69% of people want to experience spiritual growth in their daily lives, according to a recent Gallup poll. This can be hard to achieve, of course, when one spends an average of eight hours a day at work, sometimes having to bring extra work home. According to Global News, stress is the number one reason for leaving a job; one in four Canadians quit owing to unbearable work-related stress and a further 17% have considered leaving for the same reason. Stress has a big impact on motivation, employee engagement, and employee retention – all powerful reasons why top management should consider the value of boosting spiritual wellbeing through mindfulness based practises such as yoga.
What is the Relationship between Spirituality and Mental Health?
Recent research has made great progress in terms of proving the inexorable relationship between spiritual wellbeing, and physical and mental health. Studies have shown that spiritual people are on the whole happier, and that the only social activity that promotes sustained happiness, are those with a spiritual basis.
Spirituality also has an effect on physical health; study after study has revealed that spirituality – belief in a greater power, God, or life force that unites all of humanity – can help people recover faster from illness and surgery; it can also increase vitality and motivation to exercise and adopt lifestyle changes that promote whole body healing.
Spirituality is More than a Stress Buster
Research has shown that spirituality has farther reaching consequences than merely reducing the prevalence of the human ‘fight or flight response’. One of its most powerful benefits is the sense of community; sharing beliefs with others who are often a powerful source of support during life’s vicissitudes.
For philosophers such as Carl Jung, denying one’s spirituality led to a sense of loneliness and ‘insignificance’ that was closely related to anxiety and depression. Jung argued that human beings contained various dimensions; that our ‘collective unconscious’ – or spiritual facet – was the most profound in that it was what connected us to the rest of humanity. Denying this aspect of ourselves, he argued, had dire consequences for our health. Jung reminded readers of the need to reconnect with nature, where we could find various symbols of the greater life force in rivers, streams, mountain ranges and other majestic natural landscapes.
What Difference Can Yoga Make?
Yoga has been found in numerous studies to lower levels of stress hormone, cortisol. As such, it is used in a variety of official health care settings to deal with conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression, breast cancer recovery, and more. In essence, yoga boasts a powerful combination of physical control (manifested in the asanas, or postures practitioners adopt), pranayamic (or controlled) breathing, and, often, a meditation component (which brings the mind into the present moment).
Many studies have been carried out on mindfulness alone, with findings once again showing its ability to nip stress in the bud and promote better mood, energy, and relaxation all at once.
To reduce stress, build a stronger team and tackle employee health from a holistic viewpoint, it is vital to embrace yoga, nature escapes and other practices which, as Carl Jung said, could connect us to our profound inner life, to the magnificent world outside, and to each and very sentient being.
Jane Sandwood