Max Strom is pushing yoga, breathing and topics like forgiveness to the business
world’s most senior figures. Here, he shares his thoughts with Sinead Lynch
FM
A
few years ago, it would have
been difficult to imagine a
yoga instructor addressing a
government summit or being a
main speaker at a TED lecture.
However, that is exactly what pioneering
American yoga teacher and author Max
Strom has done.
Author of the books, ‘A Life Worth
Breathing’ and ‘There Is No App For
Happiness’, Strom recently addressed the
World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai
where other speakers included Elon Musk,
the visionary chief executive of space
travel pioneer SpaceX, Christine Lagarde,
the managing director of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and Dr. Jim Kim,
president of the World Bank.
Previous WGS speakers have included
former US President Barack Obama and
United Nations Secretary General Ban
Ki Moon.
It may seem an unlikely event for someone
who is an expert in breathing exercises and
yoga but Strom’s worldwide acclaim has
brought his work to the attention of those
who are seeking an alternative to today’s
hectic way of life, particularly in the
business world.
“Many high level executives confide in me
when I do a one-on-one session with them
that they are at the end of their rope,” he
tells me. “They are really successful, they
are powerful...and they are ready to jump
out of the window. They know their own
life is unsustainable. They work too many
hours. They don’t sleep well anymore. They
barely see their family which of course,
besides them missing them, creates stress
and hostility. Their body is a wreck and they
are miserable. They keep up a good face
because they are in a leadership position but
they know they are living an unsustainable
life and they secretly would like to quit.”
In response to what he calls theHigh flyers
“stress epidemic” Strom has created an
interdisciplinary method for wellbeing
called Inner Axis that has been adopted by
organisations around the world. You can
catch a class at London’s Triyoga centre,
where Inner Axis teachers, who have been
trained by Strom, give classes that have
been specifically designed to tackle stress,
anxiety and sleeplessness. The system
encompasses mindfulness, breath work and
yoga exercises, but Strom also addresses
wider issues such as forgiveness.Learning forgiveness
“No matter how much yoga you practice
or wheatgrass juice you drink you are not
going to have a happy life unless you learn
to forgive,” he says. “Let’s look at what is the
opposite of forgiveness. It’s anger, long term
resentment. If you look at that old person
down the street who looks angry all the time,
that’s how we’re going to be if we don’t learn
to forgive.’’
He adds: “At many workshops I ask
people, who was taught as a child how
to manage their emotions? Nobody says
yes.” But with so many people living today
with such high levels of stress, learning
to manage emotions effectively could be
seen as essential maintenance for our
over-burdened minds. With mental health
issues costing Britain around £70 billion
a year, according to the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), and the World Health Organisation
(WHO) stating that depression is currently
the leading cause of disability in the world,
clearly something needs addressing.
Strom advocates breathing exercises.
“I work a lot with people with anxiety issues
and I can see straight away the effects
of breathing exercises on how they feel.
Breath work can change your inner
state immediately.”
He recently made a comment whilstspeaking at a conference in Germany
suggesting breathing breaks for people in
the workplace. This must have hit a chord
as shortly afterwards he was contacted by
a number of media outlets including The
Telegraph and BBC radio to talk more on
the subject. He noted that people leave the
office several times a day to go outside for
cigarette breaks so asks, why shouldn’t non-
smokers go outside and have breaks to do
breathing exercises? “You would see stress
in the workplace plummet,” he says.
Strom, who has been teaching yoga for
nearly two decades, was the original founder
and director of Sacred Movement Center
for Yoga and Healing in Los Angeles in the
USA. His teaching now takes him to 10
countries around the world each year. As
well as giving yoga workshops and teacher
trainings, he has become a much in demand
speaker where he talks about issues such
as dealing with stress, how overuse of
technology is affecting our lives and how to
manage anxiety.
But maybe the tide is now turning for the
better. Strom was invited to speak about
happiness at this year’s WGS in Dubai after
being invited by the Minister of State for
Happiness in the host country, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE). Perhaps every country
now needs its own Minister for Happiness,
much like India now has its own Ministry for
Yoga. Definitely worth a thought!
“My mission is to help people remember
who they are and what they are capable
of and to provide tools that will empower
them to live a more meaningful life,”
says Strom..^Max Strom leads workshops and teacher
trainings in the USA, Europe, London and the
Middle East as well as Inner Axis retreats in
the USA and Germany. To find out more visit:
maxstrom.com