HUFFINGTON
08.04.13
CORPORATE ZEN
Coke and a candy bar, relying on a
sugar rush. The pounds she added
while pregnant never went away.
Then, she began going to company-subsidized aerobics classes
held in the Mind and Body studio
in the basement of the research
and development building.
“It was amazing,” Kubly says.
“It motivated me and made me
healthier and more energetic.”
She stopped snacking, began eating more fruits and vegetables at
home, and dropped 15 pounds. She
began sleeping better and feeling
less stressed throughout the day.
Her cholesterol improved. Her high
blood pressure returned to normal.
How does one measure these
impacts to Promega’s business?
The accounting is more art than
science. But Kubly says she sees a
doctor less frequently and brings
greater energy to her work.
Soon, she began going to meditation classes. On a recent Thursday afternoon, she’s among the six
women being led in deep breathing by instructor Joyce Lyle.
“If at any point during our meditation you feel yourself losing focus,
like you feel the workday creeping
back in, the breath is always available,” Lyle says. “The breath can
anchor us into the moment.”
I ABSOLUTELY
DO THINK IT
HELPS THE
BOTTOM LINE.
WHEN PEOPLE
ARE MORE
ENGAGED,
THEY’RE MORE
COLLABORATIVE.
The women in the room have
assumed the lotus position atop
cushions stacked on their mats.
“Let those sitting bones sink
down,” the instructor says. “And
now the shoulders that have
been holding so much today, just
let them relax.”
She turns off the music. “Notice
your breath,” she says.
In this room inside this company that makes its money deriving
products from the ticking engine
of life itself, everything is still.
“It just helps you feel at
peace,” Kubly says later, back at
her cubicle. “I always leave and
have this tremendous
sense of clarity.”
Peter S. Goodman is the executive
business editor of The Huffington Post.