Utilise the GrowthGuide: I Ching Wisdom app to make ancient wisdom accessible, empowering you to harness its influence for self-improvement and personal development in the modern world. The I Ching isn’t just an ancient text—it’s a companion in your personal growth journey.

Embrace the I Ching for Self-Improvement

The I Ching offers a plethora of benefits. Its wisdom, deeply rooted and spanning millennia, acts as a robust guide to personal growth and development.

Key Benefits:

  1. Insights into Self and Life Patterns: The I Ching delivers profound insights into personal habits, life situations, and the patterns that govern our lives. It allows you to identify deeply entrenched habits, discern recurring themes in your life, and understand their implications on your personal growth journey.
  2. Guidance in Decision Making: The I Ching serves as a trusted advisor during pivotal decision-making instances. It presents perspectives you may not have considered, broadening your understanding of your choices and promoting confident and informed decisions that align with your personal growth objectives.
  3. Encourages Mindfulness and Presence: The I Ching fosters mindfulness and presence. Engaging with its wisdom creates a reflective space for contemplation, helping you stay present, grounded, and connected to your personal journey, amidst life’s challenges.
  4. Gains Perspective and Understanding: The I Ching’s holistic view of life’s complexities cultivates a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. This broader perspective helps you see challenges not as isolated events but parts of a larger whole, encouraging a more resilient mindset and fostering a growth mindset.
  5. Ethical and Moral Compass: The I Ching, rooted in virtue, promotes integrity and kindness. It underscores the significance of ethical conduct and empathetic interactions, essential qualities for meaningful personal growth.
  6. Promotes Lifelong Learning: The wisdom of the I Ching is vast and timeless, allowing for continuous learning and growth. Each consultation can reveal new insights and perspectives, supporting your ongoing development and self-improvement journey.

Useful Links

  1. Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Apple App Store – Google Play Store
  2. Collection of engaging and enlightening stories for children that explore the principles of Taoism. Download on Amazon
  3. Learn more about the aiching.app
  4. Interested in Tai Chi?

One sunny morning, as he played by a tree,
Little Panda thought, “What could the secret be?
This Tao they all mention, so simple and wise,
I’ll seek out its teachings, and open my eyes.”

So Little Panda set out on a quest,
To learn from the Tao, and be at his best.
He’d wander the forests, the rivers, and hills,
To uncover the knowledge that nature instills.

Useful Links

  1. Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Apple App Store – Google Play Store
  2. Collection of engaging and enlightening stories for children that explore the principles of Taoism. Download on Amazon
  3. Learn more about the aiching.app
  4. Interested in Tai Chi?

Little Panda and the Flowing River

In a land far away, where nature blooms each day,
There’s a path known as Tao, where wisdom and peace lay.
A way of living, gentle and kind,
A treasure of balance for hearts and minds.

Now meet Little Panda, so curious and small,
With wide, eager eyes, he’d wander and crawl.
He yearned to learn secrets the world held tight,
And uncover the beauty of day and night.

Useful Links

  1. Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Apple App Store – Google Play Store
  2. Collection of engaging and enlightening stories for children that explore the principles of Taoism. Download on Amazon
  3. Learn more about the aiching.app
  4. Interested in Tai Chi?

Head over to the the RichRoll website and check out the podcast with Wim Hof Meet Wim Hof, aka The Iceman. – Why Breath Is Life, Cold Is God & Feeling Is Understanding A Dutch-born world record holder, adventurer, daredevil and human guinea pig, _The Iceman _is best known for his preternatural ability to withstand extreme cold.

Perhaps more significant and compelling is his experimentation and experience with specific and teachable breathing techniques. Rooted in the ancient yogic tradition of pranayama and canonized for a modern audience as _The Wim Hof Method, _Wim asserts that he can “turn his own thermostat up” and consciously activate his sympathetic nervous system by using his mind through yoga. This may sound far-fetched. But get a grip on some of the crazy things this holder of more than 20 world records has accomplished:

  • shirtless adorned in nothing but shorts, Wim scaled above death zone altitude (22,000 ft) on Mount Everest;
  • barefoot, shirtless and again in nothing but shorts, Wim completed a full marathon above the polar circle in Finland;
  • he summited Kilimanjaro in less than 2 days, again in nothing but shorts;
  • above the polar circle, he swam a world record 66 meters under a meter of ice;
  • he can sit in an ice bath for almost 2 hours; and
  • in 2011, he ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without water

But there’s more.

Under doctor supervision, In 2011 Wim voluntarily allowed himself to be injected with a poisonous E. coli endotoxin certain to make any human being very ill. The idea was to demonstrate that by using his meditation and breathing techniques he could effectively control his autonomic immune system response and nullify any deleterious health implications.

Wim did not get sick.

Beyond his countless feats of incredulity, he’s a long-time vegetarian who — for the last 30+ years — has refrained from eating any food before 6pm. All of this is seemingly insane.

But Wim is hardly a carnival sideshow act — the physical stunts merely a means of attracting scientific community attention for purposes of study and documentation. Ask Wim and he will tell you that he is nothing special.

He declares his feats replicable and his methods teachable — a curriculum that holds the potential to unlock a battery of human superpowers that extend well beyond extreme temperature tolerance to include control over a wide array of sympathetic nervous system and metabolic ‘reptilian brain’ functions previously thought to be beyond conscious manipulation. Case in point? After a mere 4 days of instruction, Wim led a group of brave, volunteering students through his endotoxin exposure experiment (again, under doctor supervision and scientific observation). Not one of them got sick. And he now routinely takes groups of students – most of which you would characterize as non-athletes — up Kilamanjaro.

In nothing but shorts of course. An absolutely fascinating guy with charm and charisma for miles, my conversation with Wim is less about human biology than it is about about belief systems. It’s an exploration of dormant biological and mental potential. It’s about yoga, grief, depression, change and the nature of consciousness. And it’s about the ever expanding event horizon of human potential that should push and challenge and nudge you out of your comfort zone to call into question the unnecessary limits we self-impose upon ourselves daily. Specific topics explored include:

  • how to awaken inner dormant ability
  • how to control metabolic pathways
  • the science behind the Wim Hof Method
  • surviving grief — catalyst for change & exploration
  • delving deeper into consciousness
  • furthering the message with 26 world records
  • being of service and in tune with nature
  • voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system
  • breathing & extreme cold
  • pH levels: acidosis vs. alkalosis
  • voluntary E. coli endotoxin injection
  • Mount Kilimanjaro ascent
  • pain management & inflammation studies
  • reversing chronic conditions
  • combatting depression, grief & addiction
  • intermittent hypoxic training
  • spiritual, environmental, ethical, and health crises
  • the primal path
  • typical day with Wim Hof

I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Useful Links

  1. Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Apple App Store – Google Play Store
  2. Collection of engaging and enlightening stories for children that explore the principles of Taoism. Download on Amazon
  3. Learn more about the aiching.app
  4. Interested in Tai Chi?

History – How the course began

It started with colleagues joining me for Tai Chi practice. This lead me to explore the benefits of meditation which is exactly what you are doing as you calmly move through your Tai Chi routine. Colleagues reported feeling and noticing significant changes in their behaviour while practicing.

How powerful was a meditation practice?

This lead me to dive deeper into the health and meditation benefits of Tai Chi. On my journey I came across the work done at Google on their ‘Search Inside Yourself’ course. I found their research fascinating especially with regards to the six competencies that distinguish star performers from average performers in the tech sector. Turns out that four are emotional intelligence with the top two being EQ. What was mind-blowing was that emotional intelligence was trainable through a mindfulness meditation practice.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is your ability to recognise and understand emotions in yourself and others. The ability to use this awareness to manage your behaviour and relationships more effectively.

Decades of research now points to emotional intelligence as the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack. It’s a powerful way to focus your energy in one direction with a tremendous result. Emotional intelligence has a direct link to your earning potential. Every point increase in EQ adds $1300 to an annual salary. This is true in all industries, at all levels all over the world. Besides supporting your career emotional intelligence training can support your life as well. Emotional intelligence influences health related outcomes. It reduces the perception of stress in response to trying situations. EQ strengthens the brains ability to cope with emotional stress. It helps you from having your amygdala highjack your brain. This resilience boost your immunity which protects you from getting sick.

Emotional intelligence training is essential because you gain value in many areas of your life. I have experienced the benefits thanks to my years of Tai Chi and blessed to have been trained by an amazing teacher, Grandmaster Dr Lin Feng-Chao. Who was a student of Cheng Man-ch’ing. I’ve also been witness to the effects a mindfulness meditation practice has had on colleagues and students. This is the main reason I developed a 6 week emotional intelligence training course at JUMO.

Corporations’ Newest Productivity Hack: Meditation. Businesses are experiencing the benefits of improving emotional intelligence in the workplace. We have a number of Mindfulness Meditation courses that can bring a productivity boost to staff, enhances focus, creativity and over all well-being. See an outline of what is covered in the emotional intelligence training course.


Individual Emotional Intelligence Mindfulness Meditation Workshop

Begin a journey of self discovery. Take a introductory class to learn the benefits of mindfulness meditation. We will teach you basic techniques so you can begin experiencing the advantages of a meditation practice. Studies show that emotional competencies are twice as important as pure intellect and expertise. Learn how meditation builds emotional intelligence which is a key factor in success at work and life.

Meditation is also a powerful tool in dealing with stress. The key to emotional intelligence is keen attention. Learn methods and techniques to gain this valuable ability. Mindfulness does not require having to sit cross-legged on a cushion. We show you how to practice mindfulness in all areas of your life. Additional Benefits of Learning to Meditate

  • Emotional stability improves
  • Creativity increases
  • Happiness increases
  • Intuition develops
  • Gain clarity and peace of mind
  • Problems become smaller
  • Meditation sharpens and focuses the mind
  • A sharper mind reduces tension, anger and frustration
  • Mindfulness meditation improves connections in the brain

Learn more about the science behind meditation. Science is making some amazing discoveries to a skill that has been around for thousands of years. Our post on the 7 Qualities of People with High Emotional Intelligence. Take an introductory 2hr class to begin your attention training NOW! For a full course take a look at the company 6 week option below.

What we cover in the course.

1. Attention Training Attention is the basis of all higher cognitive and emotional abilities. Thus the key to emotional intelligence training is ATTENTION. The idea is to create a quality of mind that is clear and calm at the same time. We use mindfulness meditation techniques to build attention. We explore ways besides the traditional sitting meditation to enable us to be mindful whenever possible. Allow the student to experiment and explore their own unique experiences to tailor mindfulness into their day to day activities.

2. Self-Knowledge and Self-Mastery Use your trained attention to better perceive ones own cognitive and emotive processes. Begin to observe ones thought stream and the process of emotion with clarity. Learn to observe from a third-person perspective. Once you can do that, you create the type of deep self-knowledge that eventually leads to self-mastery.

3. Creating Useful Social and Mental Habits “I wish for this person to be happy”, becomes your habitual instinctive first thought. Having such habits can change everything at work. This sincere goodwill is picked up unconsciously by others creating strong trust. This leads to highly productive collaborations. Such habits can be volitionally trained.

There are 6 Modules

The course consist of 6 main areas than run for an hour a week for six weeks. Ideally have a gap between modules so students can practice the mindfulness meditation practices.

Module 1: Talks about the importance of emotional intelligence training. The science and research that highlight the effects and benefits of a mindfulness meditation practice and how it supports the improvement and optimisation of EQ.

Module 2: The theory and practice of mindfulness meditation. Get into the nitty gritty.

Module 3: Mindfulness meditation is not just about sitting. We explore ways you can bring mindfulness to other parts of your life. A good example is walking meditation which appeals to more physical people. Why I enjoy Tai Chi so much, meditation in movement.

Module 4: Self-Confidence, this section is about looking within ourselves. A single word encapsulates this section ’clarity’.

Module 5: Self-Mastery, in the sections we make use of self-awareness to gain mastery over our emotions.

Module 6: Empathy & Compassion. Develop empathy through understanding and connecting to others. These are the keys for developing trust which are essential for effective and collaborative relationships.

3 Course Options

1 Day Emotional Intelligence Mindfulness Meditation Workshop

We cover modules 1,2 & 3 which build the core skill of attention training which is the foundation you need to build and improve EQ. A follow up day in the future once a student has developed a good meditation practice enables them to leverage modules 4, 5 & 6 more effectively.


2 Day Emotional Intelligence Mindfulness Meditation Workshop

We cover all the modules. Day 1 we cover modules 1,2 & 3 which build the core skill of attention training which is the foundation you need to build and improve EQ.

Day 2 we do modules 4, 5 & 6. Ideally one should give the students time to improve and refine their attention training. Best is to run the second day sometime in the future.


Introduction and Emotional Intelligence Kick Starter

We offer a 1 hour talk to introduce the benefits of mindfulness meditation. Show how it support emotional intelligence and give staff a kick starter to begin a meditation practice. Get a view into why EQ is so important in both work and personal lives. Learn techniques of mindfulness that do not require sitting cross-legged on a cushion.

7 Qualities of Emotionally Intelligence People

  1. They are adaptable. People with a strong EQ are not afraid of change. The understand it’s a necessary part of life.
  2. Strong Self-Awareness. People strong in self-awareness know what they are good at and what they still need to master. Understand what weaknesses they need to work on. Know what environments are optimal for their work style.
  3. Empathy. This is the strongest gift. Having an innate ability to truly understand people builds trust and authenticity. The foundation of any relationship work or personal.
  4. Not Perfectionists. Life is always changing it’s never static. People strong in EQ understand that perfection is impossible. They learn to roll with the punches and learn from mistakes.
  5. They’re Balanced. How someone is balancing their work and personal lives is extremely important. They eat well, get plenty of sleep and have interests outside work.
  6. Curiosity. People strong in EQ don’t judge, they explore the possibilities. An inborn sense of wonder makes them delightful to be around.
  7. They set an example for others to follow. Highly emotionally intelligent people don’t get flustered when things don’t go according to plan. Have a knack for getting along with others. An ability to rise above daily irritations earns people with high emotional intelligence the respect from those above them as well as from their colleagues.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Useful Links

  1. Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Apple App Store – Google Play Store
  2. Collection of engaging and enlightening stories for children that explore the principles of Taoism. Download on Amazon
  3. Learn more about the aiching.app
  4. Interested in Tai Chi?

At Just Being we have a course that can bring Mindfulness into your employee wellness program. Plus employees get to boost their emotional intelligence.

At Just Being we have a course that can bring Mindfulness to your employee wellness program. Plus employees get to boost their emotional intelligence. You have probably heard the term “mindfulness” come up in the workplace recently. It’s one of the easiest—and cheapest—ways to help your employees become healthier and happier. Why is mindfulness so popular? Every single person at your office has experienced stress or anxiety at some point in their lives, but not everyone knows how to deal with or cope with stress effectively. Mindfulness can be used as a preventive measure for stress, anxiety and difficulties with concentration. It also works to maintain and boost emotional wellness and awareness.

Mindfulness Explained

By dictionary definition, mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations—used as a therapeutic technique. Mindfulness does not involve any evaluation, interpretation or judgment. In other words, mindfulness is awareness of perception that focuses on “being” rather than “doing.” Mindfulness allows us to block automatic and compulsory thoughts that can cause worry, stress or distraction. By focusing on the task at hand or present state of mind, these negative or distracting thoughts can be cleared away. When mastered, mindfulness creates a sense of control over conscious thoughts, behaviors and attitudes. We become mindful of what we are feeling and how we are acting. Any activity at any time or place can be done with mindfulness. Examples of activities that can incorporate mindfulness are unlimited—for example, exercising, creating art, playing an instrument, working or cleaning. Once mindfulness is learned and executed, it can truly be used in any situation to help boost concentration and identify emotional needs or feelings.

Benefits Of Practicing Mindfulness

With the increase in popularity, mindfulness finally has numbers to back its effectiveness. Although mindfulness is certainly not a new concept, studies have only recently demonstrated the benefits to employees’ well-being. Aetna took the lead with implementing mindfulness-based wellness programs, and their recent success was published in The Atlantic. Since implementing mindfulness-based wellness programs, Aetna has estimated a savings of about $2,000 in health care costs and has gained about $3,000 per employee in productivity. Mindfulness should be cultivated for not only the purpose of saving money in health care costs and productivity but to help reduce or prevent an unhealthy mentality in employees. A 2016 study found that employees who received a weekly two-hour training course on mindfulness over an eight-week period showed improvement in several different areas, including satisfaction of life and hope, along with reduced anxiety. Findings from this study also showed that these employees displayed higher levels of concentration on work, as well as improved interpersonal relationships.

Try Mindfulness For Yourself

Whether it’s at home, on vacation or during the workday, mindfulness can be implemented in several different ways. Here are a few simple ways to make sure you achieve mindfulness to increase your positive thoughts, actions and behaviors:

  • Meditation. Mindfulness is essentially the main framework behind any form of meditation, and there are many to choose from. Some include clearing your thoughts completely, while others involve being mindful of any thoughts or feelings that are present. If you are new to meditation, do some research to find which types of meditation you would feel most comfortable trying or starting out with. Meditation can be done alone, with an instructor or in a group setting. There are also some great apps that can help you relax.
  • Tai Chi is how I discovered mindfulness. Tai Chi is a moving meditation and besides is meditation benefits, there is many science studies showing the health benefits as well.
  • Yoga. In addition to being an effective way to build physical strength, yoga is a good way to build mental strength. Similar to meditation, yoga is an enjoyable way to practice mindfulness. If you have already been practicing yoga, you may not be aware that you have also been practicing mindfulness, especially if you have ever focused on breath awareness. If you have never done yoga before, don’t be afraid to give it a try. Yoga is great for anyone, regardless of age or physical ability.
  • Breathing exercises. This is a simple technique that can be done anywhere, including your desk! Breathing exercises take just a few minutes and can reduce stress and sharpen concentration. There are many resources available online if you need help getting started on simple breathing techniques.
  • Wake up on the “right” side of the bed. Starting your day off by practicing mindfulness will help you tremendously. There’s no doubt that a bad morning will ultimately lead to a bad day. Mindful recently published great tips on mindful things to do to start your day. Keep yourself as stress-free as possible when starting your day so that nothing negative spreads to your office, colleagues or interpersonal relationships.

Looking To Implement Mindfulness At Your Company?

If you are an employer looking to incorporate some mindfulness practices into your employees’ workday, good for you! However, it can be tricky to figure out where to start if you don’t have much experience. Here are a few tips on how to implement mindfulness at your workplace:

  • Educate. Although mindfulness is a trendy topic at the moment, it still remains a foreign subject to a lot of people. Make sure to educate your staff on what mindfulness is and what it means to practice it. Introduce mindfulness in a meeting and share facts and research on its benefits. Show that you practice mindfulness yourself and include ideas for simple ways to try mindfulness. Encourage employees to share positive experiences about any mindful behaviors.
  • Offer classes. Since mindfulness is a relatively new concept for many, try offering beginner sessions in or outside of your company for employees. Although mindfulness is not necessarily difficult to achieve or practice, it can be hard for beginners to know where to start. Company-sponsored classes on mindfulness, meditation or yoga can be an excellent jumping off point.
  • Practice in the office. Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere, including cubicles, desks and meetings. Try out some mindfulness activities at a meeting or staff outing to get employees engaged. Incorporate simple breathing techniques or beginner yoga poses and have employees try these at the end or beginning of a meeting.

Mindfulness is a step in the right direction when it comes to bringing a more holistic approach to your employee wellness program. Emotional and mental wellness have a huge impact on the well-being of your team. With a healthy mindset, it is easier to perform and concentrate during the workday. Try out mindfulness for yourself and challenge your wellness team to think of ways to bring mindfulness to all your employees.


I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Useful Links

  1. Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Apple App Store – Google Play Store
  2. Collection of engaging and enlightening stories for children that explore the principles of Taoism. Download on Amazon
  3. Learn more about the aiching.app
  4. Interested in Tai Chi?

Organisational Wellness program – 36% reduction in stress,62 minute increase in production each week,7% lower healthcare costs and $3,000 saved per year, gained productivity.

I came across this article via the ‘Search Inside Yourself’ website. It highlights some interesting stats regarding wellness programs in orginisations. A 36% reduction in stress, 62 minute increase in production each week, 7% lower healthcare costs and $3,000 saved per year based on gained productivity.

Mindfulness can create better organisational wellness

Recent research reveals that these benefits add up to make an impact on organisational culture and effectiveness. Most compelling of these comes from insurance giant Aetna, which developed an internal mindfulness training programs with much support from their CEO Mark Bertolini.

Below is the article.

Personal wellness is a journey, one that can last a lifetime. My journey has led to a yoga routine where I perform asana, pranayama, meditation, and Vedic chanting before work. A skiing accident in 2004 resulted in a spinal cord injury and constant pain from neuropathy. This daily practice helps alleviate my discomfort without the use of medication. It also helps me to be more centered and fully present in the moment.

My personal wellness journey has also influenced Aetna’s organisational wellness. Based on my personal experience, I fully supported the development of yoga and mindfulness-based programs at Aetna. I know that some of my colleagues were rolling their eyes when they heard about it. Just because our CEO practices mindfulness and does yoga, does that mean that we have to learn? Can this really help?

The results since launching these programs in 2011 show that they do actually help. Employees participating in our initial mind-body stress reduction pilot programs (mindfulness and Viniyoga) showed significant improvements in perceived stress with 36 and 33 percent decreases in stress levels respectively.

Helping employees build resilience and reduce stress isn’t just the right thing to do – it can also help the bottom line. Stress is a universal issue that has a direct impact on people’s health and increases health care costs. Highly stressed individuals are at greater risk for many different health conditions, such as coronary heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, depression and anxiety, and obesity. The International Labour Organisation estimated that 30 percent of all work-related illness is due to stress, accounting for $6.6 billion of losses in the U.S. alone. Our research supported these facts, as the participants reporting the highest stress level in Aetna’s pilot programs had medical costs nearly $2,000 higher for the preceding year than those reporting the lowest stress levels.

In addition to improving health, these programs can improve employee productivity and decision-making. With the success of the pilot, the program was expanded to all Aetna employees. More than 13,000 employees have participated in one of these programs over the past three years. Participants are regaining 62 minutes per week of productivity with an approximate dollar return, in terms of productivity alone, of more than $3,000.

As a result of the success with the programs at Aetna, we have started incorporating mindfulness-based approaches into the wide range of wellness programs we offer to our employees and our customers. While these programs are all different – some focus on coaching a healthier lifestyle, while others focus on a specific health issue like weight loss – they share some common characteristics. The wellness programs that are most effective are simple, engaging, based on people’s personal values, goal-oriented and fit into people’s daily lives.

Our innovative approaches to wellness can help our employees and customers improve their health and save money. More broadly, these programs are a core element of our strategy to build healthier communities, a healthier nation and a healthier world.

Image from unspalsh by Toa Heftiba


I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Yoga is a phenomenal form of physical exercise, mental discipline, and spiritual healing. You know it’s awesome when you get all these benefits of yoga. See the 11 benefits of yoga.

I’ve been doing Tai Chi for over 23 years and I’ve benefited greatly from all aspects of it. But I would also highly recommend the benefits of Yoga as it is an absolutely phenomenal form of physical exercise, mental discipline, and spiritual healing. You know something is awesome when it can do all of those things at once. Anyway, there is a long list of benefits that you can and should take advantage of that all come with the simple thing that is Yoga. You may think that Yoga is only for women, but that is not so, especially seeing as more and more men are taking it up every day. No matter if you are a man or woman, Yoga has many different advantages for the mind and body, all of which you absolutely need to start taking advantage of as soon as possible!

What Is Yoga?

Yoga is originally a Hindu form of exercise, stretching, and mental training. In fact, it is also seen as a spiritual and ascetic discipline as well as a physical one. Yoga is widely practiced around the world and is revered for its mental and physical benefits. It involves a lot of mental focus, breathing control, meditation, and simple poses which are meant to strengthen both your body and mind. There are many different variations of Yoga, with a popular one being hot Yoga, a type which is practiced in a very hot room.

Benefit #1: Muscle Strengthening

One big benefit that you get from doing some regular Yoga is the strengthening of your muscles. Yoga involves a lot of positions and movements that force you to hold up your body weight in one way or another, and in some pretty odd looking positions too. The obvious result of this is that your muscles will become stronger over time. A big part of this involves your back muscles and your core, as many Yoga poses are oriented towards challenging those muscles. This is however also true for virtually every other muscle in your body too. Everything from your forearms and shoulders to your glutes and calves will become stronger thanks to some Yoga classes. Of course, we all want strong muscles, and that is not only because they look sexy. Strong muscles help to increase our physical performance, they make sports easier, they make us run faster and jump higher, and they help to make a plethora of daily tasks much easier, not to mention that it doesn’t hurt our self-esteem either.

Benefit #2: Cartilage & Joint Protection

Yet another benefit that you can reap from doing Yoga is that it is fantastic for the health of your cartilage and for your joints. This is in part due to your increased flexibility thanks to Yoga, especially when it comes to the health of your joints, but there is even more to it than that. You see, the problem is that as you age, especially if you are not physically active, your joints, or to be exact, the cartilage that helps your joints move smoothly, starts to break down and deteriorate. This can cause some seriously painful problems such as arthritis in your old age, plus having no cartilage between your joints will be painful either way, not to mention cause a limited range of motion. Yoga is a great way to mitigate the effects of disability and prevent things like arthritis because of the nourishing effect it has on the cartilage in your joints. You see, the cartilage in your joints requires nutrients just like every other part of your body. The difference is that your cartilage really only gets necessary nutrients when it is in motion, such as during Yoga. Yoga has the effect of squeezing your cartilage, which is very beneficial because your sponge-like cartilage needs to be squeezed to get nutrients.

Benefit #3: Flexibility

One of the biggest benefits that you will be able to reap thanks to some regular Yoga is increasing your flexibility. You may not be all that flexible yet and touching your toes might seem akin to flying under your own power when it comes to your first Yoga class. However, as you go back to your Yoga class day after day, you will notice your muscles, joints, and ligaments getting looser and looser. Before you know it, you will be bending over backward and wrapping yourself up like a pretzel without any issue at all. Many, if not all of the poses that you do in Yoga will stretch out your body in one way or another, thus making you more flexible as time goes on. Being more flexible is great for many different things including preventing pulled muscles and other injuries, plus it can be pretty useful when it comes to your love life as well. Being more flexible is also useful in terms of relieving certain aches and pains. For instance, having tight hips can cause knee pain, a tight upper back can cause back pain, and tight hamstrings can lead to severe lower back pain, all problems that can be solved with some simple Yoga.

20 Minute Yoga for Flexibility | Level 1

Benefit #4: Strengthening The Immune System & Regulating The Adrenal System

Yoga can also be very beneficial for your immune system because it helps to drain your lymphatic system. When you do Yoga, you stretch out your muscles and compress them at the same time, plus you move your organs around too. This has the effect of draining a viscous fluid known as lymph out of the various lymph nodes in your body. This fluid is something that your body will produce on its own, but the new fluid that is created after the old fluid is drained out, is much more effective at disposing of toxic chemicals and waste, killing cancer cells, and fighting off infection in general. Another reason why Yoga helps you improve the function of your immune system has to do with the levels of cortisol in your body. Regular Yoga can help lower cortisol levels and that is generally a good thing. Yes, increased levels of cortisol can temporarily increase immune function and it can help with memory too, but that is not the case for prolonged periods where cortisol levels are high. Prolonged periods of high cortisol levels can damage your immune system, decrease your long and short term memory, can cause depression, and even osteoporosis too. Therefore, Yoga can help prevent all of those conditions by regulating your adrenal glands and your overall cortisol levels.

Benefit #5: Heart Health & Increasing Blood Flow

Now to be clear, most of the things you do in Yoga are not technically considered to be aerobic exercises, which is the kind of exercise needed to increase the health of your heart, but that is not always true because Yoga can actually improve your heart health. You can actually perform Yoga at a fast pace or engage in certain types of Yoga which incorporate aspects of aerobic fitness. In essence, this means that you get your heart pumping at an aerobic level, which means that it is pumping much faster than normal. Your heart beating much faster than normal is akin to lifting weights for your muscles, or in other words, it makes it stronger and more efficient. Having a healthier heart has many different benefits including the lowering of your resting heart rate, the increased efficiency of your heart, a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes, a reduction in heart and arterial disease, and increased endurance too. One of the biggest benefits that you get from Yoga and aerobic exercise in general is that it will help lower your blood pressure, plus of course, provide you with a longer and healthier life in general. Moreover, many Yoga exercises and poses also help to increase circulation, and not only because your heart works more efficiently. This is because poses such as those where you twist parts of your body help to wring blood out of your organs, send it back to your lungs and heart for oxygenation, and ultimately help to bring more fresh blood to your organs, something which benefits them in multiple ways. Certain poses such as handstands can also help blood flow more readily from the legs and pelvis back to your heart, something that can help you if you suffer from swollen ankles, swollen legs, and kidney problems too. Finally, Yoga can also help create more hemoglobin in your blood, which are the things that carry oxygen throughout your body, thus giving your body a better supply of oxygen, something which it needs for many different things including physical activity. On a side note, the aerobic effects of certain Yoga poses and types of Yoga also help to increase the efficiency at which your lungs absorb and process oxygen, which is also known as VO2, thus allowing your body to use more oxygen. The combination of better circulation, a more efficient heart, more oxygen carrying hemoglobin, and stronger lungs all lead to one main benefit, that being increased muscular endurance and a better ability to perform physical activity for a prolonged period of time.

Benefit #6: Maintaining A Healthy Digestive System

The next benefit that you get from doing Yoga is that it can prevent and control digestion issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, and can help you digest food better even if you do have a healthy digestive system. This is because Yoga involves a lot of twisting poses that cause your bowels and intestines to contract and loosen. The long term effect of this is that Yoga stimulates your body to pass food and waste through itself more quickly, thus aiding in proper digestion, good nutrient absorption, and regularity in the bathroom. Instead of pounding back glasses full of that disgusting Metamucil, you can always try doing some Yoga instead.

Benefit #7: Bettering Your Posture – Your Back

Another benefit that you can get from doing even minimal Yoga is an improvement in your overall posture. Since Yoga does a lot to make your more flexible and limber, and also helps to strengthen your core and back muscles, the result will be better posture. Having good posture, which means having a straight back with your head directly above it, requires a strong core, back, shoulders, and good neck muscles too. Yoga is something that through various poses will help strengthen all of the necessary muscles needed for good posture. Having good posture is not only good for looking more confident and taller, but also for your physical health. When you have bad posture, you will most likely be slouched over with your head leaning forward, something that can cause fatigue in your neck and back. When you have good posture with a straight back and your head perfectly above your back, it takes a lot less effort for your muscles to keep you balanced and upright, therefore decreasing muscle fatigue. Moreover, having good posture is also a great way to relieve daily pains. This is because bad posture often leads to neck, back, and leg pain, all things which some regular Yoga exercises can help get rid of. On a side note, Yoga is also good for your back, especially your spinal disks because they can get damaged and compress nerves. Some simple Yoga moves can go a long way in decompressing your spine and the nerves in it, plus it helps deliver much-needed nutrients to your spinal cord too.

Benefit #8: Increased Cognitive Abilities

Something else that Yoga is shown to help you with is with a long list of cognitive abilities. First of all, Yoga requires a whole lot of focus and concentration, both things which can be improved through training. Without concentration and focus, you can’t really do Yoga. Exercise like Yoga is also known to cause an increase in the production of neurotransmitters in your brain as well as the rate at which those transmitters function. This has the effect of increasing your long and short term memory, your focus and concentration, your problem solving skills, and your overall cognitive abilities. Yoga is also a type of exercise that concentrates on being in touch with your mind and improving mental skills, something which everybody can definitely benefit from.

Benefit #9: Better Bone Health

The next benefit you need to take advantage of through Yoga are the serious bone building benefits that it brings to the table. Many Yoga positions are known as weight bearing exercises. Weight bearing exercises are any kind of exercises which force a certain part of your body to hold up your own body weight and put a larger than normal amount of strain and pressure on your bones. This has the effect of increasing the strength, size, and density of your bones. There are many Yoga poses which have you on your legs, or just one leg, and many which have you supporting your weight with your arms. Well, when you do any of those things, the weight you put on your bones causes the cells in your bones known as osteoblasts to generate more bone mass, thus resulting in thicker, denser, and stronger bones. This is a very useful benefit, especially as you get older because old age can cause bone diseases such as osteoporosis, something which can be prevented or mitigated through bone building exercises such as Yoga. Moreover, having stronger bones also means that you have a lower chance of suffering a fracture or broken bone.

Benefit #10: It Helps Make You Happier

Yoga is also good for your mind, not just for your body. Yoga is good because it helps to provide your mind with more beneficial neurochemicals. Yoga is shown to increase the levels of serotonin, dopamine, and certain endocannabinoids, all of which are shown to make you feel happier, decrease anxiety, and help get rid of the effects of depression too. These neurochemicals are all very important for your mental wellbeing and for regulating mood. This phenomenon of exercise producing neurochemicals which make you feel happier, elated, and joyful, is also known as the runner’s high. Also, Yoga is shown to decrease the amount of monoamine oxidase in your brain. This is a substance that breaks down neurotransmitters, something which negatively affects your mood and cognitive abilities. The bottom line is that Yoga can provide for a happier you and that is a big bonus. On a side note, Yoga is also shown to relieve stress and relieve you of negative feelings such as anger and rage.

Benefit #11: Improving Your Balance

Yet another big benefit that you can reap from doing Yoga is an increased ability to balance. Yoga involves a whole lot of odd positions that force you to balance, something that is otherwise known as proprioception. Your balance is actually regulated by things called proprioceptors. Well, just like with your bones, muscles, memory, and more, the more you do balance training, the better your proprioceptors become at accommodating for positional shifts and imbalances in order to help your body stay upright. Having better balance is a great thing to have, especially if you like sports that require a lot of it, sports such as skating or hockey, or even gymnastics too.

Conclusion

The fact of the matter is that the benefits of Yoga definitely outweigh any preconceived notions that you may have about it. Your strength, balance, flexibility, digestion, mental abilities, happiness, and more will all benefit from this awesome discipline so you should definitely give it a try as soon as you can! If you have any questions or comments about Yoga, please feel free to shoot us a message and we will get back to you at the first available opportunity.


I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. To know yourself is to master self awareness. Self-awareness is positively correlated with higher levels of overall happiness.

The first step for practicing self-awareness is gaining a greater awareness of your emotions. The second step is making a habit of tracking your feelings. Begin to track your most positive feelings and your most negative feelings. This is where Fettle can assist.

Fettle: state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form – often used in the phrase, “In Fine Fettle”. What is your fettle state?

Every Evening Score Your Day. Rate it between -2, -1, 0, +1 & +2. Write a brief paragraph of the days highlights. Write down your most positive feelings and your most negative feelings.

learn to see what makes your life a low 🙁 of -2 OR a HIGH 🙂 of +2. Overtime you will build a picture and drill down to see what in your life
sparks a +2 🙂 and what provokes a -2 🙁

You will begin to notice patterns and trends. Begin to see what makes you truly happy!

Download from the App Store

To learn more the app is also available as a web app at fettle.life

I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practicing Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Improve Self Awareness with the Fettle-App
  5. Meditation and the Science
  6. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  7. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  8. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  9. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Travel is the new meditation. I think a shift in scenery does bring a newness to the present moment. Definitely makes me want to travel more 🙂

This definitely makes me want to travel more. Or just get out of the city and head somewhere local. A shift in scenery does bring a newness to the present moment. Thought this was a great post. After eight years of being a wandering gypsy, I’ve made a discovery… Travel is the new meditation. Travel breeds mindfulness, anchoring us in the ‘present moment’. Travel is good for the mind and soul, and this might just be why it feels so darn fantastic.

As hundreds of articles and zillions of Yoga classes are already teaching us, ‘the present moment’ is what it’s all about. Buddhists have spent centuries learning how to remain there, as have rishis and yogis, and now westerners have joined the party.

We are slowly becoming aware of how powerful this whole ‘being in the moment’ really is: the place of whole awareness, devoid of unnecessary thought. The present moment is the divine space where we become connected with what is right in front of us, and right within us, without any worries concerning the past, and without any future imaginings.

Personally, remaining present links directly to a clear and calm mind. In those rare, fleeting moments when I can actually find complete presence, without past worries or future anxieties, I am empowered by feelings of oneness, gratitude, boosted intuition, acceptance, peace, and best of all, I feel that I am actually in control of that crazy monkey mind, which often becomes a little too crazy and starts to take control of me.

The benefits are clear. But how does this link to travel? I began questioning why I felt so much more fulfilled, more energetic, more myself when I was travelling, yet not so much at home when working the daily grind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big sad sack when I’m on my home turf. There’s beauty and gratitude and happiness scattered everywhere. However, despite those moments of happiness at home, for me there always seemed to be an overwhelming need to count down to the next trip.

Could this be because when I’m travelling I am more present? Do I feel more myself because this increased sense of presence connects me more to who I am? I vote yes. Here’s why travel captures our presence, thus can be classed as our new form of meditation:

1. WE MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT. When we are travelling there is the sense that there is always an expiration date to what we are experiencing. This motivates us to take in every moment with a deeper sense of gratitude and mindfulness. We make the effort to see every sunrise or sunset. We taste our food, because alas, this may be the last mango we eat for months. Making the most of each moment, means that we are in the moment. Being in the moment makes it a meditation.

2. WE ARE GUIDED INTO THE PRESENT BY OUR SENSES. When we first visit a new place, we are often so amazed by everything that we see, that it’s difficult not to be in the present moment. Unlike home, where we do the same commute that leads our head so far out of the present that we can arrive home and we don’t even remember driving. When we are travelling, we are lured into noticing. The views, the sounds, the smells, they take our breath away and entice that curiosity within us. Curiosity in the people that we are meeting, the history that we are learning, or the new music or languages that we are hearing allow us to savour every moment, capturing our presence.

3. THERE’S LESS PLUG IN TIME. Although Internet connections are now accessible pretty much anywhere, I still find that travel leads you away from ‘plug in time’ a little more. Less TV, less phone calls, less accessible Internet connection 247. If meditation aims to connect us to ourselves, then our connection to technology is doing the opposite. Less plug in time, more ‘connect with self’ time.

4. THERE’S NO TIME FOR DWELLING ON THE PAST. If you are feeling sad, you’re living in the past. If you’re feeling anxious, you’re living in the future. This is one of the oldest explanations as to why mindfulness and meditating on the present is good for us. Luckily for us, travel kind of eradicates past and future because as we’ve mentioned, the present is just so amazing it’s hard to take our mind off it. Yes, there may be the odd long bus journey or transit time, but even these moments are sprinkled with that lovely feeling of excitement. The life of a traveller is an adventurous one, packed with activities, new people, new life lessons, glorious sites, and experiences that fill us with awe. Where in the busy life of a traveller do we have time to feel sad or regretful about anything that may have happened in our past? Present moment time = meditation time.

5. WE CONNECT TO NATURE. What is travel without sightseeing? And what is sightseeing without viewing natural phenomena? Travel connects us to nature and the world around us. As we wander around drinking in sights of rolling hills, of animals frolicking in the grass, of the sunrays catching the flower buds, or the perfect jungle pathway to break out our yoga pose, we are connecting, noticing, meditating. Yes, these meditations can be done at home, but how often do we break the daily grind to do them? Travel ignites a light in us that inspires us to truly see, and to truly connect.

So what are you waiting for? Make your next trip your meditation. Retreats are a great way to travel and to experience something out of the ordinary. You know, just in case you needed another excuse to go ahead and book that ticket. Do it. Your mind and soul will thank you.


I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’