Working in a fast paced, high-pressure, competitive business environment creates stress, particularly for executives. While this is certainly not news to you, the way in which executives can successfully learn to deal with, or prevent it may well be.

Stress can be any stimulation to the nervous system that creates a fight or flight (sympathetic and para-sympathetic) response for the individual. Pressure to meet deadlines, dealing with clients and long periods of intense focus can over-stimulate the nervous system into creating a fight or flight response. We at Vinyasa Flow Yoga (VFY) have devised a Stress Relief Programme (SRP) to combat the symptoms and effects of this response in the work place.

Using a series of techniques derived from ancient healing arts (Hatha yoga, Tai Chi) the SRP brings the nervous system back into balance, becoming strengthened and rejuvenated. It is important for any individual who wishes to deal with stress to have an awareness and basic understanding of how to stimulate their nervous system in a healthy way. By using simple yet effective breathing techniques and exercises it is possible to combat the effects of sitting at a desk in front of a computer eight hours daily.

Techniques developed for the SRP are taught within a two hour session, can be incorporated into any conference or meeting and are reviewed over a six month period. A chair, a small amount of floor and wall space is all that is needed for a person to practice these techniques successfully. Each teaching session involves practical experience, revision and implementation of all techniques relevant to the groups working environment. The combination of theory and practice, with attention to individual conditions allows the client to come away with practical applications best suited to their needs. Whether their concerns involve; their posture at the desk, mental focus throughout work or simply how to unwind at the end of the day all these will be addressed.

Our Programme, which costs €2,500, generally runs for six months, on the following schedule:

• Initial instruction

  Morning, or afternoon, session (limited to ten executives)
  Teaching, discussion, practice and review

• Second instruction (two weeks later)

  Morning, or afternoon, session (limited to ten executives)
  Discussion, review, new teaching and practice

• Follow-on instruction (every second month)

  Morning, or afternoon, session (limited to ten executives)
  ‘Refresher’ instruction as well as the introduction of several new techniques.

Some of the techniques used are as follows:

• Conscious breathing (Pranayama) for dealing with mental stress: by active deep breathing the nervous system is stimulated and taught to relax. As the most common response to stress is to fight or flight (sympathetic and parasympathetic response) we find this technique is most beneficial when under pressure.
• Conscious Movement for dealing with physical stress: the body becomes tense under stress and the posture is affected. By combining conscious breath to specific movements which target the hip and shoulder girdles, tension is released and good posture restored.
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT): Using positive affirmations while actively stimulating major acupressure points along the meridian system relieves emotional stress.

At present our SRP is at work within a number of government agencies and private firms including; Dell, Vodafone, Allianz, and the NCPP (National Center for Performance and Partnership). Our SRP is helping them establish a working knowledge of stress management techniques for their executives. Our services are available to your executives in the interests of keeping them healthy and productive in their responsibilities. A small investment in their health can reflect greatly on the company or department as a whole.

For more information on how our Stress Relief Programme can help your executives be happier in their work environment please contact our Director at 01-6587800 or email to david@vinyasaflowyoga.net to schedule one of our consultants for a session at your office or next conference.