-term thinking, and wears off slowly, perhaps hours after leaving work, so one takes the stress home. The “flight” response is also undesirable because it takes one out of the moment and de-emphasizes the importance of the stressor, leading to disassociated aloofness. The heart-centered approach is unique in its ability to increase the capacity for stress without raising adrenaline levels.

When I taught meditation to senior executives at Citibank, this practical approach held the appeal. The Division Head told me, “I don’t want to reduce their stress; I want them to increase their capacity.” The philosophy of upward meditation is at odds with business philosophy, and that’s what will always limit its applicability in the business world. Businesspeople know that life is not an illusion and the goal is not detachment. Financial responsibility is a sacred trust. We don’t want to avoid or escape anything; we want more energy to apply to that work that we care about passionately. The heart has an incredible store of energy; using it gives one a powerful advantage. That’s what we teach.

The President of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) wrote an endorsement on the back of my book. Now the ASTD has annual conferences on spirituality and business. I know that meditation is being used more broadly than ever, but the meditation techniques that are most popular are designed to give relief, like a retreat, instead of marshalling greater creativity, courage, clarity and calm focus for the problem at hand.

Morey, please let me know how I can help you. Maybe the best way would be to teach you the method of “Heart Rhythm Practice,” the topic of my book. There is also a webcourse on this that is quite effective.

Good luck on your research on this important topic.

Puran Bair

Entry Filed under: Health, Meditation