Yoga, Meditation, and Leadership?
Do you find yourself feeling anxious or worrying a lot? Especially now with so many unknowns? Most of us do so, why? And what can we do about it?
The reality IS that those anxious feelings are simply our minds getting ahead of ourselves… anxiety and worry shows us that we are not living in the present moment...we are thinking about the future. The future being something that is largely unknown. And what we are missing in those moments are what is going on right in front of our eyes. The sounds, the smells, the feelings... truly connecting with the sensations around you and in your body.
What would you say if I told you that the simple act of breathing could change your connection with the present moment...affecting all of those that you interact with on a daily basis. Your colleagues, your family, friends...even how you engage with complete strangers!
Yoga and Meditation are practices that can help you in being more present in your lives. Think about how being more present could impact your LEADERSHIP...whether in your personal or professional life.
If you think about those that many of us look to for leadership they likely possess a quality of calmness, balance, seemingly centered and have the ability to pivot with a sense of ease that can be seen as a well choreographed master piece. And we wonder how they do it....they had to of just been born like that!
The reality is, they likely have adopted a practice of their own for centering themselves, connecting with their breath...and their body (something that we ALL take for granted) so they can navigate whatever life brings them with a clear discerning mind.
Truly breathing deeply, with conscious attention to the timing and pace of your breath are shown to have positive effects on both your body and your mind. A recent study in the journal of Neurophysiology found that “paced breathing also uses neural networks beyond the brain stem that are tied to emotion, attention, and body awareness. By tapping into these networks using the breath, we gain access to a powerful tool for regulating our responses to stress.”
If you are in a position of leadership, whatever it may look like, you know that you are often going to be confronted with challenges and your decisions will play out in the eyes of those that look to you for direction.
The overall impact of a yoga and meditation practice go far beyond the reduction of stress and anxiety… they provide a myriad of physical and cognitive benefits as well. Due to the fluid nature of the practice of yoga, where you are connecting the breath work previously mentioned with simple body movements. You may find an alternative to painkillers while building muscle strength and easing tension in joints, which also helps with reducing stress often stemming from pain and discomfort. This movement also increases blood flow...which aides in creating a calmer more peaceful state within your mind, as well as your body. Regular practice is important for overall health of cognition and memory...a clear mind is a beautiful place to be, right? Not to mention that you will notice improvements to your mood… something that can help us in riding the waves of life that seem more challenging as we age!
If you embrace these ideas of a more peaceful you...and are open to exploring a bit more ...maybe experiencing for yourself how simple movements of the body and connection to the breath can have such amazing impacts on how you LEAD in work and in life!
