Eliminate stress with yoga

PRACTISING yoga, the ancient art of relaxation at the workplace is effective in managing stress among the workers, a prominent yoga trainer for the corporate world, Nikhil Desai said today.

He said stress is one of the main silent killers among city dwellers today and a major factor that caused the decline in people's performance and productivity.

``The increasingly demanding modern lifestyle in this fast changing world has caused many people to be constantly under pressure to perform and achieve excellent results in their work. But instead of performing and achieving goals, stress strains energy. It kills productivity, physical well-being and relationship,'' he said in an interview at the 35th International Federation of Training and Development Organisation Conference and Exhibition 2006, held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, where he had conducted an interactive workshop on managing stress. Desai, 47, who is a qualified yoga practitioner for 20 years said practising certain yogic postures and breathing techniques not only helped calming body and mind, but also improved memory concentration, boost self confidence and positiveness, enhanced work efficiency and productivity. ``It is beneficial to both employers and employees. Managing stress well creates happy personnel and a harmonious working environment thus helps to increase an organisation's performance and success,'' he said. The Mumbai based trainer has 17 years of experience in training and development in a wide scope of training such as stress management, personal excellence, leadership and achieving work-life balance.

He has been conducting such training to more than 350 companies around the world such as AC Nielsen, Barclays Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Ernst & Young and Cadbury. He said the yoga techniques that he introduced to his clients were simple form of exercise that can be performed anywhere and anytime.

``The yoga techniques that we use are modified to suit today's busy executives' lifestyles. They are designed to get the best results in the shortest time. Our techniques are unique because they are fun, easy to learn and perform, and time saving. There is no equipment required and practitioners can also do the simple techniques at their work station or wherever they are,'' he said.