Yoga for Working Women

How the downward dog pose can help you juggle boardroom meetings and household chores

You may never have seen this job advertisement before but there are millions of women like you who lovingly and devotedly play this role everyday.

A tough job!

Job Title: Superwoman Job Conditions: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Job responsibilities: Manage a demanding career, nurture the home, take care of the family (including in-laws and outlaws), balance budgets, handle household operations, be the perfect hostess, and be an intelligent and interesting person Key skills expected: Perfect execution in all spheres, management skills, conflict-resolution abilities, counseling skills, culinary skills, financial acumen, relationship management, multi-role-player abilities

What it takes for you to do this well

• Emotional strength: The need to achieve perfection on multiple fronts may cause pressure and turmoil. While the work environment demands equal capabilities and performance from you, there is no let-up on the expectations at home. Women need to make sure that they have the emotional energy to efficiently manage the demands of all the roles they juggle: daughter, sister, wife, daughter–in–law, mother, and the list goes on.
• Mental keenness: Each responsibility requires different kinds of capabilities; you need to be able to give the best of your intellectual abilities and adapt them to the varied situations at hand.
• Physical fitness: You need to have the stamina to fulfill commitments at so many levels with the same kind of zeal.

And yet, persistent negligence!
The one person who does not benefit from your care and attention is… right, YOU!

Do these sentiments surface sometimes for you?

•  "I'm unable to manage home and work."
•  "I feel low on energy by the time I'm home."
•  "I can hardly find time for myself."
•  "I'm so stressed!"
•  "My health problems are causing a hindrance."

Nagging aches, low energy levels, and inconsistent enthusiasm are indicators of stress. You manage to persevere through them with your unflagging commitment. You feel guilty about taking time for yourself when you have so many people and responsibilities to take care of, isn't it? So you keep postponing that vacation, that day of rest for yourself, that dance class that you wanted to sign up for…

Invest in yourself!
In the long term however, there is no other choice. You have to find ways to rejuvenate and energize yourself. Here is our recommendation for you – it is called MY REST.
 

Meditation: it is healing and heart opening. See our meditation section for tips as well as our videos to practice guided meditation. Yoga: the best way to honor your body. See the Yoga section for more information. Respect: yourself, what you do, your body and feminity. Value what you have been able to do, instead of regretting about what you have not been able to do. Express: Choose a creative hobby, learn an instrument, write an article, paint a picture, get a tattoo and make your teenage children jealous, play a game, have fun! Smile (a lot): it is the best makeup you can wear. Take a break: you deserve it!

MY REST will help me give My Best.
Hear what other women have to say -

A few minutes of yoga can leave you energized all day long and add an extra hour to your day. "When you meditate, the same work that you normally perform in four hours, you can do in two hours. So two hours more are given to you to balance between work and family," shares Bhanumathi Narasimhan, a homemaker, mother, and a working woman with a hectic travel schedule.

"After the Sri Sri Yoga Course, I have had tremendous amount of energy. With regular practice, I have been focused at work and I'm quite relaxed. Being married, managing housework and office would make me irritable. But now I have a pleasant frame of mind, I'm more efficient, happy, relaxed!" shares Pritika Nair, online content writer.

Takeaway tips for you You can do some of the simple yoga stretches and sukshma vyayam at your office desk. This can relax your tired muscles. Rotate your wrists, neck and ankles clockwise and anti-clockwise in turns. Stretch your back. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, wherever possible. Walk while having long phone conversations. Do a few simple breathing exercises. Take a few minutes off and do an online meditation.

As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar puts it, "You know how to ride a bicycle? In the same way, drive the vehicle of life! Maintain a balance in life." Yoga postures, breathing techniques, and meditation will serve as handy tools while balancing your work and home life.

If you are completely new to yoga, it is advisable to learn it under a trained teacher. You can register for the Sri Sri Yoga Course at your nearest Art of Living center. This course is fun combined with the various facets of yoga. At the course, you will learn that yoga is not just postures! Pranayamas, meditation and yoga poses put together make a wholesome yoga practice.