Starting your own business can be immensely stressful and the path is ridden with challenges. How can you reduce stress?
Women entrepreneurs can significantly reduce stress by using the practices of yoga and mindfulness. One glaring fact is that both meditation and yoga give you peace of mind and encourage you to be mindful. Most of our busy, modern lives are pretty distracting and tense. These two practices can actually help you slow down and be in the present. And, both yoga and meditation can support your well-being. Most people report feeling more balanced and uplifted after both activities.
The workplace, these days, has become most stressful; the fiercely competitive environment in the business universe, coupled with the pressure to meet deadlines keeps people busy on their toes. Moreover, people are working round the clock, especially now in the WFH mode. This builds up stress and has a direct impact on the productivity of teams and, consequently affects the ROI of the organization.
How can Yoga & Meditation help?
It’s great to do a yoga routine before or after work and stretch breaks are especially important and helpful for people who sit at a desk in front of a computer for long hours. It can result in back pain and neck pain. Just taking a few minutes to do stretches at your desk can relieve stress, increase productivity, and most importantly, makes you feel better.
Yoga and meditation actually improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure and heart rate too. Meditating one time a day for ten minutes can help you relax, reduce stress hormones, lower your blood pressure, and allow for better blood flow.
> Stress Buster
Stress affects our minds and bodies in many more ways than we can even imagine. A short time – a few minutes of daily yoga can help you release stress and be much more productive too.
> Treats Back Pain, help with Asthma, and Improves Digestion
Doing a few yoga poses throughout the week can help with chronic back pain. If you suffer from asthma, then “pranayam” focuses on breathing techniques that have shown to be especially effective against asthma. There are many yoga poses that help your digestive system. Yoga also stimulates the lymphatic system that helps flush out toxins, making your body cleaner. Meditation can also help address symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) by reducing the frequency of stress-related flare-ups.
> Sleep better
In order to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle – you need to get enough rest so you can function better the next day. Meditation and breathing techniques also help clear your mind so you can relax and slow down your thoughts, allowing you to enjoy a peaceful good night’s sleep.
> Mood booster
Yoga and meditation have been linked with emotional health boosts. Studies have shown that yoga and meditation aid with mood swings, depression, and anxiety. Practicing yoga in a group setting also stimulates the production of oxytocin, which is the love hormone, and it also produces higher serotonin levels, which is the ‘happy’ hormone.
> Mental Clarity
A healthy dose of yoga and meditation will keep your brain sharp and clear. Simple yoga practices and breathing techniques allow you to free your mind from the “clutter” that hits you. Slow breathing and yoga poses will help your memory and keep your thoughts more organized, once you get rid of stress, anxiety, and negative thinking.
> Increases Focus
By being present “in the moment” you will learn to control your mind. This will help you to focus on tasks at hand. A vitally useful skill to have in a fast-paced workplace where multitasking is a way of life.
> Boosts Immunity
Yoga activates your immune system, gets your blood flowing and stimulates your lymphatic system. Yoga also supports healthy bones through weight-bearing exercises. That’s a lot of health benefits that lead to less sick days and higher performance amongst teams.
> Improves Posture
Sitting all day wreaks havoc on your posture. A huge benefit of yoga is finding the natural curves of the spine. Yoga also stretches major muscles and increases joint mobility to prevent joint aches and stiffness.
> Increases Energy
What exercise does is that it increases your energy. The less active you are, the quicker fatigue hits you, and you will find that you tire out with lesser energy to tackle anything. Taking time to focus on yourself, even if it is for a short period, is just the mantra to tackle the rest of your day with vigour.
People connect, bond better due to better clarity, proper understanding and effective communication can lead to improved productivity at work.
Avtar Madan
Content Team
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
