Yoga practice is as much about the mind, as it is about the body. The ritual of opening your practice with a dedication, moving through poses with intention and finally, finishing with gratitude is familiar to most who practice but here's we how could bring these concepts to the workplace:
1. Dedication
Do you start your day in autopilot? Routine gets us out of bed, through the front door with the semi-conscious drive to the office, making anything along your commute remotely recognizable. Most of actually function this way quite happily thinking that being a robot of routine makes us most productive and our time most efficient. Think about the possibility of pausing for even thirty seconds in your morning routine, to think about the purpose of going to work that day.
After taking care of our basic needs, most of us need more motivation than what gets deposited in your account every two weeks. You don't have to sit on a cushion for an hour to take a brief moment after you brush your teeth every morning, to dedicate your day to guiding your team, or supporting your boss, or making time to call a colleague. Depending on what the calendar that this undoubtedly blocked solid, pick one thing that you can dedicate in order to being a better leader.
2. Intention
The most common thing that most of us spend our time doing in the corporate world is attending meetings. They usually are booked back to back, with barely any time to recalibrate the last topic, before going into a new one altogether. This mode of operating often results giving off the perception of being hurried or unfocused.
If at all possible, take even five minutes at the start of your day to take stock of what's ahead of you. If you have ten minutes, add a note in your calendar about what the best outcome would look like from each meeting. Finally, if you have fifteen minutes, email any participant that you feel could benefit from clarity of the meeting intent or if you are unsure, get it for yourself. This approach allows you to embed intention into every meeting you have so that you can get the most out of these interactions possible.
3. Gratitude
Now that the day is done, you are running out the door to make day care pick up or thinking ahead to what the family is going to eat for dinner. Packing away your office and your bag as quickly as possible, can leave you with a sense of "what did I actually accomplish today?" With a few minutes to spare, writing down one thing that happened that made you grateful for your work day may help you feel so much more positive transitioning from office to home. You make a decision to go to work everyday. Remembering what the decision is and closing your day out with a sense of satisfaction can really change the energy you bring home with you.
Yoga has been part of my life for a long time. If you practice, you'll know that there are teachers that say very little but enough to guide you through your practice in a way that allows you to get the most out of the time that you've set aside for yourself. I would love to have someone in my ear reminding me to get the most out of my time at the office. I hope that the messages of dedication, intention and gratitude are something that you can embed into your work life. Namaste.
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