Mindfulness for Creativity and Critical Thinking

Lilli Markle

Director Of Business Development and Full-Time Yoga Teacher

Teaching the practice of mindfulness is always rewarding.
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​Witnessing the calm, grounded transformation of your corporate students,  and also gratification to see when the practices is immediately taken into the context of the setting of work where it’s meant to be done.

Forbes’ HQ in Jersey City is a bright and clean spacious office overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

You can even see the Statue of Liberty from one of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the reception area. Just what you’d expect to see from a creative digital media powerhouse.

The sophisticated leather couches with colorful pillows and high-top hover tables for spontaneous discussion.

Gaming break rooms and open floor plan desks, Forbes employees get to experience a bit of startup culture daily.
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And thanks to their Head of Product & Tech, they look forward to a mindfulness lunch led by a hOM Instructor.

Most of the practitioners attending are beginners of mindfulness, with a little experience of guided meditation at the end of a yoga class.

​The employees are often from different departments. The Creatives with Engineering coming together and even the department heads drop in on a session when their schedule allows it. ​

Most say it’s a welcome break in the stacked workday and they look forward to feeling more energized and focused after practicing mindfulness.

The unexpected and most applicable benefits, including increased ability for problem solving, experienced after a mindfulness session are the most rewarding as a teacher.

On one occasion , after concluding one of the monthly mindfulness lunches, some employees came to a realization during meditation or, as instructor Lilli Markle likes to call ‘a moment of clarity’.  

​While eating gourmet pizza personally delivered by the department head himself, the group launched into a discussion about the organization of meeting structures and how they could become more efficient, which eventually led to the re-organization of desks and hover spaces.

The relaxed state of stillness between thoughts is a breeding ground for creative and critical thinking.
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And the quiet space and inquisitive space held by the facilitator was an effective tool for the workplace productivity, camaraderie and employee leadership.

Of course Forbes has some of the best content on Mindfulness at the workplace.

Check out more benefits of mindfulness in the workplace here: A Guide to Mindfulness of Work

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Book a mindfulness lunch for your office today and ignite creativity and critical thinking!

Lunch Time Meditation