“Hey guys, have you tried abdominal breathing? It can really help with your mood and thoughts, shall we try?”
From this simple conversation, myself and some of my fellow engineers tried it at our desks.
When others wanted to join in, we decided to book a meeting room at lunchtime where we could all experience it.
Following on from a simple abdominal breathing exercise, more breathing exercises were introduced. Sitting-position, posture and back-ache are hot topics in a corporate engineering office environment and all can be helped using these simple breathing techniques.
The sessions started running every Monday lunchtime for just 10 minutes, still allowing my colleagues to have time to eat their lunch and go for walk.
As time progressed, colleagues wanted to learn more, so I explained the ‘Tibetan Power Breaths’ an ancient set of exercises practiced for their energy generating capability.
The sessions also allowed colleagues to interact with other departments that had never, previously, crossed.
From there, I introduced the nine minute ‘Emerald Waterfall’ Meditation, as some colleagues wanted a time to relax and ‘switch off’ from the busy office environment.
The Monday sessions soon started with a Meditation followed by the Tibetan Power Breaths, so everyone had the option to attend either or both.
Colleagues soon wanted more so a longer relaxation session, on a Thursday lunchtime was introduced and ‘Twin Hearts Meditation’ was enjoyed.
Two years on and now we have weekly drop-in sessions on Mondays and Thursdays.
Staff now have a place to relax, recharge and rejuvenate just a 3 minute walk away from their desks.
We now have a Corporate Social Network group, allowing colleagues to connect, share and be aware of like-minded people…all this from a simple conversation about breathing.
If you’d like to learn simple techniques you too can do at your desk or with your colleagues to take some of the stress out of your work day, join our local meditation groups.