Meditation Brings Business Renewal

As a seeker of solitude in my busy entrepreneurial workday, I use yoga and meditation to calm my nerves, keep my head clear and focus. And I have found that the same principles used in the meditation practiced during yoga can be used to strengthen my business and can be useful for working moms, too.

While meditating during a yoga class several years ago, the instructor told us to feel that every movement is a new beginning. This made me think of my own business, which was just a fledgling startup. In my day-to-day struggle as an entrepreneur, every project and each new contact could potentially take my business in a new direction. After making this connection, I knew that meditation could help my business. Since then, I've learned to apply some of the basic principles of meditation to my work life.

Start employing meditation principles in your work life by viewing work as a living being. Each direction the being goes in is, in fact, a new beginning. View this positively since life, just like work, is ever-changing, and accepting that is a necessary part of enjoying your life and your career.

It is also important to pause throughout your day and feel your body. Yoga has taught me to sit erect with feet planted firmly on the floor, and with hands relaxed in my lap, I breathe diaphragmatically. When I've had a particularly rough day, but cannot leave a project, I take a deep breath and count to four. I breathe in and out counting four or five times to quiet my mind. I remember to breathe normally. I try to relax and let thoughts come and go. As you practice, the interference you feel at first will subside and you will experience only that moment fully. Using these simple acts during the day can clear my mind and keep me focused longer while reducing the physical strain that comes with working long hours.

There's a lot more to meditation than just learning the techniques and motions. Meditation is an entire state of mind and a whole different way of looking at the world and the role you play in it. To help you understand this better, try taking a yoga or meditation class during the week. The time (which might seem considerable for a mom with many responsibilities) is worth it when you weigh the mental, physical and spiritual benefits.

Elizabeth Gordon owns a boutique management consulting firm called Flourishing Business®, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. She is the author of the bestselling, business strategy book for women, The Chic Entrepreneur: Put Your Business in Higher Heels. Receive a free copy of her latest eBook The Seven Secrets to My Success, at her website, www.chicentrepreneur.com when you sign up for her free Chic Tips ezine.