Dial down the stress and turn up the office om
PICTURE IN YOUR MIND’S EYE
THE PERFECT MEDITATION SPACE.
It probably has some comfy armchairs,
a flickering candle or two and a scattering
of pot plants. Now, picture your workplace,
with its messy piles of paper, fluoro lights
and collection of tea-stained mugs – this,
according to experts, is the ideal setting
for mindfulness meditation.
The idea that you could get zen in
between filing reports or serving customers
might seem weird, but it actually makes
perfect sense. We already know that
mindfulness, the Buddhist practice of
tuning in to the present moment, can
reduce stress and induce calm, so bring the
techniques into the workplace, where much
of our tension originates, and you have the
power to combat stress before it takes hold.
“The workplace is the perfect platform
for implementing mindfulness techniques
because it represents a microcosm of our
lives,” explains Nikki Janks, co-founder
of Centred Meditation, which hosts
mindfulness sessions for strung-out workers
in Sydney. “We’ve got targets to meet from
the job itself, dynamics to manage from the
people around us, our own moods to deal
with... If we can master engaging in all
of these activities mindfully at work, it’ll
naturally transfer into our lives as a whole.”OFFICE OM
Considering that stress-related sick leave
costs the Australian economy $5.12 billion
annually, a little office-based om could
go a long way. It’s why a host of forward-
thinking companies have already started
to implement mindful workplace programs- and they’re enjoying perks that extend
far beyond stress-management. “I think
employers are coming to realise that
Work
FLOW
a centred employee is an asset to their
company,” says Janks. “They understand
the return on investment that meditation
and mindfulness has through increased
productivity, enhanced creativity, improved
focus and concentration, and greater
employee engagement overall.”
Dealing with one task at a time, tuning
into your breath and listening actively to
your colleagues is all part of the mindful
workplace MO, and the payoff includes all
the same benefits of a regular mindfulness
practice, from improved sleep to happier
moods. Hitting pause to get present is
also a legit way to improve your efficiency,
which may come as a surprise if you’ve
ever considered yourself too busy to take
a break. “We know from research in
positive psychology that the brain works
better when people practise mindfulness- they’re happier, more creative, intelligent,
productive and efficient, and their energy
levels are higher,” explains Mary Hoang,
head psychologist at The Indigo Project.
“So essentially people would be getting
the same amount of work done in less
time if they just took the time out for
a breather here and there.”
CALM AND CONNECTED
While working at a company with an
official workplace mindfulness program
is definitely #careergoals, you don’t need
to convince your boss to convert the
conference room into a meditation studio
to get started. On-the-job mindfulness
is less about spending ages in lotus pose
and more about adding a mindful filter to
your daily tasks, breaks and interactions.
“Our working lives are often not
structured to make a 15-minute or
half-hour formal sitting meditationpractice seem possible,” admits Rebecca
Smith, workplace program manager for
meditation organisation Smiling Mind.
“Luckily, the benefits are seen from sitting
and connecting with your breath for as
little as five minutes, three times a week.”
Smith recommends both a formal and
informal mindfulness practice, which means
regularly using a short guided meditation
(like listening to an app on the way to
work), as well as consciously aiming
to break the multitasking habit at your
desk. “It’s amazing how much time we
spend multitasking and we think that’s
being productive,” she notes. “According
to a 2015 study by the University of
California, workers check their email
74 times a day on average, taking about
60 seconds to refocus after an interruption.
That is a lot of time wasted!”
So, your first mindful mission is to turn
off your email notifications and focus on134 womensfitness.com.au womensfitnessaustralia @womensfitnessmag @womensfitnessau