By Rajita Kulkarni | Posted: September 15, 2018
I began this new year with an incredible treat. I had the chance to be a part of a one week intensive advanced program of deep meditations, profound knowledge & breathing/yogic techniques of the Art of Living Foundation. Over 700 people from over 60 countries came together in Berlin- CEOs, artists, sports people, entrepreneurs young & old, engineers, senior citizens, young parents, students and more. Some young couples came with babies a few months old and one of the eldest members of the program was above 85 years of age. The group was as diverse as you could get. The purpose was ONE- to slow down, cool down and dive deep.
Personally guided by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar every day was spent in practising age old yoga techniques ( known to clear and enliven the 7 chakras in our body, thereby having healing impact at the subtlest levels), doing self reflection guided by ancient vedic texts (swadhyaya – self study is the best mirror one can show oneself, better than any learning or feedback one can get), transcending themselves in mystic yet scientific meditations, singing & dancing in melodies from around the world and enjoying delicious/ nutritious satwic ( high in health and purity) diet.
Having had the chance to participate in such a program few months ago myself, this week my role was more to support and help. As such I had the incredible privilege to watch the slow and gradual, yet distinct and tangible, transformation unfold in the lives of the participants day by day! To watch hundreds of faces glowing more and more with each passing day was a treat! To watch waistlines slimming and appetite improving with each passing day was amazing! To see many of my dear friends (who would normally work 16 hour days and treat technology as the extension of their personality) want to go to bed by 10 and not do email was a miracle! To hear experiences of the subtle changes that they experienced in their bodies, the upsurge of energy and the infinite nature of consciousness, was beautiful.
On the last day the most commonly shared experience – “Life Changing”! The next most shared was “I feel like a new person” ! Re-energised, rejuvenated, refreshed etc were almost the benchmark. My own experience of this program – 6 months since I participated, is testimony to these changes. I started waking up sooner, my personal practice of yoga improved & became sustainable, my meditations were deeper and guess what – my mind was sharper, I was more productive, I felt a greater ability to handle job complexity, my communication and interactions became more fruitful & engaging and most importantly my self awareness increased to a level where I was able to be a witness of my own behaviour. A huge asset in any leadership role!
Gurudev has said that opposite values in our life are complimentary. With that said, it is clear that the deeper our rest, the more dynamic our work. Just like the bow and arrow. The longer we want to shoot the arrow, the farther we need to pull it back. So the more productive, sharp and excellent we need to be at work, that much more is the need for deep rest. Breathing techniques like Sudarshan Kriya are known to increase both the alpha and beta waves in the brain, reducing stress hormones like serum cortisol – resulting in a state of relaxed alertness, the FLOW feeling. A state of maximum productivity without stress.
But how many of us really are aware of this? My experience is both – on the one hand there is high awareness among people for this need for “me time” everyday, while on the other hand, it’s not unusual to hear comments like “too busy”,”hmm not for me” etc. I sometimes wonder how people can afford to say this, when according to the World Health Organisation – stress is the number one health epidemic of the 21st century, costing US businesses alone more than USD 300 Billion a year!
Through the corporate program I have worked with leaders around the world, where practice of few minutes of meditation & breathing techniques daily has reported to have reduced stress, enhanced personal excellence and increased collaboration & trust among colleagues.It may appear simple, but surprisingly it IS really simple. When I get rid of my stress, my mind is calm and clear & energy is high- everything else can sort itself out!
I believe that for those of us playing leadership roles, this is paramount. If we are not connected to ourselves, how can we be connected to others? If we can’t manage our own emotions, how can we solve the issues faced by our teams? If we are not energetic ourselves, how can we cope with the pressures of the increasingly volatile,uncertain,complex and ambiguous world? It is also our responsibility as leaders that we encourage and facilitate our teams and peers to understand this.
In their book Leadership Agility, authors Stephen A. Josephs and William B. Joiner make the crucial point of the need to step back in order to move forward. In a sense take a balcony view of your life. According to them only 5-10% of today’s managers have mastered the level of agility needed for consistent effectiveness in the turbulent era of global competition.
If you talk to exceptionally successful people from any profession – sports, arts, business, politics or science, each of them has their own mechanism to dive deep.From Roger Federer’s mental training to Bill Gates Think Weeks, from Oprah Winfrey’s meditation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s practice of daily yoga – examples are everywhere.
At Sri Sri University, it is our vision to nurture and sculpt integrity, humanity and creativity in our students, preparing them to take on challenging leadership roles as they graduate. We regularly offer students and staff all programs of the Art of Living foundation – from the basic to the advanced levels. We encourage students to take time for their daily practices. With regular discipline in practice, students report higher energy, dynamism, happiness, problem solving capability and ability to deal with the complexes of the teenage growing up years. In the last 3 years alone, 18 startups have been incubated by our students – just one indicator of the innovation quotient on campus.
To want to succeed, do better, prosper and progress is a natural human characteristic. It’s important, for in it lies the possibility of the advancement of civilisation. But in this race to win, the critical importance of the pit stops needn’t be over emphasised.
Try a pit stop. As a discipline. You will be yourselves surprised with the results. After slowing and cooling down for a week, the folks from Berlin have started their year on a solid reserve of energy and turbo charge. They are recharging themselves daily too (I can see that from the buzzing whatsapp messages!) powering themselves with the critical fuel needed for the year!
I post this article on a weekend when I hope each of you reading this find your own pit stop. A quiet moment, or better still “moments”. Try a guided meditation, go for a walk , stay silent for 20 minutes, watch the waves- make a start !
For, the deeper we dive, the higher we rise.
By Rajita Kulkarni, President at Sri Sri University, Featured as top 100 inspirational women of India by INBA publication – The Phenomenal She, Excellence in Education Global advocacy and action on ethics, Transformational Leadership Coach, Global citizen
