Complementary wellness and fitness fads come and go, but you can’t deny the sustained popularity of yoga. Now, this ancient practice may feed in to your corporate wellness, as more and more business are offering classes to employees in an effort to curb rising stress levels and boost productivity. However, even if your boss doesn’t fancy the downward-facing dog, there are still things you can take from the yoga mat and bring into the office.
According to the Dalai Lama, the key to good health is “peace of mind.” This is the basis of Yoga; true health and success are the products of mind-body synergy. If you take care of your body, you, in turn, take care of your mind. Happier people tend to have stronger immune systems, better sleep quality and increased longevity, and so you cannot avoid either side of the mind-body health equation if you want to sustain a high performance at work.
Another focus of yoga is on flexibility; leaning into the stretch without forcing your body to go beyond what it is capable of. Yoga encourages you to be mentally flexible, and to breath and let go rather than force your body. When it comes to the workplace, letting go and adapting to change is a vital ability to have when things don’t go to plan. You should be able to bend without breaking, and be prepared to let go of Plan A so that Plan B can bring a solution.
Yoga doesn’t have an end goal, rather, it emphasises the process of improvement. You may want to get things perfect at work, but how often does that happen? The strive for perfection can prevent you from accepting yourself as you are, and develop a fear of failure that will inhibit your creativity and productivity. For digital media professional Julie Jensen, letting go of perfection helped her to have a more purposeful and fulfilling career. According to Jensen, ‘I put undue pressure on myself that everything I did needed to be perfect. The trouble is, the “right path” is what others project for your life. Most of us try to survive within the construct that others have defined. Today, I focus less on “right” and more on “my” path – on the unique impact I am making on the world.’