His venture Stress Relief Choices is going so well he is now mentoring a cross-section of professionals from civil servants to entertainer.

Piers, originally from Portsmouth, worked in the City for years. His search for a more peaceful life led him into voluntary work in Ghana, and later to a Thai-Buddhist monastery in Northumberland where he experienced ancient calming techniques.

"Work did get pretty stressful," said Piers. "There was a lot of pressure on me, so I started to learn about meditation."

When Piers returned to the world of work he joined global company Kimberly-Clark, which makes Kleenex tissues.

It was there that he started running after-work classes following requests from stressed colleagues and formed the basis for his business idea.

Piers uses the breathtaking scenery of Hebden Bridge to run his Balanced Executive sessions.

He said: "I take people into nature and teach them how to meditate.

"It's like tai chi. In a nature setting a lot of people have childhood memories.

"It's very powerful. I've learned it over 11 years. For me, it's my passion.

"I've worked in the City and I've been in a monastery.

"I took that experience and energy into the business."

Piers's reputation has reached Doncaster Council – which is now sending its workers to some of his sessions.

He said: "Having stressed people at works affects everyone else.

"It's all about how you receive a situation. The course is about bringing balance to where there is no balance."

He said last year there were 60,000 Google searches for the word "stress" – this year there have been 200,000.