Yoga and meditation has more benefits than just greater posture and flexibility
Recently I completed my 200 hours yoga teacher training. Over the last 15 years I have discovered the huge benefits of yoga in managing my career and business and raising a family with two very active sons. I have been running Mondo Search Executive business for the last 25 years and the last 2 years have been probably the toughest years that I have seen, as the war for talent increases and the business landscape is dramatically evolving. Yet my sense of peace, well being and calmness has increased. It might be with age that I have learnt not to catastrophy as I have seen the highs and lows of the economic cycles but I truly believe my daily routine of doing yoga has significantly helped me.
Recently at a global recruitment NPA conference with our executive global recruiting alliance partners I met one business owner from the Philippines who had been running her business for 20 years, Nerissa Reyes of Avante People. This lady seemed so energised and delighted in her business, like it was the first day of a start up. I asked her secret and ironically she said yoga! Nerissa said “I used to have severe back pain due to work pressure. The doctors had done surgery to ease the back pain; it was to no avail until I discovered the POWER OF YOGA.
Yoga is the connection of mind to body and in our busy worlds where we so often run so fast with mobile phones, email and social media, we do have time to ” defrag” the brain. Prince Ea recently cited in his book called “can we autocorrect humanity” that the average person spends 4 years of their life looking at their phone . There are also recent studies showing that 15 minutes of meditation has more dopamine and ” happy emotions” released than an antidepressant tablet. So naturally it makes sense to consider yoga and meditation to support you in your everyday life.
5 Ways that I have found that yoga keeps me Sane in Business:
1. Yoga reduces Stress by triggering the Relaxation Response.
This is achieved through conscious breathing, practicing poses, learning relaxation techniques, and meditation. The antidote to the stress response is the relaxation response, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system. More importantly, yoga teaches us how to remain peaceful in the face of discomfort and challenge. We learn the art of surrender to hold a painful pose and breathe – learning how to sit in pain is critical to building resilience in the workplace as not all days are amazing!
2. Yoga helps us pay attention and sleep well
Many people notice that they are more physically, mentally and emotionally self-aware. Often, this self-awareness begins by paying attention to our breath and all its habits. Then, we move to our thought cycles, and finally, to where we hold tension in our bodies. I have learnt through yoga, how to switch off my mind at sleep time and my sleep has really improved. A rested employee is 85% more effectual!
3. Yoga heals our bodies and minds.
The poses, conscious breathing and visualization serve as therapy to reduce physical pain, as well as emotional anxiety. Yoga allows us to free our emotions in poses and has a massive impact on our well being. Feeling a sense of emotional freedom is a great place to be whilst working!
4.Yoga reminds us to take one moment at a time. Don’t judge, just observe.
We observe our thoughts when we do yoga and begin to take responsibility for our inner dialogue. It teaches us to simply observe and not judge – some days you will balance well and other days you will wobble wildly. Just observe and don’t judge yourself. A workplace full of judgement and gossip is toxic – learning to observe is a healthy business behaviour. Learning to pause is powerful.
5. Yoga allows us to be playful and curious /childlike. The childlike fun of yoga is like child’s play. Recently I observed my surf club yoga class, all ages 28 – 68 all helping each other with leg poses up the wall! As adults we spend too much time in our heads being serious and responsible. Yoga brings back child’s play. The more playful we are, the more people will gravitate to our energy.
Neoteny – is ageing yet retaining the childlike behaviour traits of spontaneity, creativity and a sense of wonder!
Certainly, the yogic benefits go beyond this list…in my experience, yoga can help us to experience the best life ever and bring this to our workplace and home lives.
Simone Allan
Simone@mondosearch.com.au 1300 737917
