We’re just back from three weeks in Ireland.

We have a little place we go on a hillside overlooking the North Atlantic in County Cork. There is a rolling pasture. Some cows. A few farmers. A dog or two. There is no traffic, no hustle, no bustle; and other than a bit of birdsong and bee buzzing, there is no noise at all. In fact, it’s so quiet that you can hear your own ears ring.

We go to stop the madness.

You know what I’m talkin’ about.  Most of us live lives that are stuck in fast-forward: places to go, things to do, kids to run around, businesses to build, bosses to please, clients to serve, things to create. And, oh yes, the bills to pay and the emails to read and the voice messages to return and the errands that need doing and the yard work that piles up. All good stuff.  For the most part. And yet, even the onslaught of good stuff can feel like a deluge if we don’t, from time to time…

Stop the madness.

I was on the phone with a client of mine this week, a human resource manger.  She shared with me how “under water,” and completely “buried” she feels with her workload; how she can’t possibly balance all that she needs to do… and is expected to do.

She’s not alone.

The evidence is incontrovertible that stress and overwhelm are endemic. Employers and the world expect more and more for less and less.

And here’s the problem: chronic stress and overwhelm compromise our immune systems, drastically decrease our productivity, and negatively impact both corporate profits… and our own bottom lines.

There is a ray of hope: This week Ariana Huffington will be co-hosting CNBC’s Squawk Box, one of the network’s flagship financial programs, with Mark Bertolini, the CEO of Aetna, the country’s third largest health insurer. They’re going to discuss “the growing trend in corporate America of taking steps – meditation, yoga, mindfulness trainings – to reduce stress and improve health and creativity.”

TG. It’s about time!

Apparently there is – finally – an emerging recognition that these “soft” topics should no longer be relegated to the realm of “voodoo economics,” but rather treated as the serious risks to corporate, and yes individual, wellness that they are.

It has long been challenging for me as a leadership trainer and business coach to pitch to a group of professionals or execs – especially physicians and attorneys – the need to slow down; the necessity of going “off the grid,” the obligation we have to ourselves to be attentive and mindful. The professional world is hard-driving, achievement orientated; evaluated in terms of sales figures, hours billed, productivity… and dollars. Those who want (or need) a “break,” those who want (or need) to stand, even for a moment, beyond the fray, are perceived as weak. And in this model, the “weak” do not inherit the earth.

But the “cost-benefit” analysis has been done. And the verdict is in: We can’t keep running our tanks dry. We lose our resiliency. We diminish our creativity. We damage our health. (And profits suffer!)

Our emotional wellness is, in fact, a core component of who we are and how we relate to the world.

So people: yoga and meditation are mainstream; they’re “in.”  Those of you who have craved – and lobbied for – a saner way of life: you’re legit! You get to stop from time to time; you need to stop from time to time… Even (especially) if you wear a suit. And if you’re in a leadership position, it is essential that you see that your flock is getting “fed.”

As a closet practitioner of Vipassana for the last 18 years, I can finally come clean. As a trainer and coach, I have some hope.

And whatever it is you need to do for yourself, it’s time to stop the madness. (I can show you how!) It’s not a weakness. It’s your strength.