Yoga and Business

Yoga for Business People: Lifetime Habit

Mr. La Forge (Yoga Trainer) suspects that because the mind-body exercises typically are easier to pursue, executives have a better chance of making a lifetime habit of them. To see if his opinion is correct, he launched a five-year study of 110 middle- and upper-level executives in companies in the US. He tracks their exercise habits to see if those incorporating mind-body techniques stick with the program longer.

Devotees say the mind-body exercise regimen has a payoff in the workplace, as well.
Barry Moltz, 36, founder and CEO of CHTech International, a mail-order distributor of computer hardware and software, started doing Yoga a year ago to balance the pressures of growing a business and starting a family. He still works out in a gym and commutes to work on his bicycle, but he also meditates in the half-lotus position for 15 or 20 minutes at night after his two young children have gone to sleep.

He says that many of his friends, also in their mid-30s, have been also getting interested in the mind-body connection and the ways it can improve their lives, both at work and at home.

”I think the toughest part about running a company is that there are so many demands on your time. When I meditate, it really allows me to relax and focus all my energies in one place,” he says. ”Now when I am involved in a meeting, I can be immersed in that meeting instead of thinking about 15 other things. And people really respond when you are totally focused on just them.”

The pressures of the job say you should not be satisfied where you are today. You can never feel like you have achieved anything because it is very elusive. Yoga and meditation allows you to be happier and more effective in what you are doing now.

Yoga for Business People: Do Not Get Distracted From your Goal

Suresh Nigam, chairman of MetJet, one of the leading trainers of computer hardware engineers in India, not only practices yoga but also preaches it at his 35 centers. So what is it about yoga and why is Suresh doing it? At the heart of it is something, which translates as the stoppage of mind modification. For example, when we hear music we get distracted. We must stay aware and conscious but not get distracted from our goal.

How then does yoga, an ancient, essentially private practice, help in the work environment? Suresh believes that the collective is an entity, just as much as an individual is. If individuals are happy, calm and alert, then the collective consciousness is harmonious and dynamic and will produce better results. If people are tense and unhappy, it will reflect in their reduced productivity.

At MetJet all managers and employees are sent to the Yoga Institute at Santa Cruz (in Mumbai) which was founded in 1989. During the training, the managers are shown a path, how to be in control of your mind and not to run after sensual pleasures. You also learn not to run away from your responsibilities. The root cause of pain and suffering is generally ignorance which leads to a grandiose sense of self-importance and misunderstanding. We love and hate in extremes. By being aware, by getting up and finding out what is actually happening, we reduce stress. Once you are aware of what is going on, you have already won half the battle. And that is why some employers think it’s so important to make their staff aware of the yoga principles and harmony and have a work environment which promotes healthy employee morale.

Stress and Yoga: Find the Life Changing Connection

Every one of us goes through times of distress in our lives, where we experience the highs and lows, anxiety, and prolonged stress. This stress can definitely have a negative impact on your health and cause other major problems.
Stress that has been developing for a long time can cause your health to rapidly deteriorate since the stress related hormones, such as cortisol get released into your blood stream, affecting your metabolism. Not only that, but when you are stressed out, your blood pressure, heart and breathing rates also shoot up.
However, the good news is, you can work around and overpower the negative effect stress has on your body through Yoga. When you practice Yoga, its easy breathing exercises help you relax and unwind. To bring a change in your mental as well as physical state, these exercises make it easier for you to improve emotional well-being. Once you get involved with your Yoga practice, you will start seeing positive changes in your body, right from a decreased heart rate to normal blood pressure.

By practicing Yoga regularly you increase your chances of improving your overall health as you experience better relaxation.
Once you start seeing Yoga in a more serious light, you will notice that it covers many areas that can help you in bringing down your stress levels. Yoga has a dramatic effect on your brain waves and slows them down, which dramatically reduces stress and brings in mental peace. When you put in the effort to focus on various Yoga exercises, you will notice that your mind becomes calmer, as the activities which drive the brain waves are reduced. Stress and the brain wave activity are highly correlated, and when they are out of control there are responsible for causing havoc in you.

Although Yoga is very old, medical science has started to view Yoga in a new light only recently and has started to understand the connection between the mind and body. Therefore, your stress can definitely be effectively managed through Yoga and you will start seeing the positive changes gradually. You just need to make a commitment to yourself and learn more how Yoga can help you with your stress problems and how it will make you a better, calm person overall.

Practicing Hatha Yoga for a Better Life

The origins of Hatha Yoga go back to as early as 15th century. It started in India as an exercise to purify the body along with the mind. Hatha Yoga is based on a principle that a strong balance has to be achieved among mental, emotional, physical and spiritual states. Basically, it emphasizes that these states should be in harmony with sun, moon, earth and water.

The key aspects on which Hatha Yoga is based are listed below:

• Prayanamas – the focus controls the energy levels, a crucial element of Hatha Yoga.
• Asana – is about various postures that are in a way similar to the poses of Tai Chi.
• Chakras – are the energy centers.
• Mudras – are symbols similar to the ones used in Tai Chi.
• Shakti – a strong, sacred force.
• Nadis – are the channels.

Asanas, which are also referred to as “sun signs”, are comprised of movements that are practiced and performed, with the emphasis on focus and concentration, so the practitioner can get the most out of it. Since Hath Yoga practitioners use the asanas consistently in their practice, they tend to find a new sense of strength and a high level of physical balance.

One can derive a number of benefits from Hatha Yoga, including an improvement in the overall health and sense of being complete. When the body and the mind are at ease and balanced through the practice of Hatha Yoga, a feeling of wholeness arises from within, bringing an individual to peace with himself, resulting in lower levels of stress.

Meditation also happens to be one of the earliest forms of self-realization. Looking deep within our subconscious we can uncover vast amounts of knowledge and inspiring ideas, which are often wiped away by the conscious mind. The solution to this is to bring the mind to state of calmness and appropriately posture your body to achieve the best results. This is what Hatha Yoga preaches and teaches, and this is what forms the core of the whole exercise.