There is a certain stereotype about business executives — they thrive on stress, sometimes to the breaking point. But big business is trying to find ways to calm down their leadership, aside from the problematic stress reducers of alcohol and pills.

Maria Gonzalez typifies this change. She was, up until fairly recently, an executive with the Bank of Montreal. Today, though, she is teaching classes in Toronto’s business district.

Her students are some of those other stressed out executives, from Toronto and other parts of Canada. She teaches them meditation, although not of a New Age variety. Instead, she teaches them to take a few moments at their desks and meditate there. She encourages the practice as a way to develop focus and to relieve the stress of the work day, pointing to examples like Tiger Woods.

Gonzalez has testimonial after testimonial from pleased executives. Many have reported increased abilities to focus, as well as being more alert in general. Plenty of academic studies back up Gonzalez’s abilities. Meditation is known to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as improve concentration.

Not all executives are comfortable about announcing their newfound meditative natures. Meditation’s hippie roots can be offsetting for the executive who wants to be known as a shark, rather than as the mellow guy in the corner office.

Whether or not their executives admit it, though, big corporations are embracing new approaches, like offering meditation classes to employees, that create a working environment with lower stress. It looks like big business is finally deciding that high-stress environments (and executives who have heart attacks at age 45) aren’t as productive as they thought.

by Thursday Bram

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