How to meditate at work
Employees are busy these days, but taking a little time for themselves can help them go through their day with a clear head.
Carson Finkle is the founder of Create meditation. He guides employees through breathwork sessions and guided meditations with music to help employees find their zen and improve their well-being. But employees don’t have to spend hours on this exercise — instead, they can see the results in about six seconds.
“The optimal breathing rate for humans is five and a half seconds on and five and a half seconds off,” says Finkle. “When we breathe at this rate, it signals to our body that we are in homeostasis — that we are relaxed, calm, and safe.”
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The simple breathing practice calms the body, lowers heart rate and blood pressure. Studies have shown that meditation also has physical benefits: it can reduce inflammation and chronic pain, as well as the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
While people are often put off by the thought of meditation, employees at all levels can benefit from the time to reset and re-focus. The holistic benefits will trickle down from the top down, especially for business owners and executives who consistently place themselves at the bottom of their priority lists, says Finkle.
“Think of a champagne tower: if you are the top glass and decide to fill your own cup, it will overflow and flow into the cups closest to you in your life,” he says. “When the CEO fills his cup, it goes to his executives and then to the managers and direct reports and to the customers. When you make sure your cup is full, you take care of those around you while reducing turnover rates and improving employee retention.”
With Create Meditation, Finkle begins by helping employees connect with their minds and bodies by setting an intention and then visualizing a natural environment that helps activate their five senses. He then spends the next 30 minutes on breathing techniques set at a Music soundtrack this culminates in a “yell song” where the employees can “really let go”, says Finkle.
“It’s an amazing physical release — our bodies store so much physical and emotional trauma and this is an amazing way to just help us let that go and let go,” he says. “We’ve held so many self-imposed limiting beliefs, so we’re just trying to break through those beliefs and open a mindset that we can create anything we want.”
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Finally, participants relax to achieve a state of relaxation where people find clarity about what they want to achieve professionally or personally.
“I think a lot of people come home from work and they’re with their families, but their minds are still on work,” says Finkle. “You have to have the mental freedom to be present and to be in the moment in whatever you do.”
These tactics can be used before a stressful work scenario like a meeting or presentation, or just when employees need to step back and reprioritize, Finkle says. Whether it’s putting on soothing music, practicing “box breathing,” where you breathe in, hold, and breathe out every five seconds, or even planning a group walk, a little goes a long way.
“Breath is the gateway to the present moment, and when we’re more present we don’t feel the impulse to constantly crush our to-do list,” says Finkle. “Just start with two minutes – if you’re feeling stressed, pull out the stopwatch.