Engaging the Spirit in Corporate Wellness
The leadership of corporate wellness programs need to adopt a holistic approach as they consider wellness options for their employees. A holistic approach engages and develops the whole employee and celebrates the multidimensionality of each person. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual components are ideally woven into a program to fully benefit the employees and the organization.
The spiritual component may seem surprising to many as something to include in corporate wellness, but let’s be honest… we don’t leave our spirit at home when we go to work. According to Google definitions “the spirit is the nonphysical part of a person that is of emotion and character, the soul.” To do so would be like coming to work incomplete and missing the part that makes us most unique. Stressful environments can erode the soul, drawing us farther and farther away from who we are at the core. We are at our personal best when we integrate and connect to our multidimensionality. In doing so we have all our aspects available to us including: intellect, creativity, passion, emotion, intuition, logic, natural flow and beyond. An organization with spirited employees is a healthy, thriving and productive organization.
In many workplace climates stress is on the rise, with so many changes and uncertainty. Incorporating mindfulness and stress management education in corporate wellness is beneficial to the employees, clients and the organization. We must look at our organizations holistically and that includes incorporating the wellness of the employees. Offering informational and inspirational wellness workshops that invigorate the mind, relax the body and feed the spirit are necessary in this day and age.
Valuing employees, those individuals who spend a great deal of their lives dedicated to the success and advancement of the organization, is beneficial to everyone involved. Results may include: employee satisfaction; improved employee health and well-being; better customer service; increased productivity; decreased absenteeism; and better inter-staff relations. Sure, holistic workshops are an investment but employees are worth investing in.
A few years ago I “unplugged” by spending a few days in solitude at a yoga ashram in the mountains of Colorado. One day while I was visiting there was a organization that organized a full-day retreat for it’s employees. I was surprised to be along side corporate employees who were doing yoga, meditating, eating nutritious food, and hiking together. I spent part of my day observing and engaging with these employees. It was most impressive to see what this outing was doing for the spirits of these employees. The reason I visited the ashram was to rejuvenate, gain clarity and renew my spirit. Of course, this adventure both educated and renewed the spirits of these employees. It was simply brilliant and I thought about how much experiences like these could benefit every aspect of an organization and it’s employees.
In 2010 I taught Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation at a dozen social service agencies in Wichita, Kansas. At the time very few understood or had experienced mindfulness meditation. It was truly refreshing to employees as they opened to the new experience. I have been offering stress management workshops that incorporate mindfulness meditation to professional caregivers and business professional for several years now. There has been an increasing openness and interest in incorporating this highly effective stress reduction method into the lives of the people I instruct. In 2010 it seemed very progressive and somewhat “out there” to many people. In just a few years it has become acceptable and more “mainstream”.
I began Self-Care Specialists with mindfulness infused stress management course offerings that ended with the experience of mindfulness-based stress reduction exercises. I continue to offer these fresh and progressive courses, but have expanded my course options to include mindfulness meditation retreats. The Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation can be offered in a 2 or 3 hour course. The Mindfulness Meditation Retreat is more extensive and is available in a half-day or full-day for a deeper immersion into the practice of mindfulness. These courses include breath-work, guided imagery, gentle movement, awareness and healing exercises. For course options for caregiving organizations and for corporate businesses https://www.selfcarespecialists.com/services
We need a paradigm shift in which we include corporate wellness as an important aspect of the business. Understanding that the likelihood of a sound, whole business increases when we invest in the wholeness of the individuals working for us. Everyone benefits from a supportive work environment that encourages and invests in employee wellness