Sohum "signifies a divine connection with the universe"

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini

But not everyone believes that meditation and yoga are appropriate in the workplace. A recent article in The Harvard Business Review cautioned that “mindfulness is close to taking on cult status in the business world,” and it enumerated ways that a meditative disposition could backfire in the office. Stress can be a useful prompt to engage in critical thinking, noted the author, David Brendel, and is not something to retreat from through meditation. And even as Aetna and others chart what they say are the health benefits of mindfulness and yoga, not all researchers are convinced.

“The public enthusiasm for complementary health practices — and meditation in particular — is outpacing the scientific research,” said Willoughby Britton, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, who is studying the potential negative side effects of meditation. “Widespread implementation is premature.”

Mr. Bertolini has heard the critics, and takes pains not to impose yoga or meditation on any employees. (There are no incentives for workers to take the classes.) But he can’t help but champion both causes. They helped him come back from the abyss.

Reference: At Aetna, a CEO's Management by Mantra.

As in the preceding article, this one speaks to a life-changing, corporate-wide bridging between the spiritual and the workplace.  I find it to be a compelling shift in milieu not known to adopt anything even remotely esoteric.  But I highlight the above remarks, because it is important to acknowledge both sides of the story.  Not everyone is bought in, and many plead caution and call upon research.  Understandably so, yoga, mantra and mindfulness notwithstanding, it is a good idea for any CEO to be thoughtful about making such a shift.  Still Bertolini's near death experience is nothing to dismiss or discount vis-a-vis what we do and what is important to us in the workplace.