1. FESTIVALS: Krishna Janmashtami also known as Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, or sometimes merely as Janmashtami, is an annual commemoration of the birth of Bhagwan Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
The festival is celebrated on
Shravan Krishna Ashtami, August 16 this year. Rasa lila, dramatic enactments
of the life of Krishna, are a special feature in regions of Mathura and
Vrindavan, and in Manipur. The Dahi Handi is popular in Mumbai Pune regions of
Maharashtra where teams of young men form human towers to reach a high-hanging
pot of butter and break it. This tradition, also known as uriadi, is a major
event in Tamil Nadu on Gokulashtami.
Hindus celebrate Janmashtami by
fasting and staying up until midnight, the time when Krishna is believed to
have been born. Images of Krishna's infancy are placed in swings and cradles
in temples and homes. At midnight, devotees gather around for devotional
songs, dance and exchange prasad.
Janmashtami is also celebrated
in most of other parts of Bharat and Nepal, Bangaladesh, Caribbean, USA etc.
--Top
2. DELHI IS
NOW WORLD’S SECOND MOST POPULOUS CITY:
Its population will grow to 36
million by 2030: U.N. report
Delhi is now the world’s second
most populous city with 25 million inhabitants. Tokyo remains the world’s
largest city with 38 million inhabitants. The 2014 revision of the World
Urbanization Prospects by U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN
DESA)’s Population Division has pointed to rapid urban growth in Bharat, China
and Nigeria.
Among the other most populous
cities, Mumbai is in the top six with a population of 21 million. It shares
the spot with Sao Paulo and Mexico City, behind Shanghai which has 23 million
inhabitants.
The number of mega cities with a
population of over 10 million has risen rapidly. While there were 10 such
cities in 1990, there are 28 now and by 2030, the world is projected to have
41 mega cities with 10 million inhabitants or more.
In Delhi, the pressure of such
rapid increase in population has already started showing. Be it water, power,
education, health care, infrastructure, law and order or sanitation, all the
systems are under immense pressure, which is only set to increase. --Top
3. 1008
CHILDREN PERFORMED ‘GURU PUJA’ AT CHENNAI:
On Vyasa Purnima day, 1008
teachers drawn from Chennai city schools assembled at the sprawling maidan
where the five day annual Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair HSSF was being
conducted. As many students drawn from Government schools performed Pada Puja
to the teachers and gave them gifts of saree, dhoti etc. HSSF fair consisting
of 250 stalls and participated by several hundred Hindu religious service
organizations and groups was inaugurated by Kanchi Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra
Saraswathi Swamigal. On the concluding day a grand Srinivasa Kalyanam Puja
was arranged by Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam. On all the five days
thousands of Chennai residents were benefitted by the crisp and attractive
display of hundreds of Hindu projects run by as many organizations and groups,
which have openly identified themselves as Hindu.
--Top
4. VHP
LEADER GIRIRAJ KISHORE PASSES AWAY AT 94:
Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad
leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore, who was actively associated with the Ram
temple agitation, died in New Delhi on 12th July evening. Born on
Februay 4, 1920 in Misauli village in Etah district of UP, Giriraj ji had
joined the RSS at an early age and was one of its senior most 'pracharaks'.
He served as a sangh pracharak
mainly in Uttar Pradesh, also had responsibility in ABVP before getting into
Vishwa Hindu Parishad VHP. Acharya Giriraj ji was the motivator of many
successful programs like Virat Hindu Sammelans and Ekatmata Yatra 1983 after
the Meenakshipuram incident, Ramjanmabhoomi movement and initiatives like
Sanskriti Raksha Yojana, Ramshila Poojan, etc.
He visited many countries
including the U.K. Holland, Guyana, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore,
Japan, and Thailand. Though wheelchair-bound for the last several years, he
had maintained a fairly good health and had a sound memory even at the age of
94. As per his wishes his eyes were donated and his body will be donated to
medical college. --Top
5. BHARAT TO
BECOME THIRD LARGEST ECONOMY BY 2030: PWC:
Bharat is set to become
the third largest economy in the world by 2030, according to latest estimates
by a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.
The London-headquartered
accountancy giant said the rapid rise of the Bharatiya economy with its young
workforce would push it up from being the 10th largest economy in 2013 to the
third largest by 2030, pushing the UK back into sixth place.
“In the longer run, other
emerging markets may overtake the UK, but only Bharat looks set to do so
before 2030 according to our latest projections,” PwC said in its latest
economic outlook.
China, the world’s second
largest economy, is expected to close the gap with America by 2030, while
Mexico is predicted to be the 10th largest economy by 2030, above Canada and
Italy, both G7 nations. Only Bharat will move ahead of the UK by 2030, though
it will be sharing a projected GDP of $ 6.1 trillion among more than 1.5
billion people, only half as much again as the UK’s predicted output of $ 4
trillion, produced by a population less than a 20th the size.
--Top
6. SOONER
DONE THE BETTER - Populate villages along our borders with china:
Union Minister of State for Home
Affairs Kiran Rijiju's plans to populate desolate areas along the long
India-China border must be put into action at the earliest. ‘Trained’ local
populations serve as a natural frontier force especially against aggressive
neighbours and make for the most effective first line of defense. Across the
world, Governments actively encourage such border communities and even in
different parts of India, the experiment has been successful. The Sashastra
Seema Bal, which guards the India-Nepal border, has run a similar project in
Assam, Bengal, the hills of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh. The
scheme has since been extended to Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura,
Meghalaya, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, along the
border with China, border communities have received little support. Over the
years, entire villages have moved away from the LAC, which had been deemed as
‘sensitive' by various regimes in New Delhi. Consequently, across large
sections of the LAC, there is now no human habitation even 50km into the
Indian territory. This makes the areas easy targets for troops from the other
side, as the border regions of Arunachal Pradesh stand proof. Largely
uninhabited and tremendously difficult to access in the absence of motorable
roads, they seem like no man's land — except that there are others who are
constantly eyeing those tracts of land for themselves. There have been quite a
few instances of Chinese troops intruding unnoticed through these areas and
parking themselves deep into Indian territory for days together. It is only
when they are discovered by patrolling Indian troopers or a stray civilian,
that they are moved back to their posts across the LAC. Re-populating the
border areas will help reverse this cycle. In the immediate future, it will
send a strong signal of sovereignty to aggressive neighbours that such areas
are neither contested nor disputed; they are well within Indian territory. And
in the eventuality of a full scale land grab, New Delhi will have a far
stronger case in its favour if Indian citizens, hundreds of thousands of them,
are involved.
Against this backdrop, reports
that the new Government will also train locals for basic defence operations as
well as earmark Rs5,000 crore for this border development project in its first
Budget are welcome. The fund is supposed to be in addition to the previous
allocation of Rs28, 000 crore. The money will be used to build up civic
amenities — roads, schools, health centres, mobile towers — in the remote
border areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent efforts to expedite major
infrastructure projects along the LAC will also play into this initiative.
Several such projects, primarily for roads and highways, have been pending —
in part because the previous Congress-led Government feared antagonizing
China, and in part, because some sections within the UPA regime believed that
if infrastructure was set up in the border areas, it would be used by
advancing enemy soldiers. It was precisely this defeatist attitude that had
led Jawaharlal Nehru to claim that not a blade of grass grows in Aksai Chin,
after the region was lost to China, even as Chinese soldiers marched up to
Tezpur. (Editorial, Dailypioneer July 3, 2014)
--Top
7. BHARAT A
GLOBAL MILITARY POWER BY 2045:
A global scenario projected by
Britain’s ministry of defense titled ‘Global Strategic Trends – Out to 2045’,
says that by 2045 Bharat is likely to have the ability to project conventional
military power globally with the third largest defense expenditure pegged at
654 billion US dollars.
“Although China’s
military-industrial complex is unlikely to surpass the technological
sophistication of the US by 2045, it may rival it in terms of size, as could
Bharat’s. Both Bharat and China will probably seek to develop sizeable and
technically advanced armed forces, including ocean-going navies, capable of
delivering an enduring and capable maritime presence both regionally and
further afield”, the paper says. According to the projection, the US and China
are likely to have similarly sized defense budgets, potentially out-spending
the rest of the world by 2045. --Top
8.
AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL KIDS RECITE SANSKRIT SHLOKAS EVERYDAY:
Om Paramatmane Namaha - a typical day begins with this dedication to the
Supreme Being. It is followed by a few minutes of silence and mindfulness
meditation, before starting a structured learning programme. The day concludes
similarly. Sanskrit grammar and shloka chanting feature prominently on the
educational agenda, as do ethics, values education and lessons in philosophy.
Strong emphasis is laid on cultivating respect for one another, taking
ownership for actions as well as service to society. At lunchtime, following
the principles of Ahimsa, all staff and students sit down to a wholesome
vegetarian meal.
This is no gurukul in remote
rural Bharat but a thriving learning environment in Belrose on Sydney’s
Northern Beaches. Ancient classics, modern languages, Shakespeare and studies
of world religion and culture coexist with other key learning areas.
Embracing a multi-lingual,
multi-faith model, John Colet School (JCS) has a wide footprint across the
greater Sydney area, offering an alternative learning pathway to the forward
thinking community for many decades now.
Principal Gilbert Mane
explained the school’s aim to nourish both “minds and hearts just as the best
physical food nourishes the body”.
“The diverse cultural
experience of classical and modern languages opens them up to the rich variety
of humanity and human experience,” Mane noted. “Sanskrit, in particular, is
very beautiful and profound and this is good for the wellbeing of the child.
It gives children the opportunity to experience and enjoy the purest sounds in
language as well as gain a good foundation in linguistics, grammar and logic”.
--Top
9. HSS USA
WEST COAST SAMBHAG
organized a weeklong Sangh Shiksha Varg (SSV) which concluded on 5th
July on an excellent note. This year’s SSV saw the number of shiksharthis
surge to unprecedented levels. 129 Shiksharthis from 56 shakhas participated
in SSV and received training in various boudhik and shareerik aspects of
Shikshan. More than 150 atithis (swayamsevak families and Sangh hitaishies)
from Bay Area witnessed the concluding day pratyakshik and participated in the
samarop session at camp site.
Several national karyakartas
attended the SSV and provided guidance throughout the varg. Ma. Saumitra ji
and Anjali ji Patel, Prof. DurgSingh Chauhan ji and Sri. Yellojirao Mirajkar,
Dr. Manohar Shindhe ji and Philip Goldberg visited the Varg. Independence
Day of USA on 4th July was celebrated in both vargas.
--Top
10. HSS
THAILAND organized
Gurupoojan Utsav on 13 July at Dev Mandir Bangkok. H H Sri. Hridayandagiri ji
Maharaj from Bharat participated in the program as the chief guest. Sri.
Dinesh Mani Dubey, Baudhik Pramukh HSS Thailand was the main speaker. Besides
swayamsevaks , many prominent personalities among the Hindu community attended
the utsav. --Top
11.
E-CREDIBLE BHARAT: NEW VISA POWER, FIVE TOURIST CIRCUITS:
In an unprecedented focus on
tourism, the union budget unfolded a slew of initiatives including six-month
deadline for implementation of electronic visas and a thrust on heritage and
pilgrim tourism.
The facility of electronic visa
authorization is expected to be introduced in nine airports with major source
countries like the US, UK, Russia, France and Germany likely to be first off
the block. Conservative government estimates say Bharat could receive 1.2
million additional tourists and receive earnings of $2.4 billion by 2015 if
the e-visa facility is implemented.
The FM also announced Rs 500
crore to develop five tourism circuits around specific themes. This is
complemented by a new, Rs 100 crore scheme called National Mission on
Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) for
promotion of heritage and tourism potential in cities.
Conservation of ancient cities
of Mathura, Amritsar, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Vellankani and Ajmer will be part of
the Rs 200 crore National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).
The project will be executed in partnership with academic institutions and
local community, combining affordable technologies.
Preservation efforts for
archeological sites got their due in the budget with the FM allocating Rs 100
crore while Sarnath-Gaya-Varanasi Buddhist circuit will be developed with
world class tourist amenities. Party destination Goa, the permanent venue for
IFFI, will be developed as a major international convention centre through PPP
mode. --Top
12. 2
SCHEMES NAMED AFTER BJP ICONS:
In a tribute to BJP and RSS
ideologues and icons, the BJP-led NDA Government has named two national
schemes after them.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
proposed Rs500 crore for Deen Dayal Upadhyay Rural Electrification Programme.
The scheme is to offer 24x7 power to rural areas by bifurcating the subsidised
feeder lines from commercial lines.
Another Budget proposal named
Rurban (Rural-Urban) Mission after Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder and the
first president of the BJS. There was also a mention of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash
Narayan, popularly called JP, In the Budget, Jaitley proposed to set up a
Centre of Excellence in MP named after JP. The Budget also proposed a Pt Madan
Mohan Malaviya Teaching Programme to be started soon. Malaviya, a Congress
president and founder of Banaras Hindu University, was known also for his
espousal of Hindu nationalism. --Top
13. MAHATMA
GANDHI STATUE TO BE ERECTED OPPOSITE UK PARLIAMENT:
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi is
to be erected opposite the Houses of Parliament. The memorial will stand in
Parliament Square alongside those of Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela.
Speaking on a trip to the Gandhi
memorial in Delhi, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the statue would be a
"fitting tribute" to a "great man".
The sculptor Philip Jackson,
whose works include statues of the Queen Mother and RAF Bomber Command, has
been approached to take on the project - which will be paid for by charitable
donations and sponsors.
'Source of strength'
It is intended that the statue
will be completed early next year and become a focal point for future
commemorations, including the 70-year anniversary of Gandhi's death in 2018.
Mr Hague said Gandhi remained a "towering inspiration and source of strength".
--Top
14. NURSES
RETURN FROM IRAQ: A
week after 46 Bharatiya nurses evacuated from Iraq by the Bharatiya Embassy
returned home, 29 more nurses who had been working in the eastern Iraqi
province of Diyala arrived at Kochi airport on July 12th.
Of them, 10 had been working in
one hospital while the others were in different hospitals in other cities in
the Diyala province. All of them hailed from Kerala. The Bharatiya Embassy,
which paid their travel expenses, had taken them to Baghdad and put them on a
flight to Sharjah. A few other nurses returned their own via Kuwait.
Kerala associations in United
Arab Emirates and Kuwait extended help to the nurses as well the construction
workers returning from Iraq. Authorities say that as the situation in Iraq is
getting worse, more Kerala nurses will be arriving in the next few days.
The first batch of 46 nurses,
which included one hailing from Tamil Nadu, arrived in Kochi on July 5 by a
special flight arranged by the External Affairs Ministry.
--Top
15.
INTERACTING WITH BHARATIYAS IN KENYA:
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar
who was on his maiden official visit to attend a UN assembly in Kenya was
greeted at a reception hosted by Kenya Bharatiyas. The apex body of Hindu and
Sikh religious bodies, the Hindu Council of Kenya (HCK), held a reception at
the Shree Navnat Vanik Mahajan Hall for the visiting Bharatiya minister hosted
by HCK chairperson Nitin Malde and national secretary Kamal Gupta.
A couple of days later, Shri
Jawadekar visited Deendayal Bhavan where he met members of the Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and avid supporters of the BJP. Javadekar mentioned
that the task before the new government was daunting and it relied on the
support of overseas Bharatiyas to project a dynamic image of Bharat.
--Top
16. BHARAT
PARIKRAMA YATRA COMPLETES CHAR DHAM YATRA:
The Bharat Prikrama padyatra by
veteran RSS Pracharak Shri Sitaram Kedilaya completed the journey of four
dhams in Uttarakhand on July 5. It is scheduled to enter Uttar Pradesh on
August 6. The Yatra is in Uttarakhand since February 26. It took rest for one
month at Sadhna Ashram in Dehradun and restarted the journey on March 30.
At Yamunotri Shri Sitaramji had
a detailed meeting with leading saint Swami Rambharose Dasji, who is said to
be performing tapasya for the last 44 years. At Gangotri the Mandir Samiti
felicitated Shri Kedilaya. A detailed discussion with the Samiti members was
held regarding village development. At Kedarnath head priest of the temple
Shri Gangadhar welcomed him. The Yatra was in Badrinath on July 3 where there
was a meeting with Dharmadhikari Shri Bhuvendnera Uniyal and head priest of
the Temple Shri Ishwaran Nambudiri. In Hemkund Saheb, on July 5, Shri Kedilaya
had darshan of the historic Gurudwara and the Laxman Temple.
--Top
17. VIDEO
DOCUMENTARY ON THE HINDU ART OF BALI RELEASED:
Ashok Thakkar has produced an
informative documentary on the Hindu art of Bali. In this 15-minute film, he
takes the viewer on a tour of temples and public sculptures, both ancient and
modern found across the island. It can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKuOe9OlxHc
--Top
SHRI
VISHWA NIKETAN:Pravas:Shri
Saumitra Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag would visit Suriname, Trinidad &
Taobago and Guyana in Aug – September. Shri Ravikumar sah samyojak would be on
a tour to Singapore, Thailand, HongKong and South Korea.Visitors:
Ashish Puri and family USA --Top
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Some perceive God in the heart
by the intellect through meditation; others by the yoga of knowledge; and
others by the yoga of work. Some, however, do not understand Brahman, but
having heard from others, take to worship. They also transcend death by their
firm faith to what they have heard. – Bhagwadgeeta
--Top
JAI SHREE RAM
CURE FOR SURE
Pramod Kumar
A recent study conducted by
Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition found that the most vegetables
we buy for our kitchen have residues of 18 pesticides and 5 of them are
present in almost all the vegetables. Banned pesticides like aldicarb and
highly toxic ones like monocrotophos were also found in the samples. Findings
of this study are similar to the studies conducted in previous or later years
by NGOs or the government agencies. A study by Union Agriculture Ministry also
found residues of many pesticides like Cypermethrin in ladys finger and
cabbage, Chlorpyriphos in cauliflower and Chlorpyriphos in cabbage. The Indian
Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in 2003 found that all the samples they
took from the markets were contaminated. A 2010 study by the same institute
reconfirmed that the banned pesticides were still present in the samples.
Another study in Delhi claimed that 35 verities of vegetables and fruits
picked from Delhi markets had high doses of banned pesticides.
Studies have revealed that
hardly 1 per cent of the pesticide actually acts on the pest and the rest goes
into our system through food, water or the environment. That is why even the
mother’s milk has been found infected. Research carried out by one Dr Rashmi
Sanghi at IIT Kanpur recently found 800 per cent more than the permissible
limits of pesticides in the samples of mothers’ milk. Those pesticides entered
the mothers’ milk through air, water and the food they consumed. Even a very
harmful pesticide, Endosulfan, was found in those samples. Endosulfan is said
to have claimed the lives of over 5000 people and crippled countless in
Kasargod area of Kerala. Worried over these findings the UPA government in
2012 formed an expert committee under the Chairpersonship of Dr. Sandhya
Kulshrestha, Additional Deputy Director General of Ministry of Health & family
Welfare to frame a policy for periodic checks to detect pesticide residues in
vegetables and fruits. The Committee in its report submitted in March 2013
suggested to promote the use of environment-friendly bio-pesticides.
Who is responsible for this
disastrous situation and who will promote the use of ‘environment friendly bio
pesticides’ is the million dollor question? Fact is that none (neither the
farmers nor governments) wants to take a firm decision about rejecting
chemical pesticides and adopting nature-friendly farming.
Manpura village in Rajasthan,
about 27 km from Jhalawar district headquarters under Asnawar tehsil, has
taken a big leap on this front. The village with just 355 people strictly
rejected chemical pesticides and majority of the farmers have turned to
organic farming. Contrary to perception that yield in organic farming is lower
than the chemical farming, the villagers here have proved that the yield is
basically higher and profitable in organic farming. The man behind this change
in Manpura is Hukum Chand Patidar, who in 2003 took the initiative and
transformed the lives of not only the people in his village but also the
entire biodiversity in the area. “I was a conventional farmer till 2003. That
year something dramatic happened in my farm. Many peacocks and animals at the
farm started dying. I realised it was the pesticide that may have poisoned
them. I was myself using a lot of monocrotophos, which is very toxic for
birds, and Endosulfan. I felt very guilty and the event completely changed the
course of my work, recollects Shri Patidar.
The experiment started in 2003
has now been emulated by all the farmers who now cultivate organic produces at
over 200 acre lands. Apart from gram, wheat, pulses, vegetables and fruits
like papaya, oranges, and spices like coriander, garlic, maithi, are very
popular. These products have demand even in Germany, Japan, Australia and
Korea. “It is the popularity of our produces that a group of some farm
researchers from Japan is scheduled to visit here from July 19-20 to study our
methods of growing these spices and other organic produces,” points out Shri
Patidar while talking to Organiser.
Apart from Jaipur, Udaipur,
Kota, Jhalawar in Rajasthan, the produces of this village are in great demand
in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal also. “Now the demand is so high that orders
are placed even before the crops are harvested,” added Shri Patidar, who was
invited by film star Amir Khan in his show, Satyameva Jayate last year, to
share his experience with the entire country. Shri Patidar rejects all claims
that production decreases in organic farming. “From 2003 to 2006 the
production was a little low but later it increased substantially.” Now to
promote organic farming in neighbouring areas, the villagers of Manpura have
formed Akshya Jaivik Krishi Sansthan. “Presently, 120 farmers are associated
with it and we want to spread the activities all over Rajasthan. Activities
have already begun in Barmer, Bikaner and seven other districts,” Patidar
added.
Very few people know that the
prime inspiration behind this change in Manpura is Rashtriya Swayamsevaks
Sangh workers. “This project was basically conceived with the inspiration of
senior Sangh leader Shri Hastimal, who is now Akhil Bharatiya Sampark Pramukh.
He inspired us to make Manpura a model village for organic farming. Since
beginning we used only cow-based or nature-friendly pesticides and manure and
strictly said no to chemical pesticides. Many senior Sangh leaders including
RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Bhaiyaji Joshi, Akhil Bharatiya Gram Vikas Pramukh Dr
Dineshji, Akhil Bharatiya Gou Sewa Pramukh Shri Shankarlal have visited the
village.
For most people the cow and her
progenies are now useless animals. But in this village, the cow and her
progenies proved to be the backbone of this transformation. Every house has
desi cow. “It has scientifically been proved that the Indian bread of cow has
the capacity to make India disease-free, loan-free, pollution-free,
crime-free, unemployment-free, hunger-free and malnutrition-free. But the
problem is despite knowing all facts, nobody wants to move forward. The
swayamsevaks in Manpura have taken an initiative, which can be emulated by the
entire country,” said Shri Shankarlal while talking to Organiser.
Though many successful
experiments of organic farming are taking place in southern and north-eastern
parts of the country, the successful experiment of Manpura exhorts the people
of north India to move forward before it is too late.
(Organiser Weekly, July 6,
2014)
--Top
5 THINGS YOGA TAUGHT ME ABOUT
SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS
Dina vardouniotis
Anyone who knows me, knows my
obsession with yoga. I like to say that I started before Madonna got on the
bandwagon, not that pop culture should be measured against Madonna, but you
know what I mean. I recently took up Yin which is the opposite of Yang, or
active practices which resulted in an overzealouschaturanga (pronounced
sha-ta-run-ga) flows that shattered my rotator cuff. As a self-admitted Type
A, I dreaded the slow pace and what felt like endless holds of each pose.
Someone wise once said, "what you resist most, is likely what you also need
the most." Here's what I learned what I needed and to do more of at work in
order to succeed:
1. Find Your Edge: People
are often horrified at the pretzel-like positions that yogis are able to
achieve. "I'm not that flexible!" They forget that yoga is a practice not a
destination. The biggest mistake we make is working toward what we believe the
outcome should look like, as opposed to focusing on getting there. "Finding
your edge" is a wonderful way to describe the practice of continually setting
the bar high for one's performance. Being comfortably uncomfortable is the
perfect "edge." In your practice and in the office, being comfortable means
that you'll never advance further than where you are right now. Whereas
pushing yourself just a little bit further each time, will lead you to
somewhere that you might not have expected you'll ever get to. Your
self-development plan consist of big goals but a few muscles that you commit
to flex more so that you can find your edge.
2. Observe Then Adjust:
In yin, you can hold a pose for up to five minutes. What feels "ok" in the
first minute, can be very awkward as you approach the third minute, and then
mind-bending post minute four. My yoga teacher reminds us to observe our
bodies prior to adjusting. Why? Chi is described as the energy flow in the
body, which can feel like a slight tingle. Whenever we get feelings in our
bodies, we feel like we have to move. We may not need to in order to access
the energy that a pose is providing us. Organizations are not buildings,
processes, procedures but a culmination of resources or energies that pulsate
every second of every minute of every hour, through conversations,
interactions, presentations, decisions, changes. When a "tingle" comes your
way that makes you a little uncomfortable, take the time to observe before you
move, you may just need to make some adjustments to get the benefit of
something that is unexpected.
3. Let Go of What Doesn't Serve You:
There's the term "monkey brain"
in yoga, which describes the thoughts that jump around in your head. The
visual of someone meditating in a seemingly suspended state of stillness, is
the result of not learning how to shut down thoughts, ideas, worries but to
simply acknowledge them, then let them go. Acknowledging is a very powerful
verb but when used in business, can sound dismissive. The truth is that by
acknowledging something, you recognize its value but also that it doesn't
serve you at this time or at this place. The practice of mindfulness has found
popularity in developing leadership skills. It is simply the ability to focus
on the present, given irrelevant inputs, past assumptions and future concerns.
So when you find yourself on a conference call, distracted by incoming emails
or in a meeting, when your mind starts to wander, practice acknowledging and
letting go so that you can maximize your performance on the here and now.
4. Pause to Integrate:
After coming out of a particularly challenging pose, you may want to want to a
neutral or resting pose. To get the benefits however, there are "receiving
poses" that allow you to integrate what you've done. At work, we often face
challenge and rarely give ourselves time to pause to reflect, understand or
least of all, feel what just transpired. We pride ourselves on jumping on the
next task, next meeting, next call. Take control of your calendar and give
yourself time to pause, especially after important interactions at the office.
Also, take the time to implement journaling at the end of the day to help you
integrate everything that you've been engaged in and its implications to the
next day, next week, next month. You may uncover that what you get out of
pausing is as important as what's transpired prior to that.
5. Breathe: Breathing is
what we do to stay alive naturally, right? So why do we learn to breathe in
yoga? Breathing is the very life force of survival but it is also as a tool to
centre oneself. Controlling and observing your breath can bring awareness and
focus on what is important. The challenge to optimizing work productivity is
being able to manage distractions and demands. In the most difficult of
postures, your mind almost seeks distractions to cope with what your body is
dealing with. Breathing is the tool you use to focus your mind and body.
Leading successfully is having the toolkit to manage through unexpected or
difficult times. Others sense trust in the stability and calm that you create.
Breathing as a tool to manage stress and develop mindfulness can be pivotal in
critical times in business and over the long haul in your career.
Nameste
( Dina vardouniotis is
Vice President and General Manager, JPMorgan Chase Toronto
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dina-vardouniotis/5-things-yoga-taught-me-about-business_b_5448448.html)
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