A rising number of business people are finding the mind-body connection.
Yoga, meditation, and other Eastern-born exercises are finding a growing
audience among harried business people craving inner calm.
Classes are offered at health clubs, company fitness centers, corporate
retreats and spas.
Ideas that once were left-of-center are finding greater acceptance with the
public support. Mind-body executive fitness is a hot topic right now.
Lynn Doody, owner of Zen Fitness wellness programs in Chicago, notes that,
whereas in the past most of her clients pursued traditional cardiovascular and
weight-training exercise, most now incorporate mind-body applications into the
regimen.
There's just a general awareness, and non-conventional health care is a
little more available.
No need to convince Mark Frantz. The 40-year-old vice-president at Merrill
Lynch & Co. had learned in 15 years of trading commodities to manage stress
and anxiety. He ran a few times a week, worked out at the gym, and worked at
reducing stress in other conventional ways.
But he still ground his teeth at night, massages were temporary Band-Aids,
and even while running he'd tense his muscles. He wanted more. He sought ''a
different quality of life.''
What he found was yoga and meditation. At home, on an airplane, or for 10
minutes behind closed doors at work, Mr. Frantz can shut out distractions with
deep breathing, yoga poses, imagery and other relaxation techniques.
He still runs, but '(yoga and meditation) forces you to focus on what's going
on in the moment and to be aware of what your body is telling you. It relaxes
you, brings your heart rate and your blood pressure down.
