The most interesting part of the definition given by the Global Wellness Institute to define wellness is that wellness falls firmly on the proactive side, “incorporating attitudes and activities that prevent disease, improve health, enhance quality of life, and bring a person to increasingly optimum levels of well-being” (source).
To be proactive is to have a continuous life long approach to health. But many of us just tap into our wellness at points of exhaust and pain. According to the Global Wellness Institute’s findings, an astounding 76% of world workers are “struggling” or “suffering” in their physical wellbeing (see below).(source).
Clearly, we are in a generation of work which is impeding us from taking care of ourselves. As my close circle of friends and coworkers struggle with the same question, I’ve pursued to explore the topic worried about how my future wellbeing might be jeopardized otherwise. What follows is a story of my exploration about the question I posed to myself when I realized I needed a ‘refuel’ post-MBA:
“How would perceiving wellness as a life skill be applied to my life?”
The risk of loosing sight of our wellness
Throughout my MBA I was aware I’d have to balance my mind intensive year with an activity which would allow me to connect back with myself and calm the mind from very mentally driven tasks: classes, pitches, thesis, consultancy projects and more. An “active pause” felt like the right feeling to describe what I needed.
Wellness is a vital part of our lives that is constantly being put at risk by our society, workplace and city habits.
Reflecting on this, I began to mutate the concept of taking an active pause to the concept of acquiring a new life skill in wellness. A life skill that I needed to be able to navigate the next 10 years of my professional life if I wanted to stay physically healthy, mentally strong and spiritually connected to my path and values whilst pursuing an active career.
Finding a project with purpose
But it took a while to find the right place to acquire this new life skill. A Yoga Training was always in my bucket list but felt far fetched as a business entrepreneur. I quickly realized that was what I had to aim for if it fit my requirements: A culturally challenging trip that would generate impact through my practice and investment- an active pause that would be embedded in my values.
After weeks of Google searches and inquiring with friends, I found YogaUganda, an initiative by a UK teacher (Leyla Meredith) based in Uganda for more than a decade, using Yoga to generate community integration and wellbeing, working with locals (men and women) from all walks of life using yoga to feel better in their everyday lives. She had a CSR initiative and clear purpose to make Yoga accessible to all. I was hooked.
Reaching out to Leyla through e-mail I told her who I was and what I was searching for, and also how I thought her work had so much potential to be amplified around the world for more people to know about the work they did. I was eager to see how my MBA skills and impact driven entrepreneurial background at Innodriven could relate to her endeavor.
Leyla responded curious and open to explore collaboration. I shared with her the global audience hungry for such positive projects, including B Corporations and how she would feel identified with other business entrepreneurs including social impact in their business model.
Yoga as my life skill
If I was going to do a trip with them, I’d try to also share my expertise where it was needed. Through the past weeks, Innodriven, the creative agency I co-founded came on board as a partner to help Leyla and her business partner Payal Gori work on expanding the mission and vision of their shared start-up, Karuna Yoga.
Using our services in “Purpose Design Thinking” “Culture Innovation Workshops” and “Design for Good Innovation”, we began to pivot it towards a Transformational Travel company, knowing that clients were looking for more than just Yoga as a training career but yoga as a life skill that would provide personal resilience, cultural intelligence, and shared wellbeing. Our mission today is empowering community wellbeing through Yoga.
With the help of our sister company, 3vectores, this week we launched the new websitewhich was co-created between teams in 3 different continents.
We wanted to communicate to prospects a journey to develop yoga training, but that would also allow travelers to indulge in a new culture whilst reflecting on how this practice and mental mindset could be integrated into life post-travel . Either through social enterprise initiatives (making it their career) or living more integrated in the daily life.
Lamu, known as the wellness island of Kenya is our first 2018 journey. Celebrated for its delicious vegetarian food and relaxed lifestyle is a perfect destination to host what will be the first ever Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) in Lamu Island – a very special experience for the organizers. This will become my active pause for 2018, and hopefully my wellness life skill.
Karuna has perfectly timed this Journey with the Lamu Yoga Festival, an international festival that takes place on the island from March 14th-18th. The festival attracts hundreds of international enthusiasts looking for wellness and a different experience for their vacation.
These offerings are part of the U$S563 billion wellness industry which is estimated to keep increasing as our global worker’s health declines. ( source)
The changing stigma of Yoga
Yoga has a stigma attached to it surrounding yoga moms and fit girls. But as YogaUganda proved to me after my google search, yoga is being adopted by all. In Uganda, at the Jinja Community established by YogaUganda it is being practiced by the poor and the wealthy, the men and the women, prisoners and refugees, expats and tourists, new moms and even survivors of domestic violence. “This was not the case 10 years ago as it had a taboo feeling connected to religious-affiliations. Now there is more widespread knowledge as a wellness technique”, says Leyla Meredith, YogaUganda Founder.
Back home, I know the cliche behind yoga is changing and more often than not people around me say “I need to start integrating something that will calm my mind and make my body feel better, I can’t go on like this”. This revelation and openness by society to explore wellness proves we are slowly coming to terms with the importance it plays in our lives.
The wellness ship won’t sail to you (you will have to make an effort)
If we want to stay connected as humans in the accelerated digital future that is changing our habits, lifestyles and pursuits, the challenge for our generation’s wellbeing is to change our thinking around personal wellbeing from an optional activity to an essential life skill, no matter your economic standing or success, we need to strive for universal access to preventive wellbeing.
But it isn’t easy. Our society is not yet carved out to this, so an extra effort needs to be done. Perhaps seen as a professional risk at times to fit wellness in your life, we need to be creative on how to time projects, vacations, and schedules to make sure we make it work. Explaining to coworkers and family why this is important and how it will benefit us. It won’t be easy at first but it can be done.
If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it! – Johnathan Winters
Even the new era of mindful start-ups (BCorps, Social Enterprises and Good Place to Work establishments) still haven’t mastered this challenge even with the intention to lead a work-life balance workplace. There is still friction encountered by our circle of friends or colleagues when we allow ourselves personal wellbeing in our busy lives. As well as burn out by successful impact entrepreneurs. At Innodriven and 3vectores, a fellow BCorp, we work hard to push ourselves to reach this ambition and tap into cultural change at the office on this front.
As we become a more entrepreneurial and gig society switching from jobs every 2 years, we won’t be able to depend on corporate wellness programs but will have to be embedded as a life skill we carry with us from job to job. For all who feel identified with the importance for wellness for good business to be able to maintain our mind-body-soul at optimum levels during these shifts is the incentive. We already know high wellness translates to high performance and productivity. Why is it that we still don’t let it permeate our daily lives?
During my Karuna Yoga Journey in March I will discuss with fellow international participants the possibilities behind this exciting personal and business challenge.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic: If you had to choose, what would be your life skill in wellness? Would you be able to develop a life skill or personal development course at your company or start-up? Is proposing wellness training as a category to invest in for yourself and co-workers something your company would be open to or is already doing?
Benny started out practicing Hatha and Iyengar yoga from the age of 15, but only discovered Yin Yoga in 2015, finally becoming a teacher in 2017. Since then she has never looked back and continues training in and teaching this wonderful practice wherever and whenever she can. Based in Kenya, she teaches studio classes in Nairobi.
Jordan has been practicing yoga for over 10 years in the US, Europe and Kenya. She received certification in Baptiste Power Yoga with the Africa Yoga Project in Kenya, completed the Karuna YTT in 2018 and recently completed a course in yoga for 12-step recovery.