Dominique Haijtema: Your mind is like a wild buffalo.” This comment from a Buddhist meditation leader in Sri Lanka struck a chord. When I first heard it years ago, though, it didn’t work for me to sit still and concentrate on my breathing. And today, I still can’t calm my head. The thoughts tumble over each other. Did I call back the client? Have the invoices been sent?

I sit in an uncomfortable chair in a beautiful classroom in Amsterdam’s center. It’s the first day of a 10-week course, “Resilience for Managers,” in which meditation exercises play an important role. The group of managers is diverse and comes from the business world and the government sector. The motivation for attending varies …